710 
AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 
less solid hoof which shows evidence of three or four of the 
toes in the nail-like division on its margin. Placed almost 
immediately above the hoof we find the ankle, which occu¬ 
pies a position somewhat similar to that in man and the apes. 
This arrangement gives the foot great flexibility and enables 
the elephant to perform many movements of which the 
hoofed mammals are quite incapable. The head is im¬ 
mensely enlarged so as to support the tusks or canine teeth, 
the enormous size of which is a further peculiarity of ele¬ 
phants. In order to increase the size of the skull so as to 
give greater surface for muscular attachment, the occipital 
and parietal bones have been increased greatly in extent 
and thickness by the development of sinuses. having a 
light honeycomb structure. The brain case has in this 
way attained a thickness of some fifteen or twenty inches, 
and it is this great mass of bony tissue surrounding the 
brain which makes the elephant so difficult an animal to 
kill, owing to the difficulty of locating the brain. The bony 
expansion of the skull is chiefly upward, over the occipital 
portion, in the form of a great dome, which is cut off abruptly 
at the back so as to build a great wall for the attachment 
of the muscles which move the head. A further striking 
peculiarity of the skull is the expansion of the premaxillary 
bones into great sheaths for the support of the immense 
tusks. The elephants also show marked specialization in 
the structure of their molar or cheek-teeth. These in the 
true elephants are made up of a series of folds of enamel and 
dentine, which are bound together by a cement layer form¬ 
ing a tooth with a very long crown, a foot or more in length 
and of great height, so that it can withstand an immense 
amount of wear. Only one or part of two teeth are in use 
