THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
121 
Fossils found in the Candia Fissure. 
1. Bones & teeth of dormice, Myoxus Melitensis. 
2. Bones of aquatic birds, Cygnus Falconeri. 
3. Remains of Elephas Antiquus (1 ). 
4. Remains of E. Falconeri. 
The Shantin Fissure is a rent which is situa- 
ted at about a half a mile from the Ganclia cave, 
between the villages of Micabiba and Luca. 
Like the Gandia Fissure it was found to /be 
filled with red earth and fragments of limestone, 
intermixed with which were the molars, tusks, 
ribs, and vertebrae of several species of elephants. 
Among the most noteworthy of the specimens 
found in this gap was a portion of a tusk, one 
foot nine inches in length, and seventeen inches 
in circumference. If is still to be seen in the 
Valletta museum. 
M The Zebbug Cave : — In the gorge that lies bet- 
ween the Marsa and the villages of Siggieui and 
Zebbug there are several caverns in the Globi- 
gerina Limestone. It was while examining these 
in 1859 that Oapt Spratt discovered this fissure, 
the measurements of which are 75 feet long, Ob 
feet high, with a width that varies from feet 
to a few inches. Dr. Falconer, (2) Mr. Busk and 
Mr. Parker (3) gave a lengthy description of the 
fossils that Capt Spratt obtained from this rent 
among which whese abundant remains of elephants, 
and birds. 
The Middle Cave , the Malak Cave, and the 
Mnaidra Gap. These three caves, which are si- 
tuated on the southern coast of Malta, in close 
proximity to the ruins of Mnaidra, were disco- 
vered and excavated by Dr. Adams in 1866. A 
careful examination of their contents, led to the 
discovery of an osseous breccia that contained a 
great abundance of the remains of a gigantic 
dormouse {Myoxus Melitensis) of land birds, (An- 
dres), and (Cygnus Falconeri) (1). In the Mna- 
dra cave, the tusks and molars of elephants were 
dso found in great profusion. 
(1; See Falconers memoirs. Vol. 11. pp. 176. 251. 
(2) Falconer' s Pal. Mem. Vol. 11. p. 305. 
(3) Proc. Geol. Soc. Vol. XXIII. p. 287. op. at 
IF. R. Parket , u Preliminary notes on some fossil 
Ards from the Zebbug Cave. Malta, Trans. 
Zool. Soc. Vol. VI. p. 119, 
Unlike the deposits in most of the other caves, 
these were in each case, sealed down by thick 
layers of stalagmite, beneath which the organic 
remains were discovered. 
Although, the caves were well explored, still 
much remains for the interested observer. Large 
quantities of the deposit are still in situ , from 
which with a little care the bones and teeth of 
the ancient animals, of Malta may be easily 
extracted. About twenty yards to the N. West of 
the Middle cave there is a talus of bone breccia 
lying on the slopes, the block of which literally 
teem with the bones and molars of hippopotami. 
The Benhisa Gap: is a small creek, situated 
at the south eastern extremity of Malta, and is 
so called on account of its proximity to the tower 
.of the same name. 
Adams examined it in 1864 and found it to con- 
tain a heterogeneous mass of pebbles intermixed 
with red earth and elephantine remains, together 
with the bones of freshwater tortoises (1), of 
dormice, and of large birds. 
Altogether he collected the remains of about 
two dozen elephants, the greater portion of which 
were referable to the pigmy elephant E. Falconeri. 
St. Leonard's Fissure : — This is the only ossi- 
ferous care or fissure that has yet been discovered 
on the northen coast of Malta. 
It is situated on the coast a fer hundred yards 
to the north of the village of St. Leonards, and 
about a mile and a half to the east of Ricasoll 
The gap contained a quantity of grey calcareous 
drift, in which Adams found some molars of the 
dwarf elephant Elephas. Falconeri. 
The Melleha Cave : — This cave occurred in the 
Upper Coralline Limestone, in close proximity to 
the Church of Melleha. In 1863 Dr. Adams 
found several teeth and portions of tusks refera- 
ble to Hippopotami Pentlancli , (1) and Capt. 
Spratt gave an interesting description of the 
conglomerate that occurs there, and in which 
similar teeth and bones were afterwards found. 
The preceding resume of the work that has 
been done in the Malta caves is necessarily a brief 
one. My object will however be accomplished if I 
(1). Adams “ On some bones of fossil chelonians 
from Malta ” Quapt.J ourn.Geol.Soc.v.XXII. p. 59 4 . 
(1 ) T. A. B. Spratt, “On the bone caves of 
Melleha! Quart, Journ. Geol, Soc. XXIII. p. 2S3, 
