158 On a New Species of Tapir. 



iron. But, according lo M. Roulin, it is to the tapir also that 

 much older and more celebrated fables refer. Ignorant persons 

 seeing the me or oriental tapir at a distance, and in a state of 

 rest, when its short proboscis had its extremity inflected before 

 the mouth, might have imagined that animals furnished with a 

 hooked beak resembling that of an eagle ; while its feet, divided 

 into rounded toes, would have presented some resemblance to 

 those of the lion, when his claws are retracted ; whence, accord- 

 ing to our author, would have arisen the fable of the griffon. In 

 fact, when the tapir is sitting or lying, it bears a considerable re- 

 semblance to the figures which are given of grifibns, the wings 

 excepted ; but these wings appear to be a posterior addition ; 

 and, as our author remarks, Herodotus makes no mention of 

 tliem in his description of that mythological animal. These 

 ideas are ingenious, and will be estimated by antiquarians ; and 

 as to the naturalists, M. Roulin furnishes them with enough of 

 new and well ascertained facts to deserve their gratitude. 



He makes known all that has been observed as to the man- 

 ners and habits of this animal. He enters into curious details 

 respecting the nomenclature of the tapirs in general, in the difle- 

 rent countries of America which they inhabit, and the errors to 

 which it has given rise among naturalists. He shews that the 

 name Anta or Danta, which is given it in many works, is a 

 Spanish word, which signifies generally all the animals whose 

 skin can be prepared like that of the buffalo, and furnish cloth- 

 ing of a certain thickness ; and, on this subject, he gives us 

 very interesting statements respecting the manner in which the 

 Spaniards and Portuguese, at their first settlement in the Con- 

 tinent of South America, applied the names of European ani- 

 mals to species quite new to them, without much troubling 

 themselves about the real affinities of these animals to those with 

 which a superficial resemblance had led them to compare them. 

 Naturalists might derive information from this part of his me- 

 moir with respect to several other animals besides the tapir. 



In a word, there is everywhere evinced in the production of 

 this learned traveller, a mind equally active and enlightened. 

 VVe are of opinion that this memoir, which has the very rare ad- 

 vantage of having added to the catalogue of animals a large 

 quadruped belonging to a genus which for a long time contain- 



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