THE :\IAMMALS OF ENGANO ISLAND, WEST SUMATRA. 



By Gekrit S. Miller, ,Ir., 



Assistant ('nratiir, [>lrisiov of Manniidls. 



The mammal fauna of Engaiio Island was first made known in 1894, 

 when Mr. Oldtield Thomas published an account of the collections 

 made there three years before by Doctor Modigliani." TavcIvc species, 

 mostly bats, were recorded, one of which, Pte/'opu.s iHodlgllaiili., was 

 described as new. A second new species has recently been described 

 from Doctor Modio-liani's collection, Rhinolophus vulyjmo Andersen,* 

 but with this exception no further accounts of the manmials have 

 appeared. 



Engano was visited in November and December, l'J04, by Dr. W. L. 

 Abbott. He collected about TO manmials, all of which have been 

 presented to the United States National Museum. Among them are 

 three not taken by Doctor Modigliani. 



Doctor Abbott's description of the island is as follows: 



'■'■ Engano lies about 60 miles south of [Manna Point on] the coast of 

 southwest Sumatra. It is about 18 miles long and contains about I-IO 

 square miles. Near the coast it is flat, but in the interior it rises so 

 that the whole interior looks like a low, flat hill when viewed from the 

 sea. On the charts the highest point is given as 1,060 feet, but this is 

 undoubtedly too high. The whole coast line is formed by a reef from 

 i mile to \\ miles wide. The best anchorage is behind Pulo Dua, in 

 the bay at the southeast corner of the island. The peculiar natives 

 are rapidly dying- out, only 441 being left on December 5, 1904. The 

 population was 6,500 in 1868. The country is covered Avith scrub and 

 forest. Much of it has evidently 'oeen cleared and is now overgrown. 

 A good road starts from opposite Pulo Dua and runs two-thirds around 

 the island, about 40 miles. The soil appears to be very fertile, and 

 there is but little rock visible on the surface. The rainfall is abun- 

 dant, and there are manv streams and rivers. Pulo Dua is about i 



« On some mammals from Engano Island, west of Sumatra. Ann. Mus. Civ. di Stor. 

 Nat. di Genova, (2) XIV, pp. 105-110. April 10, 1894. 



^'Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1905, II, p. 134. October 17, 1905. Proc. U. S. Nat. 

 Mus., XXIX, p. 657. March 7, 1906. 



Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. XXX-No. 1472. ^^^^ 



