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Show 1896.] ME" G«A ' BOULENGER ON SCHLEGEL'S GAVIAL. 629 stated to have been a small one, only measuring about 4 feet long, and, unfortunately, it was not preserved. "Mr. J. P. Bodger informed me that, when he was British Eesident in Pahang, he had seen the skull of one belonging to the late Mr. E. A. Wise, that had been caught in the upper part of the Pahang river. The fifth was trapped in the Perak river at Pulau Tiga, some 64 miles from the mouth. This animal measured 8 feet 9 inches, and is the largest yet seen. "I was imformed some years ago that one was taken to the Police station at Telok Anson for the reward, measuring 19 feet in length. The Police Inspector showed m e where it was buried, but I failed to find it. Four skeletons were dug out, but they all proved to be common Salt-water Crocodiles (Crocodilus porosus). There is therefore considerable doubt about the accuracy of this information, and probably the animal was only a rather narrow-headed common Crocodile and not a Gavial at all. " These are all the instances of its occurrence that I have been able to collect, and so far the evidence would go to show that it is confined to the Perak and Pahang rivers and some of their larger tributaries ; though it is probable that it will hereafter also be found in the Kelantan and possibly in the Telubin river. "It is called by the Malays ' Buaya Jinjulong,' or the Long-snouted Crocodile; but from its rarity there are only a very few who have ever either seen or heard of it. There are two other crocodiles frequenting the coasts and rivers of the Peninsula, viz. the Salt-water Crocodile (Crocodilusporosus, Schn.)and the Marsh Crocodile (C. palustris, Less.). These are called respectively 'Buaya' and ' Buaya Katak,' or tbe Frog Crocodile, by the Malays. 'Buaya Tembaga,' that is the Brass Crocodile, is a name often heard, but it only has reference to the colour, being indifferently applied to all yellowish-tinted ones without regard to their species. " The Malayan Gavial would appear to be essentially a freshwater animal, and it is said by the natives to often frequent the swamps and marshy lands on the banks of the rivers. If this is really the case, it differs somewhat in its habits from the Gavialis gangeti-cus, which is much more aquatic than the Crocodile. In the ordinary way, so far as m y observations have gone, only the upper part of the end of the nose and the two eyes are above the water. On the approach of anyone the eyes slowly and quite silently sink beneath the surface and nothing but a small portion of the uose remains : on a nearer approach this also quietly disappears. This doubtless accounts for the fact that the animal is so very rarely seen. " The irides are yellowish brown and the pupils vertical. The upper surface is pale dull olive-green, finely and closely spotted with dark brown. The ground-colour becomes lighter on the sides and is nearly white beneath. The tail has six dark bands, formed by the spotting of the scales on the sides and lower surface with dark brown. In the living animal the upper jaw projects nearly an inch beyond the under jaw. |