-.17 



summary of the results from tjie inhian 



ma:\imal survey 



OF THE 



B()^rP.AY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIFTY. 

 (By R. C. Wrolghton.) 

 INTRODUCTION. 



A SHORT IIISTOJ{V OK INDIAN MAMMALOGY. 



The Ct olden Age of Indian Maniniology was \indoubtedly the 

 second quarter of the nineteenth century, and equally without 

 <lo\ibt the chief figure in it was Brian Houghton Hcxigson, Before 

 him only a verv few adventurous foreign travellers such as Belanger. 



»g"- 



Leschenanlt, Szc, did a little sporadic collectiiii 



Hodgson collected in Nepal from about 1830 to 1845, and the 

 following is a list of some of his contemporaries who were interest- 

 od in ^lammalogv • — 



Barbe, in Pegu. Hutton, in Kandahar and Mns- 



Boys, in Rajputana. soorie. 



Berdmore, in Lower Burma. McClelland, in Assam. 



Elliot, in S. Maratha Country. Phayre, in Lower Burma. 



Griffith, in N. AY. Frontier and Sykes, in the Dekhan. 

 Assam. Tickell, in Orissa. 



Heath, in Madras. Tytler, in Kumaon and 



Andamans. 



While all these were collecting, Gray, in London, Blyth, in 

 Calcutta, Jerdon. in Madras, and Kelaart, in Cevlon, were studvini>- 

 and classifying. It must not, however, be understood that the 

 former only collected and the latter only studied. Quite the 

 i-everse is the case. Hodgson published many studies and 

 caused to be made an exhaustive collection of drawings, by native 

 artists, of the vertebrate faima of Nepal, and almost all the others, 

 mentioned in the list of collectors, published studies to a greater 

 or less extent. Similarly, except Graj', all the students mentioned 

 collected as opportunity oflered. 



After 18-jO, huwever, little was done, and there are scarcely an}' 

 names of workers to record, the chief were Hume, especially in 

 South Burma, Dr. Theobald, Col. Ward, in Kashmir, H. Ferguson, 

 in Travancore, Maj. Birrell and Maj. Dunn in the Punjal) and 

 Capt. Wiiitehead, mostly in Central India as collectors, and Ander- 

 son, Blanford, Horsfield and Scully as students. 



When l^lanford prepared his "Mammalia," 25 years ago, he 

 found but little in the National Collection to help him beyond the 



