2co CASSELL'S POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. 



In tV skull of a pbacochere, which was carefully examined, the molars were found to be four on 

 each sill-- al><>ve, and three below. From the first molar above, which was very small, to the third, 

 the increase in size was gradual, but the fourth molar was long, and narrowed gradually as it proceeded 

 Kifkwards. Had the animal lived much longer, it is probable that the first molar would have dis- 

 appeared. The incisors were two above and .six below. The tusks were enormous. We give" a 

 specimen of these animals (page 258). Their head is enormously large and heavy ; the eyes are small, 

 and set high in the forehead, which is depressed between them ; under each eye is a large, fleshy 

 Icilio ; and a warty excrescence appears on each side of the muzzle, between the eye and the tusks- 

 The muzzle is very broad, and the ears are erect. 



THE ABYSSINIAN PHACOCHERE.* 



THIS species, sometimes called ^Elian's Wart-hog, was found by RiippelL first in Kordofan, but after- 

 wards, in greater abundance, on the eastern slope of Abyssinia. It haunts low bushes and forests, and 

 has a habit of creeping on its bent fore limbs in quest of food. In this attitude it uses its tusks in 

 digging up or tearing out of the ground the roots or plants, which constitute part of its diet. When 



thus engaged, it pushes its body forward by means 

 of its hind legs, in order to move along. This 

 habit has been occasionally noticed in the common 

 hog. 



The capture of another speeiest is thus de- 

 scribed by Capt. Sir G. Han-is : " Returning one 

 drizzly morning from the banks of the Limpopo, 

 with the spoils of three noble water-bucks packed 

 upon my horse, I chanced upon a very large drove 

 of the unclean beasts, feeding unconcernedly on the 

 slope of a hill ; and the sleet obscuring my rifle 

 sights, I projected no fewer than three bullets at the 

 diabolical-looking boar without touching a bristle ; 

 SKULL UK ni.u uciiiiuE. t j le w i lo ] e party, with a general grunt, scampering 



off after each discharge to a little distance, then wheeling about to show a menacing front, exalting 

 their whip-lash tails at the same time, and screwing horrible i'aces at me. But the fourth missive 

 tripped up the hoary general ; and, although shooting a pig may sound somewhat oddly in the sporting 

 ears of my brother Nimrods, I can assure them that whilst we had no horses to spare, 'the head of that 

 ilk swine' proved a prize well worth the lead and gunpowder that had been expended on it. Gigantic, 

 and protruding like those of an elephant, the upper tusks were sufficiently hooked to admit of the 

 wearer hanging himself up by them to roost, as did his ancestors of yore, if the ancients are to be 

 believed. By all who saw these trophies in the colony, they were invariably taken for the ivories of a 

 Zeekoe (hippopotamus), the best that I afterwards realised measuring less than one-half their length." 



THE RED POTAMOCHERE.J 



THIS animal the Red Hog ot the Cameroons is also found on some of the other rivers of Western 

 Africa. It was long known to the merchant explorers of those mysterious streams, but till recently 

 had escaped the grasp of scientific naturalists. Its nearest analogue is the Bosdi Yaik of the Cape, 

 the Sus larvatw of Cuvier. A few years ago, one was added to the collection in the Zoological Gardens, 

 and of it we give an engraving (page 259). Its bright red colour, the white streak which marks the 

 line of its back, and its long, lynx-like, tufted ears, are very remarkable. Specimens of these curious 

 animals are to be seen in the Zoological Gardens. The Red Potamochere is by far the more rare. The 

 female has produced three litters ; but, unfortunately, of the first two, none of the young lived beyond 

 a few weeks. 



Phacochccrua ^Elianl. RUppell. f Phacochcerus JJthiopicus. J Potamochcerus penicillatus. Choiropotamus. 



Potamochcerua Afticanus. 



