524 CENOZOIC ERA— AGE OF MAMMALS. 



among which one, the Gastomis (Fig. 893), was a huge wader as large 

 as an ostrich; besides reptiles, fishes, and shells in abundance, were 

 discovered. In Eocene times the Paris basin seems to have been an 

 estuary full of shells and fishes, etc., into which the bodies of birds and 

 mammals were drifted. Among the many remarkable mammals we will 

 select two as types, viz., the Palceothere and the Anoplothere. 



The Pala3othere, like the Rhinoceros and like some of the earlier 

 representatives of the horse family, had three hoofed toes on all the 

 feet. It is usually supposed to have had also the general form and the 

 short flexible snout of a tapir (Fig. 896),* and it is with this family that 

 Cuvier supposed it has its nearest alliance, and his restoration was based 

 on this view. But the discovery of more complete skeletons shows that 



Fig. 898. — Anoplotherium conimune, restored. 



the neck and limbs were much longer than had been supposed. In 

 general form (Fig. 897) it seems to have been as much like the horse 

 family as the tapirs. 



The Anoplothere was a slender and graceful animal without snout, 

 and possessing only two toes, like ruminants. Most of its characters, 

 however, allied it to the tapirs. Among these characters was the pos- 

 session of a third rudimental or non-functional toe (Cope) and a full 

 set of front teeth. It was, therefore, a remarkable connecting link 

 between the tapirs and ruminants. 



2. Siwalik Hills, India — Miocene. — Near the base of the Himalayas 

 occurs a range of hills which are composed of fresh-water uppermost 

 Miocene strata. They are extremely rich in vertebrate and especially 

 in mammalian remains, which have been thoroughly studied by Fal- 

 coner. Eighty-four species of mammals are described from this locality. 

 They are of great variety of forms, both Carnivora and Herbivora, but 

 the latter are most abundant. Among these, perhaps the two most 

 remarkable are Dinotlierium \ and Sivatherium. 



* The tapir has three toes on the hind-foot, and four on the fore-foot, but the outer 

 one is small and not functional. 



f The Dinothere is found in the Miocene of India, though not at Siwalik. 



