On the geological position of the Castoroides ohioensis / by James Hall ; also a description of the cranium of the same, by Jeffries Wyman.

  • James Hall
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the geological position of the Castoroides ohioensis / by James Hall ; also a description of the cranium of the same, by Jeffries Wyman. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    I am informed by General Adams, that he has caused the whole distance along this line to Lake Ontario, to be probed, and there is no rock within twenty or thirty feet of the surface, proving the entire practicability of draining these marshes in that direction ; — a project worthy of consideration. The condition of the surface, at the time of the existence of this animal, is a matter of much interest; and admitting to be true what we consider as having been pretty well demon- strated, namely, that Lake Ontario was at an elevation of one hundred and fifty or two hundred feet above its present one, and having a direct communication with the smaller lakes on the south, we are able to show that extensive tracts would have been marshes and estuaries, with the more elevated ridges of drift only raised above the level of the waters, giving a vastly greater proportion of this kind of surface than at pre- sent. Thus far the bones of the mastodon and elephant have all been found at a higher elevation than the relic under con- sideration, and this is precisely what we should expect, with the condition of surface we have described. The animal in question doubtless found the extensive marshes, with wooded margins and intervening higher grounds, well adapted to its wants and mode of life. That its remains have been so rarely met with, may be explained from the fact, that very few ex- tensive excavations have been made in situations likely to contain them ; while the smaller and more elevated marshes, where the bones of the mastodon have been found, are more accessible and oftener excavated. Therefore, from all we know at present, this animal may have abounded on the marshy borders of the former Lake Ontario, when the now fertile re- gions of Oswego, Wayne, Monroe, Orleans and Niagara coun- ties, as well as the corresponding parts of Canada were mostly covered by water and marshes. So far as the general features are concerned, and the rela- tive age of the deposition, there cannot remain a doubt; and although as yet no other bones have been found with this cra- nium, we feel justified in referring its period to that of the