The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 10 (of 10)Beddard, Frank E. (Frank Evers)
Science
The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 10 (of 10)
Beddard, Frank E. (Frank Evers)
Animals; Mammals
Among the most celebrated of these remains are a few jaws discovered in the
Stonesfield slates near Oxford, and examined by Buckland, Cuvier, and some
of the most eminent naturalists of the beginning of the last century. These
jaws have been lately submitted to a careful re-examination by Mr.
Goodrich,[49] who has increased our knowledge of the subject by exposing
from the rocky matrix in which the jaws lie fresh details of their
structure; it is probable therefore that now all that there is to be learnt
from these specimens has been recorded.
_Amphitherium prevostii_ was a creature about the size of a Rat. Its jaw
was first brought to Dean Buckland about the year 1814, and described six
years later. Buckland thought the jaw to be that of an Opossum, an opinion
in which Cuvier concurred. The jaw, however, is marked by a groove running
along its length, and this groove was regarded by de Blainville as evidence
of the composition of the jaw out of more than one element, which would
naturally lead to its being regarded as the jaw of a reptile.[50] This
species and another named after Sir Richard Owen have a dental formula
which, like that of the Marsupials, is large as compared with that of the
Placental mammals; it runs: I 4, C 1, Pm 5, M 6--_i.e._ 64 teeth
altogether. This is a larger number than we find in any existing Marsupial.
But as in Marsupials, and in certain Insectivora also, the angle of the jaw
is inflected. These teeth are of the tritubercular pattern with a "heel."
They are in fact closely like those of the living _Myrmecobius_; but not,
it should be remarked, unlike those of certain Insectivora.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account