ITS NEAREST EXISTING RELATIONS. 65 



indeed, the time of its complete extinction cannot 

 be far off, if indeed it has not already arrived. No 

 specimen of this species has ever been brought alive 

 to Europe, and very few examples are to be seen in 

 our museums. The flesh of both species of African 

 rhinoceroses is considered very good eating by the 

 natives of the countries in which they live, being, 

 according to Selous,* " something like beef, but yet 

 having a peculiar flavor of its own. The part in 

 greatest favor among hunters is the hump, which, if 

 cut off whole, and roasted, just as it is, in the skin, in 

 a hole dug in the ground, would be difficult to match 

 either for juiciness or flavor." 



Before leaving the rhinoceroses, a huge creature 

 belonging to the family, to which the name of Elas- 

 motherimn has been given, should be mentioned. It 

 is only imperfectly known by fossil remains found in 

 Pleistocene deposits in Russia ; but it is interesting 

 on account of the remarkable degree of specialization 

 its molar teeth had attained, far beyond that of the 

 existing rhinoceroses, and comparable in the length 

 of the crowns and the complex folding of the enamel 

 to that of the horses of the same or later period, 

 though on a very much larger scale. It affords a 

 good illustration of the fact previously mentioned, 



* See F. C. Selous, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of 

 London, 1881. 



