Second Floor.
Upper Mammal Gallery.
The portion open to the public of the gallery on this floor in the western wing of the building contains such of the Mammalian orders (apart from Proboscidea, Cetacea, and Sirenia) as are not shown in the lower gallery. In the first two wall-cases on the right on entering the gallery is displayed a series of Bats, some stuffed, and others in spirit. In the third wall-case are the Insect-eating Mammals (Insectivora), such as Shrew-mice, Moles, Hedgehogs, etc. Next come the Rodents, and then the Lemurs, Monkeys, and Apes, the greater number of the last being exhibited in the large case in the middle of the gallery. Among the more striking specimens may be mentioned the series of Gorillas ([fig. 40]) and Chimpanzees, and the Proboscis and Snub-nosed Monkeys.
Nearly all the left side of this gallery is devoted to Anthropology, that is to say, to the representation of the zoological characters of the different races of Mankind[18]; the series including busts, skeletons, skulls, hair, and portraits.
Fig. 40.—The Gorilla (Anthropopithecus gorilla).
At the west end of the portion of this gallery open to the public stands a case exhibiting many of the structural differences distinguishing the man-like Apes from Man himself; and also showing different types of human skulls and the method of measuring the same. On the adjacent screens and partitions are diagrams, photographs, and sketches illustrating hand and finger prints, and identification by means of the latter.
EAST WING.
Ground Floor.
Fossil Collection.
The ground floor of this wing consists, as on the other side of the building, of a gallery running west and east the whole length of the wing in front, of a smaller parallel gallery behind this, and leading from the latter a series of galleries running north and south. With the exception of a certain number of recent skeletons introduced for comparison, and some of the specimens of Elephants and Sirenians or Sea-Cows, the whole of this floor is occupied by the collection of the remains of animals and plants which flourished in geological periods previous to the one in which we are now living. Some of these belong to species still existing upon the earth, but the great majority are extinct. They are arranged mainly upon zoological principles, that is, the groups which are believed to have natural affinities are placed together; but within some of the great divisions thus mapped out, especially of the Invertebrata and Plants, it has been found convenient to adopt a stratigraphical or even geographical grouping, the fossils of different geological formations being kept apart, and those of the British Isles separated from those of foreign localities.
This portion of the Museum is more fully described in the special Guides[19] than is possible in the present work.
Elephants, Sea-Cows, and Extinct Mammals.
The front gallery, entered from the central hall, is devoted to Elephants and Sea-Cows, both living and extinct, and to extinct and fossil Mammals of other groups. Down the middle are placed a number of large and striking objects, of too great size to be contained in the wall-cases. The first is a nearly complete skeleton of the American Mastodon ([fig. 41]), an animal closely allied to modern Elephants, from which it is chiefly distinguished by the characters of its cheek-teeth. This is followed by a skeleton of the existing Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus), and the mounted skin of a tuskless male of the same species, brought home from India by His Majesty King Edward VII., when Prince of Wales. Further down the gallery is the skull of the extinct E. ganesa—remarkable for the immense length of its tusks—from the Siwalik Hills of India; and another of the Mammoth (E. primigenius), with huge curved tusks, in a perfect state of preservation, found in the Brick-earth at Ilford, Essex.[20] Then follow skeletons of the great extinct Irish Deer (Cervus giganteus), male and female, the former distinguished by its magnificent spreading antlers, resembling those of a Fallow Deer on a large scale.
Fig. 41.—Skeleton of the American Mastodon (Mastodon americanus). Greatly reduced.
The next central case is occupied by the skulls and portions of jaws of a remarkable horned hoofed quadruped, Arsinoïtherium ([fig. 42]), from the Upper Eocene of the Fayum, Egypt. It belongs to an ancient group not closely related to any living animal.
Fig. 42.—Skull of Arsinoïtherium zitteli, from the Upper Eocene Strata of the Fayum, Egypt. About 1/12th natural size.
Equally peculiar is the Toxodon ([fig. 43]) from the Pampas of S. America, of which a model of an entire skeleton is exhibited.
Fig. 43.—Skeleton of the Toxodon (Toxodon platensis).
From the Pampas Formation of Argentina. About 1/18th natural size.
Near by is placed a model of a skeleton of the Dinoceras ([fig. 44]), one of the most remarkable of the many wonderful forms of animal life discovered in the Tertiary beds of the western portion of the United States of America. This animal combines in some respects the characters of a Rhinoceros with those of an Elephant, and has others altogether special to itself. The group to which it belonged became extinct in the Oligocene, or Middle Tertiary, period, without leaving any successors.
Fig. 44.—Skeleton of Dinoceras. From the Eocene of Wyoming, U.S.A. One-thirtieth natural size.
Sea-Cows.
Near the pavilion is a skeleton ([fig. 45]) of an interesting animal, the Northern Sea-Cow (Rhytina gigas or stelleri), the last resort of which was Bering Island in the North Pacific, where it was completely exterminated towards the close of the eighteenth century. In the same case is placed the skeleton of a smaller allied animal, the Halitherium, from the Oligocene of South Germany. These, with their existing representatives, the Manatee and Dugong, constitute the order Sirenia, aquatic Mammals of fish-like form, presenting considerable external resemblance to Cetacea (Whales and Dolphins), but differing in many points of structure and habit. All the exhibited specimens of the group, both living and extinct, are shown in this gallery.
Fossil remains of Man.
The wall-cases on the south side (right on entering) contain typical series of chipped and polished flint implements of human workmanship, and also remains of Man found, under circumstances which may justify the appellation of “fossil,” in caves or Pleistocene deposits, associated with the bones of Mammals either completely or locally extinct. Then follow in systematic order the bones and teeth of the other Primates, the Carnivora, Ungulata, and Sirenia.
Fig. 45.—Skeleton of the Northern Sea-Cow (Rhytina gigas or stelleri). From Bering Island. Length of specimen, 19 feet 6 inches.
Elephants and Ruminants.
The greater part of the north side of the gallery is devoted to the exhibition of the remains of Proboscidea (Dinotheres, Mastodons, and Elephants), as well as teeth and skulls of the two existing species of Elephants. The forerunners of the Proboscidea from the Eocene strata of Egypt, as represented by Palæomastodon and Mœritherium, are of special interest. Attention may likewise be directed to the skull of the gigantic Ruminant Sivatherium ([fig. 46]), from the Siwalik deposits of Northern India, an ally of the living African Okapi (p. 41), with which it is connected by Helladotherium of the Grecian Tertiary deposits; another still more nearly allied type being Samotherium, from the Isle of Samos, of which a skull ([fig. 47]) is exhibited.
Fig. 46.—Skull of Sivatherium giganteum, an Extinct Ruminant from the Pliocene Deposits of the Siwalik Hills, India. About 1/13th natural size.
Edentates.
In the “pavilion,” or large room at the end of the gallery, are skeletons and bones of the members of the order Edentata, mostly from South America, including fine specimens of the great Ground-Sloths, the largest of which, the Megatherium, is shown in the act of rearing itself on its hind-legs and powerful tail to seize and tear down the branches of a tree in order to feed upon the leaves. That this was the habit of this huge animal is clearly indicated by the structure of its bones and teeth. The mounted specimen is not an actual skeleton, but is composed of plaster-casts of the real bones, most of which are shown in the wall-case at the north side of the room. Of the Mylodon, a smaller but nearly allied animal, an almost perfect skeleton is exhibited in a glass case near the Megatherium. Near by is a portion of the skin of a closely similar animal (Grypotherium listai), from a cave in Patagonia, showing the hair, and also the nodules of bone embedded in the hide.
Marsupials.
Not far off is shown one of the glyptodons, huge extinct Armadillo-like animals, of which the body is enclosed in a solid barrel-like bony case. As these animals far surpassed in size their diminutive existing representatives, so the gigantic Marsupials of the corresponding period in Australia (Pleistocene, or latest Tertiary), such as Diprotodon and Nototherium, greatly exceeded any of the species now existing on that continent; of Diprotodon a complete skeleton is exhibited. On the other hand, all the Mammals of the earlier geological periods of which remains are known are of diminutive size, as seen in the series of jaws, teeth, etc., mostly from the Purbeck (Upper Oolite) beds of Dorset and the Stonesfield Slate (Great Oolite) of Oxfordshire, exhibited in the centre window-case on the east side of the room.
Fig. 47.—Skull of Samotherium boissieri, an Extinct Okapi-like Ruminant from the Pliocene Strata of Samos. About ⅙th natural size.
Extinct Birds.
The south side of this room (right on entering) is chiefly reserved for the remains of extinct Birds, including the famous Lizard-tailed Bird (Archæopteryx) of the Solenhofen beds of Bavaria ([fig. 48]), the oldest known member of the class. Although presenting many Reptile-like characters, it had well-developed feathers on the wings and tail, the impressions of which are beautifully preserved in the specimen. A series of skeletons of the “Moas,” or Dinornithidæ, of New Zealand, birds in which no trace of a wing has been discovered, shows the diversity in size of different members of the group, some far exceeding any existing Ostrich, while others are scarcely larger than a good-sized Turkey. Some of these remains are so recent as still to be covered with dried skin, and even feathers. Several eggs are also shown; but, large as these are, they are greatly exceeded in size by those of the Roc (Æpyornis) from Madagascar. The skull and certain other remains of a gigantic extinct bird, Phororhachos, from Patagonia are also shown in this room. These birds appear to have been allied to the existing South American Seriema.
Fig. 48.—Skeleton and Impressions of the Features of the Lizard-tailed Bird (Archæopteryx macrura), from the Upper Jurassic (Lithographic Stone) of Solenhofen, Bavaria. About ¼th natural size.
Fig. 49.—Skeleton of the Iguanodon (Iguanodon bernissartensis), a Biped Dinosaur from the Wealden of Belgium. About 1/80th natural size.
Extinct Reptiles.
The long corridor north of the fossil Mammal-gallery contains a fine assemblage of Reptilian remains. The south side is devoted to the Great Sea-Lizards (Sauropterygia and Ichthyopterygia), mostly from the Lias formation. The skeleton of an Ichthyosaur from the Lias is shown in [fig. 50]. Skeletons of Plesiosaurians and Pliosaurians from the Oxford Clay are mounted in central cases. Ranged in the cases on the north side are remains of the gigantic Dinosaurs, which vastly exceeded in size any other land-animals. A mounted plaster cast of a complete skeleton of the Iguanodon ([fig. 49]), found (with many others) in the Wealden strata at Bernissart in Belgium, is exhibited in the gallery of recent Reptiles; but a large series of bones of the same reptile is shown here.
Fig. 50.—Skeleton of an Ichthyosaur (Ichthyosaurus tenuirostris). From the Lias of Somersetshire. About 1/10th natural size.
In the centre of this gallery is placed a large portion of the skeleton of a gigantic Dinosaur (Cetiosaurus leedsi) from the Upper Jurassic Oxford Clay near Peterborough. It is nearly allied to the North American Diplodocus, of which, as mentioned on page 57, the model of a complete skeleton is exhibited in the recent Reptile Gallery. Both Cetiosaurus and Diplodocus resemble Brontosaurus ([fig. 51]) in the extremely small size of the skull. Another central case contains an actual skull and other remains of the American Cretaceous horned Dinosaur Triceratops (see [page 57]), and in wall-case 8 is placed a plaster cast of the skull of the contemporary Tyrannosaurus, the largest known carnivorous Dinosaur.
At the eastern end of the gallery are the Pterosauria or Ornithosauria, commonly called Pterodactyles or Flying Reptiles. Their most gigantic representatives were the species of Pteranodon from the Upper Cretaceous of Kansas ([fig. 53]). At the west end is the nearly complete skeleton of Pariasaurus ([fig. 52]) from the Karoo formation (Trias) of South Africa. It occurs also in Russia, and belongs to a primitive section of the Theromorphs, or Anomodonts, which include the ancestors of Mammals.
Fig. 51.—Skeleton of Brontosaurus ingens, a four-footed Dinosaur from the Jurassic formation of N. America. 1/150 natural size.
Fig. 52.—Skeleton of Pariasaurus. About 1/14th natural size.
Extinct Fishes.
Of the galleries running northwards from the Fossil Reptile gallery, the one nearest to the central hall is used for the display of the Fossil Fishes, many belonging to groups now extinct. Perhaps the most remarkable of all, and certainly most unlike existing forms, are the armoured Devonian Fishes known as Cephalaspis, Pterichthys ([fig. 54]), etc. The well-preserved fishes from the Chalk are especially noteworthy, and a specimen of Portheus in a central case, 14 feet in length, is one of the largest bony fishes known.
Fig. 53.—A Giant Pterodactyle (Pteranodon occidentalis) from the Cretaceous of Kansas. (Original span about 18 feet.) Compare the wing, which is supported by the outermost finger, with that of the Bat in Fig. 8.
Extinct Invertebrates and Plants.
The next gallery contains the Cephalopods, a group of Molluscs abounding in extinct species, of which the Belemnites, Turrilites ([fig. 55]), and Ammonites ([fig. 56]) are some of the best-known. The form and structure of their nearest living representatives, the various species of Cuttle-fishes, Squids, Argonauts, and Nautilus ([fig. 31], page 62) are illustrated by models, drawings, and specimens placed near the entrance of the gallery and along the top-line of the wall-cases. The third gallery contains the remaining Mollusca, with the Brachiopoda, Polyzoa, Echinoderma, Worms, and Crustacea; the fourth, the Corals, Sponges, Protozoa, and Fossil Plants. In these last two galleries most of the British specimens are placed in the table-cases, and those of foreign origin in the cases round the walls.
Among numerous other groups which cannot be mentioned, great interest attaches to the Trilobites ([fig. 57]) of the Palæozoic epoch, which are related to the modern King-Crabs and also have affinity with the Scorpions.
Very extensive is the collection of Fossil Plants from the Coal-Measures, among which Lepidodendron and Sigillaria, as well as numerous kinds of fern-like leaves, are among the most common.
Fig. 54.—Upper (A) and Lower (B) Surfaces of Pterichthys, an armoured Devonian fish.
Historical Collections.
The table-cases of the end gallery contain certain special collections of historical interest, either from the circumstances under which they were formed, or the manner in which they came into possession of the Museum, or from their containing a large number of type specimens described and figured in various publications. Hence it has been considered undesirable to break up and disperse these among the general collection. They include the original collection formed by William Smith, the pioneer of geology in this country, the Searles Wood collection of Crag Mollusca, the Edwards collection of Eocene Mollusca, the Davidson collection of Brachiopoda, the types of Sowerby’s “Mineral Conchology,” and lastly, but not least in interest, specimens from the collection of Sir Hans Sloane, which formed part of the nucleus of the British Museum.
Fig. 55.—A Turrilite, from the Chalk.
Fig. 56.—An Ammonite, from the Oölite.
Fig. 57.—A Trilobite, from the Lower Cambrian of Shropshire.
British Stratigraphical Collection.
In the wall-cases on the west side of this gallery is exhibited a stratigraphical collection, showing a series of rock-specimens, often with their included fossil remains, representing the various geological formations of the British Isles; they are arranged in the order of their sequence in time, commencing near the entrance door with the most recent, and gradually passing down to the most ancient fossil-bearing strata. Along the top of the case is displayed a running section of all the water-formed rocks of England in the order of their succession, each bed being distinctively coloured, and named to correspond with the actual specimens placed beneath. The stratigraphical collection is followed by some illustrations of rock-formation, and certain curious rock-structures simulating fossils. On the east side are exhibited additional specimens of marine Reptiles from the Lias and a series of footprints of Reptiles from the Trias of N. America, the New Red Sandstone of England, etc.