MAMMALIA HYRACID.E. 



191 



tubercle. Some other minor peculiarities exist; am 

 Cuvier mentions that the aorta, or principal arteria 

 trunk of the body, is very commonly enlarged or aneu 

 rismal at different parts of its course. This, however 

 is clearly an abnormal state, for which it is not easj 

 to account, unless, as in the similar case of the ass, il 

 be owing to the presence of parasites in the blood of the 

 kind, belonging to the genus of Entozoa called Strongylus, 

 The habits of the Collared Peccary are similar to those 

 of swine in general ; its food consisting of roots, bulbs 

 acorns, and other fruits, earthworms, grubs, and insecl 

 larvae of all kinds, found in or upon the damp marshy 

 soils, where this animal delights to wallow. Although 

 the Tajazou has been domesticated, its flesh is not 

 sufficiently soft and palatable to be employed as a 

 substitute for common pork ; and were it more plea- 

 sant it could scarcely supplant the ordinary hog, as the 

 female only produces two young at a birth, and a 

 full-grown individual seldom exceeds fifty Ibs. in weight. 

 THE WHITE LIPPED PECCAEY (Dicotyleslabiatus), 

 or TAGNICATE, is a larger species, weighing almost 

 double that of the Tajazou, with which, however, it was 

 formerly confounded. It is readily distinguished by 

 the pale colour of the lips, the rest of the hide being 

 brown as usual ; it is also of a stouter build, the snout 

 being likewise more prolonged and expanded at the 

 tip. For an interesting account of the habits of this 

 animal we are indebted to Mr. Bennett, who observes 

 that the White-lipped Peccaries, unlike the former, 

 " congregate in numerous bands, sometimes amount- 

 ing, it is said, to more than a thousand individuals of 

 all ages. Thus united, they frequently traverse exten- 

 sive districts ; the whole troop occupying an extent of 

 a league in length, and directed hi their march, if the 

 accounts of the natives are to be credited, by a leader 

 who takes his station at the head of the foremost rank. 

 Should they be impeded in their progress by a river, 

 the chief stops for a moment, then plunges boldly into 

 the stream, and is followed by all the rest of the troop. 

 The breadth of the river and the rapidity of the current 

 appear to be but trifling obstacles in their way, and to 

 be overcome with the greatest facility. On reaching 

 the opposite bank, they proceed directly on their course, 

 and continue their march even through the plantations 

 which, unfortunately for the owners, may happen to lie 

 in their way, and which they sometimes completely 

 devastate by rooting in the ground for their favourite 

 food, or devouring such fruit as they find there. If 

 they meet anything unusual in their way, they make a 

 terrific clattering with their teeth, and stop and examine 

 the object of their alarm. "When they have ascer- 

 tained that there is no danger, they continue their route 

 without further delay ; but if a huntsman should ven- 

 ture to attack them, when they are thus assembled in 

 large numbers, he is sure to be surrounded by multi- 

 tudes, and torn to pieces by their tusks, if he is so 

 unwise as to neglect his only chance of escape, which 

 consists hi climbing a tree, and thus getting fairly out 

 of their reach. The smaller bands are by no means 

 equally courageous, and always take to flight at the 

 first attack." The White-lipped Peccary appears to 

 belong exclusively to South America, being very abund- 

 ant in the provinces of Guiana and Paraguay. 



FAMILY VI. HYRACID^. 



The group of small quadrupeds associated under the 

 above title, constitute a distinct family, the members 

 of which, though insignificant in respect of bulk and 

 numl ' 



attention of the scientific naturalist. By those who 

 have not studied the subject, it will hardly be credited 

 that these little animals, formerly classed with the 

 Rodents on account of their marked resemblance to 

 that family, present a close approximation to the pachy- 

 derms, and more particularly to the rhinoceroses. 

 This alliance, however, is very obvious, when we 

 examine the condition and characters of the feet and 

 teeth as was, in the first instance, pointed out by 

 Baron Cuvier, and subsequently insisted on by Wiede- 

 mann, Swainson, Lesson, Gray, and others. Regarding 

 only the anatomical peculiarities, it would be more 

 correct to place this family between the Tapiridae and 

 Rhinoceridse ; but as its external features present so 

 marked a deviation from those of the two families just 

 mentioned, we prefer to consider this aberrant group 

 in the present position as furthest removed from the 

 ordinary pachydermal type. The Hyracidae are fur- 

 nished with thirty-eight or forty teeth, namely, six 

 incisors, two above and four below, and twenty-four or 

 twenty-eight molars. In the latter case, there are no 

 less than sixteen premolars or spurious grinders the 

 canines being always absent. The incisors do not 

 exhibit a true rodent structure, but are conical and 

 similar to those of the hippopotamus. The molars, on 

 the other hand, are very like those of the rhinoceros ; 

 the crowns of the upper set being distinguished by twc 

 enamelled eminences, and connected by a ridge to the 

 outer margin, whilst those below display two semi- 

 circular ridges, whose convexity is directed outwards. 

 The anterior limbs are furnished with four toes, but 

 the hind feet are tridactylous. The digits are provided 

 with small flat hoofs ; a remarkable exception obtain- 

 ng to the inner toes of the hind feet, which terminate 

 m curved and sharply-pointed claws. Both as regards 

 lie skeleton and viscera, we find many other modifi- 

 cations of structure more or less conformable with the 

 true pachydermal type, amongst which may be specially 

 mentioned the existence of no less than twenty-one 

 >airs of ribs a number far exceeding that of any 

 odent, and giving a parr more than is found either 

 in the proboscidean tapirs or elephants. In the skull 

 he malar bone forms a complete orbital ring. The 

 lyracidae are also provided with a double ccecum; 

 and this, strangely enough, according to Professor Owen, 

 indicates an affinity to the sloths: which edentate 

 jroup, we may mention, contains an animal the Unau 

 possessing a still larger number of ribs, namely, 

 rwenty-three pairs. On this subject Professor Owen, 

 without referring to the ribs, and merely reflecting on 

 ;he fact which an examination of the coacum had 

 uggested to his mind, very pithily remarks : " It is 

 nteresting to find, that while the facies of Hyrax so 

 ar simulates that of a rodent as to have deceived the 

 Ider naturalists, and to have concealed from them 

 hose unerring indications of its alliance with the 

 'achydermata which the osseous system exhibits ; yet 



