( 467 ) 



FIRST GLIMPSES OF THE ZOOLOGY OF THE NATUNA 



ISLANDS. 



I. INTRODUCTION. 

 By THK HON. WALTER ROTHSCHILD. 



ABOUT a year ago, during a com'er.^ation with "Sir. Hartert about unexplored 

 islands, my atteutiou was inadvertently drawn, at a glance on the mail 

 of the Malayan Archipelago, to the group of islands called the Natnna 

 Islands on the maps. I became at once deeply interested in the subject, and 

 decided to do my best to make their fauna known to the scientific world. Mr. 

 Hartert, who shared my enthusiasm, declared himself willing to undertake the 

 exploration of the Natnnas in about three or four years, if they should remain 

 unexplored so long. This, however, was not their fate, for I learnt from Mr. Charles 

 Hose, the well-known explorer of the interior of Sarawak, that he had already 

 thought of exploring that group of islands ; and I made arrangements with him 

 that 1 should have the result of his investigations for my Museum. But even 

 Mr. Hose was not destined to be the first zoologist on the Natunas, for, when he 

 returned to Borneo, he found that true and faithful zoologist, Mr. A. Everett, so 

 well known from his many successful explorations on the Philiijjiines, Palawan, 

 Borneo, and other islands, ready for a trip to the Natunas. He informed Mr. 

 Everett of my interest in the Natunas, and the latter gentleman was willing to 

 forward his collections to my Museum, where I promised him they would be studied 

 and described. 



In the following pages 1 offer the first list of the birds from Sirhasseu and 

 Bungnran, prejiared for me by Mr. Hartert. As the collection contained animals of 

 most classes — altogether a wonderful success, considering the short time of Mr. 

 Everett's collecting — lists of the different groups will be given in due time, each 

 order being worked out by specialists, the lepidoptera only by myself. Such 

 groups, of which the collections were too small, as the coleoptera, will be worked 

 out when further material comes to hand. This will, I hope, soon be the case, as 

 Mr. C. Hose intends to visit both tlie Natunas and Auambas with a number of 

 native collectors, in order to complete Mr. Everett's investigations. 



The Natuna Islands * extend in a N.W. by N. A N. direction to the distance 

 of 190 miles from Taujong Api, the N.AV. cape of Borneo. They may be iHvided 

 into three groups — South Natunas, nearest to Borneo ; Great Natunas, or Bungnran 

 with its contiguous islets ; and North Natuna, or Pulu Laut. 



The South Natunas, or Little Natunas, with Subi and Sirhassen, extend from 

 the coast of Borneo to about lat. 3" 5' N. Marundum, the southernmost island of this 

 group, is in lat. T 4' N., long. lO'.r 6i' E., and only 14 miles from Taujong Api. Subi, 

 the northernmost and largest island of this group, is about I'J miles long and .') miles 

 wide, and about 03 miles from Ca])e Api. Between Subi and Marundum lies 

 Sirhassen, 9 miles long. This is the only ishind of this group visited by Mr. Everett. 



* .^ee FiucUay's Indian Arrhijulaijo Directi>rii (Lmulon, ISS'I), from which moi^t of the fuU'-'wing 

 notes are taken. 



