2 SPOl.lA ZEYIiANICA. 



geographical distribution, since this wonld imply the existence in 

 the insular fauna of more primitive components than is actually 

 the case. Indeed, in its present position and configuration Ceylon 

 can hardlj' be regarded, in any instance, as the feeder of the 

 Indian Peninsula nor of any other zoological province. 



Of the thirty-nine genera of indigenous Mammalia not one is 

 peculiar to the Island ; there is not even one peculiar Mammalian 

 species, although there may be some insular races of continental 

 species. The tailless lemur, locally known as the Ceylon Sloth 

 {Loris gracilis),* rarely seen on account of its nocturnal and 

 arboreal habits, though living in the outskirts of Colombo, is 

 confined to Ceylon and to the Carnatic Tractj of Southern India, 

 this being the most restricted range of any Indo-Ceylonese 

 Mammal. 



All the other species of Mammals known to occur in Ceylon 

 have a much more extended range, though some few are restricted 

 to Ceylon and the Indian Peninsula, among the more notable 

 examples of this kind being the Ceylon bear, which is co-specific 

 with the Indian Sloth Bear {3Ielursus ursinus), the Scaly ant- 

 eater or Indian pangolin {Manis 2Jentadactyld),X and the mouse- 

 deer or Indian chevrotain {Tragulus meminna).^ 



On tbe other hand, no fewer than fifteen genera of Mammals 

 occur in the Indian Peninsula, which are not represented in 

 Ceylon, the most prominent of these being four antelopes, 

 namely, the Xilgai {Boselaphus trar/ocainelus), the four-horned 

 antelope {Tetraceros qaadricornis), the black buck (Antilope 

 cervicapra), and the Indian gazelle {Gazella hennetti). The 

 absence of antelopes from Ceylon may be looked upon as ranking 

 among the "famous deficiencies" of the Island, analogous, for 

 example, to the absence of snakes from Ireland, Iceland, and 

 New Zealand. Other creatures whose presence in neighbouring 

 countries renders their absence from Ceylon the more conspicuous 

 are, fo)- example, tigers, vultures, cranes, and hamadryads.! 



The range of the hamadryad is approximately co-extensive 

 with that of the cobra di capello {Naia tripudians) upon which, 

 to a certain extent, it feeds. [See article by Vety. Capt. G. H. 

 Evans on " The King Cobra or Hamadryad" in J. Bombay Soc, 



* Unahapuluwa of the Sinhalese. 



t Blanford, W. T. The distribution ol vertebrate animals in India, Ceylon, and 

 Burma. Phil. Tram. (Series B), vol. 194, pp. 335-436, 1901. 



\ Kaball^wa, S. 



§ Miminna, S,; sometimes called Wali-miya, S. 



II The Hamadryad or king cobra is named Naia hungarus on grounds of priority 

 [see Boulengrer, G. A. Fauna Brit. Ind. Reptilia and Batrachia, p. 392. 1890]. It 

 is also widely known as Ophiophagus elaps. its food consistiujj principally of other 

 snakes. 



