Book Description

Excerpt from Monograph of the Fossil Mammalia of the Mesozoic Formations Since 1839 there has not been further question of the occurrence of fossils of the Mammalian Class in Mesozoic deposits. The number of confirmatory facts and the rapidity with which they have accumulated are significant and encouraging. To two members of the University of Oxford Palæontology owes the acquisition of the first evidences from an Oolitic deposit of animals so high in the scale as the Mammalia. In 1812 Prof. Buckland, D.D., F.R.S., and William John Broderip, then an undergraduate, were in friendly relations as professor and pupil. Mr. Broderip had early been initiated by his father, who had formed a fine collection of Natural History, in the elements of that science, and to him, therefore, the lectures of Buckland had a peculiar charm; whilst the professor found in his pupil one to whose judgment he frequently deferred in the determination of Invertebrate Fossils. Mr. Broderip's fine and choice collection of shells was, in after times, purchased by the British Museum. The history of the acquisition of the original Mesozoic Mammalian Fossils was recorded by Mr. Broderip in 1825, as follows: - "Some years have elapsed since an ancient stone-mason, living at Heddington, who used to collect for me, made his appearance in my rooms at Oxford with two specimens of the lower jaws of mammiferous animals, imbedded in Stonesfield slate, fresh from the quarry. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.