The Palaeothere above alluded to resembled the living tapir in the form of the
head, and in having a short proboscis, but its molar teeth were more like those
of the rhinoceros. Palaeotherium magnum was of the size of a horse, three or
four feet high. The woodcut, Figure 174, is one of the restorations which Cuvier
attempted of the outline of the living animal, derived from the study of the
entire skeleton. As the vertical range of particular species of quadrupeds, so
far as our knowledge extends, is far more limited than that of the testacea, the
occurrence of so many species at Binstead, agreeing with fossils of the Paris
gypsum, strengthens the evidence derived from shells and plants of the
synchronism of the two formations.
OSBORNE OR ST. HELEN'S SERIES, A.2.
This group is of fresh and brackish-water origin, and very variable in mineral
character and thickness. Near Ryde, it supplies a freestone much used for
building, and called by Professor Forbes the Nettlestone grit. In one part
ripple-marked flagstones occur, and rocks with fucoidal markings. The Osborne
beds are distinguished by peculiar species of Paludina, Melania, and Melanopsis,
as also of Cypris and the seeds of Chara.
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