Miscellaneous. 48-5 



Cautley *, or as genera, as by the greatest of British paliuoubolo- 

 gists, the late Sir llichard Owen f. The latter view being accepted 

 by the author, Cha'ropsis, with the incisor formula ? — j, and 

 differing in other respects far more from the living liippopotamus 

 {Tetraprotodon) than the latter does from the extinct one {He.ca- 

 protodon), should certainly be regarded as a genus distinct from 

 Hippopotamus. 



It appears to us that too much importance has been attached by 

 Lydekker and Flower to the presence of an extra incisor tooth iu 

 the lower jaw of Hlptpopotamus amphibius and Choeropsis respec- 

 tively, especially as it has only been noticed once in either case. 

 We would rather regard the presence of such an incisor tooth as an. 

 individual peculiarity and as an instance of redundancy than of 

 reversion. In view of what has already been urged by Leidy, 

 Gratiolet, and Milne-Edwards in favour of distinguishing Chogropsis 

 as a genus distinct from Hipp^pofamus, there is but little further to 

 be added. It may be mentioned, however, in this connexion, that 

 the brain of Cliceropsls as described by "^lacalister j differs very 

 considerably from that of the adult hippopotamus dissected by 

 Garrod§ and of the young animal dissected by the author !|, tho 

 differences between the two brains being essentially the same as 

 those presented by the casts of the ci'anial cavities described and 

 figured by Milne-Edwards. The above remarks are made on the 

 occasion of the presentation to the Academy by Mr. W. E. Rothery, 

 Consul of the Liberian Government, through Mr. Arthur E. Brown, 

 of a fine skin and skeleton of the CJioeropsis liberiensls. The value 

 of this generous gift will be better appreciated when it is known 

 that the only specimen of Chosroiisis liberietmsever exhibited abroad 

 was the one that lived only five minutes after its arrival at the 

 Zoological Garden of Dublin, and which constituted the subject of 

 the dissection made of that animal by ]^Iacalister. So far as known 

 to the author, with the exception of the skin presented to the 

 Academy this evening there are but two others in collections — those 

 referred to by Milne-Edwards and Flower. Our Ch(vro2:>sis is 5 feet 

 3 inches in length and 2 feet 5 inches in height, the latter measure- 

 ment being taken from the shoulder. The colour of the skin 

 appears to have been originally of a bluish black, fainter in some 

 parts than others, and presenting, therefore, a somewhat mottled 

 appearance. The difference in colour from that of the Choeropsis 

 described by Mihie-Edwards, which is represented as of a reddish 

 hue, may possibly have been due to the li(iuor in which the skin. 

 was preserved. It is more probable, however, tliat Chivropsis varies 

 in colour. In other respects our specimen resembles that described 

 and illustrated by ]iIiIne-Edwards. — Pt'oc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 

 1803, pp. 185-187. 



* Falconer, ' Paheontulogical Memoirs,' vul. i., 18(58, p. 140. 



t ' Odoutographv,' 1840, p. oH(». 



I Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. 2ii(l .-er. \(I. i., 187."., p. 494. 



§ Trans. Zuol. Soc. Lund. 1880. 



il Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. li^81 , p. 1 26. 



