NOTES. 



L 



i. 



ON THE MAMMALIA OF THE WEST OF 

 SCOTLAND. 



THE mammalian fauna of the south-west of Scotland hardly differs 

 from that of the rest of Britain. Several southern forms are rare or 

 absent, some of which are to be met with even further north in the 

 eastern counties, and the coasts are not so much frequented by seals 

 a,nd cetaceans as are those of the north and east. Many species have 

 been almost extirpated by the agriculturist and the game-preserver, 

 but some of these have found shelter in the southern ranges of the 

 Highlands which extend fairly within our limits. On the other hand, 

 some of the smaller animals, as their persecutors have been decimated, 

 and as cultivation and plantation have gained ground, have greatly 

 extended their range. 



In Bats Scotland is strikingly poor, for while eleven species are 

 natives of England (besides two or three others which seem to occur 

 only as accidental visitors), only three, each belonging to a different 

 genus, are positively known to be found in North Britain. 1 Of these 

 the Common and Long-eared species are both plentiful, and Dau- 

 benton's Bat (Vespertilio daubentoni) occurs, but appears to be rarer 

 than in the eastern counties. A specimen of this last, caught in 

 Glasgow Green, is preserved in the University Museum. 2 



Of the Insectivores, on the other hand, all the five British species 

 are found. The Hedgehog is abundant in the Lowlands, and rapidly 

 spreading in the Highlands, where it was formerly almost unknown; 

 and the same remark applies to the Mole. The Common Shrew is 

 everywhere plentiful, but the Small Shrew (Sorex minutus) appears 

 to be rare, or at least local. I have, however, taken several specimens 

 in the south of Lanarkshire. The Water Shrew was noticed many 



1 Besides these the late Sir W. Jardine believed that he had seen the Great Bat near 

 the river Annan (Statistical Account of Dumfriesshire, p. 175), and Dr. A. R. Young has 

 recorded the Lesser Horse-shoe Bat as having been taken at Crookston Castle (Stat. Ac. 

 Renfrevesh. p. 162), but I have been unable to obtain any confirmation of either occair- 

 i-ence. 



2 Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasg. i. p. 203. 



