976 DR. C, L. FORSYTH MAJOR ON A [Dec. 1, 
PoraMOCHERUS. 
The Wild Hog of Madagascar, of which the National Museum 
contains the skin of a young specimen, figures in my collections 
with 11 specimens, male and female, adult and young, and complete 
skeletons. The species has been named, but never described, and 
will have to be compared with the P. africanus, with which it 
presents more affinity than with P. penicillatus. To judge from 
the characters of the dentition, the same type is represented in 
the Siwaliks (S. hysudricus) as well as in the Upper Miocene 
and Pliocene of Europe, Eppelsheim, Montebamboli, Casteani, &c. 
(S. paleochaerus and S. charoides). 
HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
Filhol is of opinion that there are three subfossil Hippopotami 
in Madagascar. There are certainly two on the west coast, to 
judge from the remains in the National Museum, My material 
comes from Sirabé, and the species may be different from those on 
the west coast. For the present, the question of one species more 
or less is a secondary one tome. All the Hippopotamus remains 
from Madagascar, those in the British Museum as well as those 
collected by myself and those preserved in Christiania and Paris, 
are certainly nearly related to each other, and this relationship 
may be briefly summed up as follows :—In size they are inter- 
mediate between H. liberiensis and H. paleindicus; in more 
important characters they would have to be placed, according to 
their greater or lesser degree of specialization, between H. siva- 
lensis and H. paleindicus on one side, and H. amphibius on the 
other; one end of the whole line being occupied by the most 
generalized form, H. liberiensis, existing in W. Africa, and the 
other by the most specialized one, H. major of the Upper Pliocene 
of Europe. The whole series would be as follows :— 
H. liberiensis. 
HZ. iravadicus. 
H. sivalensis. 
HA, paleindicus, 
H. madagascariensis, H. merlei, &e. 
HT. amphabius. 
A, major. 
T have called the /. liberiensis the most generalized form; this 
does not hold good certainly as to the number of its incisors, in which 
respect it is very much specialized. The particulars of the cranium 
have almost the value of family characters, as by them it approaches 
the extinct genus Merycopotamus and the Suid, and appears to 
be, as was pointed out by Gratiolet, less aquatic and especially 
less exclusively herbivorous than H. amphibius. Compared with 
the other members, and especially with H. amphibius and H. major, 
one of the most striking differences lies in the relative proportion 
of the cranial and facial portion of the skull, the first being greatly 
