JOURNAL 



OF THE 



ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL 



Part II.— PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 



No. III.— 1880, 



XI. — Ifotes on the Dentition of Rhinoceros. — i?y R. Ltdekker, B. A. 

 (Received March 9th ;— Eead June 2nd, 1880.) 

 (With Plate VII.) 



A recent examination o£ the dentition of the fine series of skulls of 

 ItJiinoceros indicus contained in the collection of the Indian Museum, 

 has brought to my notice several very interesting facts in regard to the de- 

 velopment and serial homology of certain of the teeth of that and other 

 species which I have thought of sufficient importance to be put on re- 

 cord, whence the following notes have been penned. My remarks will 

 mainly refer to the dentition of Rhinoceros indicus, but some points 

 relating to that of other species of the genus will be incidentally referred 

 to in the course of the paper. 



To illustrate my subject, I have had lithographed (through the cour- 

 tesy of Mr. J. Wood-Mason) the left upper dentition of two adolescent 

 skulls of JR. indicus, from the collection of the Indian Museum, each of 

 which is remarkable for an abnormality. The dentition exhibited in fig. I 

 of the accompanying plate belongs to a young animal, and comprises two 

 incisors (i.i, i.~), the milk-molar series (m.m.^ to m.mA), and the true molars 

 (m.^ to ni.^), the last of which is still in its alveolus. The second specimen 

 (fig. 2) belongs to a somewhat older animal, and exhibits the alveolus of an 

 incisor («.^), two premolars {p.m.^, p.m."), two milk-molars (m.w.^, m.m.'^), 

 and the three true mohirs to vi.'^), the last of this series, in this in- 



stance also, not having yet cut the gum. The grounds on which these 

 teeth arc assigned to their respective serial po.sitions will be found in the 

 sequel. 



18 



