With respect to the other Rhinoceros which was said to exhibit a resemblance to the Keitloa,
it may probably be found to belong to a species whjch has its principal habitat in northern
Africa, a conclusion to which we have been led from an examination of a pair of horns contained
m the museum o f the College of Surgeons o f London, and which were obtained in
Abyssinia, by Mr. Salt. These horns differ considerably from the Jiorns o f Rh. Bicornis, while
as regards form, they approximate those of Rh. Keitloa. Another pair of horns, probably o f the
same species, is preserved according to Spaarman,* in the cabinet of the Royal Academy of
Sciences, the foremost of which is twenty-two inches in length, and the hindermost sixteen.
The distance between these horns is scarcely two inches. They differ likewise, he adds, “ from
the horns I saw in Africa, and from those I brought with me, in being of a lighter colour, and
straight, and at the same time flat on the sides ; so that the hindmost horn in particular, has
pretty sharp edges on the upper part, both before and behind. These horns most probably
came from the northern parts o f Africa, as they were purchased at Naples/’ &c. Different again
from the above, and from all Rhinoceros horns I have yet seen are two, contained in the British
Museum, which were obtained by Major Denham during his journey in Northern Africa; and
if they do not prove to have belonged to young individuals o f Rh. Simus, they will require
to be referred to a species not yet characterised ; they are of a lighter colour than any horns
which I have had an opportunity o f examining, and along with a peculiarly corneous aspect,
they have a considerable.degree of semi-transparency. The horns o f Rh. Simus possess more
of the above characters than any others yet known, which circumstance, together with
the fact o f which I have been informed by R. Owen, Esq. F.R.S. that clubs of Rhinoceros
horn, about three feet in length have been obtained from Western Africa, (Kingdom* of
Dahomy) would lead to a supposition, that either the species discovered by Burchell, or one
with certain of its characters, inhabits Northern Africa.
Now, though I am not prepared to maintain that the horns of each individual of the same
species of Rhinoceros are found to be uniform, as regards, size and form, or even that the relative
lengths of the first and second horns are constant in different animals, yet from what I have
observed in the South African species, I do not think we are justified in believing the horns of
the same species to be subject to any great variations in respect to relative length. When the
Rhinoceros of Abyssinia shall have been minutely examined, it will probably be found to be
distinct from Rhinoceros Bicornis, Lin., and be identical with the animal stated by the natives
who communicated with us near the tropic of Capricorn, to be like the Keitloa. The other
species of which they spoke will possibly be identical with the Ndzoo-dzoo and a nondescript:
while the one, from which were obtained the horns referred to as in the British Museum, may
prove either the Rhinoceros Simus, or a third undescribed species.
* Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, by A . Spaarman, M.D. 4to. vol. ii. p. 100.