DISTrvlSUTION OF OPIIIDIAXS. 220 



lisland of Sumatra is the only one of all the isles of Ma- 

 layan Asia that produces the Elephant ; the Indian Ta- 

 pir* is also found in Borneo ; and these animals at the 

 same time inhabit the Asiatic Continent. The Great Stag 

 of Sumatra, Cervus hippelaphus, Cuv., is found in Borneo, 

 and probably also in the Peninsula of Malacca. The Hy- 

 lobates syndactylus and Semnopithecus melalophos, from 

 which the S. flavimanus does not appear to differ, have 

 yet only been found in Sumatra ; but it is asserted that 

 the Lar of Bailies, Hylobates Bafflcsii, to which it is 

 necessary to refer the Hylob. agilis and 11. variegatus, in- 

 habits also the isle of Celebes. The Gymnurus, a great 

 terrestrial insectivorous animal, and the great black Cha- 

 mois, Antilope Sumatrensis, have never yet been seen ex- 

 cept in Sumatra ; but the curious Gnawer, described by 

 M. Temmixck under the name of Nyctocleptus, and the 

 Long-tailed Porcupine, inhabit also Malacca. It appears 

 that the island of Sumatra has a peculiar species of Bhi- 

 noceros, if perhaps the Bhinoceros of Borneo does not 

 belong to the same species. Several other animals are 

 found at the same time in Sumatra and Borneo, which have 

 not been observed in the other Malayasian islands ; such 

 are the Orang-outan, the Semnopithecus nasicus and S. 

 cristatus, the Innuus nemestrinus, the Felis macrocelis, 

 the Ursus Malayanus, which also inhabits Celebes ; besides 

 several squirrels, belonging partly to new species, some 

 few of vv hich are found in Malacca, Siam, and China, but 

 have not yet been found in Java. The isle of Sumatra 

 has several Chelonians in common with Borneo ; but the 

 Saurians and Batrachians belong, for the most part, to spe- 

 cies also inhabiting Java. In glancing at the picture 

 which we have sketched of the geographic distribution of 

 Ophidians, we see that the serpents of Sumatra also inhabit 

 Java, almost without exception, and that a good number 

 of them are equally found in India and Bengal. The Tri- 

 gonocephalus Wagleri, on the contrary, appears to be found 



* It should be understood, that the observations on the absence of 

 certain animals, in certain regions, cannot always be regarded as positive. 

 We can only judge from what we know ; and new discoveries may doubt- 

 less produce modifications of these assertions. 



