HIPPOPOTAMI IX A MEADOW BY THE SENEGAL. 



CHAPTER IV. 

 ARTIODACTYLA THE HIPPOPOTAMUS FAMILY. 



Present Representatives Two Species THE COMMON RIVER HORSE General Appearance Characteristics : Skin, Head, 

 Nostrils, Eyes, Ears, Legs, Tail, Mouth, Tusks, Dentition, Skeleton, Stomach Habits Food Under "Water Behe- 

 moth of the Bihle Used in the Roman Sports As described by the Ancient Naturalists As portrayed by the 

 Ancient Artists The First Hippopotamus in England Subsequent Inmates of the Zoological Gardens Herds of 

 Hippopotami Harpoon for Hunting Sir Samuel Baker's Accounts of Hippopotamus Hunts Various Methods of 

 Capture Occasional Fits of Blind Fury A Night Attack upon a Diahbeeah Uses of the Hippopotamus THE 

 LIBERIAN HIPPOPOTAMUS Fossil Forms THE ANOPLOTHERES. 



II. THE HIPPOPOTAMUS FAMILY (HIPPOPOTAMID^E). 



THE Hippopotami, or River Horses, constitute the second family to be considered next after the Hogs, 

 among the non-ruminant hoofed animals possessing an even number of toes on each foot. They are 

 represented at the present time by two closely-allied species found only in Africa, the Hippopotamus 

 ampkibius, or Common River Horse, which haunts the livers of Africa from the Sahara desert to the 

 Cape Colony ; and the much smaller Liberian animal, living on the west coast and on the rivers flowing 

 into Lake Tchad. 



THE COMMON RIVER HORSE (Hippopotamus amphibius) is a large, unwieldy-looking animal, some- 

 times as much as eleven or twelve feet long, with a massive body and enormous head, and short stout legs. 

 Nevertheless, it is capable of moving swiftly on the land and of swimming with perfect ease. Its skin 

 is naked, thick, and penetrated by pores which exude a thick fatty secretion, which may perhaps be 

 useful to it while in the water. The front part of the head is massive, and broader than that of any 

 other living quadruped ; the nostrils are comparatively small slits, which are closed and water-tight 

 during the frequent dives beneath the siirface of the water ; the eyes are prominent, and placed far 

 back in the head ; and the ears are so short that they look as if they had been cropped. They, too, 

 have a special arrangement of muscles by which they can be closed. The short legs are terminated by 

 four hoof-bearing toes ; and the short tail is adorned with bristles arranged laterally and on opposite 

 sides, which are the only traces of hair found on the animal. The mouth is very large, and armed 

 with tusks and grinders, that present a fearful appearance when the animal opens its mouth with a 

 gape, which is unsurpassed in width by that of any other animal. The tusks are enormous, especially 

 those in the lower jaw, which are curved upwards as in the Hogs, and meet those of the upper jav 

 close to their sockets. By the attrition of their surfaces together their tips are reduced to a chisel 

 edge. Between these great teeth are four front or incisor teeth, of conical shape, in both upper and 

 lower jaws, those in the latter being the larger. The grinders in each jaw are three in number, and of 

 a trefoil pattern on their worn surfaces ; while the false grinders in front of them, four in number in 



