462 UNGULATA. 



is brown, the upper part of the head is thickly covered with white circu- 

 lar spots, and on each side of the body there run four uninterrupted 

 rows of spots of lighter color which extend over the limbs. As the 

 animal grows older these spots form stripes, and at the end of the 

 second year disappear. The mother is not prolific, as she only bears one 

 young one in a season. 



THE MALAY TAPIR. 



The Malay Tapir, Tapirus indicus (Plate XXXIV) is known also by 

 tbs name of Kuda Ager, two Malay words which signify " River-Horse." 

 It is distinguished from the other members of the genus by its more con- 

 siderable size, and its more slender body ; the head is more pointed, the 

 trunk is more developed, the feet more powerful, the mane is absent. 

 The construction of the trunk-like nose is very remarkable. In the 

 American Tapir this is round ; in the Malay Tapir it presents the same 

 section as the trunk of an elephant, that is, round on the upper, flat on 

 the lower surface, and exhibits the finger-like conformation which is so 

 noticeable in the proboscis of the elephant. The color of the Malay 

 species is also very peculiar. The head, the neck, and the body as far as 

 the shoulder-blades, as well as the legs, thighs, and tail are deep black, the 

 rest of the body is white. At some distance, therefore, the animal looks 

 as if it was covered with a sheet. Both the white and black hairs shine 

 in an extraordinary manner. The size of a full-grown male has not been 

 accurately ascertained ; an adult female measured nearly eight feet in 

 length, including the tail ; she is said to be larger than her mate. 



It is astonishing, that with all the intercourse that has existed for cen- 

 turies between Europe and the East, nothing certain was known respect- 

 ing this animal until the year 18 19. Cuvier had asserted that there was 

 no chance in our days of discovering any large mammal ; one of his 

 pupils, named Diard, in reply, sent him a sketch of the Kuda-Ager, or 

 Maiba, as the Hindoos call it. He added : " When I first saw at Bar- 

 rackpore the Tapir, a sketch of which I send, I was surprised that such 

 a large animal had not previously been noticed, and I was still more 

 surprised when I found in the Asiatic Society the head of a similar 

 animal, with the remark that it was as common in the peninsula as the 

 elephant or rhinoceros." Diard, however, was in error in supposing the 

 creature was quite unknown even to Europeans. A Chinese Natural 



