270 
EXTINCT MONSTERS 
skull of this creature that it had a fairly large proboscis, but, | 
unlike other elephants of the present time, the two tusks are in | 
the lower jaw and curve downwards instead of upwards. Dean 
Buckland came to the conclusion 
that this creature was largely 
aquatic in its habits, but this is 
not certain. However, the aquatic 
habits of the tapir, a distant rela- 
tion of the elephant, show that 
this conclusion is by no means an 
impossible one. It is not easy to 
imagine how such tusks were used 
under water, as Buckland sug- 
gested, to grub up aquatic plants ; 
but on land they could certainly 
be used for raking up the ground, 
and perhaps in pulling down the 
branches of trees. A length of 
eighteen feet has been attributed to this creature, of which the 
skull is shown in Fig. 106, but this is probably an over-estimate. 
A restoration is shown in Plate XLVII. 
THE MAMMOTH \ 
\ 
Many are the traditions and tales that have clustered round 
the Mammoth.^ He is, however, no fabulous product of the 
1 The word Mammoth is thought by Pallas and Nordenskiold to be of 
Tartar origin. The former asserts that the name originated in the word 
mamma^ which signifies earth (the Mammoth being found frozen in the earth). 
It was introduced into the languages of Western Europe about two centuries 
ago, from the Russian. But other writers have attempted to prove that it is a 
corruption of the Arabic word Behemoth^ or “ great beast,” which in the Book 
Fig. 106. — Skull of Dinotherium 
giganteum, from Eppelsheim. The 
lower jaw is a cast. An examination 
of the skull at the top will show that 
it is considerably crushed in. 
