An account of the skeletons of the dugong, two-horned rhinoceros, and tapir of sumatra, sent to England by sir Thomas Stamford Raffles , Governor of Bencoolen

In this paper, Sir Everard first describes, by reference to an annexed drawing, the peculiar form of the skeleton of the dugong, which he compares to a boat without a keel, with the bottom uppermost; so that in the sea the middle of the back is the highest point in the water; and as the lungs are very extensive, they render the animal buoyant. As a compensation for legs, the dugong has a peculiar means of suspending itself in the sea, the centre of the back forming the point of suspension, similar to the fulcrum of a pair of scales; this peculiarity explains the form of the jaws, which are placed at an angle with the skull, unlike those of any other animal. There is no remarkable difference between the bones of the two-horned rhinoceros, compared with those of the single-horned species, except that the projection in front of the skull, formed by the union of the nasal bones, is more nearly in a straight line and more extended; in the viscera of these animals there is, however, a more marked difference.