The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-03-12

terrible horned monsters.n The most for
mtdahle OF these wass the tinoceras ingens.
IL was about twelve feet long without
the tail and weighed between two and
three tons. 1t resembled both the rhino-
ceros and the elephant. Its legs were ele-
phautiue and its feet may have been COW
cred with soft pads. But its body seems
like the body both Of the rhinoceros and
the hippopotamus. 1t had six bonY knots on
its skull, which served as horns. It was
one Of these types which biologists call gem
eralized, presenting characteristics of many
groups of our Qusdrupeds. hr. Hutchinson
also devotes q considerable space to the
bad Lands that strange western region
which has delighted so many biologists.
In these and several other like regions in
various parts of the world will no doubt be
found many a missing link Ia the chain of
life, many an offspring of nature as strange
and as terrible as those already revealed.
After the dinocerata lived another large
family Of American mammals, to which the
name Of brontops has been given. They
we're near ancestors of the rhinoceros. They
were larger than any of the dinocerata, IL
feet long and about s feet high. The
limbs - says Mr.. Hutchinson, ARE shorter
than those OF the elephant, which it nearly
equsled in size. AS in the tapir there were
four toes to the front limbs and three to the
hind limbs 1t was probably provided
"a
the tapir."
In India there is a region which, like the
| bad Lands ~ is rich III the remains of ex-
| tinct monsters. From this region, the "Liv-
aliK hills :" kmany skeletons and parts Of
| skeletons OF the mammalian age have been
brought to England, classified and reno-
waited From among these Mr.. Hutchinson
has selected two, the sivatherIum and the
| colossochelys. The stvatherium is unlike
| anything now living. Although at first
| glance it resembles some form Of deer, so
many things Immediately present them
selves in contradiction of this that the ami
NAL is soon given up as mystery. lt had
two pairs OF horns. like one kind Of ante
lope, teeth like giraffe, and nose like a
tapir.
In both the bad Lands and the LivaIik
hills, aside from the unusual forms. there
the remains of thousands and thousands of
animals and reptiles nearly akin to the ami
mails and reptiles OF to-day. In fact, nearly
every one of the species we have to-day
was then represented by four or five times
as many genera as have survived. The
earth is poor to-day III all the lower forms
Of life as compared to what it was 100 900
| years ago.
South America has not contributed many
| peculiar forms of ancient life. The two
most noted are also most curious-the giant
sloth and the giant armadillo that once
| lived in the famous Pampas region. One
specimen of the megatherium, or giant
sloth, shows "an animal eighteen feet in
| length. with bones more massive than those
| Of the elephant. For instance, the thigh
bone Is nearly thrice the thickness OF the
same bone in the largest OF existing eIe-
plants, the circumference being equal to
| the entire length.
lin the fore part of the body the skeleton
| is comparatively slender, but the hind
| quarters show enormous strength and
weight combined. The tail also is very
| powerful and massive. Prof. Owen has
| proved that this cumbrous creature. instead
of climbing up trees as modern sloths do,
actually pulled down the tree bodily or
broke it short off above the ground, sitting
upon its huge launches and tail as upon a
tripod while it grasped the trunk in its
long. powerful arms"
The glyptodon, or giant armadillo,
divided dominion with the giant sloth in
South America In the mammalian age.
| This great armored creature, which reached
a length of eight feet even more, had not
only q great shield upon its back, but an-
other upon its head and another upon its
tail. 1t survives to the present day, az
| does the sloth, in representatives Of much
smaller size and of pitlful comparative
strength.