WATER-CHEVROTAIN— BUSH-PIGS 



107 



zone from the west coast to the Ituri forest in the east, where it is represented by 

 a separate race. 



In size somewhat superior to the chevrotains (Trqgulus) of tropical Asia, 

 this species also differs in the structure of the bones of the fore-feet, in which 

 no cannon-bone is formed. In height the animal stands 13 or 14 inches at the 

 shoulder ; and in colour it is olive-grey, profusely spotted and streaked with 

 white or yellow, the throat and chest having a number of longitudinal streaks. As 

 their name implies, water-chevrotains frequent the rivers of equatorial Africa, in 

 which they both swim and dive with facility. 



WATER-CHEVROTAIN. 



Bush-Pigs. 



Bush-pigs, or river-hogs, form a peculiar group of the swine 

 family (Suidce), restricted to Ethiopian Africa, with the exception of 

 one species in Madagascar, in which island it is probably a comparatively recent 

 immigrant. From typical swine they are distinguished by the absence of the first 

 pair of cheek-teeth in the lower jaw, the simpler structure of those teeth in both 

 jaws, and the presence of two bony ridges on each side of the face, the upper 

 one of which may be sheathed with horn in the old boars. Long tufts of hair 

 surmount the tips of the ears. The typical species, Potamochcerus cheer opotamus, 

 has a wide range, and is represented by several local races, differing considerably 

 in the matter of colour. It is specially chai'acterised by the great development of 

 the ridges on the skull of adult boars, the upper pair projecting as crests above 

 the line of the face, while those on the sheaths of the tusks reach up to that line. 



