Collingwood's Rambles in the China Seas 373 



ever been recorded, and the belief among naturalists is almost 

 unanimous that it does not exist in Borneo. Dr John Edward 

 Gray indeed has, during the last season, given Borneo as the 

 habitat of a new species of rhinoceros, which he has described in 

 a paper read to the Zoological Society. But neither the species 

 nor the locality will stand much scrutiny. It would appear that 

 Dr Gray has lately had occasion to examine in detail some of the 

 skulls of larger mammals which are stored in the British Museum, 

 and on comparing the series, he has found some which do not 

 quite correspond with the rest, and instead of considering these, 

 as has hitherto been the custom, as abnormal specimens or 

 variations from the type, he has arrived at the conclusion that 

 they are distinct species. Thus in comparing the skulls of the 

 tapirs, he found one marked "Tapirus Americanus, from South 

 America," in which he thinks the " position of the internal nostril 

 on the palate," is so different from that of the common South 

 American tapirs, as at once to separate it from them, and he has 

 consequently described it as a new species " not yet observed in 

 the hving state," and given it the name of Tapirus Laurillardei. 



Next, dealing with the rhinoceroses in the same way, and in- 

 crease of appetite apparently growing by what it feeds on, he has 

 doubled the dose this time. He gives us two new species of 

 rhinoceros also " not yet observed in the living state," which he 

 has described under the names of Rhinoceros Ploweri and Rhino- 

 ceros nasalis from skulls in the British Museum — the former from 

 Sumatra and the other from Borneo. As to the value of these 

 new species this is not the place to give an opinion. When we 

 mention that Professor Owen considers Dr Gray's characters as 

 merely individual variations, we imagine that few of our 

 readers will require one ; but as to the locality of Borneo 

 it is of importance to the present question, and, being a 

 matter of fact and not of opinion, there can be little difficulty in 

 settling it. The locality is given by Dr Gray broadly and dis- 

 tinctly in his diagnosis simply as " Borneo " without query or 

 qualification j but on looking to the particulars of where it came 

 from and how it came (which it is but justice to Dr Gray to say 

 he always gives with scrupulous fidelity so far as they appear to 

 him to be relevant), we find to our surprise that he has no 

 warrant at all for saying that the species is from Borneo. No one 

 has told him that the skull belonged to a Bornean animal. It 

 turns out to be a mere inference on his part. — "The skull was 



