1044 THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



as high as that occupied by the Ox family in the other group. Even here, how- 

 ever, it is hard to understand why horses (until reintroduced by the Spaniards) be- 

 came extinct throughout the New World, unless indeed Mr. W. H. Hudson's 

 suggestion that they were exterminated by pumas should prove to be well founded. 



THE TAPIRS 

 Family TAPIRID^ 



The tapirs are the least specialized of all the existing Odd-Toed Ungulates, and 

 their peculiarly antediluvian appearance would indeed suggest this even to the un- 

 scientific observer. Their generalized characteristic is indicated by the circumstance 

 that they differ from all other living members of the same great group by having 

 four toes to their fore-feet, although their hind-feet resemble those of the rhinoc- 

 eroses in being tridactyl. In the fore-feet the three main toes correspond to the three 

 middle fingers of the human hand, while the small external one represents the 

 fifth, or little finger. The tapirs are further characterized by the production of the 

 extremity of the muzzle into a short cylindrical proboscis or trunk, at the extremity 

 of which are situated the nostrils. The general form of the body is heavy and un- 

 gainly, the limbs being relatively short and stout, and the tail scarcely more than a 

 rudiment. The eyes are small in proportion to the size of the head, and the erect 

 and oval ears of moderate size. The thick skin is smooth and covered with a rather 

 scanty coat of short hair, which is usually of uniform color. 



The skull, as seen in the figure of the skeleton on p. 1041, is rather short, nar- 

 row, and high, its most distinctive features being the enormous size of the aperture 

 of the nose, and the absence of any bony bar dividing the socket of the eye from 

 the great channel on the side of the brain case. The teeth are forty-two in number, 

 or two less than the full typical number, the missing ones being the first premolar on 

 each side of the lower jaw. The short-crowned cheek-teeth are separated from 

 those in the front of the jaws by a long gap, and the tusks, or canines, are small, 

 those of the upper jaw being inferior in dimensions to the outermost pair of incisors. 

 The upper cheek-teeth have two transverse ridges and an outer longitudinal wall, 

 while those of the lower jaw carry a pair of transverse ridges alone. In the limbs 

 all the bones are fully developed and quite distinct from one another. It may be 

 added that the toes are incased in long and rather oval hoofs, while inferiorly the 

 foot is furnished with a large callous pad, which takes a share in supporting the 

 weight of the body. Except when the soil is soft and yielding, the small outermost 

 toe of the fore- foot scarcely touches the ground. 



The existing tapirs, all of which may be included in the one genus 

 Distribution _, -,-,,. 



lapirus, have a most remarkable geographical distribution, a solitary 



species being found in the Malayan region , while the whole of the other four are re- 

 stricted to Central and South America. Still more remarkable is the circumstance 

 that, instead of all the American species being closely allied, two of them are nearly 

 related to the Malayan tapir, while the other two form a totally-distinct group. A 



