OCR Text |
Show 102 MR. HAROLD SCHWANN ON [Feb. 6, name. The river was originally fringed with dense reeds, providing excellent shelter for game of all kinds ; but in some parts clearings have been made by the natives, and the ground drained and cultivated with corn and fruit-trees. The Molopo River, lying considerably to the north of Kuruman, is dry most of the year, but in the rainy season may be as much as 16 feet deep. The water remains in stagnant pools till about mid-August, when it is gradually evaporated, leaving the riverbed dry until next year. The country surrounding the river is covered with dense camel-thorn * forest and patches of soft sand. The particular interest of this collection lies in its providing the British Museum with many valuable topotypes of Dr. Smith's now well-worn and rather faded specimens. His main collections, described in the ' Illustrated Zoology of South Africa,' were made at Kuruman and Old Latakoo, lying in S. lat. 27°, E. long. 24°, a place not marked on modern maps, but in his day of considerable importance. As was to be expected, the prevailing colour of the specimens is sandy and considerably lighter than that of animals inhabiting well-wooded areas. Among the species now described for the first time may be mentioned Crocidura deserti, a pale-coloured Shrew, probably a desert form of Sundevall's argentata, and Mus woosnami, a striking species both in colour and tooth-structure. 1. RHINOLOPHUS DENTI Thos. o*. D. 7, 8. Kuruman. 2. RHINOLOPHUS AUGUR K. And. 6. W . 26, 28, 29; 1). 124, 125, 126, 127. ?. 127. Kuruman. " I found some hundreds of these Bats hanging on the rocks in the shaft of an old gold-mine near Kuruman fountain. Of the fifteen that I caught, curiously enough, only one was a female. These Bats are common here, but seem to be found only in the caves, as I have seen none about the houses or old mission buildings here."-R. B. W. 3. NYCTERIS THEBAICA Geoff. <3 . D. 15. Kuruman. 4. VESPERTILIO CAPENSIS Smith. J. D. 133. ?. W . 56. Kuruman. " I caught this little brown Bat in an old mission building. It is not an uncommon species here."-R. B. W. 5. MlNIOPTERUS SCHREIBERSI Kllhl. cT. W . 30. Kuruman. " This little black Bat with a very long tail was caught at night * So called from the Dutch name for the Giraffe, " kameelpardel," which is very fond of these bushes. |