KUNGL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAB. BAND 48. N:0 5. 135 



The race of Bush Pig descibed above has been named the Kenia race because 

 it evidently inhabits the forests of the Kenia plateau. On the northern side of this 

 plateau the dry" Somali-Galla countries are situated, and on the southern side the 

 open East African steppe. Both these surrounding countries do not offer suitable 

 conditions of life for Bush Pigs, and the Kenia race appears thus to live in a certain 

 isolation which may account for its differentiation. The geographically nearest race 

 in the south east is P. ch. dcemonis (Major) of Kilimanjaro which is easily recognized 

 on its smallness and very narrow parietal area.* In the north the Abyssinian P. 

 hassama (Heuglin) is a rather distant neighbour. This latter race is chiefly known 

 from the first description,* but Forsyth Major has also published some notes and 

 two figures of a skull. He points out as for this race especially typical characteristics 

 the low canine apophysis, and »the elongation of the hinder part of the skull back- 

 wards from the postorbital processes of the f rentals*.' These characteristics are also 

 plainly shown in Major's figures, and prove the distinctness in these respects of the 

 Abyssinian race from the one from Kenia. The present author has not had any 

 opportunity of examining any boar skull from Abyssinia, but an evidently female- 

 looking skull has been obtained for this museum from Gheleb, Eritrea, through the 

 kindness of Mr. K. G. RoDET«r. The measurements of this skull have been recorded 

 in the table above, side by side of those of the sow skull from Nairobi. From this 

 may be seen that the posterior portion of the skull is broader with regard to several 

 dimensions in the Abyssinian than in the Kenia specimen. The former is also some- 

 what longer with regard to its postorbital extension, although this is less striking 

 than in Major's figure of the boar skull. The nasals are more vaulted than in the 

 Kenia specimen, and the anterior part of the zygomatic arch is much more gradually 

 sloping towards the facial portion. 



The colour of the Abyssinian race is very different from that of the Kenia race. 

 Two skins of P. hassama male and female obtained by Mr. K. G. Rodbn at Gheleb 

 have the snout and the upper part of the head behind the interocular region whitish. 

 The whiskers and a streak below the eye are also white, the remaining part of the 

 head blackish brown. Chin mixed with whitish. Ears, shoulders, hams, and feet 

 blackish brown. Back and sides pale rufous somewhat mixed with blackish in the 

 boar, still paler, partly huffish in the sow. The dorsal crest which does not extend 

 over the posterior back, is whitish with hardly any, or few black bases to the bristles. 



Two little pigs of P. hassama from the same locality are pale rufous somewhat 

 mixed with black. A whitish crest is developed over the withers and anterior portion 

 of the back. Preocular region of head above and below blackish brown; ears and 

 feet of the same colour which extends more or less up the legs. 



P. hassama is thus in all ages much paler than P. ch. kenice which latter with 

 regard to its very dark colouration of the body more resembles P. ch. dcemonis. 



1 Conf. LOnnbeeg 1. c. p. 27. <. tt w u* ^ t- 



2 Verb. d. K. Leop. Carol. Akad. d. Naturwiss., Bd. XXX, pt. U Nachtr., p. 7. 

 =* Proc. Soc, London 1897, p. 369. 



