330 A MANUAL OF DENTAL ANATOMY. 



shape, being somewhat triangular in section, but they also 

 are of very great length, and pass upwards, far above the 

 level of the snout ; their points are also directed backwards, 



FIG. 141 ('). 



but have in addition an outward inclination. The canines 

 are devoid of enamel, and grow from persistent pulps, a 

 fact which sometimes has a disastrous result, for the tip 

 of the tooth, occasionally taking a wrong direction, re-enters 

 the head or the jaws of the animal. 



Their length is very great; the animal is smaller than 

 the domesticated pig, but its canines attain a length of 

 eight or ten inches. Their use is a matter of conjecture; 

 the position of the upper tusks has suggested the idea that 

 they may serve as a protection to the creature's eyes, as it 

 seeks its food, consisting of fallen fruits, amongst the 

 brushwood. But were that the case the female also would 

 probably have them, which is not the case ; and although 



(*) Skull of Sus babirussa (male). The upper incisors have been lost 

 from the specimen figured : they are much like those of a pig. 



