The maxillaries have two well-developed canines, with long, laterally
compressed fangs, recurved and becoming circular in section at the
crowns. The diastema between the canine and the first premolar is
proportionate to that in _Procamelus_.
Ithygrammodon cameloides, _sp. nov._
_Specific characteristics._
The _premaxillaries_ (See Plate X., Figs. 1-4) are long, with a wide,
strongly upward curving process; from the premaxillary symphysis to
the third incisor, they increase in thickness; then narrow slightly
to the maxillary symphysis. The upper margin of the process is smooth
and narrow, curving very gradually upwards; while the lower margin
runs more abruptly up, giving to it a strongly pointed curvature.
The outer surfaces are smooth and slightly convex; the inner are
marked by a wide deep canal running from just behind the premaxillary
symphysis into the maxilla.
The great size of this groove may perhaps be a generic
characteristic; as it is much larger than in _Protolabis_ (Plate X.,
Fig. 6), the modern camels, or any of the other ungulates, recent or
fossil, that have come under our notice.
The premaxillaries do not co-ossify, as the spines are smooth on
their inner side. Just outside the spines, and in front of the
deep groove, the bones are marked by numerous small pits for the
attachment of the muscles of the upper lip.
The portion of the maxilla in which the first premolar is situated,
shows that the maxillaries swell considerably on their alveolar
border; for the canine then narrow gradually for the first premolar
diastema; then swell for its reception, and become very thin in the
diastema between the first and second premolars.
_The Teeth._--I. 3/?, C. 1/?, Pm. (1+)/?, M. ?/?.
The incisors have quite deep fangs, are cylindrical in shape,
vertical in position, and have no basal ridge.
The crown of the first is worn perfectly smooth, flat across the
top, unlike the wearing exhibited in any modern form that has come
under our notice. The others have their crowns broken, but indicate a
nearly subequal series, with the last slightly the largest.
The canines have long, recurved compressed fangs, with rather short
crowns, which are circular in section. They are much larger than in
_Procamelus_ or _Protolabis_ of Pliocene, or the modern camels. (See
X., Figs. 3, 5, 6, 7.)
The first premolar is the only one of the molar series preserved; its
crown is chipped considerably, but nevertheless shows that it had one
fang and no basal ridge. It resembles the incisors in form, but is
slightly narrower and longer.
The genus _Ithygrammodon_ has been placed for the present under
the _genera incertæ sedis_; but its chief features point to an
unmistakable affinity with the ruminants. It is probable that
_Ithygrammodon_ was the representative and the ancestor, in the
eocene age, of that type of ungulates of which the camel and llama
are the modern forms.
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