442 THE BULAU, OR TIKUS. 
a thick and woolly felt of fine hairs, which les beneath the long silken hairs that form 
the apparent fur of the animal, and which affords an effectual defence against the liquid 
element in which the creature passes so much of its time. 
The tail of this animal is shorter than the body, and very remarkable in its shape, for 
at its base it is compressed, but rapidly becomes rounded, and swells with such 
abruptness, that it may almost deserve the term of bulbous. It then decreases in size as 
rapidly as it had increased, and, in proportion as it becomes smaller, it becomes vertically 
compressed, The entire member is, like that of the beaver, thickly set with scales, 
through the intervals of which protrude a number of short and bristly isolated hairs. 
Both by dimensions and colour, the French Daesman is easily to be distinguished 
from its Russian congener, for it is barely more than half the size of the Russian animal ; 
the tail is differently formed, and the colour is of a distinct character. The tail of the 
French Daesman is devoid of the peculiar swelling that characterises that member in 
the Russian Daesman, and tapers gradually to a point. For three-fourths of its length 
the tail is nearly cylindrical, but becomes vertically compressed for the remaining fourth. 
It is, moreover, as long as the body. The colour of the fur is a very warm brown, almost 
amounting to maroon, the flanks are a greyish-brown, and the abdomen is a greyish-white. 
There is also a sheht difference in the webbing of the feet, for the toes of the fore-feet are 
only half enveloped in the skin, and the external toe of the hinder feet is unconnected 
with the others. 
BULAU, OR TIKUS.—Gymniira Rafflesii. 
A very remarkable animal now comes before us, the BuLAU, TrkuUs, or GYMNURA, as 
it is indifferently termed. 
This creature, which is an inhabitant of Malacea and Sumatra, bears no slight 
external resemblance to the opossum of America, the similarity being increased by its 
long and harsh hair, and the long sealy tail, sparely furnished with very short hairs. The 
generic uanie, Gymunira, is derived from two Greek words signifying naked tail, and 1s, 
therefore very appropriately applied to this animal. All the feet are terminated by five 
