Sh'h/.irro.x OF Moimn > i.\ iiii-: am 1:1:11 .\.\ mi si:im \-r3 



(•ailU'ls.l»i,U>.illl(l llil)|ii>|)(i|iililll.-r>li:i\r;ili 



t'Vi'ii nuniltcr of t»»i's citlur two or I'dui-. 

 Morojius has three, like a rhiiiocci-os or 

 tapir. It is ahoiit the si/c of a rliiiiocf- 

 ros, but \i'r\ (lilVfi-ciii in |iroporti<Mis. 

 Tlie head and neck an' |iro|tort ii>ncd 

 more like tho.-e in the horse, the 

 rounded hack su^<:t'sts the ta])ir, and 

 file le«r.s. while massive, art' longer than 

 in the rhino, es|)c>cially the fore liiiili-. 

 The feet with their ,t;reat flaws are i-n- 

 lirrlv dilVcrrnl. and more like those of 

 anteaters and similar diir.uin;; animals 

 than any of the hoofed animals to 

 which Moni/iiiM I'eally Ixdouns. The 

 front teeth are like thos(> of ruminants, 

 while the «,n'iiidin,ir teeth ai-e most like 

 some of the extinet Perissodaetyls — the 

 l)al;vother(^ of Kurope and the titano- 

 there of Xoi'th America. 



The teeth show that the animal was 

 herbivorous, of browsing- hal)its. and 

 t|uite inojl'ensive. W lial u>c he made of 

 liis hi*: claws is rather a ])uz/.le. They 

 coubl not have been of much value for 

 fighting, for the foot and limb are too 

 stiff and elnmsy to be used except for 

 ordinary locomotion, j-'oi- tlie same rea- 

 son they could be of only limited use in 

 <ligging. The anteaters and armadillos 

 use their great claws in digging out ant 

 hills ; the sloth uses his in hanging from 

 trees: the bear finds his claws useful 

 both in digging and fighting, while the 

 cat family reserve their sharp claws 

 -trictly for fighting. ]>\\\ bears and 

 eats have much more mobile limbs and 

 feet, and it is certain that the Morojnix 

 did not live on ants oi- any such food, 

 and could not possibly climb a tree, 

 much less hang from one. The teeth 



-how cleiirly that lii> {i»n\ wms leaves 

 and herbage, and that he cropped it 

 after the fashion of a deer or cow. lie 

 was not even omnivorous like the ])ig. 

 which do;'.; a c(in>i(lei'alile ani<Mint of 

 digging after >nccideni riMit> and tu- 

 bers with lii> snout ihongh not with his 

 fc.'l. 



'i'lie onl\ |ilan>ible suggol ion tliat 

 ha- lieeii made i> that the great claws 

 were designed to aid I be MorD/ms in 

 sci'a|)ing away >:\\\(\ in diy riverbeds or 

 otbei- -uilalile |ilace- io make a water 

 hole wliiTc he might driidc. There is 

 good i-ea>on Io believe that the western 

 country whei'e he lived was even then 

 nioi'e ()!• less arid, with a scanty water 

 >n|i|ilv ill the >iimiiiei' or seasons of 

 di'oiighi. ill ('eiitral Africa today the 

 animals congregate in great numbers 

 around the scattered water holes, and 

 some (d' tlieiii may dig out the holes 

 more or less with their paws. Our Mo- 

 rojiiis could do that sort of thing to 

 great advantage, and the powerful 

 claws often might enable him to dig 

 <lown in a sandy riverbed to water that 

 otherw i>e would be beyond his reach. 



'i'he modern moose and caribou n.se 

 their long and rather narrow hoofs not 

 only to support them on soft ground. 

 but also to dig down through the snow 

 and uncover food beneath it in the hun- 

 gry winter season. But it is not likely 

 that the Western Plains was a region 

 of cold winters and deep snows in the 

 time when the Moropus lived there. 

 Rather was it like Central Africa today, 

 at least in the summer .season, although 

 not having a tropical climate the year 

 around. 



