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Show UIST0UT ry OLD EO.VES. sojfEroasii. bemal s wniar webe ! FOCaD IS FLORIDA. Big boxes full of curious old bones hava been axrlvlnff at the biological school of tho University of renn-sylvania, renn-sylvania, peDtling a restinc place In the working room of Protestor Joseph Leidy, the famous anatomist. anatom-ist. Certain marks have Indicated that they came from Archer, Levy C'ouuty,Jrii. The specimens have been carefuliy wrapped up in Florida Flori-da moss and other packing to prevent pre-vent breaking on the way north. These bones are hundreds of years old. They belong to extinct creatures crea-tures of the quaternary period. Dr. Leldy has been hard at work identifying identi-fying the animals of which the bones form a part, and this identification identi-fication is now complete. Ills conclusions con-clusions are now very interesting. The chief bones, he says, are those of a rhinoceros, a mastadon, a llama, a three toed hon-e and a plant sloth. There are also iarts of a tapir, a small crocodile and a gar pike: In 1S57, a geuuemau Jiving In Archer, in northern Florida, found some fossil bones in beds of clayjtud wrote to the late ProftssDr Balrd, of the Smithsonian institute, about them. At that time scientists uere not expecting the discovery of fo&il remains In Florida at all, and Professor Pro-fessor llalrd, becoming Interested, suggested to Dr. Leldy that hu go there and search for more bones. Sr. Leldy, being unable to do so, Interested Major Powell, isuperin-tendent isuperin-tendent of the United States geological geolog-ical survey, in tbo matter, and the latter sent one of his assistants, Mr. Dall, to Archer for two weeks. WHAT THE BONIS TELL. As a result of this visit two barrels and Mr boxes of bones were bent to Dr. Leldy to be identified. There were no further finds there until Professor Marsh, of Yale college, tiut an assistant, Mr. Hatcher, to work digging in thefome clay, directing di-recting him to send all the remains he might unearth to Dt. Leidy. Seven more boxes accordingly reached here. The two consign-mentft, consign-mentft, altogether, contained feet and limb bones, portions of the jaws and numbers of tile teeth of nuout twenty rhinoceri, feet and limb bones and a quantity of teeth of the mastodbn: the clau.i and ankle bones of the giant sloth; the limb bones, toe bouea and teeth of the llama; limb bones and teeth of a three toed horse, and other less Important Im-portant remains. Sr. Leidy Identifies tho rhinoceros rhino-ceros as a variety h hose skeleton has never before been found In this country cast of the Mhoisbippl. It is about the size of the present I n-dian n-dian rhinoceros, but has tusks eight inches longinstead ot three inches and M as probally hornlens. It lived In Florida in the quaternaiy period, previous to the appearance of man. The mastodon whose bones were found Br. Leidy calculates to have been half as large again as the present pre-sent Asiatic elephant and a different species from the common mastodon whose remains have been found in almost every state in the Union. Tho head of one of the arm bout-", which In the man is about one nnd a half inches in diameter, Is all that one can lift, being as big as the human head. One of the giant sloths. nronou need bv Br.Leldv the megatherium, as also as large as the Asiatic elephant. The only living sloth known, about thesize-of thesize-of a terrier. Is a tree animal. EVERY SLOTH HIS OWN SUBGEON. This megatherium, though too large to climb Into trees, fell upon tree leaves and branches, and used to rear up on its hind legs and embrace em-brace the tree with itsshortforelegs, and swaying It from side to side finally uproot IL Sr. Leidy argues for this habit from its strong back legs and tall (like tlie kangaroo's), and from the fact that several skeletons skele-tons of these animals have been previously pre-viously discovered carrying signs of serious fractures of bones, which have been practically cured during life. The remains ef tho three llamas show that these animals must have ranged In size from a little larger than a camel toone and a half times as large. The three toed horse, whose bones were found In Florida, was probably two-thirds thesize of a donkey. don-key. 80 many teeth of mastodons were found as to enable Dr. Leldy to trace out a complete history of their dentition. Cuvfcr tielievul that in this animal the three milk grinders and three back grinders were followed in each case by a single sin-gle successor. A few years ago a German Investigator announced his discovery that each of those sets of three teeth was succeeded by two teeth. Br. Leldy's study of the teeth sent to him confirms this an nounccment. A TIGER AND ITS PREY. At Peace Creek and Orala, Fla., fossil remains have also been found. The bones at the former place were those of two giant armadillos, the first discovered in this country north of Texas. The other bones were found last winter in a cave near Ocala. The blasting of limestone lime-stone brought them to light. They were those of a saber-toothed tiger, about as large as n Ilengai tiger; a llama, nearly the size of a camel; an elephant, like an Asiatic elephant, ele-phant, and a horse, indistinguishable indistinguish-able from a common horse. Among the bones of the tiger was the skull, allowing Its canine teeth, which ure? six inches long and flattened out like a saber. Tliis animal is now- extinct, and its remains have never before been found east of the Mississippi. Missis-sippi. Sr. Leidy is satisfied tnat the elephant, tiger,horse and camel being found in the same cave, lived at tile same time, and thluki it likely that the others bad been brought to the spot by the tiger as its food. The finding of the boues of & horse is considered strong evidence that the common horse once existed on this continent and afterward became extinct. ex-tinct. These animals arc also placed In the quatenary period. Until these recent discoveries the eyes of scientists had not been turned toward Florida in expectation of finding fossil remains. Tho Bad Lands, Bak., and Uridger, Wy. T., aro two of the prominent fossil fields of the West. PtadeTptda J'reu. |