404 On the Species of Asiatic two-horned Rhinoceros. 



any one who looks at the elaborate finish of this drawing from 

 a living animal can readily suppose the peculiarities described 

 to be freaks of the native artist ; and in the other figure (of 

 indubitable R. sondaicus) the head and limbs are represented 

 as being tuberculated uniformly with the cuirass. Moreover, 

 in the figure of very juvenile R. sondaicus, a slight hairiness is 

 represented upon the back, between the shoulder-fold and that 

 which crosses the loins ; and I doubt not that this is correctly 

 copied from the living specimen. No habitat is assigned to 

 either, nor aught given to guide respecting the dimensions ; but, 

 without desiring to attach undue importance to any drawing 

 made by an unscientific artist, I still cannot help thinking that 

 the one in question indicates, in all probability, a species 

 hitherto unsuspected — as anuch so as were, until quite recently, 

 the additional species of Asiatic two-horned rhinoceros, which 

 must now be generally recognized and accepted. Be it re- 

 membered that for many years a male of R. sondaicus existed 

 in this country which was never recognized as differing from 

 the large R. indicus ; and we only know it now from the two 

 figures of it, assigned to R. indicus, in the ^ Naturalist's 

 Library;' while the skeleton of an adult R. sondaicus in the 

 anatomical museum of Guy's Hospital, in Southwark, is in all 

 probability that of the same individual, which was exhibited 

 about the country and finally deposited in the Zoological 

 Garden of Liverpool, at a time when the larger of the two 

 Indian species was much less familiarly known to us than it is 

 at present. That particular specimen of R. sondaicus was re- 

 ceived from Calcutta ; and it is the only species which is known 

 to inhabit the Sundarbans of Lower Bengal, as it is also the 

 only single-horned species known to inhabit the Indo-Chinese 

 countries and contiguous Malayan peninsula. Although the 

 commonest and most widely diff'used of any Asiatic rhinoceros, 

 I can learn of no other example of it having ever been exhibited 

 in Europe. 



Note. — Since the above was in print I have seen Mr. Sclater's 

 paper on the Asiatic two-horned rhinoceroses, published in 

 'Nature' for October 24th, 1872 (pp. 518, 519), and accom- 

 panied by figures of R. la^iotis and R. sumatrensis. Un- 

 fortunately they are not on the same scale, so that the former 

 is made to appear the larger of the two, and the attitude of 

 lasiotis does not permit of the distinctions being sufficiently 

 shown. At present the tail of the living animal is much more 

 largely tufted, and the long hair fringing the ears is more de- 

 veloped, than appears from Mr. Sclater's figure taken from the 

 animal when younger ; nor is the different quality of the hair 

 upon the body sufficiently apparent. In R. sumatrensis this 

 is shorter, much coarser, suberect, and of a black colour — in 



