MISCELLANEA. 



I 



The Vertebrate Collections of the Federated 

 Malay States Museums. 



The collection of terrestial vertebrates from the Malay 

 Peninsula in the possession of the Federated Malay States 

 Museums is now so nearly complete that it may be of interest 

 to give some comparative figures concerning it. 



In 1899 and 1900, Capt. Stanley Flower, then in charge 

 of the Bangkolc Museum, devoted much attenticjn to the 

 mammalian fauna of Siam and the Malay Peninsula, and, 

 after studying all the available collections both local and in 

 the British Museum, compiled a list which is published in the 

 Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1900, pp. 

 306-379. A summary of his list gives the following figures : 



Species. 



Primates ... ... ... 10 



Carnivora ... ... ... 28 



Ungulata ... ... ... 14 



Rodentia ... ... ... 30 



Insectivora .... ... ... 6 



Cetacea ... ' ... ... 5 



Sirenia ... ... ... i 



Edentata ... ... ... i 



Chiroptera ... ... •••39 



Total 



134 



The intensive study of mammals can only have said to 

 have begun with the opening days of the present century, and 

 since 1899 vs'^Y great attention has been paid to the Malaya 

 Peninsula and region, principally by Doctor W. L. Abbott, of 

 Philadelphia, whose collections have been worked out by 

 Messrs. G. S. Miller and M. W. Lyon of the United States 

 National Museum at Washington, and by the Federated 

 Malay States Museums. It had been pointed out by English 

 naturalists and by the authorities of the British Museum that 

 it was unfortunate that the proper study of the fauna of a 

 British Possession could only be effectively carried out in a 

 foreign Museum, owing to the lack of modern material in the 

 national collection. As a result, since 1908 very much of the 

 energy of the Museum staff and considerable sums of mone)^ 

 have been devoted to removing this reproach. After five 

 years' work, figures dealing with the mammalian fauna of the 

 Malav Peninsula now stand as follows; 



