474 



UNGULATES. 



all the latter the African rhinoceroses are distinguished by the absence of any 

 permanent folds in the skin, and also by the want of both incisor teeth and tusks 

 in the adult state ; such teeth if they occur even in the young being rudimentary 

 and functionless. In consequence of this want of front teeth, the extremities 

 of both the upper and lower jaws are much shorter than in the Asiatic species. 

 Moreover, whereas in the latter the nasal bones are narrow and terminate in a 

 point, in the African rhinoceroses they are rounded and truncated in front. In 

 both kinds the skin of the body is almost entirely naked and comparatively 

 smooth ; but there is generally a little fringe or tuft of hairs on the ears and tail, 

 common African The common African rhinoceros (R. bicornis) is the smaller of 

 Rhinoceros, the two species, and is also the one which has by far the wider 

 distribution, extending, in suitable districts, through Eastern and Central Africa, 

 from Abyssinia in the north to the Cape Colony in the south. From the character 



of the upper lip 

 this species is 

 sometimes spoken 

 of as the pre- 

 hensile - lipped 

 rhinoceros, while 

 in Southern and 

 Eastern Africa it is 

 variously termed 

 the boreli or 

 upetyani, the 

 keitloa, and the 

 kulumani ; these 

 different native 



HEAD OF THE COMMON AFRICAN RHINOCEROS. 



names, as we 

 shall notice later, 

 referring to differences in the relative proportions of the two horns. This 

 species is best characterised by the pointed and slightly prehensile upper lip, 

 the small and rounded nostrils, and the position of the eyes being a little behind 

 the continuation of the axis of the second horn. The ears are of moderate 

 length, and furnished with a fringe of hair along the upper edge, while in some- 

 cases they are rounded above, although in others more pointed. There is a 

 considerable amount of individual variation as to the length and amount of the 

 fringe of hairs on the margins of the ears. The molar teeth of this rhinoceros are 

 of the type of the uppermost of the two represented on p. 464. That is to say, they 

 have comparatively low crowns, a well-marked buttress at their front outer angle, 

 the middle valley not divided into two moieties by a cross-partition, and the surface 

 of the crown when worn raised into two distinct ridges. The latter feature shows 

 that the jaws have a somewhat champing, instead of a completely grinding action ; 

 and since we know that this species feeds almost exclusively on twigs and leaves, 

 it may be assumed that molar teeth of this pattern always indicate a similar diet 

 for their owners. The horns are well developed in both sexes. 



As regards dimensions, in an adult female from Abyssinia, described by Mr. 



