126 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
[long 
early writers: a name erroneously transferred to the gi¬ 
gantic Mastodon (Mastodon ohioticus ). There are va¬ 
rious species of this latter genus, the osseous remains of 
which are now under arrangement, together with those of 
several species of Rhinoceros, Anoplotherium, Palaeothe- 
rium. Tapir, &c. 
In a distinct Case at the same side of this compartment 
is deposited the fossil human skeleton embedded in lime¬ 
stone, brought from Guadaloupe by Admiral the Hon. Sir 
Alexander Cochrane, and presented to the British Museum 
by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. 
The upright glass Cases on each side of the northern 
entrance into this Gallery contain a collection of Fossil 
Vegetable Remains, consisting chiefly of Coal plants (with 
coloured casts in plaster of Paris for the sake of exhibiting 
their forms more distinctly); a suite of impressions of parts 
of vegetables in bituminous marl state from Oeningen, &c.; 
an extensive collection of certain fossils from the blue clay 
of the cliffs in the isle of Sheppey, indiscriminately deno¬ 
minated fruits and seeds, although a considerable portion of 
them belongs to the class of Zoophytes. 
In the upright Glass Cases of the eastern wall of the 
centre compartment is deposited a collection of minerals 
from the Hartz mountains, presented by his late Majesty 
King George IV. 
The sculptured tortoise in the centre of the Gallery, 
placed on a round table inlaid with various antique mar¬ 
bles and other mineral substances, is wrought out of ne¬ 
phrite or jade. It was found on the banks of the Jumna, 
near the city of Allahabad, in Hindostan, brought to Eng¬ 
land by Lieutenant-General Kyd, and presented to the 
Museum by Thomas Wilkinson, Esq. 
