The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-04-03

hand. and the more highly specialized forms OF
equidB upon the other In all living species
there are three toes of equal length. bnt not
of equal development, upon the fore-fect. OF
these. only the third ID self symmetrical. and Is
provided with expanded terminal point,
while the weight Of the animals body rests,
not upon those hoof-nails by which the ends Of
these digits are capped. but
UPON AN IspuRkTED PAD
situated somewhat farther away from their
extremities. That is TO say. rhinoscroscs. being
descendants OF an animal from which was de-
rived both the multitudinous genera and spe-
cies OF even.toed unRuiates aud also the COM
paratively few forms in which the toes are odd
represents type moro closely allied To that of
the parental structure than the horse. aud less
nearly affiliated with the construction Of this
ancient animal than the tapir
In all rhinoceri tho skin Is thick, aud In
some IL IS partially reduplicatad. but their In
tegumnnts arc all. without exceptions. hhlcate.
soft and sensitive during life. Many misron
ccpti0ns prevail concerning this subject; but
because a heavy rifle and large charge Is re-.
quircd IN rhinoeeros shooting 1t by no means
follows that this fnct depends upon tho impen-
etrabilty of It's hide. aud indeed the difficulty
OF killing them has hut little 10 do with the
plehydernatous character of these species.
For the most part our cassihcatons rest
upon the differences which rhinOccri exhibit la
their body-coyering aud horns. aud as these
have been found to be- variable organs specific
groups have been considerably multiplied
Whenever an African savage or Hindu She
karry, Dutch B0eT. or foreign sportsman with
"A sprinking Of natural history found beast
whose shoulder or faux shield was not exactly
like that of the last ono he saw. Whenever
rhinOcer0s came into view who presented some
slight variation from the average In the length
and curve oil It's horns, tho conviction OF a dis
"a a as
mind and unfortunately In many instances he
was abie 10 record his impression Without
pursuing this matter further, the skin of
rhimOceri may be described smooth in some
instances. folded into plates having tnGer-
enlated surface, between whose elevations n
few course hairs grow or, finally, as partially
folded. The animals Of the FIRST class are OK
ciusiveiy African; those Of this second aud
third, range south from the foothills Of tho
| Himalayas 70 tho Bay Of Bengal. aud extend
| through Ind0.China into the mnlayau p6uin-
suia and larger islands Of tho Austral- ASIAN
| Archipelago.
All the species Included in these groups CON
sist Of large and heavy animals-ihe white
| rhinocerons, *. sinus, being only inferior In
size. among Terrestrial mammals TO the ele-
! phaht; they arc exclusively vegetable feeders
with latgr, unsymnetrically-r idgcd premolar
/ and mOlar teeth,
SIMPLE STOMACH POUCH,
| elongated intestinal tract-especially the cneal
section. aud difIIsed placenta. AS "A rule
| births are single aud the period of CESSATION is
| estimated at about IL months. Usually the
rhinoceros is nocturnal, very destructive 10 cul-
| tiVated lands, with a morOse Disposition soli-
| tary In Its habits, having n dispropOrti0nally
| small brain Gaze and immense development Of
| the iace-skeleton no h0rns--in the true sonHe
| OF that term--or hOrn-c0res, very poor eyes
| with limited field of vision, aud an extremely
| If eli and In
! semble this creature has the appearance Of Der
| ing very awkward, and seems To bo incapable
| OF rapid movement; nevertheless SeOus says
81 tho rh in0ceros is almost equally active" with
the elephant In climbing "up aud down sterp
| places" Sir Samuel Bakers narratives Of hs
chases on horseback place its speed beyond
question, aud the narrow escapes made by An.
derson aud Drurnmond sufficiently attest tho
| rapldity and suddenuess of its charge.
| According 10 biologists. the various forms Of
| rhindceri possess characteristic traits, of which
the following Is an outline: X. indcus, the one
horned rhinOccros proper OF India, has tubor-
eulated aud folded skin, but one whose plcn-
tiOns it Is Unnecessary To trace in detail, since
| 10 II the fold itself which 80 far this strue-
ture Is concerned In CLASH catiOu. distinguishes
| the Asiaste from the African group. Further
| AS Capt. Baldwin remarks, One-h0rned species
are distinguished from X. bicOrnOs by u less
elongated head and upper-lip. The dental
| genera of the African rhinoeer0s are without
either canine or incisor teeth. Whereas in the
Indian genus there are, either side, one
| cutting tooth in the upper aud two in the lower
jaw, with no canine in the upper, and one in
each ramus OF the lower jaw. la India this
creature averages nine or ten feet In length /
and may reach twelve. without the TAIL whcht
is % or "a inches long, while its hight at the
shoulder is four aud half or five feet. All
the dimensions seemingly exceed those Of the
other Indian donble-hOrned genus, Il. sondi-
acust ath0ugh this is point much disputed. aud
| about which no certainty exists,) whose cOnti-
mental range corresponds in general witt, that
of the former. The latter, however, is found
in the large islands Of the
MALAYAH ARCHIPELAGO,
while Il. indieus ranges no further s0nth than
the lower portion of MaIaeca. Singn it
may appear, the African rhIuoceros il .acL
better known than the Indian, and tho reliable