FAMILY EPROBOSCIFERA. TRUNKLESS. 



47 



Head of Tap 



Family TRUNKLESS ; Eproboscifera. 



Destitute of the nasal elongation, or trunk, with which the former family 

 is endowed. 



ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES. 

 PLATE 16. 



Genera. Species. Common Name. 



Rhinoceros .... Indicus .... Indian Rhinoceros. 

 Tapirus ..... Americanus ... American Tapir. 

 Hippopotamus ... Amphibius ... Hippopotamus. 



Another genus of this family is the well-known Sus. 



CHARACTERS OF THE GENERA. 



1. RHINOCEROS (Gr. fiiv, the nose, and wpac, a horn). Incisive teeth either 

 deficient, or two in each jaw, or four in each jaw ; no cuspids ; molar seven 

 on a side in each jaw, compound and tubercular ; muzzle elongated, and the 

 upper lip lengthened and moveable ; upon the nose are placed one or two 

 solid horns ; eyes small and high up ; ears much shorter than the head, 

 with funnel-shaped bases ; body covered with thick, tough skin, sparingly 

 beset with hairs ; tail short ; feet three-toed, their joints enveloped in the 

 skin as far as the nails, which are short, rounded, upright, and face forwards. 



2. TAPIRUS. Incisive teeth six and cuspid, two in each jaw, the latter 

 in the upper jaw very small ; molar teeth on each 



side of the upper jaw seven, in the lower jaw six ; 

 upper lip and nose produced into a short, moveable, 

 depending trunk, at the extremity of which are 

 the broad transverse nostrils ; ears of moderate 

 size, oval; eyes small, dull; skin very tough, in 

 two species covered thinly with close, smooth, 

 short hair, in the third thickly with thick, long hair ; neck in some species 

 maned, in other not so ; tail very short ; two ventral teats ; fore feet four- 

 toed, hind feet three-toed, and the tips of all the toes enclosed in small 

 hoofs. 



3. HIPPOPOTAMUS. Teeth not projecting beyond the lips, of which the 

 upper is large and thick ; incisive four in each jaw ; molars six on each side 

 in either jaw ; ears of moderate size and pointed ; body slightly studded 

 with hairs; tail short; mamma; ventral ; feet four-toed, enveloped in skin 

 and each bearing a small projecting nail. 



4. Sus (Gr. CTUJ, a hog). Incisive teeth six in each jaw, or four in the 

 upper and six in the lower law ; cuspid 



teeth differing in form and direction in 



different species ; molar seven or five on a 



side in each jaw; snout long, truncated, 



and very moveable; eyes small; ears of 



moderate size, pointed ; body covered with 



bristles more or less coarse ; feet four-toed, Boar's Head! 



the front two large and hoofed, the lateral hinder ones not reaching the 



O 



ground ; in some species there is only a single hind toe, and that on the 

 inner side ; tail short ; teats ten. 



EPROBOSCIFERA. DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES. 



RHINOCEROS. The animals forming this genus are of heavy proportions, 

 and two of them are next in size to the Elephant. Their neck is very 

 short, and the body stands higher on the limbs than in either Elephant or 

 Hippopotamus, although the belly is large and pendent; the tail is short, 

 and not reaching so low even as the hocks. The skin is very thick and 

 tough, resembling that of the Elephant, and sparingly covered with hair. 

 The head is small in proportion to the animal's size, and of a triangular 

 form. The aperture of the mouth small, and the upper lip pendent, ter- 

 minating in a point, and very moveable, so as to render it a prehensile organ, 

 which the animal employs in cropping the branches of trees or shrubs. 



The most remarkable character, however, of this genus is. the horn or 

 horns upon its nose ; they are not deciduous, nor have they any bony core, 

 but are supported merely upon a projecting knob or process of the nose 

 bones, which is received into a corresponding hollow at the base of the 



horn. Its structure consists of coarse hairs matted together with horny 

 substance ; these coarse hairs are placed parallel to each other ; their ex- 

 treme points on the lower half, and especially on the hind part of the front 

 horn and on the greater part of the hind one, project in many places, ren- 

 dering the surface irregular, and in some parts giving it a rough feel like 

 that of a brush ; the upper part of the horn, on the contrary, is smooth and 

 plain like that of Oxen. The length of the horn varies in different species ; 

 where there are two the anterior is always the longer. 



This genus is found only in very warm climates in the old world, and 

 not unfrequently where Elephants are met with. They prefer marshy 

 districts, probably on account of the toughness of their hide, and are fond 

 of wallowing in the mire like Pigs. They feed on the leaves and branches 

 of trees. 



These animals are divided into two sections: 1. Those with one horn; 

 and, 2, those with two horns. 



The Indian Rhinoceros (R. Indicus), also called the Unicorn. This 

 animal is nine feet six inches in length, and four feet eight inches in height, 

 and its general colour is deep grey tinged with violet. It lives in shady 

 forests in the neighbourhood of rivers and marshy places. It grunts like a 

 Hog ; and after nine months' gestation brings one young at a birth, which is 

 about three feet in length, and has a callosity indicating the situation of the 

 future horn. Its flesh is eaten, and every part is esteemed medicinal ; the 

 horn especially is in great repute as an antidote against poison, and cups 

 made of it are considered to possess the same virtues. (Plate 16.) 

 The Javanese Rhinoceros is another species. 



Of the second class, the African Rhinoceros (R. Africanus) is a specimen. 

 It is about eleven feet and six inches long, and seven feet high. It is 

 distinguished from the Indian species by the absence of incisive teeth ; by 

 its second horn, which is of small size, conical, and compressed ; and by 

 its skin not having any folds. It is a native of Africa, and was formerly 

 found in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope, but, as civilization 

 has advanced, it has retired into more sequestered districts. 



Mr. Cumming thus describes the four species found in South Africa : 

 " Of the Rhinoceros there are four varieties in South Africa, distinguished 

 by the Bechuanus by the names of the Borele or Black Rhinoceros, the 

 Keitloa or two-horned Black Rhinoceros, the Muchocho or Common White 

 Rhinoceros, and the Kobaoba or Long-horned White Rhinoceros. Both 

 varieties of the Black Rhinoceros are extremely fierce and dangerous, and 

 rush headlong and unprovoked at any object which attracts their attention. 

 They never attain much fat, and their flesh is tough, and not much 

 esteemed by the Bechuanas. Their food consists almost entirely of the 

 thorny branches of the wait-a-bit thorns. Their horns are much shorter 

 than those of the other varieties, seldom exceeding eighteen inches in length. 

 They are finely polished with constant rubbing against the trees. The 

 skull is remarkably formed, its most striking feature being the tremendous 

 thick ossification in which it ends above the nostrils. It is on this mass 

 that the horn is supported. The Black Rhinoceros is subject to paroxysms 

 of unprovoked fury, often ploughing up the ground for several yards with 

 its horn, and assaulting large bushes in the most violent manner. On these 

 bushes they work for hours with their horns, at the same time snorting and 

 blowing loudly, nor do they leave them in general until they have broken 

 them into pieces. All the four varieties delight to roll and wallow in mud, 

 with which their nigged hides are generally encrusted. Both varieties of 

 the Black Rhinoceros are much smaller and more active than the White, 

 and are so swift that a horse with a rider on his back can rarely overtake 

 them. The two varieties of the White Rhinoceros are so similar in habits, 

 that the description of one will serve for both ; the principal difference 

 consisting in the length and set of the anterior horn ; that of the Muchocho 

 averaging from two to three feet in length, and pointing backwards ; while 

 the horn of the Kobaoba often exceeds four feet in length, and inclines 

 forward from the nose at an angle of 45. The posterior horn of either 

 species seldom exceed six or seven inches in length. The Kobaoba is thi- 

 nner of the two, and it is found very far in the interior, chiefly to the 

 eastward of the Limpopo. Its horns are very valuable for loading-rods, 



