442 



THE BULAU, OR TIKUS. 



fur is owing to a thick and woolly felt of fine hairs, which lies beneath the long silken 

 hairs that form the apparent fur of the animal, and which affords an effectual defence 

 against the liquid element in which the creature passes so much of its time. 



The tail of this animal is shorter than the body, and very remarkable in its shape, 

 for at its base it is compressed, but rapidly becomes rounded, and swells with such 

 abruptness, that it may almost deserve the term of bulbous. It then decreases in size 

 as rapidly as it had increased, and, in proportion as it becomes smaller, it becomes verti- 

 cally compressed. The entire member is, like that of the beaver, thickly set with scales, 

 through the intervals of which protrude a number of short and bristly isolated hairs. 



Both by dimensions and color, the French Daesman is easily to be distinguished 

 from its Russian congener, for it is barely more than half the size of the Russian animal ; 

 the tail is differently formed, and the color is of a distinct character. The tail of the 

 French Daesman is devoid of the peculiar swelling that characterizes that member in* 

 the Russian Daesman, and tapers gradually to a point. For three-fourths of its length 



BULAU, OR TlLUS.Gynmura Baffiesii. 



the tail is nearly cylindrical, but becomes vertically compressed for the remaining fourth. 

 It is, moreover, as long as the body. The color of the fur is a very warm brown, almost 

 amounting to maroon, the flanks are a grayish-brown, and the abdomen is a grayish- 

 white. There is also a slight difference in the webbing of the feet, for the toes of the 

 fore-feet are only half enveloped in the skin, and the external toe of the hinder feet is 

 unconnected with the others. 



A VERY remarkable animal now comes before us, the BULAU, TIKUS, or GYMNURA, 

 as it is indifferently termed. 



This creature, which is an inhabitant of Malacca and Sumatra, bears no slight ex- 

 ternal resemblance to the opossum of America, the similarity being increased by its 

 long and harsh hair, and the long scaly tail, sparely furnished with very short hairs. The 

 generic name, Gymniira, is derived from two Greek words signifying naked tail, and is, 

 therefore very appropriately applied to this animal. All the feet are terminated by five 



