OCR Text |
Show 1892.] MR. O.THOMAS ON MAMMALS FROM NYASSALAND. 547 Mr. Whyte, the actual collector, also deserves special mention for the energy with which he has carried out the work entrusted to him and for the care and attention which he has devoted to the preservation of the specimens. The region from which the present collection is derived is what is called the " Shire Highlands," some of the specimens coming from Zomba, where the British Consulate is, some 20 miles to the west of Lake Shirwa, at an elevation of 2971 feet above the sea-level ; and others, in fact the majority, from the Milanji range of mountains, about the same distance to the south of the lake, and some 40 or 50 miles from Zomba. To this range Mr. Whyte made a special exploring expedition in October and November 1891, and he has given a general account of the physical features of the range, and its fauna and flora, in the Parliamentary report quoted below \ As might be expected from a collector of Mr. Whyte's experience, all the skins are carefully labelled with the exact locality, date, and altitude, and the same was the case with the spirit-specimens; but by an unfortunate accident, before these latter came into my hands, the labels became separated from the bottles, so that the exact details about them were lost. All, however, are either from Mt. Zomba or Mt. Milanji. The species are of course, as a whole, very similar to those obtained by Prof. Peters in his famous exploration of Mozambique, and described by him on his return to Berlin 2. They are, however, by no means of less value on this account, for the more our knowledge of local variation extends, the more we need to have specimens obtained at or near the localities explored by the earlier collectors. Of actually new species there are none in the present instalment, but there is little doubt that, as Mr. Whyte's knowledge of the locality increases, he will be able to obtain the rarer and more local species, and among these there are certain to be some novelties. One animal, however, iii the present collection, the Pallah, is so different from the ordinary specimens as to need a new subspecific name, and the same may prove to be the case with some of the other antelopes of the highlands of Nyassaland. 1. FELIS PAROUS, L. a. Ad. sk. and skull. J. Milanji. 4/11/91. b. Ad. sk. and skull. $. Milanji. 4/11/91. c. Young skull. Milanji. 1/92. " Young leopard-cub about 2 months old." a. " Male Leopard, full-grown adult, shot at the base of Milanji mountain, B.C.A., 4 days' march from Zomba, on 4th November, 1891. Dimensions: 6 ft. 10 in. long in flesh, not stretched, and 2 ft. 7 iu. at shoulder, and weighing 140 lbs. Colour normal-fulvous with black rosettes and spots. The occipital ridge for attachment 1 Africa No. 5. Papers relative to the suppression of Slave-raiding in Nyassaland, p. 15 (1892). See also 'Nature,' vol. xlvi. p. 482 (15th Sept. 1892). 2 Reise nach Mossambique, Saugethiere, 1852. |