PROBOSCIDEA OR PROBOSCIDEANS. Ill 



three on each hind one ; and the terminal phalanges 

 covered with hoofs. They have four incisors in the upper 

 jaw, and four in the lower. Those of the upper jaw being 

 long and curved ; those of the lower straight. 



SUB-SECTION VII. 

 THE ORDER OF PROBOSCIDEA OR PROBOSCIDEANS. 



This order includes the living and fossil Elephants, to- 

 gether with the extinct Mastodons and the Dinotheriums. 

 The most striking characteristics of these animals are their 

 enormous size, and their nose which is developed into an 

 exceedingly long proboscis, and their incisor teeth which 

 are developed into long tasks. 



The legs of the Proboscideans are almost wholly outside 

 of the abdominal integuments ; and in standing, their knee- 

 joint is straightened so that their femur and leg -bones 

 are in one and the same line. Their toes are five in num- 

 ber, and are encased in hoofs, so that by their feet they 

 are closely allied to the true Ungulates. 



As already indicated, one of the most remarkable 

 features of the Elephant is the proboscis or trunk, a long, 

 cylindrical organ composed of several thousand muscles 

 and endowed with the most delicate sensibility, and ter- 

 minated by an appendage which serves as a sort of finger. 

 This trunk, agile and powerful, is at the same time the 

 organ of smell, of touch, of prehension, and of defence. 

 With it its possessor seizes everything he wishes to con- 

 vey to his mouth, drink as well as food ; thus obviating 

 the necessity of a long neck, which would be inconsistent 

 with the enormous head and heavy tusks, the latter 



