I.—Note on a Pliocene Vertebrate Fauna from the Wadi-Natrun, Egypt

Abstract

Among the collections received from the Egyptian Survey for determination is a number of vertebrate remains, chiefly mammalian, from the Wadi-Natrun, whence they were obtained by Captain Lyons, the Director-General of the Survey, and by Messrs. Beadnell and Blanckenhorn, members of his staff. Last year, on my return from Mogara with Mr. T. Barron, I was able to collect for a few hours on the hill called Gart-el-Moluk, from which most of these fossils were obtained, and found a few additional fragments. Finally, Dr. Studer, of the Berne Museum, has very kindly lent me the collection he received from the same locality, and has himself described in some detail.1 I believe, therefore, that a great part of the specimens from this locality are now in my hands. Unfortunately in most cases the remains are in a very fragmentary condition and little can be made of them, but there are a few well-preserved teeth and limb bones which indicate the existence of a fauna of considerable interest, and are sufficient to show that the locality will probably yield good results to a systematic search. At present the collections include remains of a small Hippopotamus, a Hipparion, a small pig-like animal, and various Antelopes. In the present note I propose to give a short account of the more important of these specimens.