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DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST PERFECT SPECIMENS OF ANIMAL REMAINS BROUGHT HOME BY
CAPTAIN BEECHEY FROM ESCHSCHOLTZ BAY, AND SELECTED BY DR. BUCKLAND TO BE
ENGRAVED IN PL. I, 2, 3 , (f OSSILS). ALL THESE SPECIMENS ARE DEPOSITED IN THE
BRITISH MUSEUM.
P l a t e I .— (F o s s ils .)
F ig . 1. L o w e r j a w o f e x t in c t e le p h a n t, c o n ta in in g tw o m o la r te e th .
2 . P ro f ile o f N o . 1, o n th e le ft sid e .
3. M o lar tooth of elephant.
I f we compare this jaw an d th e te e th with th e fossil jaw s and tee th described by-
C uvie r, we shall find th em to exhibit all th e leading characters pointed out by that
g re a t natura list, as distin g u ish in g th e fossil elephant from an y existing species.
F irs t. T h e te e th possess th a t broadness o f surface which is more constant in the
fossil tee th than eith e r th e g re a te r number or g re a te r thinness of th e component
laminae.
Secondly. T h e position o f th e te e th in th e jaw is a t a less acu te angle, and more
n e a rly p arallel than in th e re c en t species.
T h ird ly . T h e channel within th e chin a t th e ju n ctio n o f the two sides o f the jaw is
broader in proportion to its le n g th ; th e ex te rio r p ro jec tin g p o in t o f th e chin, also
a t the a p e x o f th e jaw, is n o t so prom in en t as in re c en t elephants, b u t tru n ca ted as
in th e fossil species. Compare this jaw with those o f fossil elephants engraved
in C u v ie r’s Ossemens Fossiles, vol. I. p i. I I . fig. I , 4 ,5 . PI. V. fig. 4 , 5. P l.V I I I .
fig. 1. PI. IX . fig. 8, 10. P I. X I . fig. 2.
4. A n ivory scoop, purchased by Captain Beechey from th e Esquimaux, an d made o f a
p ortion o f a v e ry larg e fossil tu s k ; it shows a t th e ex tremities o f th e excavated
p a r t a t A and B a p o in t th a t indicates th e axis o f th e tu s k ; this ivory is firm and
solid, and in n e a rly the same high sta te o f p reservation as th e entire tusks from
Eschscholtz Bay.
P l a t e I I .— (Fossils.)
l i g . I. E n tire tu sk o f an elephant, measuring te n fe et in th e curve and six inches in diameter
a t th e large st part, an d we ighing one h undred and s ix ty pounds.
2. A n o th e r tu sk o f an e lephant n in e fe et six inches in th e curve.
B o th these tusks are n ea rly p e rfe c t; two other tusks o f n ea rly th e same size
have marks o f having b een chopped with some c u ttin g in s trum e n t; this has prob
ably been done by the Esquimaux to ascertain th e ir solid ity and fitness for making
th e ir u ten sils: th e large scoop made o f fossil ivory—see P la te I.— (Fossils) fig. 4*—
shows th a t these people ap p ly th e fossil tusks to such purposes. T h e tusks which
are thus chopped appe ar to have been le ft on th e shore as unfit for use, on account
o f th e sh attered condition of th eir interior.
3, 4. L o n g itu d in a l view of the tusks re presented laterally in figs. 1, 2. T h e y both
possess th e same double curvature as th e tusks o f th e g re a t fossil elephant in the
Museum a t P e te rsb u rg h from th e icy cliff a t tlie mouth o f th e L en a , in Siberia.
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