476 RICHARD KVANS, 



tain in search of Peripatus, and make the descent towards 

 the evening, so as to be i-eady to leave the neighbourhood on 

 the following day. I took with me the man who brought me 

 the first specimen, in the hope that he would be able to hnd 

 some more. The day's work resulted in the capture of one 

 more individual. The Malay who was with me searched all 

 day on the ground under leaves, but was unable to find any 

 more specimens ; while I myself turned but a few leaves and 

 spent almost the whole time in splitting and chopping dead 

 tree trunks. Knowing, as I did, that the natives were ac- 

 quainted with Peripatus, and had a name for it (Ulat 

 chelawah), I considered, at the time, that the Malay's persis- 

 tence in tui-ning over leaves was probably significant of the 

 habits of the animal. Later, however, I learnt that this was 

 not so, for all my specimens were found in dead wood. The 

 one specimen which I obtained on the 6th of May was found 

 in a stump of a tree about six feet in height. The stump 

 in question was almost completely dry, and, situated in its 

 interior, at a height of four to five feet from the ground, I 

 came across Peripatus in its usual habitat for the first time. 

 It was in a torpid state, and endured a considerable amount 

 of handling befoi-e it realised — as it were — what was taking 

 place. However, it was not long before it began to squirt 

 with celerity and great force its slimy secretion from the 

 slime-glands, which open at the tips of the oral papillae. 



The remaining eleven specimens were obtained more than 

 three months later at Kuala Aring, in the State of Kelantau, 

 a distance of at least one hundred and twenty miles in a 

 southerly direction from Bukit besar. The first batch, 

 consisting of five specimens, was found on the 18th of August 

 in a dead tree, which for the most part was exceedingly damp ; 

 but the exact spot in which they were found was dry. They 

 were discovered by Mr. Skeat's Javanese "boy," who, to- 

 gether with the other Malay servants, had been carefully 

 instructed by me several months previously as to the import- 

 ance of Peripatus. This native happened at the time to be 

 out collecting with Mr. Laidlaw, who brought the specimens 



