TEE RHINOCEROS. 



275 



and is nocturnal and shy in its habits, living on the shoots 

 of trees, buds, wild fruits, etc. It has a tougli hide, and 

 ■when attacked malves a good fight with its teeth. They 

 are succeeded by tlie rhinoceros, represented in this coun- 

 try by a number of extinct Tertiary allies, the living spe- 

 cies being restricted to Africa and the East Indies. The 

 skin is remarkably thick and dense, while these animals 

 have either one or two long median horns growing from 

 the skin of the nose. Anderssen says that almost all the 

 three species of Asiatic rhinoceros have an exceedingly 



I 



\^idi:\' 



. Fig. 309. — The Sumatran Rhinoceros. From Lutken's Zoolop;y, 



coarse hide, covered with large folds, not unlike a coat of 

 mail; whilst that of the African species {R. Africanus) is 

 comparatively smooth. There are four varieties of the Afri- 

 can species, two of them whitish and two dark. The anterior 

 horn of one of these kinds {RMnoceros Oswellii), which in- 

 habits the interior of South Africa, not unfrequently ex- 

 ceeds four feet in length. The body of the rhinoceros is 

 long and thick; its belly is large, and hangs near the ground, 

 the legs being short, round, and very strong, while its hoofs 

 are divided into three parts, each pointing forward. The 



