444 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



occupies is one well sheltered from rain or dripping 

 moisture : so far as my observations go, it never rests on 

 the base of the highest leaves of a plant. 



XXX. Note on a Living Specimen of Galeopithecus volans. 

 By Nelson Annandale, B.A. 



(Read 20th February 1901.) 



A female specimen of Galeopithecus volans, with a newly- 

 born young one, was brought me about the middle of April 

 in Patalung, Lower Siam. The animal, which appeared to 

 be uninjured, was placed in a large poultry-crate, in which 

 it hung, back downwards, from whatever surface chanced to 

 be uppermost, using both pairs of limbs in so doing. The 

 tail was carried arched inwards, in such a way that the 

 membrane attached to it formed a kind of pouch, within 

 which the young one, which was almost naked, clung to 

 the hair of the abdomen when not sucking. The tail was 

 straightened during the evacuation of the faeces. If dis- 

 turbed from its habitual resting-place, the young animal 

 crawled over the body of its mother, squeaking feebly. The 

 bright pink colour of the naked skin of the ears ^ and palms, 

 noticed by Captain Flower, was very conspicuous in the 

 adult but quite absent from the young specimen, which was 

 of a yellowish flesh-colour. 



For the first two days of its captivity the female refused 

 to eat, although bananas in their natural state were re- 

 peatedly offered to it; afterwards it eagerly licked cocoa- 

 nut "milk" and rice-water from my finger. When a peeled 

 banana was held in front of its mouth, it licked the fruit so 

 vigorously, its tongue being very strong, that a considerable 

 part of the pulp was expressed. It then drew the flattened 

 tip of the banana into its mouth (which was never widely 

 opened, and during the process of feeding was kept as nearly 

 closed as might be) with its tongue, so that most of the food 

 passed through the openings in the incisor teeth of the 



^ Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1900, p. 338. 



