446 
UNGULATES. 
continually-growing incisor teeth; the complete ring of bone round the socket of 
the eye; and the hook-like flange at the hinder extremity of the lower jaw. 
common The common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) is by 
Hippopotamus. f ar the larger of the two living species, and next to the elephant 
would seem to be the bulkiest of all existing terrestrial Mammals. A male which 
lived for many years in the London Zoological Society’s Gardens measured 12 feet 
from the tip of the snout to the root of the tail, the length of the latter appendage 
being 22 inches, and its total weight was about 4 tons. Sir Samuel Baker states 
that in an old male measured by himself the length was 14 feet 3 inches from the 
snout to the end of the tail, the latter being about 9 inches. And the same writer 
estimates the weight of the hide, when freshly removed, at about 5 cwts. The 
height at the shoulder is some 3 feet 8 inches. This species is further characterised 
by having two pairs of incisor teeth in each jaw, the middle lower pair being of 
far larger dimensions than the others. The general colour of the skin is a slaty 
copper-brown, tending more to blackish brown on the back and purplish brown 
beneath. There is, however, considerable sexual and individual variation in this 
respect; and the hue of the skin also varies according to whether the animal has 
recently emerged from the water, or whether it is thoroughly dry. Dr. Livingstone 
says that while the males are of a dark colour, the females are of a yellowish brown; 
and when hippopotami first leave the water the upper-parts appear brownish blue 
and the under-parts almost flesh-coloured, but when thoroughly dry the colour of 
the back is blackish brown or slaty. Sir John Kirk observed in East Africa nearly 
pure white and also spotted individuals, while in others only the feet were white. 
In certain cases, however, a more or less distinct reddish, purple, or yellow tinge 
has been noticed. The largest recorded pair of lower tusks of the hippopotamus 
have a total length of 31| inches along the curve, and a basal circumference of 
just over 9 inches. 
That the hippopotamus formerly inhabited Lower Egypt is indicated by the 
occurrence of its remains in the mud of the delta, while this is also confirmed by 
the frequency with which it is depicted in the ancient frescoes of that country. 
One of these frescoes preserved in the temple of Edfu shows that the ancient 
Egyptians were in the habit of harpooning these animals in much the same manner 
as is now practised on the upper reaches of the Nile. Teeth of the hippopotamus 
have been dug up at Kalabshi, a short distance above the first cataract; but at the 
present day the animal is not to be met with north of the neighbourhood of 
Dongola, in the Sudan, between the second and third cataracts. And even there ; 
according to Sir S. Baker, it is comparatively rare, although a certain number take 
refuge in the wooded islands between Abou Hamed and Berber. Above Khartum, 
hippopotami are still to be found in large numbers. Generally, it may be stated 
that at the present day the hippopotamus inhabits most of the African rivers and 
lakes lying between the 17th parallel of north and the 25th of south latitude; that 
is to say, in the south it is found in the upper course of the Limpopo. Formerly, 
however, its distribution embraced the greater part of the Cape Colony. In East, 
South, and West Africa the hippopotamus comes much nearer to the coast than in 
the north, and in many districts it is to be found quite close to, or even in the sea 
itself. On the other hand, in Abyssinia these animals are found dwelling in Lake 
