can and does attack and destroy human beings. The Hippopotamus not only swims, but can walk along the bottom of a river with great rapidity. It occasionally puts out to sea from the mouths of rivers frequented by it; and it is supposed that in this way Madagascar was populated with Hippopotamuses, whose remains are now found in swamps in that island.
Fig. 141.—Wild Boar. Sus scrofa. × 1⁄12.
Fam. 2. Suidae.—The Pig family, Suidae, differ from the last in their smaller size, in the terminal nostrils and mobile snout, which is not grooved, except faintly as in Babirusa. They are generally hairy, but the Babyroussa is an exception, while Phacochoerus is but slightly haired. Though there are four digits, as in the Hippopotamus, only two reach the ground in walking. The stomach, furthermore, is simple, and (except in Dicotyles) there is a caecum. The kidneys are smooth, and the liver is more lobate than in Hippopotamus. The orbital cavity is confluent with the temporal fossa. The typical genus, Sus, is distributed over Europe, Asia, and the islands of the Malay Archipelago, reaching as far as Borneo and Celebes. The dentition[1] is complete. A single species, the so-called S. sennaariensis, is from Ethiopian Africa, but it is not certain how far this animal may be an escaped species introduced by man. A very large number of "species" of Sus have been described, but Dr. Forsyth
- ↑ There is, however, some doubt about the first premolars.
