44 ELEPHANTS. 



much larger size than E. primigenius, and possessed teeth of a 

 more primitive character, approximating to those of the 

 probably ancestral E. meridionalis and E. hysudricus. 



The Indian elephant, E. maximus (fig. 30 A) (Stands G, J) r 

 one of the two surviving species of the suborder, is found in India, 

 Ceylon, and the Malay Peninsula to'Sumatra. The chief pecu- 

 liarities of the species, distinguishing it from the African elephant, 

 are the flatness of the forehead, the comparatively small ears, 

 the presence of a single finger-like process at the front of the 

 end of the trunk (fig. 31 A). As might be expected from the 

 wide range of this species, different local forms can be dis- 

 tinguished, and in some cases these have even been regarded as- 

 specifically distinct, as, for instance, the elephant of Sumatra, 



Fig. 31. 



Skull of the African Elephant (Elephas africanus). About j- 8 nat. size. 



which has been called E. sumafranus. It seems, however, that 

 all are merely geographical races of the same animal. The 

 Ceylon form is said to be, as a rule, tuskless, and, although tusk- 

 bearing forms do occur in the island, they may be either animals 

 imported from the mainland of India or the result of former 

 interbreeding with such. In India, also, some individuals, called 

 Muchnas, are tuskless or have very small tusks (see mounted 

 skin, Stand G). The Sumatran type differs in being rather 

 more slightly built, and in possessing a rather longer trunk and 

 more expanded end to its tail. The elephants from Further 

 India and the Malay Peninsula are probably also a distinct 



