Page:Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, vol. 28.djvu/564

468 that Hippopotamus major bred in this country, and was not a mere summer visitant, as some have formerly supposed.

The extraordinary difference, in proportions and also in form, between the two metatarsals above noticed is well worthy of remark; for it is so great that, under other circumstances, it might fairly have been assumed that they belonged to distinct species.

The comparative slenderness of the younger bone (fig. 2, Pl. XXIX.), which in that respect stands to the other as 730 to 927, at once strikes the eye, whilst in the form of the shaft also they differ very considerably. In the older bone the anterior and posterior surfaces are hollowed or concave from side to side, particularly the latter, the hollow being bounded on either side by a prominent ridge; whilst in the younger bone both surfaces are convex, and there is, on the posterior surface only, a very faint ridge on the tibial border. The facet, however, by which the fourth metatarsal articulates with the third is of the same form and shape in each. There is no appearance of a bursal (?) facet on the extremity of the hinder apophysis, such as may be seen in most metatarsals of the recent Hippopotamus. Comparison of the figures will serve to show at once the extraordinary difference between these two metacarpals, and to indicate also how closely the younger of the two approaches the proportions of the same bone in ''Hipp. amphibius''.

It is not easy to assign the age of the individual to whom the frontal bone belonged; from its size, however, and porous structure, it would seem impossible that it could have formed part of the skeleton of the same individual as that which afforded the detached tibial epiphysis and probably also the slenderer metatarsal bone, and which must have nearly reached its full stature, the epiphysis in question measuring very nearly 5 inches in the antero-posterior direction, or from the point of the tuberosity to the hinder border of the inner condyloid facet.

4. Bos.—The bovine remains are very numerous, most of them of very large size, and obviously of great antiquity. In all probability they belong to Bos primigenius; but as they vary somewhat in dimensions and character, some may perhaps be referred to Bison priscus.

6. Cervus.—The next most numerous remains are:—a. Those of a very large species of Cervus, apparently equal in size to 'C. canadensis, and with the brow-antler arising immediately above the burr, or even from it, and turning downwards, as in the Clacton specimens, to which form I should be inclined to refer the larger cervine remains and antlers (C. clactoniensis, Falc., C. Browni, B. Dawk.). b. A few relics, however, of a smaller deer, no doubt C. elaphus, also occur, amongst which are a perfect astragalus and a nearly perfect calcaneum of opposite feet, whence, perhaps, it may be surmised