OIIYCTOLOGY. 
and in other parts of Europe: and in the 
opinion of St. Fond, founded not only on 
the discoveries of Pallas and others, but 
on his own observations made on the im- 
mense collection of Merck, joined with that 
of the Landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt, are 
of the species with double horns. An 
entire body ot an animal of this species, 
still possessing the skin, fat, and muscles, 
has been dug up near the river Willioni, in 
the eastern part of Siberia, from under a 
hill, which is covered with ice the greatest 
part of the year. St. Fond states, iit con- 
firmation ot the above opinion, that another 
head obtained by Pallas from Siberia; one 
existing in the cabinet of the Elector of 
Manheim; and another in the cabinet of 
Merck, are all apparently similar to the 
head of the double horned rhinoceros of 
Africa. 
This circumstance, so contradictory to 
the opinion he had formed, of these remains 
of large animals having been brought by 
floods from the eastern parts of the globe ; 
and which opinion was confirmed by dis’- 
coveriiig that no remains of the African 
crocodile had been found in Europe ; led 
him to further research, by which he found 
reason to suppose that, in fact, the rhino- 
ceros, which corresponded with all the 
fossil remains, which he had seen, was the 
rhinoceros of Sumatra. By ascertaining 
this circumstance, the difiiculty was re- 
moved, since Sumatra being separated 
from the peninsula of India merely by the 
Straits of Malacca, this animal might also 
have formerly existed there. ' 
Much remains to be ascertained with 
respect to the fossil remains of elephants, 
of which considerable numbers have been 
found in various parts of England, France 
Germany, and Italy ; but no where so 
abundantly as in Siberia. In America in- 
deed the remains of an unknown species 
of tliis animal are also very abundant. There 
appears to be only two species of elephants 
now in existence ; one (the Asiatic) being 
distinguished by its grinders being divided 
into transverse and nearly parallel plates 
and the other (the African) having these 
plates disposed in lozenge-like forms. 
The elephantine remains which have been 
found in Siberia have been supposed to 
have belonged to no existing species ; for 
though the teeth are formed of plates dis- 
posed parallel to each other, as in the 
Asiatic, these plates are said to be thinner, 
and consequently more numerous; but this 
distinction is by no meqns established. The 
remains of elephants discovered in this coun- 
try seem referable, in most instances, to 
the Asiatic. 
With respect to the elephant whose re- 
mains have been found in America, the 
tooth of which differs essentially from all 
known fossil or recent species," in having 
its crown cuspidated and covered with 
enamel, (Plate II. fig. 6) there exists at pre- 
sent every reason for supposing it to be of 
a species now extinct. The generally 
adopted opinion that this animal was of a 
carnivorous nature is by no means establish- 
ed ; but is indeed contradicted by the as- 
sertion that the stomach of one of these 
animals has been found filled with vege- 
table matter. One of these animals, with 
its flesh, skin, and hair, has been lately 
found in Siberia. » 
The remains of an animal of an enormous 
size has been found at Paraguay, at no great 
distance from the river Plata, which being 
properly arranged has been formed into a 
skeleton and placed in the cabinet of na- 
tural history at Madrid. This animal, 
twelve feet in length and six in height, is 
distinguished, as well as by its general form, 
By the largeness of its claws ; on which ac- 
count, Mr. Jefferson, who has described 
some remains of a similar animal in the 
Philosophical Transactions of Philadelphia, 
has named it the megalonyx. The cele- 
brated Cuvier has arranged this animal with 
the sloths ; but Faujas St. Fond, concluding 
that an animal so enormous was never in- 
tended to climb the trunks of trees, thinks 
he should not be thus classed ; and wishes 
him to be held, as it were, in reserve, until 
some discoveries should supply us with 
more satisfactory notions respecting its na- 
ture. 
In various parts of Scotland, and of 
France ; in Tuscany, the Veronese, and in 
NoTrth America, have been found the fossil 
remains of some animal which has been sup- 
posed to be a variety of the urus of Julius 
Caesar, or of the bison. But these horns, 
which are of very considerable size, the 
bone of each horn exceeding two feet in 
length, appear to have belonged to a differ- 
ent species of animal from any which is at 
present known. The observations which 
have been made on these fossils, particular- 
ly by the liberal and industrious Faujas 
St. Fond, give great reason for believing 
that two species of animals have exist- 
ed, bearing horns of this enormous mag- 
nitude. These remains are found to exist 
in Siberia along with the bones and horns 
