174 
EXTINCT MONSTERS. 
suggested by any of the small species of tortoises now living in 
India, and consequently is inclined to think that the monster was 
seen by man many centuries ago, long before he began to write 
history. We have already alluded to the large number of 
mammalian forms of life that were contemporary with the 
Sivatherium and Colossochelys, but if we examine this old Sivalik 
fauna we find it presents several very interesting features. In 
the first place, it exhibits a wonderful richness and variety of 
forms, compared to the living fauna of India. Take the pachy- 
dermata, for instance — an old order established by Cuvier to 
include the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephant, etc. — and we 
find there were, in the period under consideration, about five 
times the number of species now known in India. Elephants and 
mastodons, too, of various species abounded. So it is with the 
ruminants ; besides a large number of species allied to those now 
living, such as the ox, buffalo, bison, deer, antelope, musk-deer, 
and others, there were giraffes and camels, as well as the strange 
Sivatherium. And so it is with the other orders, such as carnivora, 
rodents, insectivora, etc. 
Secondly, this great and varied fauna of the past shows 
a striking resemblance to that of India at the present day. 
Darwin found the same resemblance in South America ; and now 
it is accepted as a general law, that the living fauna of a country 
resembles its extinct fauna, especially that of the latest geological 
period. Dr. Falconer found that India’s living fauna is but, as it 
were, a remnant of that which it once possessed. 
Thirdly, this extinct Sivalik fauna presents a singular mixture 
of old and new forms. And lastly, it points to a very different 
geographical distribution of animals. Thus the giraffe the hippo- 
potamus, and the ostrich are now confined to Africa. Facts such 
as these serve to throw light on the geography of the past ; but 
we cannot stay to enlarge on that subject here. 
Much might be said about the fossil elephants and mastodons 
from the Sivalik Hills, so fully described by Dr. Falconer, but since 
