THE AMERICAN TAPIR. 201 
The young is of a much lighter brown than the 
adult, with numerous small white spots on the cheeks, 
a whitish muzzle, and six or eight complete narrow 
bands of white passing along each side of the body 
from the shoulders to the haunches. Regular rows of 
small white spots, placed at equal distances from each 
other, alternate with these bands. The upper parts of 
the limbs are marked in a similar manner; their inner 
sides, as well as the under surface of the body, are 
white; and their extremities of the ground-colour of 
the whole body, with a few fainter spots scattered over 
them. Before the end of the first year of their age 
this livery becomes completely lost; it is partially 
visible in the young specimen in the Society’s Museum, 
but not at all in the living individuals at the Gardens. 
Similar markings occur in the young of the Sumatran 
species, and also, we may observe, in that of the Hog 
in its native state. The adult female of the present 
species has generally a considerable number of whitish 
hairs intermingled with the brown, which gives her 
somewhat of a grizzled appearance. 
Few animals of equal size have so extensive a 
range as the American Tapir. It is found in every 
part of South America to the east of the Andes, from 
the Straits of Magellan to the Isthmus of Darien; 
but appears to be most common within the tropics. 
M. Roulin dwells upon it as a singular fact that al- 
though it occurs as low as forty degrees to the south 
of the equator, it ceases suddenly at about 8° north in 
a situation where it is extremely abundant, and where 
no adequate cause has yet been assigned to bar its 
farther progress, no large rivers nor lofty mountains 
intervening, nor any change in the character of the 
vegetation of the country being manifest. The left 
bank of the Atrato near its mouth, and the part of 
