386 Game of Europe, W. & N. Asia & America 



terrcstris was unsuitable, as not being distinctive of any particular species, 

 and the name was changed to aiiicricjiii/s — a title which is likewise not dis- 

 tinctive. Naturalists, however, now refuse to admit objections of this 

 nature, and the creature is accordingly called l\ipiriis tcnrstris. 



This species is an inhabitant of the forests and lowlands of a consider- 

 able portion of tropical South America, including Venezuela, Guiana, 

 Eastern Peru, the greater part of Brazil, Paraguay, and the Gran Chaco 

 and Corrientes districts of North-Western Argentina. Compared with the 

 Malay species, it differs not only by its more or less completely uniform 

 dark coloration, hut also by its somewhat inferior bodily size, as well as by 

 the relatively shorter proboscis, the greater elevation ot the hinder region 

 of the head, and the presence of a short, stiff, upright mane extending from 

 the latter down the neck to the withers. The ears are always margined 

 with white. 



The latter feature is well shown in a coloured plate published by Dr. 

 Sclater in the ProciYt////gs of the Zoological Society of Loudon for 1882. The 

 animal figured in that plate (No. xxiii.) was referred to l\ipirus (lo%vi, but in 

 a later note ^ its describer came to the conclusion that it was really a some- 

 what abnormally coloured individual of the present species. It was obtained 

 from Venezuela, and exhibits a large white patch on the side of the face 

 at the angle of the mouth, which is continuous with a white area on the 

 chin and throat. Other specimens are of darker tint than ordinary. 



It is not improbable that these variations indicate the existence of 

 distinct local races of this wide-ranging species. And it is noteworthy that 

 in the presence of white on the sides of the face the above-mentioned 

 Venezuelan specimen approximates to the next species. 



By the natives of Brazil this tapir is known as the Anta ; but in the 

 Tupi language its designation is Tapira-caapoara, while by the Guarani 

 Indians of Rio Grande do Sul it is called Mborevi. According to 



' Pnv. Zoo/. Soc, 188;, p. 718. 



