520 



Abstract of Mr. J. Prestwich's Report on [June 20, 



10. Next below those of the Reindeer in frequency are the remains 

 belonging to Hyaena spelcea, amounting to about sixty in number ; and 

 they occurred in nearly equal proportions in three divisions of the cavern, 

 their average depth in the cave-earth exceeding 3 feet. No specimen 

 seems to have occurred above the stalagmite floor, nor more than four or 

 five on or very near the surface of the cave-earth. Their general condition 

 betokens great antiquity, and very few among them exhibit any indication 

 of gnawing, weathering, or rolling. Many among them are quite perfect, 

 and in all probability belong to one and the same animal. The bones and 

 teeth clearly indicate several individuals of all ages, from that at which the 

 epiphyses of the femur and tibia were still ununited, up to one at which 

 the canine teeth were almost worn away ; but no certain trace of a foetal 

 or very young Hyaena is perceptible. All the teeth belong to the perma- 

 nent series. 



11, 12, 13. Of all the animal remains discovered in the cavern, those 

 belonging to the Bear are by far the most numerous, and in some respects, 

 more especially with regard to their distribution, perhaps of the greatest 

 interest. 



In the present, as in almost every instance of the occurrence of ursine 

 remains in caverns, the extreme variation in size and other characters of 

 the different bones and teeth is so great, as naturally to lead to the belief 

 that they must have belonged to more than one species. 



The number of specimens clearly determined is about 350 or 360, and 

 to these, from among the less easily determined fragments, probably forty 

 or fifty more might be added. But, in part explanation of this large 

 number, it should be remarked that it includes several collections, each 

 composed of numerous bones of the skeletons of individuals of various 

 ages found lying together at the same spot. 



Of the specimens enumerated above, about 116 occurred in the Reindeer 

 Gallery, 214 in the Flint-knife Gallery, 26 in the West, and only 1 in 

 the South Chamber. 



Taking all the levels at which these remains were found, the mean 

 horizon of the genus Ursus appears to be about the same as that of the 

 Reindeer, and a few inches above that of the Hyaena. It must also be 

 remarked that, as compared with the latter species, a much larger propor- 

 tion of the ursine remains were found lying on or near the surface of the 

 second bed, or sometimes even imbedded in the stalagmite itself. Another 

 remarkable circumstance connected with the ursine remains is the fre- 

 quency with which bones, obviously belonging to one and the same 

 skeleton, were found collected together in one spot ; and to this remark 

 it may be added that the great number of very young, or even foetal bones, 

 affords the strongest possible evidence that the Bear actually inhabited the 

 cavern. The close investigation and comparison of the ursine bones and 

 teeth leaves little doubt that they represent the remains of three distinct 



