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CHAPTER XIX. 



THE EHINOCEEOS FAMILY {RHINOCERID^). 



In size and strength tlie members of this extraordinary family 

 of quadrupeds rank next to the elephants; they are, therefore, 

 the second largest and most powerful of terrestrial mammaha. 

 Although there are seven or eight recognized species still exist- 

 ing, yet, as more than this number have become extinct, the 

 family must at one period have been an extensive one. Their 

 range must also have been a much wider one than it is at present, 

 for in a former epoch these animals were well distributed over 

 the world's surface ; but at the present day they only inhabit two 

 comparatively small areas, widely separated, one in Asia and the 

 other in Africa. The structural aflEinity of the various species 

 peculiar to either of these quarters of the globe is unmistakable, 

 and the distinctions between the Asiatic and African animals are 

 well defined and easily discernible. The race to which an animal 

 belongs is therefore to be determined at a glance. 



The Asiatic rhinoceros, of which four species are recognized, 

 form a distinct group, distinguishable from their African brethren 

 by the thick folds in the skin, and the presence of incisor teeth. 

 They are known as follows : — The Indian rhinoceros (E. Indicus) ; 

 the Javan rhinoceros {B. Javanicus); the Sumatran rhinoceros 

 (E. Swmatranus), and the hairy-eared rhinoceros {B. Lasiotis). 



The African species are all found in Africa proper, that is south 

 of the Sahara; none are found in north Africa, and they fall 

 naturally into two groups — those which browse on trees, and 

 those that graze, distinguished readily by the prehensile or non- 

 prehensile upper lip.' Zoologists have subdivided these animals 

 '' " GeograpHcal Distribution of Animals." 



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