ITS NEAREST EXISTING RELATIONS 



49 



which those of elephants, rhinoceroses, and hippopota- 

 muses occur in abundance; but in other regions their 

 distribution at this age was wider than at present, as 

 they are known to have extended eastward to China, and 

 westward over the greater part of the southern United 

 States of America, from South Carolina to California. 

 Lund also distinguished two species or varieties from 

 the caves of Brazil. Thus we have no difficulty in 

 tracing the common origin of the now widely separated 

 American or Asiatic species. It is, moreover, interesting 

 to observe how very slight an amount of variation has 

 taken place in forms isolated during such an enormous 

 period of time. This may be owing to the extreme 

 similarity of the conditions of existence in a Brazilian 

 and a Malayan forest. 



The Rhinoceroses (Family RhinoGerotidce) 



The name rhinoceros (meaning in Greek 6 nose- 

 horn') was applied by the ancients to an animal the 

 most striking external peculiarity of which was certainly 

 the horn growing above its nose. 



The following are the general characters applicable 

 to all the existing members of the family : — 



Head large. Ears of moderate size, oval, erect, pro- 

 minent, placed near the occiput. Eyes small. Neck 

 short. Skin very thick, in some species consisting of 



E 



