1882.] MR. W. N. PARKER ON THE INDIAN TAPIR. 771 



The right and left central lobes were only partially separated from 

 one another, the umbilical fissure extending only a short way down 

 on the anterior side. The margin of the left central lobe presented 

 several small notches towards its right side. Both right and left 

 lateral lobes were large ; and there was a considerable caudate lobe, 

 projecting from the outer side of wiiich there was a small leaf-like 

 minor lobe. There was no lobus Spiyelii ; in Dr. Murie's figure a 

 large one is shown, but no caudate ; he states that a small lobule 

 lying on the vena cava might represent the latter. 



There is no gall-bladder ; and the bile-duct opens on a papilla into 

 the duodenum about 3 inches from the pylorus. A separate pancre- 

 atic duct opens about 3| inches further back. 



The spleen is elongated and flattened ; it measured 1 foot long, 

 and about 4 inches broad in the widest part. 



It has usually been stated that the intestinal canal is much shorter 

 in the American than in the Indian Tapir ; but the measurements 

 given by different anatomists vary so much that it is impossible to 

 make any very definite statements on the subject. Murie gives a 

 table comparing the measurements by himself. Home, Poelman, 

 Owen, and Turner ' ; and maintains that the length of the alimentary 

 canal depends quite as much on age, sex, &c. as on mere specific di- 

 stinction. Adding to these measurements those by Yarrell-, Cantor, 

 and myself ^ they give the following results: — In both species the 

 intestine is longer in the adult male than in the adult female, but 

 longer in the latter than in the young male. It is longer in the 

 adult male Indian Tapir than in the adult male American, but longer 

 in the latter than in the female Indian. But, on the other hand, 

 there is a difference of over 20 feet between Home's and Poelman's 

 measurements in adult Indian males ; and this seems to show that 

 the intestinal length varies so greatly as to be of comparatively little 

 importance as a specific distinction. 



Well-marked valvuli connwentes, about f inch apart, and covered 

 with close-set villi, extend through about the first 18 feet of the small 

 intestine, after which they gradually fade off, the mucous membrane 

 of the rest of the ileum being smooth. The distribution of these 

 valvulse differs very much from what occurs in T. americanus, in 

 which Owen states that they only extend 4 or 5 inches from the 

 pylorus. 



Peyer's patches were numerous but small, some reaching to 1 inch 

 in length, but the average size being about i inch. 



The caecum (fig. 3, p. 772) resembles that of the Rhinoceros. 

 Three muscular bands extend down it ; and between these it is saccu- 

 lated. The colon, which is sacculated on either side of two muscular 

 bands, forms a loop, and then passes insensibly into the rectum, which 

 nearly resembles it in structure. The mucous membrane of the 



> Proc. Zool. Soc. 1850, p. 102. 



^ " Observations on the Tapir of America," Zool. Journal, vol. iv. 1828, p. 210. 



^ The small intestine was 40 feet 9 inches long, the large intestine 5 feet 

 6 inches, and the cajcum 10 inches, measuring from the apex to the entrance of 

 the ileum. 



