The family of herbivorous Cetaceans are connected with the
Pachydermata of the land by one of the most wonderful of all the
extinct creatures with which geologists have made us acquainted.
This is the _Dinotherium_, or Terrible Beast. The remains of this
animal were found in Miocene sands at Eppelsheim, about forty miles
from Darmstadt. It must have been larger than the largest extinct or
living elephant. The most remarkable peculiarity of its structure is
the enormous tusks, curving downwards and terminating its lower jaw.
It appears to have lived in the water, where the immense weight of
these formidable appendages would not be so inconvenient as on land.
What these tusks were used for is a mystery; but perhaps they acted
as pickaxes in digging up trees and shrubs, or as harrows in raking
the bottom of the water. Dr. Buckland used to suggest that they were
perhaps employed as anchors, by means of which the monster might
fasten itself to the bank of a stream and enjoy a comfortable nap. The
extreme length of the _Dinotherium_ was about eighteen feet. Professor
Kemp, in his restoration of the animal, has given it a trunk like
that of the elephant, but not so long, and the general form of the
tapir.--_Professor Owen._