Account of the skeleton of the mammoth, a non-descript carnivorous animal of immense size, found in America / By Rembrandt Peale.

  • Peale, Rembrandt, 1778-1860.
Date:
1802
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Account of the skeleton of the mammoth, a non-descript carnivorous animal of immense size, found in America / By Rembrandt Peale. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    tion of the cavity for the condyloid process* taking the level of the teeth as a base from which to measure. The angle from the teeth to the condyles of the neck in the elephant is at least forty-five degrees* and sometimes more; but in the Mammoth the same angle does not exceed ten or fifteen degrees ; hence the com¬ parative disproportion of their jaws with re¬ spect to length and height. In the back of the elephant's head there is a very deep cavity for the reception of muscles from the spines of the back to support the head; which cavity commences immediately from the condyle of the neck : The back of this animal’s head presents a very different outline* for there is scarcely any appearance of a cavity; and the whole of the back part of the head is angular* in contradistinction to that of the elephant, which is composed of two lobes receding for¬ wards from the condyle of the neck. I have been here particular* as in this respect the two animals are vastly different* and it may lead to curious speculations concerning the structure of the unknown parts and the habits of the animal. The hips were somewhat broken, but the parts uninjured were sufficient to shew a very differ-