446 UNGULATES. 



continually-growing incisor teeth ; the complete ring of bone round the socket of 

 the eye ; and the hook-like flange at the hinder extremity of the lower jaw. 



common The common hippopotamus {Hippopotamus amphibiiLs) is by 



Hippopotamus. f ar ^} le ] ar g er f the two living species, and next to the elephant 

 would seem to be the bulkiest of all existing terrestrial Mammals. A male which 

 lived for many years in the London Zoological Society's Gardens measured 12 feet 

 from the tip of the snout to the root of the tail, the length of the latter appendage 

 being 22 inches, and its total weight was about 4 tons. Sir Samuel Baker states 

 that in an old male measured by himself the length was 14 feet 3 inches from the 

 snout to the end of the tail, the latter being about 9 inches. And the same write! 

 estimates the weight of the hide, when freshly removed, at about 5 cwts. The 

 height at the shoulder is some 3 feet 8 inches. This species is further characterised 

 by having two pairs of incisor teeth in each jaw, the middle lower pair being of 

 far larger dimensions than the others. The general colour of the skin is a slaty 

 copper-brown, tending more to blackish brown on the back and purplish brown 

 beneath. There is, however, considerable sexual and individual variation in this 

 respect; and the hue of the skin also varies according to whether the animal lias 

 recently emerged from the water, or whether it is thoroughly dry. Dr. Livingstone 

 says that while the males are of a dark colour, the females are of a yellowish brown; 

 and when hippopotami first leave the water the upper-parts appear brownish blue 

 and the under-parts almost flesh-coloured, but when thoroughly dry the colour of 

 the back is blackish brown or slaty. Sir John Kirk observed in East Africa nearly 

 pure white and also spotted individuals, while in others only the feet were white. 

 In certain cases, however, a more or less distinct reddish, purple, or yellow tinge 

 has been noticed. The largest recorded pair of lower tusks of the hippopotamus 

 have a total length of 31 J inches along the curve, and a basal circumference of 

 just over 9 inches. 



That the hippopotamus formerly inhabited Lower Egypt is indicated by the 

 occurrence of its remains in the mud of the delta, while this is also confirmed by 

 the frequency with which it is depicted in the ancient frescoes of that country. 

 One of these frescoes preserved in the temple of Edfu shows that the ancient 

 Egyptians were in the habit of harpooning these animals in much the same manner 

 as is now practised on the upper reaches of the Nile. Teeth of the hippopotamus 

 have been dug up at Kalabshi, a short distance above the first cataract ; but at the 

 present day the animal is not to be met with north of the neighbourhood of 

 Dongola, in the Sudan, between the second and third cataracts. And even there 

 according to Sir S. Baker, it is comparatively rare, although a certain number take 

 refuge in the wooded islands between Abou Hamed and Berber. Above Khartum, 

 hippopotami are still to be found in large numbers. Generally, it may be stated 

 that at the present day the hippopotamus inhabits most of the African rivers and 

 lakes lying between the 17th parallel of north and the 25th of south latitude : that 

 is to say, in the south it is found in the upper course of the Limpopo. Formerly, 

 however, its distribution embraced the greater part of the Cape Colony. In East. 

 South, and West Africa the hippopotamus comes much nearer to the coast than in 

 the north, and in many districts it is to be found quite close to, or even in tie 

 itself. On the other hand, in Abyssinia these animals are found dwelling in Lake 



