They all affect moist and marshy places, and one
genus is semi-aquatic. Several new species of
Sus have recently been discovered in the great
Oriental Islands.
Genus Hippopotamus. (Linn.)
The Hippopotamus is generically distinguished by the following characters: four toes on each foot, nearly equal, terminated by small hoofs ; six molar teeth on each side of each jaw, the anterior three of which are conical, the others presenting two pairs of points which, when worn down, as- sume the figure of a trefoil; four incisors in each jaw, those of the upper short, conical, and recurved; those of the lower projecting horizontally, the middle pair long, and cylindrical, the outer pair short, both pointed; canines in both jaws, the upper short, the lower assuming the form of thick, cylindrical, curved tusks, cut off obliquely with a chisel-like edge; the upper short tusk is also worn down obliquely by rubbing against its opponent.
The animals of this genus are of vast bulk, the body being immensely massive, and the head enormous, broad and flattened, with a swollen muzzle inclosing the great incisors and canines. The body is destitute of hair; the legs are short but thick; the tail and the ears are very short; the eyes are small, and set far up on the flat summit of the head. The stomach is divided into several sacs. The hide is coarse, and of immense, thickness, being upwards of two inches in depth on the back and sides.
Africa, that continent of uncouth and gigantic animals, is the exclusive home of the Hippopo-
