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Show 1867.] DR. J. E. GRAY ON THE TAPIR1D/E. 881 skull figured by M. de Blainville in his ' Osteographie,' t. 3, as that of Tapirus americanus agrees much better with this skull than with any of our skulls of T. americanus, as, in this skull, the face is more elongated and slender. The upper line of the central crest of the skull is regularly arched, and not arched in front and with a nearly straight line on the hinder part of the crown. It differs from the skull of T. laurillardi in the nasal bones being long, tapering, and acute, as in the skull of the normal T. americanus. The length of the space between the hinder edge of the canine and the front edge of the first grinder in the figure agrees with that found in the T. americanus; that is to say, it is only rather longer than the length of the first two grinders. There is a skull of an American Tapir in the Museum of the College of Surgeons which is rather more elongate than the rest of the skulls; and in this respect it bears some resemblance to the skull of Tapirus laurillardi. 2. TAPIRUS LAURILLARDI. (Fig. A.) Skull with a high, regularly-arched crest over the brain-case ; the nasal bones over the back of the orbit very short, broad, broader than long, and with rounded ends ; the front edge of the cavity of the internal nostrils in a line with the middle of the last or seventh grinder in the complete series ; the face rather elongate, the space between the canines and the grinders as long as the length of the outer side of the first three grinders ; the front part of the nasal aperture suddenly contracted, and then continued as a narrow linear groove to the front of the nose; the occipital end of the skull triangular, arched, higher than broad ; the lower edge of the lower jaw slightly arched, the front part rather produced and contracted; the grinders are rather small, the complete series being about j inch shorter than in the former species, being 5^ inches in T. lauril-lardii, and 5\ in T. terrestris. The skull here described was purchased of Mr. Brandt of Hamburg in 1852 as that of " Tapirus americanus from South America," without any more special habitat. I know that Mr. Brandt had a collector in Venezuela ; so it may be he who " shot and skinned himself"- that is, the animals from that country; and Dr. Seemann savs he has seen many Tapirs in that province. I have named this species, after M . Laurillard, the Assistant in the Museum of Comparative Anatomy of Paris, who made most of the drawings of M . Cuvier's ' Ossemens Fossiles.' He was a most kind, attentive, modest man, who was always willing to give assistance to all students, and devoted much time to assist others in their labours; it is to his industry and accuracy that great part of the value of the 'Ossemens Fossiles' is to be attributed. I am personally indebted to him for great kindness and an unceasing desire to facilitate any researches that I might have in hand. He was one of those men ;who seem satisfied-so that the work of science progressed, any one might claim the reputation of doing it; and iew men have done more for osteology and palaeontology than M . Laurillard. |