194 MANIDAE. 



»each, each of the preceding ones having five." — Focillon, 

 Revue et Magasin de Zoölogie, 1850, p. p. 465 — 475 

 and 513 — 535. stated in the descriptions of the several 

 species , which he accepted , that this » cessation" is to 

 be found in Manis lorigicdtidatd , tticuspis , tridentata and 

 temminckii^ and not in Manis guy, javanica, aspera , dal- 

 manni and laticaudata, but he entirely overlooked the fact 

 that the species showing this peculiarity are exclusively in- 

 habitants of Africa whereas the other ones without excep- 

 tion inhabit Asia and the Islands of the Indian Archi- 

 pelago. I can indeed confirin that this discontinuity of 

 the median series of scales at a short distance from the 

 tip of the tail is a characteristic of all the African spe- 

 cies , including Manis gigantea , this species not having 

 been distinguished with accuracy at the time that Focillon 

 wrote his monograph. On the other hand all the Asian 

 and Indian species have the central series uninterrupted 

 down to the end of the tail. By this very constant cha- 

 racter it is indeed easy to settle certain questionable points 

 in descriptions of Wagner, Focillon and other authors. 

 Wagner describes the number of scales of the tail of an 

 individual of Manis javanica , but writes; »Auf dem Schwanze 

 » finden sich , so weit die Mittelreihe des Rückens sich auf 

 » ihm fortsetzt nur 5 Langsreihen ; wo die Mittelreihe auf- 

 »hört, folgen sich nur noch 4 Langsreihen." From this 

 it is evident that Wagner's specimen , Manis ivagneri Fit- 

 zinger , can never have belonged to Manis javanica , which 

 has always an uninterrupted median series of scales on its 

 tail : the rule above given clearly shows that it is an African 

 species and I am convinced that it is nothing else than 

 Manis gigantea. — We find another example in Manis guy 

 Focillon. As to the habitat of this species the author says : 

 »Ce Pangolin est orginaire d'Afrique, et, sauf un exem- 

 »plaire c\n ■ Manis javanica , encore jeune, que M. Guy af- 

 »firme positivement lui être venu de l'Afrique, mais qui, 

 »sans doute, n'avait fait qu' y passer, etc." I believe 

 that the true Manis giii/ similarly only passed through 

 Notes from the Lieyden Museum, "Vol. IV. 



