remains of this class have been found either in the Silurian or in the Devonian, which contain such abundance of them, in other localities.
The Trias is almost barren of fossils throughout the Peninsula; and the Permian probably does not exist there at all[1]. We have but little information respecting the Jurassic; and all the data referring to the rest of the Secondary period are still more defective; but it must be borne in mind that in general the information respecting the vertebrate fauna of the first epoch of that period, is everywhere as incomplete as that respecting the deposits which date their origin from it.
The Tertiary formation, characterized by well marked generic and specific forms of Mammalia, is well represented in the Miocene formations of Spain, principally by Pachyderms, Ruminants, and Proboscidea; but in the other members of this series we have to lament a great deficiency of data. No objects of flint have been found similar to those collected by the Abbé Bourgeois, which gave rise to the supposition that man may have existed in the Tertiary period.
It is only in modern times that the caverns of this country have been explored, thanks to the late Don Casiano de Prado, who, in his memoir upon the geology of the province of Madrid, published an appendix containing a list of all the caverns of Spain known to him. The results obtained give reason to expect much from a detailed examination of these caverns throughout the Peninsula, as there are some which date from different epochs of the Quaternary period. A cave near Oñate, in Guipuzcoa[2], has recently been imperfectly explored, and a large number of remains of hyæna and bears have been found in a good state of preservation. Pour specimens exist in Madrid, in the Museum of Natural History and in that of the Propagator Athenæum of Natural Sciences. Dr. Falconer[3] has given us an account of the palæontological riches of the celebrated cavern of Gibraltar; and as this and the one above mentioned are situated at opposite extremes of the peninsula, we may reasonably conclude that all the caverns merit our interest. It is therefore unnecessary to enumerate many others equally curious.
We now know that the principal characteristics of the singular quaternary fauna of the South of Europe are well represented in the soil of Spain by the presence of cave-bears and hyænas, of the urus, the horse, and the antelopes; and we have no doubt that other species, which we are surprised to miss, will be, sooner or later, discovered to have been inhabitants of this peninsula. Discoveries of bones which have been made justify us in affirming the existence of man during the Quaternary period. For an account of the many discoveries of objects relating to his industries, we refer to the publications of Professor Vilanova[4].
