CUSCUS ORTENTALIS. 



97 



from Batchan, Morotai'and other localities more or less 

 agreeing with Gray's description of Cusms ornatus. The 

 skull figured P. Z. S. L. 1861. p. 321 agrees evidently 

 with other skulls belonging to fullgrown specimens of 

 Cuscus orientalis. 



Phalangista (Cuscus) gymnotis Peters e Doria is a per- 

 fectly adult male of Cuscus orientalis as the figures of the 

 animal and of its skull and the description prove. All the 

 differences summed up by the authors are of a mere indi- 

 vidual value and we have skulls of Ctiscus orientalis (adult 

 specimens) from different localities agreeing exactly with 

 the skull of Cuscus gymnotis. The number of vertebra and 

 ribbs corresponds entirely with that in Cuscus orientalis. 

 The three varieties of Cuscus orientalis distinguished by 

 Peters and Doria (Ann. Mus. Civ. 1881. p. 681) are in 

 no way bounded to distinct localities as the named author 

 seem to believe; the description of our specimens will de- 

 monstrate that the same modification in the coloring ap- 

 pears in specimens from very distant localities. 



Prof. Milne Edwards' description of Cuscus vestitus from 

 the Karons-Mountains (New-Guinea) is applicable to seve- 

 ral not fullgrown specimens of Cuscus orientalis in our col- 

 lection and I do not hesitate in regarding it synonymous 

 with this species. 



The skeleton presents 13 costales, 6 lumbares, 2 sacra- 

 les and 28 caudales. There are in our collection nine ske- 

 letons of adult and young specimens and about sixty skulls 

 belonging to differently aged specimens of the species un- 

 der consideration. For details see the discussion on page 89. 

 Hab: Timor (Macklot). Letti (Barchewitz). Banda (Sem- 

 melink). Ceram (Forsten , von Rosenberg , Wallace , Teys- 

 mann). Saparoea (Forsten). Amboina (Muller and Macklot', 

 Hoedt, Teysmann). Boeroe (Hoedt, Teysmann). Soela bessie 

 (Hoedt, Teysmann). Obi (Bernstein). Halmah era (Bernstein, 

 Museum Genoa). Batchan (Bernstein , Wallace). Tern ate 

 (Bernstein , Wallace , von Rosenberg , van Musschenbroek). 

 Morotai (Bernstein). Guebeh (Bernstein). Misool (Hoedt, 



Notes from the I^eyden IMuseuxn, Vol. "VII. 



7 



