Identifier: guidetofossilmam00brit (find matches)
Title: A guide to the fossil mammals and birds in the Department of geology and palontology in the British Museum (Natural history) ... With 6 plates and 88 text-figures
Year: 1909 (1900s)
Authors: British Museum (Natural History). Dept. of Geology Woodward, Arthur Smith, 1864-1944
Subjects: Mammals, Fossil Birds, Fossil
Publisher: London : Printed by order of the Trustees (by W. Clowes and sons, limited)
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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on the top of this29 (30). j^j^j adjacent Pier-cases. These tusks are so common and sowell preserved in some parts of the Arctic regions, that theyare a valuable source of ivory and have long been collectedas an article of commerce. The mammoth is, indeed, bestknown from discoveries within the Arctic circle, where notonly the fresh bones and teeth but also whole carcases areoccasionally met with in the frozen earth. One such carcasewas made known to science a century ago by Adams, whofound it at the mouth of the Lena and brought the greaterpart of the skeleton, with the head and feet still covered bythe skin and soft parts, to St. Petersburg in 1806. Photo-graphs of this skeleton, as it is now mounted with some )\IAM-MALiA. 53 restoration in the Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Peters-l)urg, are placed on the wall adjoining Pier-case 30 (see alsoFig. 42). Another carcase of a small, young male, exposedl»y a landslip on the l)anks of the Beresowka, an attiuent of Pier-eases29, 31.
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tlie Kolyma, in the government of Jakutsk, was scientificallyexcavated by an expedition from the St. Petersl)urg Academyill 1902 ; and photographs of the sjjecimen, taken l)y Dr.llerz (huing the ))r()gress of its disinterment, are placed with 54 GUIDE TO THE RlSSlL MAMMALS ANIj 15Ilii)S. Pier-cases ex)»laiiatory sketches ou the pilkir hetween Tier-cases 3129, 31. ^j„( ;j2 xiiis animal evidently fell into a hole when qnietlyhrowsing on grass; its sprawling attitude shows that itattempted to scramble out; a great amount of clotted l)loodfound in the chest-cavity indicates that it hurst a blood-vessel by over-exertion; and a mouthful of grass betweenthe teeth, not j^et swallowed, proves that death was quitesudden. This specimen has been skilfully preserved in theImperial Academy of Sciences at >St. Ietersburg, the skinIjeing partially restored and stuffed in the attitude of thedeath-struggle, and the skeleton mounted separately. As Pier-ease proved by this and other discoveries, th

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