174 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



But the peculiarities of the Cobego do not end with its general 

 form ; it has a most remarkable set of teeth, unlike those of any 

 other creature whatever. The incisors are four in number in the 

 upper jaw, the two inner widely separated, and notched on the crowns, 

 the outer pair pointed. In the lower jaw there are six incisors with 

 broad tops, notched in all of them ; in the centre two pairs these 

 notches are so deep and so numerous that these teeth look like little 

 combs, and are utterly unlike the teeth of any other animal. Canines 

 and grinders are present in both jaws, the latter being five on each 

 side of each jaw. 



Internally, the animal is remarkable for the small size of its brain 

 and the large caecum of the intestine, which equals the stomach in 

 size, though this is not small. There are two pairs of teats in the 

 female, situated near the armpits, and her breast is bare; the young 

 animal, of which there is only one at a time, is very small at birth, and 

 both naked and blind, spending its time clinging closely to the breast 

 of its mother. 



This animal is a characteristic denizen of the East Indies ; it 

 ranges from the Malay Peninsula through the islands to Borneo and 

 even to the Philippines, unless the form found there (G. philippinensis) 

 is reckoned as distinct ; the differences between the two are not very 

 great however, and they are undoubtedly closely related. It is smaller 

 and shorter-headed than the better-known Western form, and the 

 teeth differ in some small particulars. 



Cobegos are purely arboreal in their habits, and nocturnal; by day 

 they remain clinging to the boughs according to some observers, with 

 the hind-feet only, like Bats, though it is more probable that all four 

 feet are employed. They are not always easy to detect in the daytime, 

 as their mottled fur gives much the effect of bark, and assimilates 

 them to their surroundings although it must be admitted that Moseley, 

 in his " Naturalist on the ' Challenger,' " says of an individual of the 

 Philippine form that he met with, that it was easier to see than he 

 had expected. When disturbed during the day, they hitch themselves 

 up the trunks of the trees by a succession of short jumps. 



