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THE

ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS.

THE collection of specimens selected for exhibition, from the existing classes of Animals, is contained in three Galleries; and, for the convenience of exhibition, is arranged in two series. The BEASTS, BIRDS, REPTILES, and FISHES, are exhibited in the Wall Cases. The hard parts of the Molluscous, Radiated, and Annulose Animals, (as SHELLS, CORALS, SEAEGGS, STARFISH, CRUSTACEA, and INSECTS,) and the EGGs of BIRDS, are arranged in the Table Cases of the several Rooms.*

The names and numbers of the Rooms are placed over the doorways in each apartment, and the numbers of the cases over the glass frames.

The specimens are labelled with the scientific name, the English name when they have one, the country whence they come, and, when they have been presented, with the name of the donor.

The General Collection of MAMMALS, or Beasts which suckle their young, is arranged in three Rooms, the Hoofed Beasts (Ungulata) being contained in the CENTRAL SALOON and SOUTHERN ZOOLOGICAL GALLERY, and the Beasts with claws (Unguiculata) in the MAMMALIA SALOON.

1. THE CENTRAL SALOON.

In the WALL CASES of this Saloon are exhibited the specimens of the Antelopes, Goats, and Sheep. The Cases between the doorways contain the Bats, or Chiroptera. Some of the larger Mammalia are placed on the floor, such as the Giraffes or Camelopards of North

*For a more detailed and scientific explanation of the Zoological Collection, there is published a series of Catalogues, which may be purchased in the Principal Librarian's Office at the Museum, or at any Bookseller's. A List of these Catalogues, with the prices, is at the end of this Guide.

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and South Africa, and the Morse or Walrus from the Arctic Ocean. In the Case between the columns are specimens of the full-grown male Gorilla, of the female, and of a young male. They are from the Gaboon, Equatorial Africa. Over the Cases containing the Antelopes and Bats are placed the horns of the different species of Oxen, the largest of which are those of the Arnee, or Great Indian Buffalo.

Cases 1-6 and 14-20. The Antelopes are beasts with hollow horns, chewing the cud; they are chiefly of a sandy colour, and specially fitted to inhabit extensive plains with tracts of desert; a few of the species live among rocks, where they are as sure-footed as the Goat. They are most abundant in Africa, especially in the southern districts. A few are found in India. Among the more interesting species may be pointed out the Water-buck, and Sable Antelope; the Oryx, which, when seen in profile, probably suggested the Unicorn mentioned by the ancients; the Blessbok, Hartebeest, and Sassay be of South Africa; the large-eyed Gazelle, so often referred to by Eastern poets; the Springbok, so called from its springing bounds, when the white fur of its back opens out like a sheet; the Gnu, which at first seems a compound of Horse, Buffalo, and Antelope; the Sasing, or Indian Antelope, with its curious cheek-pores; the Wood Antelopes, with short horns often concealed amongst a brush of hairs; the Chickara of India, with four little horns. (Case 12.) North America and Europe have each a single species, viz., the Prong-buck of the United States, and the Chamois which frequents the Alps. None of these hollow-horned animals shed their horns, except the Prong-buck, in which, periodically, a new pair of horns, covered with hairs, are formed below and within the old one.

The different kinds of Wild Sheep (Cases 9 to 11) from the mountains of Asia, North America, and North Africa: one of the most remarkable is the Bearded Sheep, or Aoudad of Morocco, which has enormous strength in its neck and horns; these are of great size in the gigantic Argali.

The various kinds of Ibex and Wild Goats of Siberia, India, and Europe, and some of their domestic varieties (Cases 6 to 8 and 13); the Cashmere and Angora Goats, celebrated for the delicate wool growing among their hair, and manufactured into the finest shawls.

The Giraffes are fitted, by their long legs and neck, and extensile lips and tongue, to browse on the twigs of high trees; while the Antelopes, Goats, and Sheep, with their short neck and blunt lips, browse chiefly on low shrubs, or graze.

The Bats, which have the skin extended between the fingers of their fore-limbs, fly about in the dusk and at night; they feed chiefly upon insects; some of the larger species, often called Fox-bats, or Flying Foxes, have blunt grinding teeth, and eat fruit only. They are found in Africa, in the islands of the Indian Archipelago and the Pacific, and in Australia, where some of them live in large flocks. The Horse-shoe Bats and Leaf-nosed Bats have very peculiar physiognomies, from the complicated apparatus on the skin of the nose round the nostrils. Though the Bats are generally sombre-coloured, yet

a few have brilliantly-coloured furs, such as the little orange Port Essington Bat, and some of the Fox-bats. The Vampyres, or Bloodsucking Bats, are confined to South America; they have a long tongue, and a deep notch in the lower lip. They attack animals and sometimes even men while sleeping, fanning the victims with their wings. They are of small size, but the wounds which they inflict often continue to bleed after the Bats are satiated, and all wounds are dangerous in a warm climate.

2. THE SOUTHERN ZOOLOGICAL GALLERY.

In the WALL CASES of this Gallery is exhibited the continuation of the collection of the Hoofed Quadrupeds, as the Oxen, Elands, Deer, Camels, Llamas, Horses, and the various species of Swine. Here also are placed the species of Armadillo, Manis, and Sloth, remarkable for the length and strength of their claws. On the top of the Wall Cases are the horns of various species of Antelopes, and on the floor are arranged specimens of the Indian Rhinoceros, with its thick hide in deep folds, and a single horn on the nose; the African Rhinoceros, the different species of which have two horns on the nose, and a smooth hide, without plaits or folds. The Hippopotamus of the African rivers, with its formidable mouth and massive bulk. The two species of Elephants-the African, with enormous ears, and the Indian, so easily tamed and rendered useful to man. The bulky Nepalese Gour, the fierce Cape Buffalo, with its front of horn, and the white wild bull from Chillingham Park; also the Malayan Tapir.

Cases 1 and 2, 31 and 32. The Llamas, used as beasts of burden in the Andes of South America, one species furnishing an excellent wool. The wild species are brown, while the domesticated kinds are black, white, or brown, and often variegated. The Camels, remarkable for their stomachs complicated with cells for holding water, and for their humps, which are stores of nutriment, whereby they are fitted for long journeys across the desert.

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Cases 3 to 16. Oxen. Among them may be specified the Lithuanian Bison, or Aurochs, which in ancient times inhabited the European forests, but is now nearly extinct, a few only having been preserved by the care of the Russian Emperors; the American Bison, or Buffalo," which still wanders in gradually diminishing herds over the prairies of North America; the Musk Ox, limited to Arctic America, where, with its peculiar head and feet, it manages to find food even during the long winter of those regions; the Yak of Thibet, the tail of which is used as a fly-flap by the Asiatics, and the curious Nepalese Budorcas.

The continuation of the series of Antelopes, such as the African Eland, the giant of the group; the Bontebok, with its inscribed sides; the fine striped Strepsiceros, with its spiral horns; the Nylghau, often called the Horned Horse of India; and the Anoa of Celebes. In these Cases are also contained the Thick-skinned Beasts,