166 GYMNURA CANDIDA. 



NOTE XXXIIl. 

 ON (lYMNURA CANDIDA. 



BY 



Dr. F. A. JENTINK. 



June 1881. 



It is a fact long since known to Naturalists , that there 

 are among the Gymnura raflesii-s-pecim.ens many albinos , 

 but a few weeks ago visiting several Musea of Natural 

 History , I was greatly surprised to find that all these 

 albino-specimens were from Borneo , and that none of the 

 collections I examined contained either a so called albino from 

 Sumatra or from Malacca , or a dark colored specimen from 

 Borneo. Professor Schlegel in his book entitled "Hand- 

 leiding tot de beoefening der Dierkunde, 1857, Deel I", 

 says "In the Borneo-specimens of Gymnura rafflesii the 

 "whole body is variegated with white", and Dr. Günther , 

 P. Z. S. L. 1876, p. 425, speaking from the Borneo-form, 

 which he distinguished s. n. Gymnura rajflesii^ var: Can- 

 dida, states, »all the specimens received from Labuan dif- 

 "fer from the typical form in being of a white colour, 

 "only a part of the longest and strongest hairs on the 

 "trunk being black. The head , legs and tail are pure 

 "white. As no structural differences can be discovered 

 "either in the skull , or dentition , or any other part of 

 "the body , I consider it sufiicient to distinguish this form 

 "as a merely local variety." 



As I returned home I examited what we possess in 

 our collection of the named species and found two dark 

 colored specimens , one from Sumatra , Padang-bessie , 



Notes from, the Leyden ]Mu.seu.m , Vol. HI. 



