RHINO CER OSES. 



47i 



many specimens the horns are, however, very short, and in examples kept in 

 confinement like the one from which our figure is taken, they become worn down 

 to mere stumps. The Sumatran rhinoceros differs from its two Asiatic cousins in 

 having lost the pair of small incisor teeth in the lower jaw, in the front of which 

 only the tusks remain, and even these are sometimes shed in old age. In these 

 respects, therefore, this species, concomitantly with the presence of two horns, 

 shows an indication of approximating to the African rhinoceroses. 



In addition to the variation in the degrees of development of the hair, this species 



THE SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS. 1 



The horns, as in most captive specimens, are abnormally short. 



shows considerable individual differences in colour, and also in the relative breadth of 

 the skull. A specimen purchased in 1872 by the Zoological Society of London for 

 over a £1000, and exhibited in their gardens, differed from the ordinary form by 

 its superior size, paler and browner colour, smoother skin, shorter and more thickly- 

 tufted tail, and the longer, finer, and more reddish-coloured hair; the latter 

 forming a long fringe on the ears, of which the insides were naked. This animal 

 had also a much wider head than ordinary. It was accordingly regarded as a 

 distinct species, under the name of the hairy-eared rhinoceros ( R. la&iotis)] but 

 there is little doubt that it cannot be considered as anything more than a well- 

 marked variety of the Sumatran species. 



There is considerable variation in regard to the dimensions of this species, but 

 1 Messrs. MacmUlan & Co. have favoured the Editor with this figure. 



