\~ 



TAPIRUS MALAYANUS. 



" smallest, is the same as in the upper jaw." (From the third in the upper, and the 

 second in the lower jaw, the molars have individually two elevated transverse 

 ridges, which are received into the corresponding grooves of the opposite sides; 

 but the first and second in the upper, and the first in the lower jaw, have a longitu- 

 dinal ridge, which, when the mouth is shut, passes the ridge on the opposite tooth 

 obliquely.) " The general colour is glossy black, with the exception of the back, 

 " rump, and sides of the belly, which are white, and separated by a defbied line 

 " from those parts that are black." ^ 



The preceding description is extracted from a Descriptive Catalogue of a 

 Zoological Collection, made in the Island of Sumatra, by Sir Thomas Stamford 

 Raffles, Lieut.-Governor of Fort Marlborough, and contained in the Thirteenth 

 Volume of the Transactions of the Linnean Society, published in May, 1821. 

 This contains the substance of the original description by Major FarquharT andTcom- 

 municated by him to the Asiatic Society in 1816. The following account of a very 

 young Tapir which Major Farquhar had ahve in his house, forms part of a subse- 

 quent communication to the Asiatic Society. " It appears that until the age of four 

 " months it is black, and beautifully mai'ked with spots and stripes of a fawn colour 

 " above, and white below. After that period it began to change colour, the spots 

 '■' disappeared, and, at the age of six months, it had become of the usual colour of 

 " the adult." Major Farquhar says that he found this animal of a very mild and 

 gentle disposition ; that it became as tame and familiar as a dog ; fed indiscrimi- 

 nately on aU kinds of vegetables, and was very fond of attending at table, to receive 

 bread, cakes, or the like. " The living specimen," Sir Stamford Raffles adds, " sent from 

 " Bencoolen to Bengal, was young, and became very tractable. It was allowed to roam 

 " occasionally in the Park at Barrackpore, and the man who had charge of it, informed 

 " me, that it frequently entered the ponds, and appeared to walk along the bottom 

 " under water, and not to make any attempt to swim. The flesh is eaten by the 

 " natives of Sumatra. It is known by different names in different parts of the country. 

 " By the people of Limun it is caUed Saladangi by those of the interior of Manna, 

 * " Grindol; in the interior of Bencoolen, Babi Alu; and at Malacca, TennuP 



The following are the exact dimensions of two Malay Tapirs ; one a male, de- 

 scribed by Major Farquhar ; the other a female, killed at Bencoolen. 



MALE. 



Extreme length from the nose to the tail, measured ^^^•^ inches. 



along the back ,. 6 10^ 



Circumference of the body 6 



Height of the shoulder 3 2 



Ditto of the haunch 3 4 



