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Show 1896.] ZOOLOGICAL EXPEDITION TO MADAGASCAR. 973 very successful, thanks chiefly to the cooperation of the natives, Betsileos and Betsimisarakas; but the French never came. The result was, that iu the beginning of September 1895, after having despatched m y collections via Ambositra, I returned to Sirabe and searched earnestly for the AVpyomls-at the best time, with regard to the condition of the marshes ; at the worst, with regard to that of the country generally. Three times I was compelled to interrupt the work, once for a whole week. To make up for lost time, I engaged in the intervals as many workmen as presented themselves, generally more than fifty. W h e n at last the rainy season stopped the business, I found that after all the result was more than I had expected; m y collections were far superior to what any previous collector bad brought together in many years. I have to acknowledge with thauks the Rev. Mr. Rosaas's friendly help at this place, especially in using his influence with the natives on our behalf. The rest of the Odysey can be told in a few words. First a forced stay of nearly two months in the capital; a short sojourn of some weeks in the forest of Ankeramadinika, at a day's journey to the east, where not much was to be done, owing chiefly to the growing unfriendliness of the Hovas towards all Europeans. Still some good things, including a new Lemur, were secured here. Later ou, I travelled south again, settled in the old place Ampitambe, with equally good results as the first time; the work,however, was unfortunately interrupted by the unsafety of the place. Lastly, a lengthened sojourn was made in a more southern region, viz. near Vinanitelo, in the forest of the independent Tanalas, 30 miles south of Fianarantsoa. Here some attempts to make excavations were without result; but good work was done in collecting recent mammals, as the following statement may show:-at the end of m y first stay at Ampitambe 804 specimens of recent Mammals had been collected; when I left Vinanitelo this figure had been more than doubled. Some general remarks on the results of m y excavations at Sirabe may not be out of place here. The mammalian remains found were few, and on this account the locality cannot be said to be a very favourable one; besides there were difficulties of various kinds connected with the excavations and more or less inherent to the locality. The predominant feature of the fossil fauna of Sirabe in general is the great rarity of strictly terrestrial vertebrates. Apart from the Hippopotamus, which is numerous in the superficial deposit as well as lower down, the only mammalian remains found are a lower jaw of a Centetes, scanty remains of Rodents (which, to judge from a pelvis, belong to a Murine of considerable dimensions), some bones referable to Potamochcerus, and finally the remains of two species of a remarkable new family of Monkeys, chiefly represented by an incomplete skull, part of a lower jaw, milk-dentition, humerus, & c , some of which I have preliminarily described in the October number of the ' Geological Magazine' under the name of Nesoplthecus. It will be more fully |
