45 



LINCOLNSHIRE MAMMALS. 



ARTHUR SMITH, F.L.S., F.E.S., 



Grimsby. 



I\ 1886, the late Mr. John Cordeaux, in an article in 'The 

 Naturalist,' said, ' Up to the present date Lincolnshire compares 

 unfavourably with other counties in having- no published list of 

 the Mammalia found within its bounds,' and for several years 

 I have anxiously awaited such a catalogue, but in vain. 



I do not dare to hope that many more new species will be 

 added to the present list, but authentic records of any of the 

 species enumerated, whether common or not, would be most 

 acceptable, for whilst some of the mammals may be common to 

 our northern district, with which I am best acquainted, it is 

 possible they may be of less frequent occurrence in the southern . 

 portion of the county ; or, on the other hand, it may be that 

 some species which are rarely recorded may be less rare if 

 searched for and records sent in. 



Nearly fifty species have been recorded for Lincolnshire, 

 and no doubt as time g'oes on this number will be rather less 

 than be added to. The Wild Cat, though of practically recent 

 occurrence, is extinct now, and the fact of the Otter being so 

 plentiful at this time may be the means of its extermination for 

 a time, as Otter Hounds are being brought into the county to 

 hunt the animals. Its wandering disposition, however, will 

 keep it with us so long as there are favourable waters by which 

 to make its abode. 



An account of our pre-historic mammals would be indeed 

 interesting, written as it should be by one acquainted with 

 methods of deduction as to their habits and distribution, and 

 evidences are fairly plentiful regarding the presence of many of 

 our early mammals. In the excavation of the docks, Grimsby, 

 Bos pi'imigeniiLS is represented by the finding of a horn core. 

 In the peat in Aylesby parish, bones of Bos longifrons^ Wolf 

 or larg-e dog, Red Deer (Cerzms elaphtis), and Wild Boar 

 have been dug up."^ 



* Remains of Red Deer, Horse {Bos Io)igifro)is), and Ox have been 

 obtained from the peat at South Ferriby, and a sketch of a pair of horn 

 cores of Bos primigeiiius from New Holland appears in 'The Naturalist' 

 for September 1903, p. 38r. Red Deer antlers have also been found in the 

 peat at Barton and New Holland. — T. S. 



1905 February i. 



