398 



MAMMALIA 



always hoofed. Clavicle absent, canines small or absent, premolars 

 and molars well developed with broad crowns. 



Sub-Order Hyracoidea. — The hyrax ( Hyracoidea), a small animal 

 found in Africa, is probably the form described in the Bible as 

 " Cony." It has about twenty-two vertebrae that bear ribs. It has 

 in addition to a cecum a ^poAVob-ectal cecae. Superficially it resembles 

 the rabbit, having a hare lip and an extremely short tail. Its front 

 feet have four toes, while the hind feet have three. (Figure 226.) 



Fig. 226. Hyrax. (Courtesy of N. Y. Zool. Soc.) 



Sub-Order Proboscidea. — The elephants have no clavicle. They 

 have an extremely thick skin, huge five-toed legs and a long nasal 

 proboscis. The incisors of the upper jaw grow to form tusks. 

 Elephas indicus has been used as a beast of burden in India for many 

 years.'^^ It reaches a height of less than ten feet. It is more intelli- 

 gent and docile as well as more powerful than the African species. 

 Elephas ajricanus has a shorter, more rounded head than the Asiatic 

 and its ears are enormous, covering the back of the head and the 

 neck. Both the male and the female have tusks (elongated incisor 



^»Livy in describing Hannibal's passage over the Alps (Livy, Book 21. Chapter 

 28) discusses the manner in which historians supposed that his war-elephants were 

 transferred across the Rhone River. Some reported that the elephants were induced to 

 swim, while others described the manner in which they were ferried on long rafts. 



