334 General Notes. [ May, 
I add that the genus Aphelops differs from Aceratherium in the 
presence of but three toes on the anterior foot, and from Rhinoce- 
vos in the absence of horn.—£. D. Cope. 
Tue Lower Jaw oF LoxoLopHopon.—Messrs. Speir and Os- 
born contributed to th April number of the American Fournal 
of Science and Art, a very interesting account of the mandible of 
Loxolophodon cients which has been hitherto unknown. It pre- 
sents characters as curious as those of the cranium. The incisors 
and canines are similar, and have remarkable bilobate crowns, an 
there is a slight expansion of the lower margin of the ramus to 
represent the wide phlange of Uintatherium. The authors of the 
paper have not ee the literature as carefully as they might 
have done, an e thus been led into error in several points. 
They think that the iomlatehd of Loxolophodon had been. already 
described by me, and that erroneously; whereas the description 
to which they refer, is that of another species, shpat of another 
genus, found in a different Bridger basin. It was not identified, 
and was described only as “resembling that of Uintatherium.” 
They confirm my description of the furcate character of the pre- 
maxillary bones, while seeming to disapprove of it. They also 
appear to suppose that the question of the possession of a pro- 
boscis is identical with the question of Proboscidian affinity, 
mea are really dissimilar propositions. —Æ. D. Cope. 
GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS.! 
AFRICAN EXPLORATION.—Dr. Rohlfs left Tripolis about Christ- 
mas. Letters dated January 27, 1879, at Sokna, some 250 miles 
south of Tripolis, have been received, from him, at Berlin. They 
include a valuable zoological report by Dr. Stocker and a num- 
ber of astronomical observations. Sultan Ali of Wadai, who 
treated Dr. Nachtigal so hospitably, is dead, but his brother, Jou- 
souf, who succeeded him, is said to be equally well disposed 
towards foreigners. 
Capt. Roudaire reports favorably on the experimental borings 
made by him along the neck of land separating the gulf of Gabes 
from the Saharan depression. Nothing but sand and soft soil were 
encountered down to a depth of one hundred feet. There are no 
rocks, and M. de Lesseps expresses himself satisfied that the con- 
struction of a canal will meet with no difficulties. The scheme, 
however, of converting this portion of the Southern Sahara into 
an inland sea is severely criticized; it is said that, if successful, it 
would destroy the date-culture, and owing to the prevalence of 
northerly winds mone not exercise any favorable influence upon 
the climate of Algeri 
Mr. Mackenzie, the African traveler, sailed from England 
recently for Cape Juby, on the north-west coast of Africa, in a 
1 Edited by ELLIs H. YARNALL, Philadelphia. 
