142 



ELEPHANTS 



modern elephants with the typical dentition such as is 

 approached by the pig, the dog, the tapir, and the hedge- 

 hog? There are such links. We know a great many 

 elephants from Pleistocene and Pliocene strata — some from 

 European localities, more from India, and some from 

 America. A little elephant not more than 3 ft. high when 

 adult is found fossil in the island of Malta ; other species 

 were a little larger than the living African elephant. 

 Whilst the Indian elephant has as many as twenty-four 

 cross-ridges on its biggest grinding tooth (Fig. 13) there 



Fig. 16. — A reconstruction of the extinct American mastodon 

 (Mastodon ohioticus) from a drawing by Prof. Osborne. Other 

 extinct species of mastodon are found in Europe. 



is a fossil kind which has only six such ridges. But 

 besides true elephants we know from the Pliocene, Miocene, 

 and Upper Eocene of the old world, the remains of 

 elephant-like creatures (some as big as true elephants), 

 which are distinguished by the name "' Mastodon" 

 (Fig. 1 6). And, in fact, we are conducted through a series 

 of changes of form by ancient elephant-like creatures 

 which are of older and older date as we pass along the series, 

 and are known as (i) Mastodon, (2) Tetrabelodon, (3) 

 Palaeomastodon, (4) Meritherium, until we come to some- 

 thing approaching the general form of skull and skeleton 



