OCR Text |
Show 338 MR. STANLEY S. FLOWER ON THE [Apr. 3, Family GALEOPITHECID^;. 59. GALEOPITHECUS VOLANS (Linn.). The Flying Lemur. Galeopithecus temminckii, Cantor, p. 7. Galeopithecus volans, Blanf. Faun. Ind., Mamm. p. 249, tigs. 70 &71. " Kubong" or " Kurbong " of the Malays. ? " Bang " of the Siamese. Cantor gives as the habitat of this species " Singapore, Pinang, and other Islands in the Straits of Malacca, Lancavy Islands, Malayan Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Pelew Islands, Siam.'' Dr. Anderson (Cat. Mamm. Indian Mus. part i. p. 153, 1881) records a specimen from Perak: " skin of a young animal, much variegated with grey, brownish and black, interspersed with white spots," and others from Malacca. O. Thomas (P. Z. S. 1886, p. 73) records specimens collected by Mr. Davison in the Dindings and in Malacca. Eidley (Nat. Science, vol. vi. 1895, p. 27) says it "is plentiful in some parts of Singapore," and (J.S.B.R.A. S. no. 25, 1894, p. 58) records it from Kuala Tahan, Pahang. In the Taiping Museum there are several stuffed specimens from Larut, Perak ; there are also specimens from Selangor in the Museum at Kuala Lumpor. A specimen shot at the foot of Gunong Pulai, Johore, was found up a tree in the daytime. When disturbed it parachuted to a neighbouring tree, and started climbing up the trunk ; it had a young one clinging to it. A Penang example was obtained by moonlight, climbing on the trunk of a tree about 60 feet above the ground. The iris was dark brown, the ears pinky-red (this is very noticeable in life) ; tbe stomach was very full, its contents apparently all vegetable matter. Distribution. Tenasserim, Siam, Malay Peninsula (Lancavy, Penang, Perak, Dindings, Selangor, Pahang, Malacca, Johore, Singapore), Sumatra, Java, Borneo. i Order CHIROPTERA. Family PTEEOPODID^E. The species of Pteropus, Large Fruit-Bats or " Flying-Foxes " are known to the Malays as " Kluang," " Keluang " or " Kelawang/' and to the Siamese as " Kang-khaw maa-kai " or " Chankhoo maakai "; the meaning of this name I have not been able to make out for certain, but if it was originally composed of the four words that now compose it, would seem to suggest "The mother of the fowls that shield the stars," a really poetic epithet for the largest known bats. In some places in Siam the Buddhist priests consider these bats sacred. During my time in Siam I seldom saw any Fruit-Bats, but when they were seen they were invariably in large numbers,' as the following extracts from my diary show : |