104 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



to tail, and the Napu nearly a foot more), the two species can 

 be distinguished by the difference in the brown-and-white streaking 

 on the front of the neck, the Napu having five white streaks here, 

 while in the Kanchil there are only three. 



THE WATER CHEVROTAIN 



(Hyomoschus aquaticus) 



THIS animal is the only other species of Mouse-Deer known, and is 

 the only one found away from Asia, its home being in West Africa. 

 It is the largest of the known species of the family, being considerably 

 bigger than the Napu, and more heavily built in proportion to its 

 size, the legs being less slender and delicate. 



In the structure of the limbs also, it is more primitive even than 

 the other Mouse-Deer, for the supporting bones of the large third and 

 fourth toes which form the "cloven hoof" are not fused into a "cannon- 

 bone" as in all other ruminants, even the other Mouse-Deer, but 

 remain separate beneath the skin ; thus, as in the Pig, all four toes 

 of the foot are distinct in the skeleton. 



In colour the African Mouse-Deer combines the peculiarities of the 

 Asiatic species ; it is spotted and striped as in the Indian kind, but 

 the spotting, which is pure white, is on a red ground like the coat of 

 the Eastern or Malayan species. This creature is found along the 

 sides of rivers and streams, and, though specimens kept in captivity 

 during the last century did not display any of the aquatic proclivities 

 with which this animal is credited in the wild state, the last individual 

 the London Zoological Gardens possessed frequently entered the water 

 to which it was allowed access. 



That this creature is really a very ancient form is shown by the 

 discovery of fossil remains of a very closely allied species in Greece, 

 which was named Dorcatherium, before the present animal was known 

 to exist at all ; a fact which, with the discovery of the Okapi, encourages 

 us to hope for yet more novelties if the discovery of a supposed extinct 

 type can be reckoned as such in the wilds of the West African bush. 



