288 THE DESCENT OF MAN 



several females. Whetlier this holds good in Europe is 

 doubtful, but it is supported by some evidence. The adult 

 made Indian elephant, like the boar, passes much of his time 

 in solitude; but, as Dr. Campbell states, when with others, 

 "it is rare to find more than one male with a whole herd of 

 females' ' ; the larger males expelling or killing the smaller 

 and weaker ones. The male differs from the female in his 

 immense tusks, greater size, strength, and endurance; so 

 great is the difference in these respects that the males when 

 caught are valued at one-fifth more than the females. " The 

 sexes of other pachydermatous animals differ very little or 

 not at all, and, as far as known, they are not polygamists. 

 ISTor have I heard of any species in the Orders of Cheiroptera, 

 Edentata, Insectivora, and Rodents being polygamous, ex- 

 cepting that, among the Rodents, the common rat, according 

 to some rat-catchers, lives with several females. Neverthe- 

 less the two sexes of some sloths (Edentata) differ in the 

 character and color of certain patches of hair on their shoul- 

 ders." And many kinds of bats (Cheiroptera) present well- 

 marked sexual differences, chiefijBH^t.he males possessing 

 odoriferous glands and pouches, and by their being of a 

 lighter color." In the great order of Rodents, as far as I 

 can learn, the sexes rarely differ, and when they do so, it 

 is but slightly in the tint of the fur. 



As I hear from Sir Andrew Smith, the lion in South 

 Africa sometimes lives with a single female, but generally 

 with more, and, in one case, was found with as many as 

 five females; so that he is polygamous. As far as I can 

 discover, he is the only polygamist among all the terres- 

 trial Carnivora, and he alone presents well-marked sexual 

 characters. If, however, we turn to the marine Carnivora, 

 as we shall hereafter see, the case is widely different; for 

 many species of seals offer extraordinary sexual differences, 



'2 Dr. Campbell, in "Proc. Zoolog. Soc," 1869, p. 138. See also an 

 interesting paper, by Lieut. Jolinstone, in "Proc. Asiatic Soo. of Bengal," 

 May, 1868. 



" Dr. Gray, in "Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.," 1871, p. 302. 



" See Dr. Dobson's excellent paper, in "Proc. Zoolog. Soc," 1873, p. 241. 



