284 



THE GEOLOGIST. 



determined by Prof. Owen, from fossil teeth and fragments 

 of jaw discovered in a stratum of the Eocene tertiary period, 

 at Kyson, near Woodbridge, Suffolk. The anatomical 

 characters and comparisons by which this very remarkable 

 fact was established, were given in detail. The evidence was 

 stated to be as complete as that which had proved the 

 existence of another quadrumanous species, a long-armed 

 ape, in a contemporary formation in the south of France. 

 The most generally interesting and remarkable fossils de- 

 scribed in the present part of the Report, were those of the 

 large carniverous quadrupeds, as the bear, tiger, leopard, and 

 hyena. With respect to the genus Ursus, Prof. Owen com- 

 mented on the difference which England presented, as com- 

 pared with continental Europe, in the number of fossil 

 bones of bears in diluvial caverns and drift. These, which 

 are so abundant on the continent, are very rare in England, 

 where, on the other hand, the remains of the hyena pre- 

 dominate, which are very rare fossils in the German bone 

 caves. He thought it worthy of consideration how far this 

 difference in the geographical distribution of the two genera, 

 at the ante- diluvial, or ante-glacial epoch, indicated the 

 insular separation of Great Britain at that period. The 

 richest depository of bears' bones at present known in En- 

 gland, is the cave called Rentes Hole, near Torquay. The 

 oldest depository of ursine fossils in England, was stated to be 

 the tertiary red craig, below the so-called mammaliferous 

 crag ; the locality named was Woodbridge. After enume- 

 rating the several caverns and other localities, in which the 

 remains of a large species of the hyena have been found. 

 Prof. Owen next entered upon the question of its character 

 and affinities to the known existing species. The ancient 

 British cave hyena more closely resembles the HycBna crocuta 

 of South Africa, than the HycBna vulgaris of North Africa 

 and Asia Minor. The numbers of the Hy<£na spelcEa in 



