360 Pampean Formation ; paet n. 



that in two limited sections I found no less than five 

 teeth separately embedded, and I heard of teeth having 

 been similarly fonnd in other parts : may we suppose 

 that the skeletons or heads were for a long time gently 

 drifted by currents over the soft muddy bottom, and 

 that the teeth occasionally, here and there, dropped 

 out? 



It may be naturally asked, where did these numerous 

 animals live ? From the remarkable discoveries of 

 MM. Lund and Clausen, it appears that some of the 

 species found in the Pampas inhabited the high -lands 

 of Brazil : the llastodon Andium is embedded at great 

 heights in the Cordillera from north of the equator 1 to 

 at least as far south as Tarija ; and as there is no higher 

 land, there can be little doubt that this Mastodon must 

 have lived on the plains and valleys of that great range. 

 These countries, however, appear too far distant for 

 the habitation of the individuals entombed in the 

 Pampas : we must probably look to nearer points, for 

 instance to the province of Corrientes, which, as already 

 remarked, is said not to be covered by the Pampean 

 formation, and may therefore, at the period of its 

 deposition, have existed as dry land. I have already 

 given my reasons for believing that the animals em- 

 bedded at M. Hermoso and at P. Alta in Bahia Blanca, 

 lived on adjoining land, formed of parts of the already 

 elevated Pampean deposit. With respect to the food 

 of these many great extinct quadrupeds, I will not 

 repeat the facts given in my Journal (second edit. p. 85), 

 showing that there is no correlation between the luxuri- 

 ance of the vegetation of a country and the size of its 



1 Humboldt states that the Mastodon has been discovered in 

 New* Granada ; it has been found in Quito. When at Lima, I saw a 

 tooth of a Mastodon in the possession of Don M. Bivero, found at 

 Playa Chica on the Maranon, near the Guallaga. Every one has 

 heard of the numerous remains of Mastodon in Bolivia. 



