admitted to be that which points to the Bos longifrons as the species that would be domesticated by the aborigines of Britain before the Roman invasion. Had the Bos primigenius been the source, we might have expected the Highland and Welsh cattle to have retained some of the characteristics of their great progenitor, and to have been distinguished from other breeds by their superior size, and the length of their horns. The kyloes and the runts are, on the contrary, remarkable for their small size, and are characterised either by short horns, as in the Bos longifrons, or by the entire absence of these weapons."

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From what has been advanced, we may conclude that three well characterised types of Bovidæ existed in great numbers contemporaneously with the extinct species of Elephants, and other pachyderms, and were not extirpated till within a comparatively recent period; their remains occur in the most ancient post-pliocene deposits, and in the peat-bogs, and debris of existing marshes and rivers: they form therefore a link between the present and the past, uniting the extinct mammalian faunas with those of modern times.

1 "Brit. Fossil Mammals," p. 514.

CHAPTER IV.

PART IV.

FOSSIL CARNIVORA OF THE CAVERNS.

FOSSIL CARNIVORA OF THE CAVES-CAVE OF GAILENREUTH-FOSSIL BEARS OF THE CAVERNS-URSUS SPELÆUS-URSUS PRISCUS-MACHAIRODUS-MACHAIRODUS LATIDENS, FROM KENT'S CAVERN.

FOSSIL CARNIVORA OF THE CAVERNS.-The fossil bones and teeth of numerous species of Carnivora, as the Lion, Tiger, Bear, Cat, Dog, &c. abound in fissures and caverns, in breccias and conglomerates, and in drifted sand and gravel. The remains of the large Pachyderms and Ruminants are for the most part found buried in the superficial alluvial deposits; but those of the carnivora, although occasionally entombed with the herbivora in Drift, are generally imbedded in the floors of extensive fissures or caverns in stratified rocks. In some instances, such immense quantities of bones and teeth of individuals of all ages, and belonging to but one or two species occur, as to render it probable that these caves were for a long period the dens of the extinct species of Bears, Wolves, Hyenas, Tigers, &c. whose bones they enclose.

Another remarkable geological condition in which fossil carnivora occur, is that of an ossiferous, or bone-breccia; that is, a conglomerate formed of fragments of limestone and bones, cemented together into a hard rock, by a reddish calcareous concretion. This breccia is found in almost all the islands on the shores of the basin of the Mediterranean Sea; as for example, at Gibraltar, Cette, Nice, Cerigo, Corsica, Palermo, &c.

The most celebrated ossiferous caverns are situated in Franconia, and in numerous parts of the Hartz. That of Gailenreuth has long been known and frequented for its fossil treasures, which principally consist of the bones and teeth of extinct species of bears; skeletons have been found of animals of all ages, from the adult to the cub but a few days old.1 There are numerous caverns in the neighbouring district, some of which are equally rich in the remains of carnivora ;2 fossils of a like nature are also found in the consolidated gravel and drift of various parts of Germany, and in the fissures of rocks containing iron-ore, at Kropp, in Carniola.

In Australia, caverns with ossiferous breccia are numerous; but the bones belong to extinct marsupial animals of genera still existing in the country: while in the New Zealand caves, the bones hitherto obtained are those of the Moa and other extinct colossal brevipennate birds, (ante, p. 104.)

3

OSSIFEROUS CAVES OF ENGLAND. - In England, several caverns presenting similar phenomena have been discovered. That of Kirkdale, near Kirby Moorside, Yorkshire, is well known from the celebrity it acquired by the description and illustration of its contents by Dr. Buckland. This cave, or rather fissure, for its dimensions were too limited to merit the name of cavern, was situated in oolitic limestone; it was two hundred and fifty feet long, from two to fourteen high, and six or seven wide. The floor was occupied by a bed of indurated mud, covered over with a thick crust of stalagmite; the roof and sides being invested with a sparry coating, as is commonly the case in the fissures of limestone rocks.* From this cave were obtained numerous bones of hyenas, associated with bones, more or less fractured, of a species of

1 See "Wonders of Geology," 6th edit. p. 176.

2 A highly interesting account of the Ossiferous Caves of the Hartz and Franconia, by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart., is published in "Geol. Proc." vol. ii. p. 94, for 1834.

3 Dr. Buckland's celebrated work "Reliquiæ Diluvianæ," contains an admirable description of these caverns and their contents, with numerous plates. The student, in consulting this volume, must separate the facts, from the diluvial theory, which, at the period of its publication (1823), they were supposed by Dr. Buckland, and other eminent geologists, to confirm. See" Wonders of Geology," 6th edit. p. 179.

4 For a general description of the cave at Kirkdale, see "Wonders of Geology," p. 180; and for details, "Reliq. Diluv."

tiger, bear, wolf, fox, weasel, elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, horse, deer, ox, hare, or rabbit, mouse, water-rat, and fragments of skeletons of ravens, pigeons, larks, and ducks. Many of the bones exhibited marks of having been gnawed and crushed by the teeth of some animals. From all the facts observed, and which are detailed by Dr. Buckland with his wonted graphic power, it is inferred that the cave was inhabited for a considerable period by Hyenas; that many of the remains found there were of species carried in and devoured by those animals, and that in some instances the hyenas preyed upon each other. The portions of bone referable to the elephant are supposed to prove that occasionally the large mammalia were also obtained for food; but it is probable that the smaller animals were either drifted in by currents of water, or fell into the chasm through fissures now closed up by stalactitical incrustations.

Kent's Cave near Torquay, Oreston Cave near Plymouth, and several other caves in Devonshire, have yielded great numbers of bones and teeth of Carnivora, and of Pachydermata.' Kent's Cavern, or Hole, has proved the most productive ossiferous cavern in England; its vicinity to Torquay rendering it easy of access, it has been thoroughly explored. An extensive collection of fossil bones was obtained from this cavern by the late Rev. J. MacEnery; comprising, in addition to the usual extinct Carnivora, skulls and teeth of a species of Badger (Meles taxus), Otter (Lutra vulgaris), Pole-cat (Putorius vulgaris), Stoat or Ermine (P. erminius). The choicest specimens in that collection were obtained for the British Museum, and are deposited in Room VI.

In the western district of the Mendip Hills, in Somersetshire, there are several ossiferous fissures and caves. The most interesting are those of Hutton, on the northern escarpment of Bleadon Hill; and of Banwell, lying about a mile to the east of Hutton. They contain remains of the two species of cavern bears, one (Ursus spelœus) of immense size and strength; and of a species of Tiger, Hyena, Wolf, Fox, Deer, Ox, and Elephant.2

From the caves at Hutton, the Rev. D. Williams obtained the milk-teeth and other remains of a calf-elephant, about

1 "Reliquiæ Diluv." p. 67. 2 See "Wonders of Geology," p. 181.

two years old, and those of a young tiger, just shedding its milk-teeth; also the grinders of a young horse, that were casting their coronary surfaces, and remains of two species of hyena.

In the modern silt of our alluvial districts, the remains of carnivorous animals, formerly indigenous in this island, are occasionally met with; and the skeleton of the Brown Bear (a species which inhabited Scotland eight centuries ago), and of the Wolf, whose extinction is of a yet later date, have been discovered. The Woodwardian Museum at Cambridge contains an entire skull of the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos), found in the Manea Fen of Cambridgeshire; and in an ancient fresh-water deposit, near Bacton, in Norfolk, the right lower jaw of the Ursus spelaus has been discovered.

Thus the remains of fossil Carnivora discovered in England comprise several kinds of Bear, including the two species of the caverns of Germany (U. priscus and U. spelœus); and of Tiger, Hyena, Wolf, Fox, &c.

CAVE OF GAILENREUTH.-For many centuries certain caves in Germany have been celebrated for their osseous remains, particularly those in Franconia. The most remarkable of these caverns is that of Gailenreuth, which lies to the northwest of the village of that name, on the left bank of the river Wiesent, on the confines of Bayreuth.' The entrance to this cave is in the face of a perpendicular rock, and leads to a series of chambers from fifteen to twenty feet high, and several hundred feet in extent, terminating in a deep chasm. The cave is quite dark; and the icicles and pillars of stalactite, reflected by the light of the torches, which it is necessary to use, present a highly picturesque effect. The floor is literally paved with bones and fossil teeth, and the pillars and corbels of stalactite also contain similar remains. The bones are generally scattered and broken, but not rolled; they are lighter and less solid than recent bones, and are often encrusted with stalactites. Three-fourths of the bones belong to two species of Bear (Ursus), the remainder to Hyenas, Tigers, Wolves, Foxes, Gluttons, Weasels, and other small

1 See "Medals of Creation," vol. ii. p. 869, for an interesting account of the present state of these caverns, by my friend, Major Willoughby Montague.