394 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



ashy gray, covered with bristles about 1 inch long; bristles rufous 

 on back, dark brown between shoulders, almost white on neck and 

 head, black on lower half of trunk and on limbs; tubercles of the skin 

 so small and flat that the skin is almost smooth (Anderson, 1872, 

 pp. 129-131; P. L. Sclater, 1873, p. 791). No adequate description 

 of the male of lasiotis seems to be available. A male from 20 miles 

 south of Comillah, in Tipperah, Bengal, presumably of this sub- 

 species, had a front horn 8^ inches long, while its second horn was a 

 mere stud (Prop. Zool. Soc. London 1877, p. 269). 



The type specimen of niger "is peculiar for having a very rough 

 skin, the body being covered with thick black hair" (J. E. Gray, 

 1873, p. 357). An average male from Burma, presumably of this 

 form, was 9 feet 5 inches from nose to tip of tail ; tail, 1 foot 9 inches ; 

 light buff on body; face, tail, outsides of legs, and portions of flanks 

 black; under parts of body, legs, and hips a light flesh color; hairy 

 throughout, but less hairy on face and head ; very hairy on legs and 

 ears; a thick fringe of hairs along the flattened surface at the tip 

 of the tail ; heavy folds of skin behind the shoulder, in front of the 

 thigh, and round the neck. The front horns of males average 7 or 8 

 inches, and those of females about 3 inches; the posterior horns of 

 males average about 3 inches, and those of females are mere knobs. 

 (Peacock, 1933, pp. 71-72.) 



Specimens from Bengal and Assam may be provisionally regarded 

 as lasiotis, and those from elsewhere on the Asiatic mainland (Burma, 

 Siam, French Indo-China, and Malay States) as niger. 



Bengal and Assam. Specimens of the Two-horned Rhinoceros 

 have been recorded from the valley of the Brahmaputra, 40-50 miles 

 northeast of Dohbree, Assam, and from 20 miles south of Comillah, 

 Tipperah, Bengal (Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1875, p. 566, and 1877, 

 p. 269) . By 1900 the animal was considered rare in Assam (Lydek- 

 ker, 1900, p. 29) . 



"In the [Assam] reserves a great number of rhinos were destroyed 

 last year, but with military police guards stationed in these localities 

 this summer, it is hoped that there will not be so much poaching" 

 (Hanson, 1931, p. 37). 



Milroy writes (1934, p. 102) as follows concerning the animal in 

 Assam: 



Formerly common in the Lushai and Manipur Hills and occasionally found 

 in North Cachar, but by now almost hunted to the vanishing point by 

 Lushais and Kukis. The opening up by forest villagers of several big patches 

 of marshy land in the Forest Reserves of South Cachar seriously reduced 

 the number of suitable haunts available for this species. Most of the remaining 

 patches, however, will have to be kept closed to cultivation in order to 

 preserve feeding-grounds for the timber-dragging elephants, and some special 

 steps have already been taken to try and look after the few rhino still left 

 alive in this difficult country where little control can be exercised over 



