MKMOIR OF CAMPER. 
73 
dentium molariiim corona, rkomhis didincia ; of 
which the only accurate translation is to be found in 
an examination of the plates, or of specimens. 
The debris of the fossil ele[)hants which are found, 
whether near the surface, or at greater depths, ac- 
cording to our author, appear to belong to two dis- 
tinct species, if not genera ; and, judging from the 
form of the cranium, and the minute structure of 
the molares, the one approximates to the Asiatic, 
and the other to tlie African variety. The former 
•s the Elephas primngenius of Blumenbach — the 
mammoth of Russia; and the other is the gigantic 
Hippopotamus of Buffon and Daubenton — ihe false 
elephant of Dr William Hunter, — the mastodon of 
America, which Camper, in 1775, contended was 
most closely allied with the true elephant. 
His observations on the bones of the head are 
also very interesting. “ The cranium considered 
externally, exhibits a larger volume than the brain 
'■equires ; but this formation was necessary to aug- 
ment the surface of the bone which is required for 
the muscles. It was absolutely necessary that the 
muscles of the lower jaw, those of the proboscis, and 
of the neck, should be endowed with great power, 
or in other words, should consist of many fibres, the 
attachment of which requires a large surface ; and 
moreover, they require to be inserted at a convenient 
distance from the centre of motion of each of these 
parts. A simple bony covering, similar to that 
which envelopes the brain of carnivorous animals. 
