QUADRUPEDS. 313 



adversary with great force and swiftness, inflicts the most 

 desperate, and sometimes fatal wounds. It inhabits a wide 

 extent of country along the western side of Africa, from 

 Senegal to the Cape ; and it also occurs specifically the same 

 in Ethiopia. A new species of this genus has been re- 

 cently discovered in the north of Africa by M. Riippell. It 

 is named Phascoch<zrus barbatus. The ascertainment of 

 the latter animal is a proof, among many others which 

 might be adduced, of the impropriety of denominating a 

 species from the continent which it inhabits. Few species 

 are so isolated in the animal kingdom as to exist alone over 

 a great tract of country, without claiming kindred with any 

 other ; and we may fairly infer, a priori, that when one of 

 a genus is discovered, a second or a third will ere long 

 make its appearance. When this happens, such specific 

 names as Africanus, Americanus, &c. cease to be of a dis- 

 criminating or exclusive nature, and consequently lose their 

 value. 



Next to the elephant and rhinoceros, perhaps the most 

 bulky land animal with which naturalists are acquainted, 

 is the hippopotamus or river-horse. It is peculiar to Africa, 

 and inhabits the fresh waters of that continent. It formerly 

 existed in Lower Egypt, but has long since disappeared 

 from that district. Mr. Bruce makes mention of hippopo- 

 tami as existing in the Lake Tzana, exceeding twenty feet 

 in length. It would be hard to limit the growth of this na- 

 turally gigantic species ; but the largest ever killed by Co- 

 lonel Gordon, an experienced hippopotamist, did not exceed 

 eleven feet eight inches. M. Desmoulins regards the spe- 

 cies of Senegal as differing from those of the more south- 

 em parts of Africa. These animals are chiefly valuable on 

 account of their ivory tusks, which, being harder than those 

 of elephants, and not so subject to turn yellow, are much 

 esteemed by dentists. Their hides are formed into buck- 

 lers by several of the African tribes. 



We now arrive at the genus Equus, or horse tribe, which 

 consists of six species, three of which are peculiar to Africa, 

 viz. the mountain-zebra {E. zebra, Linn., E. montanics, 

 Burchell), the zebra of the plains (E. zebra, Burchell), 

 and the quagga, {E. quagga, Linn.) Neither the ass nor the 

 common horse are aboriginal inhabitants of this continent. 



