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Miss D. M. A. Bate. On the Discovery of a [Apr. 23 7 



" Preliminary Note on the Discovery of a Pigmy Elephant in the 

 Pleistocene of Cyprus." By Dorothy M. A. Bate. Commu- 

 nicated by Henry Woodward, LL.D., F.B.S., F.G.S., Y.P.Z.S., 

 late Keeper of Geology, British Museum, Natural History. 

 Eeceived April 23,— Bead May 7, 1903. 



While still in Cyprus the receipt of a grant from the Eoyal 

 Society in April, 1902, enabled me to devote a considerable amount 

 of time not only to making more extensive excavations in some of 

 the caves previously found, but also to a search for further cave 

 deposits. I confined my attention chiefly to the Keryina range of 

 limestone hills in the north of the island in the hope of finding bone 

 caves containing other remains than those of the pigmy Hippopotamus, 

 of which Dr. Forsyth Major has already given a short description* 

 from specimens discovered by myself. 



In this search I was at length successful, although it was not until 

 a certain amount of tentative digging had been carried on in four out 

 of five newly discovered deposits that work was started on what 

 appeared at first. to be the most unpromising looking place which had! 

 been found, and was consequently the last to receive attention. 



However, during the first day one of the workmen found, not far 

 from the surface, part of a tooth which was at once recognised as 

 being that of an elephant. After this discovery every effort was 

 made to procure a complete collection of the remains of this species, 

 but at no time were either teeth or bones found to be so plentiful 

 as those of Hippopotamus minutus, with which they were associated. 



Often not a single proboscidean tooth would be obtained during 

 two or three days' work, and only eleven molars and parts of molars 

 were procured as the result of three weeks' digging. It was then 

 decided to continue excavations here for a short while longer, and 

 this was done until the end of July, work being again resumed in the 

 beginning of the following October. 



Altogether a good series was obtained of the teeth of this elephant, 

 which is found to be a pigmy species. With the exception of the 

 first milk molar (m.m. 2), specimens were procured of all the milk 

 and permanent molars of both the upper and lower jaws ; also a 

 number of tusks of different sizes, though these included none of the 

 tiny milk incisors. No teeth which could be referred to very aged 

 individuals were obtained, for amongst the last true molars none have 

 more than half their full number of plates in use. 



The series of teeth consisting of specimens of very small size, it was 

 natural in the first instance to compare them with the remains of the 



* ' Proc. Zool. See.,' June 3rd, 1902. 



