[Illustration: Fig. 266.--Skeleton of the Mammoth (_Elephas
primigenius_). Portions of the integument still adhere to the
head, and the thick skin of the soles is still attached to the
feet. Post-Pliocene.]
Coming to the _Proboscideans_, we find that the _Mastodons_ seem
to have disappeared in Europe at the close of the Pliocene period,
or at the very commencement of the Post-Pliocene. In the New World,
on the other hand, a species of Mastodon (_M. Americanus_ or _M.
Ohioticus_) is found abundantly in deposits of Post-Pliocene
age, from Canada to Texas. Very perfect skeletons of this species
have been exhumed from morasses and swamps, and large individuals
attained a length (exclusive of the tusks) of seventeen feet and
a height of eleven feet, the tusks being twelve feet in length.
Remains of _Elephants_ are also abundant in the Post-Pliocene
deposits of both the Old and the New World. Amongst these, we
find in Europe the two familiar Pliocene species _E. Meridionales_
and _E. Antiquus_ still surviving, but in diminished numbers.
With these are found in vast abundance the remains of the
characteristic Elephant of the Post-Pliocene, the well-known
"Mammoth" (Elephas primigenius_), which is accompanied in North
America by the nearly-allied, but more southern species, the
_Elephas Americanus_. The Mammoth (fig.
Pages:
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530