4240 Zoological Society. 



whilst in the American tapir the stomach is small, the intestines of moderate length, 

 and the coecum large; but I copy the subjoined from the paper in question : — 



" The length of the tapir of Sumatra is 8 feet : whole length of its intestinal canal 

 89 feet 6 inches. Proportion as 1 1 to 1 . 



" Length of the American tapir 4 feet : whole length of its intestinal canal 

 18 feet. Proportion as 7 to 1." 



It is scarcely necessary to add that the foregoing comparison does not hold good, 

 and that the differences pointed out do not really exist. Mr. Yarrell laboured under 

 the disadvantage of drawing his inferences from a very young animal, and of being 

 misled to some extent by the paper of Sir E. Home. 



I have selected the viscera of the female for the purpose of examination ; of these 

 I took especial notice. No important difference was observed in the three, except in 

 those parts arising from peculiarities of sex. 



Weight of the brain 7 oz. 384 grs. Cerebrum 6 oz. 354 grs. Cerebellum 1 oz. 

 30 grs. Corpore striata beautifully marbled with gray and white matter. The eye 

 small, of a bluish colour, and 18 lines in diameter. The anterior part of the tongue 

 thinly studded with small, round, transparent papillae ; the back part velvety. 

 Trachea large ; rings wide ; a membranous junction at the posterior part one inch in 

 length. Lungs, the right trilobed, the left divided into two lobes. Heart large, and 

 the parietes of the left ventricle very thick. Length from base to apex 8^ inches. 

 Liver five-lobed, with five appendages. No gall-bladder. Stomach 19 inches in 

 length, and undivided ; no rugae when distended. (Esophagus: lining membrane in 

 longitudinal folds. The lining membrane of the duodenum and jejunum of a velvety 

 appearance. The ileum contained numerous patches of Peyer's glands ; these were 

 of an oblong shape : all of them single, with an intervening space of five or six 

 inches. The ccecum large, and its lining membrane rugose. The kidney, in shape, 

 resembled that of the pig. The bladder large, when half full it measured 9 inches, and 

 would hold about three pints of fluid. The spleen long and lax, measuring one yard 

 and two inches ; the vein contained nearly a hundred openings, and near its mouth 

 were two valves for the purpose of preventing the regurgitation of the blood. These 

 valves were present in all, and I believe the discovery of these valves, in a certain class 

 of animals only, will serve much hereafter to elucidate the function of this organ. 

 Organs of generation: the vagina 10 inches in length, with large transverse rugae in 

 the mucous membrane. The os uteri small, with transverse opening. The uterus con- 

 sists of a body and two cornua ; the body 3 inches, and each cornu 13 inches, The 

 ovaries large. 



I must reserve other parts of the anatomy of this animal for a future paper, when I 

 purpose making a comparison between the organs of the tapir and those of animals of 

 the same class. I will, however, in conclusion, allude to two points of especial interest, 

 viz., the skin and the levator muscles of the snout. 



The skin in many parts is seven or eight lines in thickness. The crest on the neck 

 is formed of dense cellular tissue more than an inch in depth, and nearly equals in 

 hardness the skin of* the rhinoceros. Under the microscope, I found it to consist 

 chiefly of fibrous tissue, with many fat globules. The levator muscles of the snout, by 

 which the animal is enabled to lift his nose, are very remarkable ; they consist of two 

 muscles, which arise by a broad and rather fleshy expansion from the nasal, superior 

 maxillary and lachrymal bones ; they then form cylindrical, fleshy bodies, ending in 

 long, narrow tendons, which are inserted into the skin of the nose, about half an inch 



