156 PACHYDERM ATA. 



this animal, of which the chief peculiarity is the horn, consisting 

 of fibres matted together like those of whalebone. 



R. unicorms, (one-horned,) or R. Indicus, the common E. In- 

 dian Rhinoceros, is usually about twelve feet long, and seven in 

 height, and the, circumference of the body is nearly equal to its 

 length. This species, as the name unicornis imports, has but one 

 horn, slightly curved, and sharpened to a point, not far from 

 three feet in length, and used as a most powerful and effective 

 weapon. The upper lip protrudes considerably, and from its ex- 

 treme pliability, answers the purpose of a small proboscis. The 

 skin is thick and coarse, and has a knotted or granulated surface ; 

 it is disposed in several folds, on the neck and shoulders. The 

 legs are very short, strong and thick ; and the feet divided into 

 three large hoofs. (Plate "VI. fig. 10.) The Rhinoceros of India 

 leads a quiet, indolent life, in the shady forests, or wallowing in the 

 marshy borders of lakes and rivers, in the waters of which it occa- 

 sionally bathes. Its movements are usually slow, and it carries its 

 head low like the hog, ploughing up the ground with its horn, and 

 forcing its way through jungles. Pennant and others are of the 

 opinion that this is the Unicorn of the Holy Scriptures. The female 

 brings forth one young at a time. The ordinary food of the In- 

 dian Rhinoceros consists of herbage, and the branches of trees. 

 The flesh is said to be not unpalatable. One of these animals, 

 which was taken to England, in 1790, ate twenty-eight pounds 

 of clover, the same quantity of ship biscuit, together with a great 

 quantity of greens, each day ; and twice or three times a day, 

 five pails of water were given to him. The Asiatic specimen in 

 the Zoological Gardens, London, is fed on clover, straw, rice and 

 bran. The skeleton of this animal approximates to that of the 

 Tapir and the Horse ; the stomach is more like that of a man or 

 a hog. It has thirty-six teeth, twenty-one of which are molar, 

 but none of them canines. 



R. Javanacus. The Rhinoceros of Java. This has less rough 

 or prominent folds than those of the Indian Rhinoceros ; its range 

 extends from the level of the ocean to the summit of mountains 

 which are considerably elevated. Marsden, the Missionary, in 

 his "History of Sumatra," says, that "both the one and the two 

 horned Rhinoceros are natives of the woods;" and he denies the 

 stories which have been told "of the desperate encounters of these 

 two enormous beasts." 



R. Sumatrensis, or Bicornis, (Lat. two-horned.) The Rhino- 

 ceros of Sumatra, has a skin covered with stiff brown hairs, and 

 almost altogether without folds, and it has a second horn behind 

 the ordinary one, in this respect resembling the African animal. 



