230 THE MAMMALIA. 



powerful. The Hindoos marvelled at everything in 

 the animal, not only at its sagacity, which made it 

 seem to them the embodiment of the god Ganesa, 

 but also and more justly than we they admired 

 the neatness of its feet. 



Its zoological singularity is, as already stated, 

 mainly centred in the character of its head. To- 

 gether with an unusually small breadth of head, 

 the facial portion shows a remarkable height. The 

 narrowness is caused by the very limited number 

 of teeth. In the upper jaw there are only the two 

 tusks (incisors) and one molar on either side ; in 

 the lower jaw there are molars only, powerfully 

 developed, it is true, but, as regards length, show 

 comparatively far less dimension than is seen in 

 the full dentition of a grass-eater. All the more 

 powerful and higher are the roots, not only of the 

 tusks but of the molars. The latter are changed 

 six times, so that the succeeding teeth from be- 

 hind and below claim a position in the inside of 

 the jaw till the animal is tolerably advanced in 

 years. The structure of the molar, even when 

 worn smooth by use, shows it to be an exceedingly 

 perfect apparatus for crushing leaves and grasses. 

 Zoology terms it ' complex.' It appears to be 

 formed of a large number of high and narrow 





