4ui BCRMA, ITS PEUl'LE AND PRODUCTIONS. 



Tapiiius Mai.ava.vus, Raffles. 



The tapir. ' Tu-ra-shu.' 



"The tapir has been long known to exist in the Southern provinces, but has 

 never been heard of north of the vullcy of the Tavoy River. It is believed that none 

 have ever been killed or ca])tiucd in the rrovinccs except one that was procured from 

 a Karen, by a writer of the late Major J[acfar(iuhar at Tavoy. It was a very inotlVn- 

 sive animal, and became as much domesticated as a cat. It followed its master round 

 the compound liUe a dog, but looked as unseemly as a hog. It dilFers in no respect 

 from the descriptions of the Malay ta])ir, has the same white-blaukct-like appearance 

 on its back, and like that frcijuents the uplands. Though seen so rarely, the tapir is 

 by no means unc:ommon in the iutiu'ior of Tavoy and Mergui provinces. I have 

 frequently come on its recent foot-marks, but it avoids the inhabited parts of thu 

 country." 



h. Artiodadijla. Numher of toes even. 



Family Suidse. 



Sus, LiniKcus. 



Four toes on all feet, toes separately hoofed. Canine large in the males. Molar 

 teeth tubereulate. 



Sus ciusTATUs, Wagner. 



Tor-wet. Wild hog. 



!Mr. lilyth remarks, " .\ boar which I examined at Akyab was flic ordinary Bengal 

 race, but the Teuasserim wild boars are considerably smaller, the skulls of adidts 

 being one-tifth less in linear dimensions, though otherwise similar. The race requires 

 to bo critically examined. That pigs are inimical to snakes is well known, but 

 Mason mentions tliat he has seen the head of a Python ' that was killed by a drove of 

 hogs, whose whole length measured 18 feet.' It is a remarkable fact (if iiuite trust- 

 worthy) that a number of hogs should thus combine to destroy a large Python." 



S. Andamanensis, Blyth. 



Dentition, I. S ; C. S ; P.M. I ; M. g = 44. 



'Wmc than twenty years have now elapsed since Blyth first indicated this species 

 (J.A.S.B. May, 1858), and we know as little of the anatoTuy of one of the most 

 remarkable and best characterized vertebrates of the Andamans as we did then. 

 The adult boar's skull would seem to be 10'25 inches in length, with a breadth of 

 4'5 inches. Mr. Blyth remarks (/.c), "From the size of the skull of the adult boar it 

 may be estimated that this animal would not exceed 15 inches in height, if indeed it 

 is even so high at the shoulder. Tlie skull is much less elongated, anterior to the 

 orbit, than in ordinary swine, that portion occupying somewhat less than three-fifths 

 of the entire length. Profile a little concave anterior to the eyes, the forehand 

 bulging into a convc^xify." 



This species, Mr, Blyth remarks, most requires comparison with Sii» Papuensia 

 of New Guinea, but as yet the soft parts of the animal appear to bo undeseribed. 

 Gray remarks, " The skull of this species is more neai'ly related to the Bubinissa, than 

 any others of the pigs {Sus)" (Proe. Zool. Soc. Loud. 1808, p. 30). 



c. litoiunantia. 



The ruminating section of the Ungulata possess four stomachs, thus described by 

 Jordon. The paunch or first stomach is capacious, with two well-marked con- 

 Btricti(ms. The second stomach is small and globular, and called by some the honey- 

 combed bag, being lined with polygonal cells. The third stomach, or " moiii/plies" of 

 the Scoteli, is small and sul)globular, but much increased in capacity by the folding 

 of the lining meiubrano. The fourth or last stomach is the true digestive sac, one- 

 tliird the size of the paunch, and of an elongated pyramidal form. 



