Tupaiad^. MAMMALIA. Erinacead^. 69 
are equally distributed above and below. It is also 
worthy of remark, that the skeleton displays fifteen 
pairs of ribs and five lumbar vertebrae. In external 
form this animal approaches the American marsupials; 
but little or nothing is known of its habits. 
THE EHYNCHOCYON {Rhynchocyon 'cirnd).—T^h<i 
eminent naturalist Peters has given this name to an 
extremely rare and very curious animal, discovered by 
him during his travels in the Mozambique. In certain 
particulars it resembles the bulau; but its snout is very 
much more prolonged, forming a conspicuous proboscis. 
The ears are moderately developed ; but the eyes are 
comparatively large. The jaws are furnished with 
thirty-six teeth, somewhat irregularly disposed, there 
being only two incisors above while there are six below; 
and of the twenty-eight molars, the anterior pair in 
the upper series are sufficiently elongated to be at 
first sight mistaken for canines. The feet are planti- 
grade, tetradactylous, and armed with strong claws, 
the outer toe of the fore-feet being widely separated 
from the others. As in the preceding species, the 
hind feet are longer than the front ones. The tail 
is considerably developed, annulated, and sparingly 
clothed with hair. 
THE HYLOMYS {Hylomys suillus). — M. Salomon 
Muller employs this name to designate a small and 
rare animal inhabiting the islands of Sumatra and 
Java, and living at a height of from twelve hundred to 
two thousand feet above the level of the sea. In the 
form of the skull and other cranial peculiarities, it 
appears to approach the members of the succeeding 
family ; but the back of the orbit is not closed in by a 
bony ring, such as is found in that remarkable group. 
The teeth are forty-four in number ; that is, twelve 
incisors, and thirty-two molars. The snout is pro- 
longed forwards into a movable proboscis, which is 
directed a little downwards at the tip, where the 
nostrils are laterally disposed. The eyes are not 
large ; but the ears are conspicuous, and thinly pro- 
vided with hair. As in the bulau, the feet are penta- 
dactylous, the three central digits being paramount, 
and the hind feet longer than the fore ones, the claws 
being sharp and strongly curved. The tail is particu- 
larly short, and but thinly clothed with hair. Very 
little is known respecting its habits. The teeth, how- 
ever, indicate its insectivorous propensities. 
Family III.— TUPAIADJE. 
The Tupaias are here collected into a separate group, 
chiefly on account of several well-marked anatomical 
peculiarities. The most important of these consists in 
the presence of an osseous ring completing the posterior 
part of the orbit, and entirel}”^ circumscribing that 
cavity. In all other species of the order Insectivora, 
a communication exists between the orbits and the 
spaces occupied by the temporal muscles which act 
upon the lower jaw. In this, and in some other fea- 
tures, we observe a structural and morphological 
approach towards the insectivorous monkeys. Through- 
out the family we have an elongated head, which is 
very much narrowed towards the pointed muzzle, and 
at the extremity of this snout the semilunar nostrils 
are placed sideways. The ears and eyes are largely 
developed, the latter projecting sufficiently to enable 
the animals to see backwards almost in a straight line. 
The body is long and narrow, but provided with toler- 
ably strong limbs, terminating in plantigrade, five-toed 
feet, the digits being armed with sharply-curved claws. 
All the species at present known are inhabitants of the 
Sunda islands, while some few have been found in 
Pegu and on the shores of the Indian peninsula. 
Their habits are diurnal and active, and from this 
circumstance they have always been associated with 
the squirrels by the native Malays. 
THE JAVANESE BANGSRING {Tupaia javanica ). — 
This species was first familiarly made known to natu- 
ralists by Dr. Horsfield, who during his travels in Java, 
in the year 1806 , discovered numerous examples in 
the thickly-wooded forests of the province of Blam- 
bangan. The body being slender and compact is 
eminently fitted for active pursuits. The limbs are 
gracefully formed, imparting to the creature an easy 
and attractive appearance. The five-toed feet ter- 
minate in compressed and strongly-curved claws, 
which are firmly implanted into the somewhat swollen 
tips of the several digits. The tail forms a very con- 
spicuous organ. It is fully as long as the body, having 
an almost uniform thickness from root to tip, and is 
clothed with regularly arranged hairs spreading out 
like those of the squirrel, but in a more limited degree. 
The fur consists, for the most part, of fine straight 
hairs closely applied to the skin; the back, neck, sides, 
and limbs being provided with a few longer, stouter, 
and darker-coloured hairs. The colour is of a greyish- 
brown, varying considerably at different spots, being 
lighter underneath the throat, chest, and belly. The 
head is narrowed anteriorly, and the eyes are particu- 
larly prominent. The bangsring and its allies appear 
to be very easily tamed ; for a specimen of this 
genus which came under the notice of Sir Stam- 
ford Raffles, behaved itself like a pet spaniel, freely 
partaking of fruits and milk at the breakfast and 
dinner table, and scampering through the house with 
evident satisfaction. 
Family IV.— ERINACEADiE. 
The hedgehogs are readily recognized by their 
peculiar spinous integument and the remarkable power 
possessed by the more typical forms of rolling them- 
selves up into a ball. This function is accomplished 
by the agencj’’ of a special development of the sub- 
cutaneous muscular bands, which are more or less 
developed in all the mammalia, forming in scientific 
nomenclature the muscular mass termed the panniculus 
carnosxis. It is of such strength in these creatures, 
that in their doubled-up state they are capable of 
resisting almost any force which their enemies employ 
to unroll them, while the points of the setae or spinous 
bristles inflict severe wounds upon the aggressors. In 
other respects the hedgehogs exhibit a general con- 
formity to the insectivorous type. The muzzle is 
pointed, and prolonged beyond the lower jaw. The 
eyes and ears are tolerably conspicuous; the latter 
however, are rather short. The feet are pentadao- 
