OCR Text |
Show 1900.] MAMMALS OF SIAM AND THE MALAY PENINSULA. 317 soldiers at Singapore that would dive into a deep tub of water and fetch out bananas that were thrown in for it. The males of this species (as w7ell as some other Macaci) seem to vary much in tbe size to which they attain. Distribution. Burma, Nicobar Islands, Siam, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Pulo Nias, Banka, Java, Babi, Lombok, Timor, Natuna Islands, Borneo, Celebes (?), and the Philippines. The Monkeys of the genus Semnopithecus are called by the Malays " Lutong," and by the Siamese " Ling karng" ; of their species, varieties, and distribution in Siam and the Malay Peninsula we know but little, and their synonymy is very confusing, and must remain unsettled until much more material than is at present available has been collected. They seem very generally distributed throughout the big jungles both on the mountains and on the plains, but they are usually very shy. Cantor distinguished four species from the Peninsula, which he called SS. obscurus, albocinereus, cristatus, andfemoralis respectively. Eidley says " there are several other species of Semnopithecus in the Malay Peninsula with apparently similar habits to S. femoralis, but it is not easy even to secure specimens, still less to observe their habits." Personally I know7 of four distinct species from this region. Of three, S. obscurus, S. femoralis, aud S. germaini, I have shot specimens, which Mr. Oldfield Thomas has kindly identified ; the fourth I only know from three stuffed specimens in the Museum at Taiping, two of which are from the Piah River in Upper Perak, and one from Tapah, Batang Padang, also in the State of Perak. It is a large species with unusually long limbs and tail (even for a Semnopithecus), and is coloured light rufous brown above and lemon-yellow below ; the hair on the forehead, hands, feet, and tail is dark brown. Mr. Wray has labelled these specimens S. siamensis. The Lutongs are but rarely seen in captivity, and are usually short-lived in that state, although it is possible to keep them. In June 1897, Mr. A. H . B. Dennys wrote to me from Penang saying, " There is a very fine adult tame lutong here, a black one, which has been in captivity over three years, but I think it is a rare thing to get them tamed." The Siamese believe these monkeys eat human flesh, and are greatly afraid of them. They say if you sleep out in the jungle they will kill you by sucking your blood. 10. SEMNOPITHECUS OBSCURUS Reid. The Dusky Leaf-Monkey. Semnopithecus obscurus, Blanf. Faun. Ind., M a m m . p. 41. " Lutong etam " (etam = black) of the Malays of the Peninsula. Cantor (p. 4) says this is the most common species in Penang and Singapore, and that it also occurs on the Peninsula. It is doubtful, however, whether it does occur at Singapore at the present time. In April 1895 I found this species very common in Kedah, living in the highest trees along the banks of the Kedah River and |