1 1 12 THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



The most striking external peculiarity of elephants, and the one 

 Characteristics frQm which their tkle of pro boscidians is derived, is the long, flexible 

 proboscis, into which the nose is produced; this proboscis having the nostrils at its 

 extremity, and being used as an organ of prehension, and for the purpose of convey- 

 ing water to the mouth. Their build is extremely massive and bulky, the head 

 being of great, proportionate size, the ears large and flapping, the neck very short 

 and thick, and the limbs long and stout. A peculiarity of the limbs, as shown in 

 the figure of the skeleton, is that the humerus in the fore, and the femur in the 

 hind-leg, are very long in proportion to the lower segments; the feet themselves be- 



SKELETON OF THE INDIAN ELEPHANT. 



ing very short indeed. It will also be noticed that the bones of the limbs are set 

 nearly vertically one above another; and from this cause, together with the great 

 relative length of their upper segments, the knee and elbow joints are not partially 

 inclosed within the skin covering the body, as is the case in most Ungulates. Con- 

 sequently, the knee of the elephant is more readily identified with that of man than 

 is the case with that of a horse. It is further owing to this peculiarity in the struc- 

 ture of its limbs that an elephant kneels down, with its fore-feet stretched out in 

 front and the hinder ones behind. The short feet are extremely broad, and have 

 five toes each, of which the middle one (as shown in the figure on p. 1106) is the 

 largest; and from the extreme shortness of the feet the ankle bone is placed close to> 



