its remains in North America as far south as Mexico, and in Europe from the frozen seas to Rome. In Great Britain it has been traced throughout England, Wales, and the south of Scotland, and remains have been found in two widely distant localities in Ireland.[1] In fact, of all the ancient British mammals the Mammoth was evidently one of the most common, and seems to have survived the Elephant next to be mentioned. Of its contemporaneous existence with man in Europe, we have evidence not only in the discovery of stone implements along with its remains, but a few years since a fragment of the tusk of a Mammoth was found in the cave of La Madelaine in the Dordogne, on which was a rude but faithful representation of this hairy Elephant, etched by means of the stone implement of some cave dweller of the period, when, together with the Reindeer and the Bear, it roamed over Southern France.
The Ancient Elephant, as it has been named, was, as far as our islands are concerned, not so gigantic in stature as the Mammoth, and was distinguished by the possession of grinders formed on a very different pattern. Taken in conjunction with other differences in the skeleton, these characters afford as well-marked distinctions between it and the Mammoth as those which exist between the African and Asiatic Elephants. The Ancient Elephant has been more frequently found in middle and southern Europe than in the north-west; nevertheless, from the quantities of teeth and bones found in England, the probability is that it was at one time quite common here. In regard to geographical distribution, the exuviæ hitherto discovered show that it was confined to Europe. The tusks of the Mammoth curved considerably upwards, whilst those of the Ancient Elephant much resembled the tusks of living species, and were nearly straight. In point of size, neither of the fossil species very much exceeded the largest African Elephant, although the bull Mammoth, as a rule, was considerably taller than its living representative.
Admitting points of distinction between these two extinct elephantine animals, we are naturally led to inquire how far they differed from the Asiatic and African Elephants of the present day. It may be stated generally that in its skeleton the Mammoth is closely allied to the Asiatic Elephant; so alike are they, indeed,
- ↑ Cavan and Waterford.
