THE EHINOCEEOS. 339 



horns, one very large and another small, probably the B. simus ; 

 and two other smaller ones, quite unknown to us. Several of the 

 hunters spoke of an asb-coloured beast with three horns, and a 

 black one without any ! " However, these varieties differ only in 

 certain ways that are of interest to zoologists, but for non-scientific 

 readers it is sufficient to bear in mind that there are only two 

 well-defined species, which differ entirely in their habits, appearance, 

 and food, and are commonly known as white rhinoceros and black 

 rhinoceros, from the prevailing colour of tbeir skins, which, as 

 Dr. Sclater remarks, " although by no means strictly white and 

 black respectively, are, according to those autborities who have 

 become acquainted with them in their native wilds, strongly con- 

 trasted in hue, and render the two varieties easily recognizable. 

 Another trenchant difference between these forms is in the shape 

 of the upper lip. This, in the white rhinoceros, is quite short and 

 rounded, being formed for grazing, like that of a cow. From this 

 feature Dr. Burchell, the first scientific traveller who met with 

 the white rhinoceros, named the animal Rhinoceros simus. In the 

 black rhinoceros, on the contrary, the upper lip is long and 

 prehensile, forming a short proboscis, well fitted for taking hold 

 of the small branches of trees, upon which it subsists. Besides 

 this there is a great difference between the horns of the black and 

 white rhinoceroses. In the white rhinoceros the front horn is 

 enormously produced in the adult, reaching in old individuals to 

 three and a half or four feet in length, and curving gently back- 

 wards, but the hinder horn always remains small and slightly 

 developed. In the black rhinoceroses the front horn never attains 

 anything like this length, but the hinder horn is longer — ^in some 

 cases nearly as long as the front one. There are also well-marked 

 characters in the bones of the cranium, which render the white 

 and black rhinoceroses readily distinguishable, so that no doubt 

 can remain as to the perfect distinctness of Bhinoceros simus from 

 the Bhinoceros bicornis of Linnaeus, or black rhinoceros." 



The white rhinoceros {B. simus) is probably the beat known 

 animal to African hunters, but, strange to say, is not known to 

 Europeans, for a specimen has never yet been exhibited by any 

 zoological society or menagerie. 



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