RHINO CER OSES. 
479 
Extinct Ally. 
escape, and he forthwith pulls the log from the trench in which it was buried. 
This log, writes Sir S. Baker, “acts as a drag, and, by catching in the jungle and 
the protruding roots of trees, it quickly fatigues him. On the following morning 
the hunters discover the rhinoceros by the track of the log that has ploughed along 
the ground, and the animal is killed by lances or by the sword.” 
The same writer adds that the hide of a rhinoceros will produce seven 
shields; these being worth about two dollars each, as simple hide before manufacture. 
The horn is sold in Abyssinia for about two dollars per pound, for the manufacture 
of sword-hilts, which are much esteemed if of this material. In South Africa the 
flesh of the common rhinoceros is much appreciated by the natives as food; but as 
the animal never has any fat, the meat is somewhat dry. 
Like other members of the genus, this rhinoceros appears to be long-lived 
even in captivity, a specimen from Nubia, acquired by the Zoological Society of 
London in 1868, having lived in the menagerie till 1891. 
The immediate ancestor of this species appears to have been the 
extinct thick-jawed rhinoceros (R. pachygnathus), of which a series 
of finely-preserved remains have been obtained from the well-known fresh-water 
deposits of Pikermi, near Attica, belonging to the Pliocene period. 
Burcheii’s The largest of the group is the square-mouthed, or Burchell’s, 
Rhinoceros, rhinoceros (R. simus), commonly known as the white rhinoceros, 
which is now, alas, practically exterminated. In addition to its great size, this 
species is characterised by its bluntly-truncated muzzle and the absence of a 
prehensile extremity to the upper lip, as well as by the great proportionate length 
of the head, which in large specimens is more than a. foot longer than in the 
common species. Moreover, the nostrils form long narrow slits; the eye is placed 
entirely behind the line of the second horn; and the ear is very long, sharply 
pointed at the extremity, where it has but a very small tuft of hairs, and has its 
lower portion completely closed for some distance, so as to form a tube. The front 
horn attains a greater length than in the common species. In the skull the 
extremity of the lower jaw forms a much wider and shallower channel than in 
the R. bicornis, and the structure of the upper cheek-teeth is different. These 
teeth resemble in general structure those of the great Indian rhinoceros, having 
very tall crowns, with flat grinding surfaces, no distinct buttress at the front outer 
angle, and the outer portion of the middle valley cut off by a partition. They are, 
however, quite peculiar among existing species, in having a large amount of cement 
investing the interior and filling up the valleys of the crown. Moreover, the third 
molar in the upper jaw, instead of being triangular in shape, closely resembles the 
tooth in front of it; a peculiarity found elsewhere only among certain extinct 
hornless species. In colour Burchell’s rhinoceros differs but little from the common 
species, the general hue of both being a slaty grey. 
In height this rhinoceros is known to reach 6| feet at the 
shoulder, and it is said that specimens were formerly obtained which 
slightly exceeded these dimensions. As regards length, our information is far from 
satisfactory. It has been stated that the length may be something between 18 and 
19 feet; but this seems quite incredible, more especially as the proportions of our 
figure indicate that the length was rather more than double the height, which 
Dimensions. 
