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140 MOSTLY MAMMALS 
resemblance to the spotted hyaena, is an equally remarkable 
representative of the dog family. Although formerly found in 
Europe, the spotted hyaena itself is now exclusively African. 
Passing by the rodents, or gnawing mammals, as being 
less familiar to non-zoological readers, we have the two 
species of hippopotamuses absolutely confined to Africa at the 
present day; we are all familiar with the common species 
in the “Zoo,” but the small West African kind, which has 
eed 
‘ more the habits of a pig, is much less commonly known. 
The stately giraffes are solely African, but are mainly 
confined to more or less open districts; while their ally 
the okapi is a forest species. The herds of antelopes, for 
the most part belonging to generic types unknown elsewhere, 
with the exception of a few in Arabia, form one of the most 
distinctive features of African life. Many of them, like the 
strange gnus and the graceful gemsbok group, are confined 
to the open districts of the south and east; but others, 
such as the bush-bucks and the harnessed antelopes, have 
representatives in the forest districts of the west. Both 
species of African rhinoceros are quite different from their 
Oriental relatives; but only one of these, the common 
species, has a wide distribution in the country. Zebras 
and the extinct quagga are familiar and striking African 
animals, although most of them are confined to the open 
plains and mountains, On the other hand, the African 
elephant, which differs so widely in the structure of its 
teeth from its Asiatic relative, has a much more extensive 
distribution, and may therefore be classed among the most 
characteristic of Ethiopian animals. Even more peculiar 
are the little dassies (Procavia), the miscalled coneys of 
our version of the Bible, which form a family absolutely 
peculiar to Africa, Arabia, and Syria; some of the species 
dwelling among rocks, while others are active climbers, and 
