Ti_irAiAo.fi.- 



-MAMJIALIA- 



-EniNACEAD.K. 



C9 



are equally ilisliibuteJ above and below. It is also 

 worthy of remark, that the skeleton displays fifteen 

 pairs of ribs and five lumbar vertebroe. In external 

 form this animal approaches the American marsupials; 

 but little or notbiiij:; is known of its habits. 



THE EHYNCHOCYON {Rhynchocyon cirnei). — The 

 eminent naturalist Peters has given this name to an 

 e.\trcmcly rare and very curious animal, discovered by 

 him dining his travels in the Mozambiipie. In certain 

 ]iarticulars it resembles the bulau; but its snout is very 

 much more prolonged, forming a conspicuous proboscis. 

 'I'iie ears are moderately developed ; but the ej'es are 

 comparatively large. The jaws are furnished with 

 tliirty-six teeth, somewhat irregularly disposed, there 

 being only two incisors above while there are six below; 

 anil of the twenty-eight molars, the anterior pair in 

 the upper series ai-e sufficiently elongated to be at 

 lirst sight mistaken for canines. The feet are planti- 

 graile, tetradaefylous, and armed with strong claws, 

 (he outer too of the fore-feet being widely separated 

 from the others. As in the preceding species, the 

 bind feet are longer than the front ones. The tail 

 is considerably developed, annulated, and sparingly 

 cliilhi'd with hair. 



THE HYLOMYS {TFjilomys suillus). — M. Salomon 

 Miiller emiiloys this name to designate a small and 

 rare animal inhabiting the islands of Sumatra and 

 Java, and living at a height of from twelve hundred to 

 two thousand fict above the level of the sea. In the 

 fiirm of the skull and other cranial peculiarities, it 

 n]ipears to approach the members of the succeeding 

 family ; but the back of the orbit is not closed in by a 

 bony ring, such as is Ibund in that remarkable group. 

 Tlie teeth are forty-four in number ; that is, twelve 

 incisors, and thirty-two molars. The snout is pro- 

 longed forwards into a movable proboscis, which is 

 directed a little downwards at tlie tip, where the 

 nostrils are laterally disposed. The eyes are not 

 large ; but the ears are conspicuous, and thinly pro- 

 viiled with hair. As in the bulau, the feet are penta- 

 dactylous, the three central digits being paramount, 

 and tlie hind feet longer than the fore ones, the claws 

 being sharp and stiongly curved. The tail is particu- 

 larly short, and but thinly clothed with hair. Very 

 little is known respecting its habits. The teeth, how- 

 ever, indicate its insectivorous propensities. 



Family III.— TUPAIADyE. 



The Tupaias are here collected into a separate group, 

 ciiiefly on account of several well-marked anatomical 

 peculiarities. The most important of these consists in 

 the presence of an osseous ring completing the posterior 

 part of the orbit, and entirely circumscribing that 

 cavity. In all other species of the order Insectivora, 

 a communication exists between the orbits and the 

 spaces occupied by the temporal muscles which act 

 upon the lower jaw. In this, and in some other fea- 

 tures, we observe a structural and morphological 

 a|iproach towards the insectivorous monkeys. Through- 

 out the family we have an elongated head, which is 

 very much narrowed towards the pointed muzzle, and 

 at the extremity of this snout the semilunar nostrils 



are placed sideways. The ears and eyes are laigely 

 developed, the latter projecting sufficiently to enable 

 the animals to see backwards almost in a straight line. 

 The body is long and narrow, but provided with toler- 

 ably strong limbs, terminating in plantigrade, five-toed 

 feet, the digits being armed with sharply-curved claws. 

 All the species at present known are inhabitants of the 

 Sunda islands, while some few have been found in 

 Pegu and on the shores of the Indian jicninsula. 

 Their habits are diurnal and active, and from this 

 circumstance they have always been associated with 

 the squirrels by the native Malays. 



THE JAVANESE BANGSRING {Tiipaiajavamca).— 

 This s])ecies was first taniiiiarly made known to natu- 

 ralists by Dr. Horsfield, who during his travels in Java, 

 in the year 180(3, discovered numerous examples in 

 the thickly-wooded forests of the province of Blam- 

 bangan. The body being slender and compact is 

 eminently fitted for active pursuits. The limbs are 

 gracefully formed, imparting to the creature an easy 

 and attractive appearance. The five-toed feet ter- 

 minate in compressed and strongly-curved claws, 

 which are firmly implanted into the somewhat swollen 

 tips of the several digits. The tail forms a very con- 

 spicuous organ. It is fully as long as the body, having 

 an almost uniform thickness from root to tip, and is 

 clothed witli regularly arranged hairs spreading out 

 like those of the squirrel, but in a more limited degree. 

 The fur consists, for the most part, of line straight 

 hairs closely apiilied to the skin; the back, neck, sides, 

 and limbs being provided with a few longer, stouter, 

 and darker-coloured hairs. The colour is of a greyish - 

 brown, varying considerably at dilVerent spots, being 

 lighter underneath the throat, chest, and belly. The 

 head is narrowed anteriorly, and the eyes are particu- 

 larl}' prominent. The bangsring and its allies appear 

 to be very easily tamed ; for a specimen of this 

 genus which came under the notice of Sir Stam- 

 ford Raftles, behaved itself like a pet spaniel, freely 

 partaking of fruits and milk at the breakfast and 

 dinner table, and scampering through the house with 

 evident satisfaction. 



Family IV.— ERINACEAD.E. 



The heilgehogs are readily recognized by their 

 peculiar spinous integument and the remarkable power 

 possessed by the more typical forms of rolling thera- 

 seU'cs up into a ball. This function is accomplished 

 by the agency of a special development of the sub- 

 cutaneous muscular bands, which are more or less 

 developed in all the mammalia, forming in scientific 

 nomenclature the muscular mass termed the jMuniciil us 

 carnostis. It is of such strength in these creatures, 

 that in their doubled-up state they are capable of 

 resisting almost any force which their enemies employ 

 to unroll them, while the points of the setae or spinous 

 bristles inflict severe wounds upon the aggressors. In 

 other respects the hedgehogs exhibit a general con- 

 formity to the insectivorous type. The muzzle is 

 pointed, and prolonged beyond the lower jaw. The 

 eyes and ears are tolerably conspicuous; tlie latter, 

 however, are rather short. The feet are pentaduc- 



