MAMMdTI/S AM) MiSTODOXS ^>'.i 



jiM'tiiiii' forwai'd and slightly (low iiw ar<l arc cliaraclcrisl icall\- like I lie iii(»><l 

 j)riiMili\'c ol [\\v Miocciu* maslodoiis ((•()m|)ar(' M. pnuhirius). 'I'lnrr of 

 \\w tour priMiiolars an* still retained in the adult, hut the const met ion of 

 the molars, with llieir three cross crests, is unniistakahly a near a|)|)roacli 

 to tlie early mastodons. The skull is no less clearly that of a i)rimili\'e 

 prohoscidean, in the depression of the palate and blinding teeth far helow 

 the level of the base of tlie cranium, the withdrawal of the anterior nares 

 (openin«>' for the nostril) to acconmiodate Ji Hcxihle ui)per lip len<ithened 

 out undouhtedly into a trunk of considera})le len<>th, and various othci' 

 j)articulars. It is obviously widely different from Md'rither'utm. The 

 skeleton is only })artly known, but is more clearly of proboscidean t>j)e, 

 with short rounded five-toed feet, rather long and nearly straight limbs, 

 short neck and deep compact body. The heavy f()()t-i)ads seem to have 

 been much less develo])ed than in the elephant, the heel much more })rimi- 

 tive and resting nearly on the ground. 



DinotheriumoftheEuropeanMiocene, a contemj)()rary of the Mastodons 

 is an a})errant side branch of obscure ancestry. It can hardly be a descend- 

 ant of Palcvomadodon, since the molars (except ml) are decidedly sim})ler 

 having only two crests, and the premolars are likewise of simpler const ruc-- 

 tion. The grinding teeth indeed are more readily derived from those of 

 Mwritherium. The skull, however, is highly specialized for a large and 

 long trunk, no upper tusks are known, while the lower tusks are very large, 

 long and stout, curving downwards to a right angle with the grinding 

 teeth. The skeleton is thoroughly proboscidean in type, with long lim])s 

 and elephantine feet and the latest species D. (/igantissimum reached a 

 size fully equal to the largest of the elephants. Remains of Dinotheriinn 

 have been found in the Miocene of India and Baluchistan and of central 

 Africa, as well as in Europe and northern Africa, but its exact affinities 

 and place of origin remain as yet unknown. 



Trilophodon. The next stage in the ancestry of the mastodons and ele- 

 phants is well shown in the fine Trilophodon productus skull. Although of a 

 somewhat later age this species retains little changed the characters of the 

 earliest known mastodons of the Lower Miocene of Euroj)e, Asia and northern 

 Africa. There is a very considerable gap between them and PahEoma.s- 

 iodon, representing the evolution of the race during the whole of the 

 Oligocene epoch. They are very much larger animals. The tusks are 

 greatly lengthened, and rootless, growing from persistent pulj)s. The 

 enamel is reduced to a rather narrow strip. The })Osterior grinding teeth 

 are progressively enlarged, the anterior ones lost, falling out early in life. 

 The cranium is built up into a great bulk by the cellular ])ony covering 

 over the brain-case. 



