Tapibid-e.- 



-MAMMALU.- 



-Tapikid.e. 



187 



destroying tliis persecuted animal, tliat of sliooting 

 them is of course tlie most efleetive ; nevertheless, the 

 sport is attended with much difBculty, as, when in the 

 water, tliey are only vulnerable immediately behind 

 the ear. Like tlie Egyjrtians of old, tlie present 

 native Beyeye employ the hai-poon, and our unhappy 

 behemoth is dra\vn out of the water in all the agonies 

 of a helpless resistance. On land the harpoon is also 

 employed as the principal part of a trap called the 

 "downfall." The instrument, loaded with heavyweights, 

 is suspended from the bough of a tree, and is in connec- 

 tion with a string below, which being touched by tlic 

 beast causes the weapon to descend on its luckless pate. 

 The Hippopotamus is also taken in pitfalls. Its flesli 

 is palatable, and very highly esteemed. The hide is 

 extensively employed in the manufacture of whips or 

 sjamboks; whilst the canine teeth are especially valuable 

 for maldng artificial teeth, the ivory fetching as much 

 as thirty shillmgs per pound. For these reasons, 

 multitudes of hippopotamuses are destroyed annually. 

 Some naturahsts beheve that a smaller kind of hippo- 

 potamus found in certain parts of Western Africa ought 

 to be regarded as a distinct species. This form was 

 first described by Dr. Morton under the title of Hippo- 

 polamua minor, and subsequently as Hippopotamus 

 libcriensis. One of its distinguishing pecidiarities con- 

 sists in the presence of only two incisor teeth in the 

 lower jaw. Dr. Leidy has given a minute description 

 of its osteologioal characters in the second volume 

 of the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences 

 of Philadelphia. It has even been regarded as the 

 type of a new genus. 



Family IV.— TAPIRID^. 



In their general appearance the Tapirs manifestly 

 approach the pigs, whilst in respect of conformity to type, 

 tlioir considerable bulk, associated with a proboscidi- 

 form muzzle and more exalted stature, retain a cogency 

 of development sufficient to indicate their transitional 

 character. If the skull of an American Tapir be 



Fig. 71. 



Skull of the Tapir. 



examined, its form wiU be seen to represent a pyramid 

 having three facets, whereas that of the hog has four. 

 A more significant feature, however, obtains in tlie 

 elevated and arched character of the nasal bones, and 

 in the lofty interparietal ridge surmounting the vertex 

 of the cranium (fig. 71). The jaws are furnished 

 with forty-two teeth ; that is to say, twelve mcisors 

 Riiually divided above and below, four canines, and 



twenty-six molars, of which latter, seven occur on 

 either side in the upper series. A wide interval sepa- 

 rates the canines &om the premolars. The spinal 

 column possesses only four lumbar vertebra: ; but 

 there are twenty pair of ribs. The bladebone of the 

 shoulder exhibits a deep circular notch at its anterior 

 margin ; the homologieaUy corresponding bone of the 

 hip, or ilium, being T-shaped. The anterior Umbs are 

 fm'nished vrith four digits ; but the hind feet are tri- 

 dactylous. The fossil genus Palccothcrium has three 

 toes on all the feet. The Tapirs are found inhabiting 

 the reedy forests of tropical Asia and America, where 

 they feed on grass and herbage. 



THE COMMON TAPIE {Tapii-us Americanus) — Plate 

 25, fig. 82 — is a native of South America, and, tliough 

 found in all parts of the continent, from the Straits of 

 Magellan to the Isthmus of Darien, is more particularly 

 abundant on the east coast of tlie continent. It stands 

 ratlier high on the legs, and frequently attains a length of 

 six feet fi'om the extremity of the proboscidiform muzzle 

 to the root of the taU. The hide has a deep-brown colour 

 approaching to black, being scantily furnished with short 

 hairs closely applied to the surface of the skin. The 

 ears are of moderate size, the eyes small, and tlie 

 muzzle extremely attenuated and prolonged mto a 

 proboscis, which is naked and flesli-coloured at the 

 tip. The neck is surmoimted by a short, bristly, black 

 mane. The tail is insignificant. The Common Tapir 

 is monogamous and nocturnal in its habits. Selectuig 

 the deepest recesses of the forest, it snoozes lazily 

 during tlie day, and when the shades of evening gatlier 

 darkness, it wanders forth to commit its nocturnal 

 depredations along the grassy and luxurious slopes of 

 a neighbouring stream. Herbs ot every sort seem to 

 be devoured without much selective care ; and, swine- 

 like, it occasionally swallows puti'id vegetable matters, 

 as wcU as all kinds of garbage. A tame specimen in 

 the possession of D'Azara broke open and demoiishcd 

 the contents of a silver snuff-box ! Even in the wild 

 state, their stomachs have been found to contain 

 various earthy products, besides pieces of wood and 

 pebbles. The Tapir is possessed of very considerable 

 strength ; it naturally exhibits a mild disposition, but 

 when attacked offers a stout resistance. It is easily 

 domesticated. The flesh is coarse and insipid. 



ROULIN'S TAPIR {Tapints villosus) is also an in- 

 habitant of South America. It is found, however, 

 on moimtainous slopes upwards of four thousand feet 

 above the level of tlie sea. In some respects it is said 

 to approach more closely to tlie Malayan species. 

 The hide is of a dark black colour, and thickly clothed 

 with hair. The nasal bones are more elongated than 

 m other existing species — constituting a featm'e which 

 occurs more markedly in the extinct genus above 

 mentioned. 



THE MALAYAN TAPIB {Tapirtis Malayanus) or 

 Babi Alu, is a native of Sumatra, Borneo, and the 

 Malaccas. It is a comparatively rare and unknown 

 animal, and was first mtroduced to our notice by Major 

 Farquhar in 1816. Subsequently Sir T. Stamford 

 RafHes communicated a more detailed accoimt of this 

 animal, which was published in the tliirteenth volume 

 of the Linnrean Society's Transactions for 1821. He 



