M. A. D'Orbigny Found On
The Banks Of The Parana, At The Height Of A Hundred Feet,
Great Beds Of
An estuary shell, now living a hundred miles
lower down nearer the sea; and I found similar shells at a
Less height on the banks of the Uruguay; this shows that
just before the Pampas was slowly elevated into dry land,
the water covering it was brackish. Below Buenos Ayres
there are upraised beds of sea-shells of existing species,
which also proves that the period of elevation of the Pampas
was within the recent period.
In the Pampaean deposit at the Bajada I found the osseous
armour of a gigantic armadillo-like animal, the inside
of which, when the earth was removed, was like a great
cauldron; I found also teeth of the Toxodon and Mastodon,
and one tooth of a Horse, in the same stained and decayed
state. This latter tooth greatly interested me, [3] and I took
scrupulous care in ascertaining that it had been embedded
contemporaneously with the other remains; for I was not
then aware that amongst the fossils from Bahia Blanca
there was a horse's tooth hidden in the matrix: nor was it
then known with certainty that the remains of horses are
common in North America. Mr. Lyell has lately brought
from the United States a tooth of a horse; and it is an
interesting fact, that Professor Owen could find in no species,
either fossil or recent, a slight but peculiar curvature
characterizing it, until he thought of comparing it with my
specimen found here:
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