TAPIRS. 311 



the superficial strata in various parts of that continent present us 

 with the relics of several PacJiydermata, some of colossal magni- 

 tude, among which we may notice those of an extinct elephant, and 

 of the gigantic mastodon, with allied species, viz., the Mastodon 

 Cordillerarum, discovered by Humboldt in Queto, at 1200 feet 

 above the level of the sea ; Mastodon Eumboldtii, and if. Tapiroides. 

 Very recently the fossil cranium of a huge animal, belonging appa- 

 rently to this order, has been brought to England by Mr. C. 

 Darwin from South America, and has received the name of toxodon. 

 Why it IS that a series of animals of the pachydermatous type which 

 existed at a very late geological period should have passed away, 

 and that in the present era so few should appear as their repre- 

 sentatives in the regions they tenanted, is a problem not easy of 

 solution. The fact, however, is incontestable, that we there find 

 but two forms of this order now extant, viz., that of the genus 

 Tapirus (of which America possesses two species, animals of only 

 second-rate magnitude), and that of the genus Dicotyles (of which 

 the two known species are inferior to the hog)." 



Ndne of the tapir family are very well known to naturalists. 

 Being shy and solitary beasts, haunting the depths of forests 

 situated far beyond the borders of civilization, which are generally 

 impenetrable by human beings, and their active life being mostly 

 nocturnal, they offer but few opportunities for observation of their 

 habits in a wild state ; in consequence their natural history has 

 to be gathered in a piecemeal manner from various sources. 



The best known animal, because the one most frequently 

 seen, is the American tapir (T. Americanus). Murray, in his 

 book, ^ says : " It has a very wide distribution in South 

 America, extending from east to west, from the foot of the Andes, 

 that is the inner or eastern range (the range known by the name 

 of Cordillera being the western), to the Atlantic Ocean, and from 

 north to south from Central America to Buenos Ayres." M. 

 Eoulin ^ dwells upon it as a singular fact that though it occurs as 

 low as 40° to the south of the equator it ceases suddenly at about 

 8° north, in a situation where it is extremely abundant, and where 



1 " Geographical Distribution of Mammals.'' 



2 Bennett's " Zoological Gardens." 



