188 COMMON BRITISH ANIMALS 



(4) Perissodactyla,"^ or odd-toed Uiigulates, repre- 

 sented by the horse, tapir and rhinoceros. 



In the odd-toed Ungulates the axis of the foot 

 passes through the third digit, or what is commonly 

 known as the second finger. In the horse, all the 

 other digits have disappeared, and this digit alone 

 forms the foot. In the rhinoceros the second and 

 fourth digits remain on either side of the median 

 third digit. 



In the even-toed Ungulates the third and fourth 

 toes are often the only digits present. They are 

 larger than the second and fifth and are symmetrical 

 to a vertical line drawn between them, and form the 

 well-known '' cloven hoof.^^ Curiously enough, the 

 number of horns corresponds with the number of 

 toes, the even-toed Ungulates having paired horns 

 and the odd-toed having single horns. And as Mr. 

 F. E. Beddard quaintly says,t in speaking of the 

 fossil odd- toed Ungulates, '^ they have more than 

 once tried, so to speak, paired horns, which ulti- 

 mately proved fatal to them.^^ Thus the represen- 

 tation of the fabled unicorn as a kind of horse was 

 so far correct. 



ELEPHANTS (PEOBOSCIDEA). 



Elephants are the largest among existing land 

 animals, and possess a strangely elongated organ 

 known as the trunk, which consists of the nostrils 

 and upper lip drawn out to a considerable length. 



* Fr. Gr. peri ssos— uneven, odd, and daktylos — digit, 

 t ' Camb. Nat. Hist./ vol. x. 



