ME. B. LYDEKKEB ON A MOLAE OF A PLIOCENE EQEUS. 163 



teeth which are undoubtedly referable to Equus Stenonis accompanied 

 by others which not improbably belong to Elephas meridionalis *. 



If further collections of mammalian remains should eventually 

 reach us from the valley of the Upper Nile, I think we may con- 

 fidently expect that they will afford important information with 

 regard to the relations of the Pliocene faunas of India and Europe 

 with the existing fauna of Africa. 



[P.S. — The observations of Drs. Woodward and Blanford men- 

 tioned below, in regard to the remains of Deer from the Wadi Haifa 

 beds, lend support to the view taken above as to the comparative 

 antiquity of those deposits.] 



Discussion. 



The Peesedent remarked that all the materials for the evening's 

 work had been supplied from the British Museum (Natural History). 



Dr. Woodwaed spoke of remains of Deer and Bos which appeared 

 to be in the same mineralized condition as those of Equus ; thej r were 

 well-fossilized bones from high above the present Nile level, and 

 were probably of Tertiary age. 



Dr. Blaneoed spoke of the occurrence of fossil Deer in Nubia as ex- 

 traordinary, since the true Deer now only occur in North Africa, none 

 east of the Sahara, where the Deer are replaced by Antelopes. The 

 link shown with Indian Tertiaries was important. The fact recently 

 ascertained by Mr. Lydekker that true Baboons existed in Pliocene 

 Siwalik beds and even later, showed a resemblance between the 

 Indian and African faunas. All this pointed to a different distri- 

 bution of land during the late Tertiary period in the Persian Gulf 

 and Straits of Bab-el-mandeb. Signs of depression may even now 

 be seen in the former. 



Dr. Hicks pointed to the three stages of development shown in 

 the drawings of teeth exhibited, and asked, why do we find a higher 

 form in association with a lower ? 



Mr. E. T. Newton remarked on the little that was known of 

 fossils from that part of Africa, and thought the Deer- antler alluded 

 to by Dr. Woodward even more interesting than the Horse's tooth. 

 The teeth of the Recent and Pleistocene Horses were extremely 

 difficult totdistinguish, and he thought the tooth exhibited might 

 have belonged to one of the existing African species. Was there 

 any other evidence as to the probable age of the beds ? The 

 Deer would seem to indicate earlier beds than could be inferred 

 from the presence of the Horse. 



Dr. Woodwaed observed that the remains came from different 

 deposits, but the piece of Deer's antler was certainly associated 

 with the tooth of Horse. 



The Peesident said that amongst some remains brought from the 

 Soudan was a tooth decided to have been that of a very large 

 Antelope. 



* See ' Cat. Foss. Mamm. Brit. Mus.' pt. iv. p. 108 (1886). 



