THE 



ZOOLOGICAL MAGAZINE. 



The RHINOCEROS of Java. (Rhin. Sondaicus, Cuv.) 



In the time of Linnaeus only a single species of the more 

 bulky quadrupeds, as the elephant, rhinoceros, and hippo- 

 potamus, was known ; and Buffon, who too frequently gene- 

 ralized on slight grounds, considered it as a law of Nature, 

 that in these her larger productions the genus was limited in 

 its representation to a solitary species. But every day brings 

 fresh instances of the boundless extent of the Creative Power; 

 and both species that now move on the surface of the earth, 

 as well as those which are concealed beneath its crust, de- 

 monstrate that the principle of variety is by no means limited 

 to the minuter forms of animal life. 



We have in a former Number enumerated the different 

 species of Rhinoceros which are at present known to exist, 

 and have given a detailed account of the One- horned Rhino- 

 ceros of the Asiatic Continent, {Rhinoceros Indicus, Cuv.) 



The present description relates to the one-horned species 

 which inhabits the Island of Java, which is the smallest rhi- 

 noceros now known to exist. Its specific distinction from 

 the Rhin. Indicas was first suspected by Camper, from the 

 difference he observed in the form of their crania. Subse- 

 quently the Baron Cuvier established with great exactness 

 the peculiar characters of this species, founded on a compa- 

 rison of its entire skeleton w T ith that of the Indian rhinoceros, 

 and on a drawing and description of the living animal which 

 he had received from India. 



It has not been known to exceed nine feet in length, is less 

 massive in its proportions, and stands higher on its legs, 

 than the Indian species. It has only a single horn, which is 

 situated nearer the eyes than the front horn of the two-horned 

 species, and which in the female is reduced to a mere semi- 

 oval tuberosity j the front teeth or incisors of the upper jaw 

 are four in number in the young animal, two in each inter- 

 maxillary bone, small and almost cylindrical : they are soon 

 shed, and are replaced in the adult by two small external 

 incisors, and two large internal ones; the latter, however, 

 scarcely project from the gums, and are smooth and rounded 

 at the extremity, which is opposed to the front part of the 

 long inferior incisors. 



The learned and indefatigable naturalist, Dr. Horsfield, 

 to whom we are chiefly indebted for a knowledge of the ani- 



Zool. Mag. No. 4. h 



