1837-38 ACCOUNT OF THE TOXODON 119 



R. discussed with the Prince the paper His High- 

 ness wrote for the Royal Society, and which R. 

 has had to judge. The Prince departed in high 

 good-humour.' 



In 1838 Owen wrote a paper, which was the 

 nucleus of his great work on teeth — the ' Odonto- 

 graphy.' This paper was entitled : ' On the 

 Structure of Teeth, and the Resemblance of 

 Ivory to Bone, as illustrated by the Microscopical 

 Examination of the Teeth of Men and of various 

 Existing and Extinct Animals.' (' Report of the 

 British Association, 1838.') 



Amongst the descriptions which Owen made 

 of the fossil mammalia collected by Darwin in 

 the voyage of the ' Beagle ' may be mentioned that 

 of the Toxodon skull. The toxodon was a gigantic 

 extinct mammal, presenting great peculiarities 

 and having points in common with various orders 

 of Mammalia. 



The following account of the toxodon in the 

 autograph of Charles Darwin was found amongst 

 Owen's papers, from which an extract is now 

 given : — 



' The head was found embedded in whitish 

 earthy clay on the banks of a small stream which 

 enters the Rio Negro, and is situated 120 miles 

 to the N.W. of Monte Video. The head had 

 been kept for a short time in a neighbouring 

 farm-house as a curiosity, but when I arrived it 

 was lying in the yard. I bought it for the value 



