EINAR LÖNNBERG, THE GENUS POT^MOCHGERUS. ]5 



may be added now, I have not hesitated to publish them 

 as tliey may serve as a stepping stone for fature investi- 

 gations. 



I have had the opportunity of examining more closely, 

 and measuring (conf. table of measurements) more than a 

 dozen skulls of both sexes from Southern and Southeastern 

 Africa, and also of seeing some more skulls from German 

 East Africa which according to the prevailing opinion ought 

 to belong to the main form the Potamochcerus choeropotamus 

 auct. 



If the skulls of adult boars are considered they are found 

 to present two very different types with regard to their 

 parietal region. The southern of these is from Cape, Algoa 

 Bay and has a very broad parietal region the flat area of 

 which measures 42 mm. and constitutes not less than 12,4 7o 

 of the upper mesial length. The other is represented by 

 specimens from Portuguese E. Africa (Mazoe), Mashonaland, 

 N. E. Rhodesia, and »Cape»(?) (probably not Cape in the 

 proper sense of this word). In these specimens the parietal 

 region is much narrower 24 to 26 mm. and when compared 

 with the upper mesial length of the skull this parietal mea- 

 surements represen ts onlj- 6,2 to 6,970 of the lenght, thus 

 hardly more than half as much as in the boar from Algoa 

 Bay. There are no intermediate specimens of male sex, and 

 it appears thus most probable that there is a broad-headed 

 southern, and a narrow-headed northern race as far as the 

 boars are concerned. The former is probably distributed 

 along the southern coast of the Cape Colony and northward 

 to Natal, because in the Natural History Museum in Stock- 

 holm there is a very broad skull of on old female Potamo- 

 cJicerus shot by Wahlberg in Natal. The parietal region of 

 this specimen is not less than 47 mm. in width which repre- 

 sents 12,9^0 of the upper mesial lenght. It thus corresponds 

 quite closely with the boar in the Leiden Museum from Algoa 

 Bay. On the other hand two females from Algoa Bay in the 

 Leiden Museum vhich are neither so large nor so old have 

 narrower parietal regions measuring only 29 to 34 mm. which 

 corresponds to 8,4 to 9,6 7o of the upper mesial length of 

 the skull. It appears probable that this narrowness depends 

 upon the fact that they are not fully developed. It is, 

 however, a curious fact that the females which are from 



