FAUNA OF THE INLAND SEA OF SINQGORA. 9V 



In spite of this, interesting results were obtained that may 

 already be discussed in a general way. Before discussing them it 

 will be necessary to give a few additional facts about the " Great Lake" 

 (Tal6 Sap) or Inland Sea. Like the Chilka Lake it is a great lagoon, 

 nowhere much more than 16 feet deep, and separated from the sea 

 merelj' by a narrow stretch of sandy countrj'. It is between 50 and 60 

 miles long, and opens at its southern end into the Gulf of Siam by a 

 short channel, on the southern bank of which the town of Singgora, 

 or Songkla, is situated. A peninsula and a group of large islands 

 separate the lagoon info an outer (southern) and an inner (northern) 

 lake, connected together merely by narrow waterways of considerable 

 length. In the inner lake conditions are almost lacustrine, and the 

 water, except for a slight infusion at times from the connecting 

 channels, is practically fresh ; but in the outer lake the water, varying 

 in salinity from season to season, and, probably at times from hour to 

 hour, is always brackish. At the time of my visit its specific gravity 

 (reduced to a standard temperature of 15° C.) was found to range at 

 different spots, from l'00-35 to 1*0085, whereas that of the inner lake 

 was only 1*002 at the point at wjiich the main connecting channel 

 opened into it. Hardly any trace of salinity was indicated bj' specific 

 gravity further north. 



The faunas of the two regions differ, as might be expected, con- 

 siderably and may be discussed separately'. 



I. Fauna of the Inner Lake. 



Vertebrates. Only two species of snake were observed in the 

 inner lake. They were Herpeton tentaculatum, which has not hitherto 

 been recorded from Peninsular Siam, and ILjpslrhina plmntiea, a 

 widely distributed Indo-Mala3'an form. In the lower reaches ot the 

 Patalung River at least two tortoises are common, namely Bamonia 

 suhirijuija and Bellia crassicollis, and both of these probably enter the 

 lake occasionally. 



At the margin I found three species of frog, one of Oxyglossus 

 and two of Rana. The two latter have hitherto been included in the 

 composite group to which the name Ji. thjrina has been applied, but 

 should in my opinion be known as B. ruijidosa Wiegmann, and i?. 

 cancrivora Gravenhagen. 



VOL,. II, DEC. r.Mt!. 



