Pigmy Kippopotamm from Cyprus. 243 



On comparing the mounted skeleton of S. minulus witli that of 

 H. liberiensis,^ it was found that in height and antero-posterior 

 length they agree very closely : the height at the withers in each 

 case being about 2 feet 2f inches, and the length of the vertebral 

 column (along the ventral curve) about 4 ft. 6^ ins. These 

 measurements are, however, if taken by themselves, decidedly 

 misleading, for, in spite of this apparent similarity in size, the 

 Cypriote species has a much smaller skull, must have been longer 

 in the leg, and altogether the slighter animal of the two. This is 

 especially remarkable in the bones of the limbs and feet, which, 

 when compared, are found to be all noticeably very much more 

 slender in S. minutus than in the Liberian species. The same 

 diminutiveness also obtains in the dentition: the antero-posterior 

 length of the upper cheek teeth of one side, taken from specimens 

 in a similar stage of wear, is in M. liheriensis 142 mm. and in 

 H. minutus 132 mm. Three considerably worn molars in a right 

 mandibular ramus of the latter measure antero-posteriorly 77 mm., 

 while the space occupied by the corresponding, though less abraded, 

 teeth of H. liheriensis is 85 mm. In the molars from Cyprus there 

 is even less approach than in those of H. liheriensis to the trefoil 

 pattern so characteristic of the worn teeth of the larger Hippopotami, 

 and it may also be mentioned that the upper canines of the West 

 African species are so deeply grooved that the surfaces of wear 

 become practically bilobed in outline, whereas in those of the 

 Cypriote race they are as indicated in Fig. 1, p. 244. The width of 

 the palate is, relatively speaking, similar in the two species. 



Dr. Forsyth Major has pointed out^ one or two peculiarities in 

 the skull of H. minutus, and we may add that the outline of its 

 anterior half, when viewed from above, is more regular and uniform 

 than is the case in that of H. liheriensis, owing to the maxillge being 

 less constricted and the premaxillge further extended and more 

 closely connected with the anterior portion of the maxillce as shown 

 in Figs. 2 & 3, p. 244, this being especially noticeable when the two 

 skulls are seen side by side. The comparative length of those borders 

 of the maxillfe which adjoin the nasals is considerably greater in 

 H. minutus than in the recent pigmy species. Another striking 

 difference is that in the former the upper surface of the skull 

 between the orbits is slightly concave, this hollowed appearance 

 being intensified by the projection of the post-orbital processes of 

 the frontals, which in a slight degree assume the tubular form 

 so conspicuous in ff. nmphihiiis, but which seems to be altogether 

 absent in H. liheriensis. 



Darwin has declared ^ that a luxuriant vegetation is not necessary 

 for the maintenance of large species of mammals, but in that case 

 nndoubtedly an extensive tract of country must be available to 

 contribute to their support. It is pretty generally supposed that 

 many of the small forms found in islands are the direct result of 



^ Presented to the National Collection by Dr. Biittikofer in 1887. 



2 Proc. Zool. Soc, 1902, pp. 107-111. 



3 "Voyage of the Beagle," r2th ed., Ward, Lock, & Co. (1897), p. 98, etc. 



