Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington

VOL. XIII, PP. 187-193

DECEMBER

21, 1900

PROCEEDINGS

OFTHK

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

MAMMALS COLLECTED BY DR. W.

L.

ABBOTT ON PULO LANKAWI AND THE

BUTANG ISLANDS.*

BY GERRIT

S.

MILLER,

^JR.

The

first half of

December, ^{1899 Dr.} W.

L.

Abbott

_spent in

exploring Pulo Lankawi and

the

Butang

^Islands.

Pulo Lan- kawi,

^{oras it stands}

on some _maps, Langkawi,

^or

Lancava, and

the

Butang

^or

Buton

Islands are situated

near

the

west

coast of the

Malay ^Peninsula

^atthe

northern extremity

^{of the Straits of}

Malacca, about

^75miles

north

of

Penang. Lankawi

is separated

from

the

mainland by

ten miles or

more

of water, the

Butangs by

^a space

about double

as great.

The

distance

from

the

western end

of

Lankawi

to the

Butang group

^is

^about

^fifteen miles ⁱⁿ a

northwesterly

^direction,

The

collection of

mam

mals,

numbering ^about eighty specimens,

^{all of}

which have been presented

^{to the}

United

States

National Museum,

repre sents thirteen _species, of

which

all are closely related ^to those of the

adjacent mainland.

*Publishedhereby permission^ofthe Secretary^oftheSmithsonianIn stitution.

40 BIOL. Soc. WASH. VOL.XIII, ^1900. (187)

188

Miller

Mammal* _from

Lankaici (vnd

Mus

vociferans lancavensis subsp. nov.

Type. Adult female (skin

and

skull), No. 104,173 United States

Na

tional

Museum.

Collectedon Pulo Lanktiwi,

December

6, 1890. Origi nal

number

122.

Characters.

Not

as large ^as

Mus

vociferans vociferans from Trong,

Lower

Siam; ^color

more

conspicuously ochraceous; ^tailwith less

brown

ondorsal surface; skullwith

median

portionof parietals

more

elevated abovegeneral outline^of braincase.

Color.

The

colorso_closelyresemblesthatof true

Mus

_vociferansthat nodetailed description^isnecessary.

When

seriesofspecimens^are

com

pared, however, ^itisatonceseen that thosefrom Pulo

Lankawi

aredis tinctly

more

yellow than ^those from the type locality of the _species.

The

^differenceis

due

inparttoa slightreductioninthe

number

ofdark hairsontheback inthe insular animal, buttoa certain extentalso to a change^{in the}ochraceous

ground

^color.

The

latter, particularlyon the cheeks,flanks,

and

outerside of thighs, ^is visibly

though

faintly

more

yellow than in the

Trong

specimens. Underparts cream-buff. Tail whitishabove

and

below _distally, bicolor at base.

The brown

dorsal area scarcelyreachesmiddleof _tail, whilein true Mil* vociferans ^it ex tends

beyond

^middle

and

often nearly^totip.

Skull

and

teeth. In size

and

_generalform the skull agrees with that of

Mus

_vociferans vociferans, but

when

viewed

from

the side a _slight

though

veryconstant difference in the

form

of the braincase

becomes

apparent. Inbothanimals the middle _portion of the parietals ^is con vex, rising asadistinct

though

^low

prominence

^{abovethelevelofthein-} terparietal

and

that ofthefrontals. This convexity ^issoexaggeratedⁱⁿ

Mus

_vociferans lancavensis that skulls are _easily recognized either

by

sight or touch.

Teethsimilarto those of true

Mus

vociferans.

Measurements. External

measurements

of type: total length, 520;

head and

body, 209*; ^tailvertebrae, 311*; hind _{foot, 45;} hind footwith outclaws,^42.

Average

^{of five} specimens, including ^the type: ^total length, 543(520-559);

head

and _body, 222 _(209-229); tail vertebra?, 321 (311-330); hindfoot, 46_(45-47); hindfoot withoutclaws, 43(42-44).

Specimens^examined. Fiveskins

and

nine_skulls, all

from

the type^lo cality.

Remarks.

While

thisinsularrace ^is distinguished from ^true

Mus

vo ciferans

by

^{no one constant} character the

sum

of its peculiarities are

enough

^to

make

itreadily distinguishable.

The

_slightdifferencein size ischiefly

due

tothe shortertailof the insularform.f

^Collector's measurement.

finseven topotypes^of

Mus

_vociferansthe tail averages 342

mm.,

with extremesof 323

mm. and

380

mm.

Miller

Mammals from Lankawi and Butang

^{Islands. 189}

Mus

surifer flavidulus subsp. nov.

Tint?. Adult female(skin and _skull), No. 104,330 United States

Na

tional

Museum.

CollectedonPulo Lankawi,

December

4, 1890. Origi nal

number

^109.

Characters. Smallerthan

Mus

surifer surifer from Trong,

Lower

Siam;

tail usually^{a little} shorter than head

and

_{body; ground} color of sides and upperpartsyellower(lesstawney) than ^{in the} mainland form,

and

dark shading^lessconspicuous; belly cream-buff instead of white: skull smallerthan that of the typical race, the braincase smaller

and

^less ridged.

Color.

The

colorisas intrue

Mus

_suriferexcept that throughout ^the pelage ^{there is} a stronger tendency ^to yellowish ^tints.

Ground

color of sides

and

back _light orange-buff, rarely^as deep ^{as in the}

Trong

animal,

which

often approaches tawny-ochraceous. Underparts pale cream-buff or yellowish white.

The

dark

brown

hairs of the upper- parts are distributed^{as in}

Mus

_{surifer surifer;} but they appear ^{to be} fewerinnumber. Feet

and

tailas in the mainland animal, the ^latter sharply ^bicolor nearly ^to tip, its distal extremity whitish above

and

below.

tfkull<ntdteeth. Skull_distinctly smallerthanthatof

Mus

surifer,

and

ingeneral^of

much

the

same

_form.

The

braincaseis, however, broader

in proportion^tothe length^of the skull,

and

the supraorbital ridges are lessconspicuouslydeveloped.

The

interparietal^issimilartothatofthe mainland animal

and

does not approach ^the peculiar triangular form found in the representative ^of the species occurring on the

Butang

Islands.

Teethas intypical

Mus

_surifer.

Measurements, External

measurements

of type: ^total length, ^355;

head and _{body, 197;} tail vertebrae, 158; hind foot, 37.6: hind foot with out claws, 36. Average ^{of ten} specimens including the type: ^total length, 335 (305-369); head

and

_body, 175 _(159-197); tail vertebra?, 160 (14(5-172); hindfoot, 39(37-42): hind footwithout claws, 37(36-40).

Cranial

measurements

of type: greatest length, 44; basal length, ^37;

basilar length, 34.8; palatal length, ^{18; least} width of palate between anterior molars, 5; diastema, 12.6; lengthof incisiveforamen, ^6.4;

com

bined breadth of incisiveforamina, ^3.6; length of nasals, 17;

combined

breadth of nasals, 5; zygomatic breadth, ^20; interorbital breadth, 7;

mastoid_breadth, 15; breadthof braincase above roots of zygomata, ^17;

depth ^of braincase at front of basioccipital, 11; frontopalatal depth ^at posterior extremity ^{of nasals, 10; least} depth ^of rostrum immediately behind incisors, 7.8; maxillary toothrow (alveoli), 6.8; width of front uppermolar, 2.2; mandible, 23.6; mandibular molarseries (alveoli), 6.6.

Speciwi'iixexamined. Thirteen_skins, twenty skulls,

and

one specimen in alcohol, all from Pulo Lankawi.

Remarks.

By

^{its small size and} yellowish ^{color this} race is readily distinguishablefromthatof the mainland as well as from that of the nearby

Butang

^Islands.

190

Miller

Mammals

from

Lankawi

<ni<l

Butano

Islands.

Mus

surifer butangensis subsp. nov.

Type. Adult

male

(skin

and

skull)No.104,309UnitedStales National .Museum. Collectedon Pulo Adang,

Butang

Islands,

December

10. ISiM).

Original

number

157.

Characters.

More

robustthan

Mus

_xurifcr xiirifer from Trong,

Lower

Siam; taildistinctlyshorlerthanhead and body: ground color of sides

and

upperpartsdarker

and

lessbright than in the mainland form, and dark shading

more

diffuse; belly dirty buff; skull with the rostrum deeper, the braincase relativelynarrower

and more

_ridded,

and

the ^in- terparietal

more

_{distinctlytriangular}in outline.

Color.

The

colordiffers

from

thatof thetypical raceⁱⁿ the dullness of the fulvous tints. These areverynearly ochraceous-buff ⁱⁿ

marked

contrastwiththe orange-buff^of

Mm

_{surifersurifer}

and

M. *u rfferfl<irid-

ult.i*.

The

_sprinkling of blackish hairs in very diffuse, adding^tothe

peculiar aspect^of theanimal. Underparts^soiledcream-buff. Tail

and

feet as inthe related forms.

Skull

and

teeth.

The

skull, whilenot actually largerthan inthe

main

land race is

more

_angular

and

_{heavily ridged.}

The

rostrum

when

viewed

from

the sideisdistinctlydeeper

and

the braincaseappears ^tobe slightlynarrower,

though

^{thelattercharacteris not} very ^well marked.

The

outline of the interparietal ^isnearly a perfect^isosceles triangle the baseof

which

(the anterioredge)^isaboutone

and

onehalftimesaslong aseitherside.

Teeth

as intypical

Mus

surifer.

Measurements. External

measurements

of type: ^total length, 374;

head and

_body, 203; ^tailvertebras, 171; hind_foot, 43; hind footwithout claws, ^41.

Average

^of twelve specimens

from

the type locality: total length, 353 _(311-381);

head

and _{body, 194} (178-210); ^tailvertebra¹, 159 (133-171); hind foot, 41 _(38.5-43); hind foot without claws, 38 (37-41).

Average

^{of three}specimens from Pulo

Rawi;

totallength, 353(330-350);

head and

_{body, 192 (184-203);} tail vertebrae, 100 _(152-105); hind foot,H9 (38.5-40); hindfootwithout claws, ^30.8 (30.5-37).

Specimens ^examined. Fifteen; twelve from Pulo Adang,

and

three fromPulo Rawi,

Butang

^Islands.

Remarks.

The

three skins

from

Pulo

Rawi

_{agree very closely} with those

from

thetype locality

though

^incolorthey^are slightly ^lessdull.

Mus _pannosus

_sp. nov.

Type. Adult

male

No. _104,110 United States National

Museum.

CollectedonPulo

Adang, Butang

Islands,

December

14, 1899. Original

number

^146.

Characters. Similarto

Mus

tambelanicus Miller, butwith _largerears, pelage^of upperparts^less suffused with_red,

and

entireunderpartsgriz zledwith_gray. Auditalbullaslargerthanin

Mus

tambelanicus.

Color.

Back

arather coarse_{grizzle of light}

wood-brown and

blackish

brown

the

two

colors

mixed

in nearly equal proportions. Sides very

Miller

Mammal* from Lankawi and Butang

^{Islands 191}

dullbuff-yellow heavily sprinkled with dark brown. Ventral surface dull, pale, buff, strongly suffused with _drab-gray, particularly along

median

line. ^- Chin andthroat usually dull buffy white _{scarcely tinged} with_gray.

SkuU.

The

skullis similar to that of

Mu

tambelanieus except ^that the audital bullae are very noticeably larger

and

less depressed on the outer side. Teeth as in

Mus

tambelanicux, that _is, like those of

Mux

'alexandrinua', only larger.

Mctixiit't'im'utx. External

measurements

of type: ^total length, 406;

head

and

_body,203; tail vertebrae, 203; hind _{foot, 41;} hind footwithout claws, ^38. Average ^of seven specimens from the type locality: total length, 386 _(373-406); head

and

_body, 196 _(184-203); tail vertebra, 190 (184-203); hind _foot, 40 _(38-41.5): hind foot without claws, 38 _(35-39).

An

adult

male from

Pulo

Rawi

measures: total length, 409;

head and

body, 203; tailvertebrae, 196; hindfoot, 39; hindfootwithout_claws, 36.

Specimen* examined.

Ten

_(three in alcohol)from Pulo Adang,

and

threefrom Pulo Rawi,

Butang

^Islands.

Remark*.

The

closeresemblanceof this species ^to

Mu8

tambelanicus,

and

itsunlikenesstothe small

Mus

'alexandrinutfof theadjacent

main

land suggest that the

two

_large animals are less closely related to the latterthan 1 at first supposed^Mutt tambelanicux to be.

While

of the

same

_generalformasthe roof rat they^areheavieranimalswith coarser

more

_shaggy fur.

Mus

cremoriventer subsp.^'!

Two

specimens(oneⁱⁿalcohol)

from

Pulo

Lankawi and

a third from Pulo

Adang

^{differ from true}

Mus

cremoriventer in a strong yellowish suffusion of the entire pelage.

As

they were taken ^at practically the

same

seasonas the _original specimens ^of M. cremoriventer thereislittle probability that the differences are

due

to individual variation.

With

out further material,

and

particularly in the absence of series of the yellowish

Mus

flaviventer fromthe

Anambas,

^itseems unwisetoattempt todefinethe present ^race.

Ratufa melanopepla ^Miller.

One

specimen, Pulo Lankawi,

December

9, 1899.

Sciurus concolor Blyth.

Two

specimens from Pulo

Lankawi and

threefrom Pulo Adang.

They

agree^{inallessential} characterswithskinsfrom Trong,

Lower

_{Siam, but}

whether

the

same

asthe true concolor of Malacca itisat present impos sibletodetermine.

Tragulus umbrinus sp. nov.

Type. Adult male(skin

and

skull)No.104,414,UnitedStatesNational

Museum.

Collected on Pulo Lankawi,

December

7, 1899. Original number, ^I'M.

!!>-' Miller

Mammals _from

Lnnlciri an<l ]>"tnn<i 1*1'ind*.

('h r<-t<r*. Similar to Trniinliixrnn<-mrnx*oftho adjacent mainland, but smallerinsize

and muoh

darker in color. Throal _stripos blackish

brown

with _scarcely a trace of pale speckling. Holly heavily

washed

with fulvous gray.

Color,

Ground

color of back a deeper, brighter orange-bull' than in

'/'. cuiH'xrcnx and blackishclouding

much

in excess of bull'. Sides and flanksas inthe

mainland

animal but conspicuouslydarker,

owing

^{to the} greateradmixtureof brown. Entireneck from

crown

toshoulders, and laterally toouterwhitethroat _stripes,blackish seal-brown,

many

^{of the}

hairswithasubterminalorange-buff areaabout 3

mm.

in length.

The

buff rings give thedark area a speckled appearance, but they ^{are not} sufficiently

numerous

to produce gri//ling, except occasionally ^at the sidesof the neck.

Upper

^surfaceof

head

andface_slightlydarker than back; cheeks

and

ill defined streakover

and

in front of eye paler. Lnt-

(r!

darkthroatstripes clear blackish seal-broirn xritwlyspeckled^/n't// hit/.

Collarlike sides of body, only

more

_{finelygrizzled.} Chest and _posterior half of belly white, theintermediate _{region heavily} clouded with _yel lowish gray, darker

and

clearer along

median

line. Outer surface of legsdullochraceous

somewhat

clouded withdark brown.

Skull

and

teeth. Skullas in Trot/ulv* nniwoiM, but slightly smaller.

Relativesize of teeth as in the

mainland

animal, therefore considerably greaterthan in T. napu.

Measurements. External

measurements

of type: ^total length, ^596:

head and

_body, 520; ^tailvertebra, ^76; hind _{foot, 135;} hind footwithout hoof, 123; ear

from

_meatus, 34; width of ear, 22. External

measure ments

of asecondadult

male from

the type locality; total length, 584;

head

and

_body, 508; ^tailvertebrae, 76: hindfoot, 128; hindfoot without hoof, 115.

Cranial

measurements

of type: greatest length, 112; basal length, ^108:

basilar length, 100; zygomatic breadth, 48; mandible, ^90: maxillary toothrow(alveoli), 30; mandibular toothrow (alveoli), 47.

Weight.

Weight

^of type^3.63kg.

Weight

^{of second}adult, 3.4 kg.

Specimens examined. Three, all fromthetypelocality.

Tragulus javanicus ((imelin).

Thirteen specimens from Pulo

Lankawi and two

from Pulo

Adang

^are

indistinguishable

from

thosetaken on themainland.

Lutra barang ^{F. Cuvier.}

One

adult female,Pulo Lankawi,

December

10, 1899. Measure ments:

totallength, ^1090:

head and

_body, 673; ^tail vertebrae, 419; hind foot.

128.

*Seeantea, _p. 185.

Miller

Mammals from Lankawi and Butang

^Islands.

¹⁹³

Tupaia ferruginea ^Raffles.

Two

specimens from Pulo

Lankawi and

one each from Pulo

Adang and

Pulo

Rawi

are indistinguishablefrom those taken in Trong,

Lower

Siam.

Galeopithecus volans (Linnaeus).

Two

_specimens, bothfrom Pulo Adang.

Emballonura peninsularis ^Miller.

Nine

specimens(oneskin), Pulo Rawi,

Butang

Islands,

December

19, 1899.

Semnopithecus obscurus _Blyth.

Two

were taken on Pulo Lankawi,

December

5, 1899.