OSBORX, REVIEW OF THE PLEISTOCENE 



275 



acter. Schotensack likened it to that of the First Interglacial or Nor- 

 folkian Stage. The presence of the etruscan rhinoceros would appear to 

 justify this opinion, but it is overborne by the similarity to the fauna of 

 Mosbach including the presence of Equus mosbachensis, a species highly 

 characteristic of the Second Interglacial Stage. The entire fauna of 

 these Lower Sands of Mauer is now identified (Schmidt, 1912), as fol- 

 lows: Elephas antiquus, D. (Rhinoceros) etruscus™ Equus mosbachen- 

 sis, Sus scrofa ferce, Alces latifrons, Cervus elaphus, Capreolus capreolus, 

 Bison priscus, Bos primigenius, Ursus arvernensis, U. deningeri, Felis 

 leo, 61 Felis catus, Canis neschersensis, Castor fiber. The enumeration of 



Fig. 15. — Heidelberg jaw 



The human lower jaw (% natural size) found near Heidelberg, on which is based the 

 species Homo Tteidelbergensis. After Schoetensack. 



this fauna is very important as indicating the temperate climatic condi- 

 tions which surrounded the Heidelberg man. Wurm observes that the 

 Etruscan rhinoceros only occurs in Mauer and that its variations indi- 

 cate a transition towards the D-. merckii which occurs at Mosbach and 

 Siissenborn but not in Mauer. Above this layer occurs a deposit of the 

 "Older Loess/' indicating an arid climate. The Upper Sands of Mauer 

 contain a cold fauna which bv some is referred to the close of the Second 



60 Wurm, A.: "uber Rhinoceros etruscus Falc. von Mauer a. d. Elsenz (bei Heidel- 

 berg)." Verh. d. Naturhist.-Medizin. Vereins zu Heidelberg, N. F. XII Band, 1 Heft, 

 pp. 1-62, pll. I-IV. 1912. 



n WtjeMj A. : Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Diluvialen Saugetier fauna von Mauer a. d. 

 Elsenz (bei Heidelberg), I. Felis leo fossilis. Jahresberichte und Mitteilungen des Ob^r- 

 rhein. geol. Vereins, N. F., Bd. II, Heft 1, pp. 77-102. 1912. 



