They differ, however, from the Tapirs, amongst
other characters, in the fact that both the fore and the hind
feet possessed three toes each; whereas in the latter there are
four toes on each fore-foot, and the hind-feet alone are three-toed.
The remains of _Paloeotheria_ have been found in such abundance in
certain localities as to show that these animals roamed in great
herds over the fertile plains of France and the south of England
during the later portion of the Eocene period. The accompanying
illustration (fig. 229) represents the notion which the great
Cuvier was induced by his researches to form as to the outward
appearance of _Paloeotherium magnum_. Recent discoveries, however,
have rendered it probable that this restoration is in some important
respects inaccurate. Instead of being bulky, massive, and more
or less resembling the living Tapirs in form, it would rather
appear that _Paloeotherium magnum_ was in reality a slender,
graceful, and long-necked animal, more closely resembling in
general figure a Llama, or certain of the Antelopes.
[Illustration: Fig. 229.--Outline of _Paloeotherium magnum_,
restored. Upper Eocene, Europe. (After Cuvier.)]
The singular genus _Anchitherium_ forms a kind of transition
between the _Paloeotheria_ and the true Horses (_Equidoe_). The
Horse (fig. 230, D) possesses but one fully-developed toe to
each foot, this being terminated by a single broad hoof, and
representing the _middle_ toe--the _third_ of the typical
five-fingered or five-toed limb of Quadrupeds in general.
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