Book Description

Excerpt from Catalogue of the Fossil Mammalia, Vol. 4: In the British Museum (Natural History) Cromwell Road, S. W., Containing the Order Ungulata, Proboscidea The specialization of the cheek-teeth in the higher members of the Proboscidea has followed to a considerable extent a line analo gous to that obtaining in the Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla, and shows itself in the increased height and complexity of the crowns of these teeth, and in the final attainment of a nearly horizontal and continuous plane of wear. From the structure of the cheek teeth in the more generalized members of the suborder, it may be inferred that the action of the molars of one jaw upon those of the other must have been mainly a scissor-like or snapping one, while in the more specialized forms this action has been converted into a perfect grinding motion. 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.