The Washington herald., 1914-08-16
FOSSIL remains
NNOTED Street
Prehistoric Beasts Dug Up in
Vicinity Of London S News
paper Row.
ONCE DEEP FOREST THERE
Excavations Reveal Bones of Prehis-
tone Lion. Mammoth. and Woolly
Rhinoceros.

A lion has been found in the middle
of Fleet street, London. II In true that II
Is a prehistoric lion. but this only makes
the md the more interesting.
II appears that the region OF which
Fleet street is now part was once a vast
swamp or forest. A few weeks ago, in the
course of excavations for the new Daily
Chronicle Offices, the workmen came upon
a number OF bones of various animals at
a depth of thirty-three feet below the
present level of the street and about
thirty yards from the place where pre-
historic remains were found In 1903.
The bones were forwarded to the South
Kensington Museum for examination.
and experts in the geological department
had no difficulty In Identifying them. DR..
Smith Woodward, keeper OF the geologi-
cal department Of the British Museum.
described one OF the specimens as a
beautiful piece of armbone Of a lion"
adding: We are very glad to have II,
because II Is the first of the kind which
the museum possesses."
Very Interesting Find.
DR.. Andrews, OF the geological depart
ment. into whose particular care the
relics came. says that the most interest
ing Is the bone Of the lion. How did
recognize it?' he said. Well. that is
quite simple. Scientifically. the fossil
may be described as the 'entepicondylar
foramen.' which is characteristic of the
cat tribe. Precisely the same formation
Is to be found In the humerus Of the lion
Of today. There is no mistaking it,
Other finds are a wrist bone OF a man,
moth and a hip bone. perhaps, OF the
same animal, but certainly of the same
species. They are almost identical with
those Of the African elephant. for the
prehistoric mammoth was not very diff
ferent from the modern elephant.
As to the lion. there Is some difference
OF opinion among scientists. DIR. Smith
Woodward would not go further than to
say that II might have been more like a
tiger. and suggested the authority of
Owen. This is what the great naturalist
says about the cave Iion-or tiger.
Not Always in Tropics.
1T is too commonly supposed that the
lion, the tiger and the Jaguar are animals
peculiarly adapted to a tropical climate.
The genus felis is, however. represented
by species in high northern latitudes and
all intermediate countries to the equator.
There Is no genus OF mammalia in which
the unity Of organi7 .tion Is more closely
maintained and in which therefore we fnd
so little ground for inferring in the
structure OF the species its special adap-
tation to a warm climate. II need not
therefore excite surprise that indications
should have been discovered in the fossil
relics of the ancient mammalian popula-
ton Of Europe OF a large feline animal.
contemporary OF the mammoth. of the
tichorrhine rhinoceros and OF the gigan-
tic cave bear and hyena and the slayer Of
the oxen, deer and equine quadrupeds
that were abundant during the same
epoch"
DR.. Smith Woodward and Or. Andrews
refuse 10 assign any date to the remains.
They belong to the PIeistocene period
that is certain-but when that period be-
gan and when II ended is a matter of
speculation.
Previous discoveries, only about thirty
yards away. were made in 1903. in the
course OF excavations for the installation
OF new machines for Lloyd's Weekly
News. Bones Of extinct animals were un-
earthed. including a very fine skull OF the
wolly rhinoceros. together with part of
its lower jaw and portions of the leg
bones. The continuation OF the excava-
tions led at various times to further dis
coveries which add considerably to the
knowledge of the fauna OF the locality in
Pleistocene times.
In addition to further remains OF the
rhinoceros. bones of the mammoth, the
reindeer, the horse and the great extinct
OK were found. The wooIly rhinoceros
Is represented by many bones and espe-
cially by a beautifully complete skull OF
a young Individual. in which the milk
teeth were still in use. and the back
molars, or wisdom teeth. not yet cut.
Second Half of Jaw Found.
BY an extraordinary chance the sec
ond half of the lower jaw, found in 1903,
was recovered this year in the Daily
Chronicle excavations described in the
foregoing. and the two are now reunited
at South Kensington. where. in the Nat
ural History Department of the museum
all these specimens are exhibited. The
mammoth is represented by a fine lower
jaw and parts of a skull, with the teeth |
in a good state Of preservation. The |
great extinct OK and the horse are repre- |
sented by numerous odd bones.