. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. THE RHINOCEROSES. 425 Of the three toes on each foot the width of the mid- dle one is nearly double that of either of the others. The skin is very thick, and in most species of the family is of an almost armor-like toughness. It either envelops the body snugly, with the exception of a few not very prominent folds, or else it is di- vided into several distinct shields, separated by deep furrows. The loose skin of these interstices affords the only means of mobility, for the shields may be niade to touch or even overlap each other at
. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. THE RHINOCEROSES. 425 Of the three toes on each foot the width of the mid- dle one is nearly double that of either of the others. The skin is very thick, and in most species of the family is of an almost armor-like toughness. It either envelops the body snugly, with the exception of a few not very prominent folds, or else it is di- vided into several distinct shields, separated by deep furrows. The loose skin of these interstices affords the only means of mobility, for the shields may be niade to touch or even overlap each other at these furrows, which are composed of a thinner and much more flexible skin than that which forms the shields. Deep wrinkles surround the eyes and mouth, and in the latter instance impart an unexpected degree of flexibility to the clumsy appearing, but actually very mobile lips. A network of shallow depressions cross in individual instances and not as a general rule, the superficial skin exhibits horny excrescences attain- ing the height of an inch or thereabouts, on different portions of the body, but usually on the head. The bony skeleton is of a clumsy, vigorous struct- ure. In respect to dentition it may be said that the canines are absent; the African species also lack the incisors in both jaws, but the Asiatic species usually show them during their entire life. The re- maining teeth consist of seven molars on both sides of each jaw. The Rhinoceroses, which at present inhabit the Oriental and Ethiopian belts, were more widely distributed in former times, their earlier range in- cluding southern Germany, France, England, Rus- sia and Siberia. Among the extinct species AMEBICAII TAFIBS, Here is a group of these South American animals luxuriating in the native swamps which furnish them plentifully with the leaves, shoots and fruits which form their food. The clumsy body, head and proboscis-like snout of the adults are shown, and the peculiar spots and stripes of the i
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1895
