72 The Mammoth and its Epoch, 



district of Yakustk, and to this the foot brought to Irkutsk, 

 and seen by Leop. Schunk, is supposed to have belonged, ova w 



In 1860-62, M. Grolubew reported the discovery of a great 

 animal, with its skin, not far from the junction of the Wiljui 

 with the Lena, and early in 1861 the mammoth already men- 

 tioned was seen. 



M. K. E. von Baer remarks that the complete mammoth 

 skeletons, with soft parts covering them, bear a small propor- 

 tion to the quantity of mammoth remains found in a fragmentary 

 state in northern Siberia. The flesh can only be preserved at a 

 certain depth in a permanently frozen soil. The isolated bones 

 and the complete skeletons represent much more than a single 

 generation of the creature. Mammoth remains are scattered 

 over Europe, though complete skeletons are rare, and Dr. 

 Falconer found several species of fossil elephants in India. In 

 Europe three species have been recognized, Elejjhas pvimi- 

 genius, E. antiquus, and E. meridionalis . Those of Italy 

 appear to belong to the last species, as also do some of those 

 found in the south of France. The northern regions of Siberia 

 now furnish the most abundant remains ; but as the southern 

 parts have been long inhabited, it is possible that their infe- 

 riority in this respect has resulted from the quantities of tusks 

 that have been removed by fossil ivory collectors, whose occu- 

 pation is known to have been ancient. Certain isles of the 

 Polar Sea now supply the greatest abundance, especially the 

 Ljachow Isles, north of Swatoi-Noss, between the mouths of 

 the Lena and the Indigirka, about 74° lat. The soil of the 

 first of these islands is composed of fossil bones, which are 

 loosened by storms and by the action of the sun. A group of 

 large islands, not yet visited by a naturalist, and known as 

 New Siberia, appear to contain an immense quantity of bones, 

 accompanied by bitumenized tree trunks. Fossil ivory, weighing 

 20,000 lbs., was collected in the locality in 1821, notwith- 

 standing a previous collection of 10,000 lbs, in 1809. 



Extensive remains are also found at the mouth of the Cha- 

 tanga, and the north-east angle of Siberia furnishes a large an- 

 nual supply of tusks, contrary to what might be expected if the 

 mammoths had drifted from the south. The two Anjui, affluents 

 of the Kolyma, are also very rich in fossil bones, and it is the 

 opinion of travellers and ivory hunters that the quantity of 

 tusks increases as the districts are more north. M. de Midden- 

 dorff estimates the quantity of fossil ivory annually obtained 

 from N. Siberia at 40,000 lbs., and this is a low average, as he 

 states 60,000 lbs. to have been the smallest quantity obtained 

 between 1825 and 1831 ; and he mentions two years in which the 

 quantity rose to 80,000 lbs. As in the extreme north the 

 tusks are in general small, and do not exceed 120 lbs. in New 



