A history of land mammals in the western hemisphereScott, William Berryman
History
A history of land mammals in the western hemisphere
Scott, William Berryman
Mammals; Mammals, Fossil
(1) There was the same gradual increase in size from the earlier to the
later geological stages. Not that all the phyla kept equal pace in this
respect, and even within the same phylum it was the rule rather than the
exception to find larger and smaller contemporary species.
(2) In all of the early forms, up to the middle Miocene, the teeth were
low-crowned; after that time there was a decided increase in the height
of the teeth, though only in _†Elasmotherium_ was the fully hypsodont,
cement-covered crown attained. In the existing African Broad-Lipped
Rhinoceros (_Opsiceros simus_), which is a grazing animal, the high,
cement-covered teeth may also fairly be called hypsodont.
(3) In all of the lines, as in the other perissodactyl families, the
premolars gradually took on the pattern of the molars; only in the
†amynodonts were the premolars notably reduced in number and size.
(4) The three different modes of development of the anterior teeth,
exemplified by the true rhinoceroses, the †hyracodonts and †amynodonts
respectively, need not be recapitulated here. It is sufficient to call
attention to the fact that the three kinds of modification diverged
from a common starting-point such as may be seen in the middle Eocene
perissodactyls generally, and that in each series the transformation was
gradual.
(5) The modification of the skull followed several different courses, as
designated by the major and minor subdivisions of families, subfamilies
and phyla. The development of horns, whether single or double, in
transverse or longitudinal pairs, was the most important single influence
in transforming the skull, as determined by the mechanical adjustment
necessary to make these weapons effective, but even in the hornless
forms changes went on, and in all the phyla the skull departed more and
more widely from the primitive Eocene type in each succeeding geological
stage. The most aberrant form of skull was that of the hornless and
presumably aquatic _†Metamynodon_, in which the greatly shortened face,
high sagittal crest and extremely wide zygomatic arches were altogether
exceptional.
(6) When the history of any horned phylum is at all complete, the
development of the horns may be followed step by step from the marks
which they left upon the skull. As a rule, the story was one of gradual
enlargement, but, in one case at least, an incipient horn apparently
failed to enlarge and was eventually lost.
(7) In the light, slender and cursorial †hyracodonts the mode of
development resembled that of the horses, as appears in the elongation
of the neck, limbs and feet, in the enlargement of the median toe and
concomitant reduction of the lateral digits. Also, as in the horses, the
elongation of the limbs began to be noteworthy while the body-weight
was small and was consequently accompanied by great slenderness; as the
body-weight increased, the limbs became stouter, to yield the necessary
support.
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