SURVEY OF THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF INDIA. 1139 



Otters is still very badty known, and though an otter is supposed to 

 inhabit Ceylon it is not known to which species it belongs. 



In a recent number of the Journal Mr. Wroughton pointed out 

 how little was known also in regard to the species and distribution 

 of the Hedgehogs of India and practically nothing of their habits. 



Years ago the Rev. H. Baker reported, in the Journal of the 

 Asiatic Society of Bengal, that he had found in Malabar some 

 black-velvet-coated animals which he supposed were moles. His 

 description sounds as if the animal was mole-like, but no moles are 

 known to inhabit that part of India. 



Of the thirteen white-toothed Shrews recorded in India, Burma, 

 etc., one is found in only one locality and two known only from 

 single specimens. The Assam short-tailed Shrew is likewise only 

 known from a single specimen. In " Notes on Jerdon " Colonel 

 McMaster mentions seeing a black Shrew swimming in a stream 

 near Nagpur. No water shrew is known south of the Himalayas 

 so it is impossible to say to what species this Shrew belongs. 



Coming to the bats we find that according to Blanford there are 

 95 species, of which 12 are known from single specimens and 7 

 others from only one localit}^ Several new species have been 

 described since 1891, and many additions made to our knowledge 

 of their distribution. 



Even the range of such common animals as the Common and 

 Black-naped hares is wanting, and from information recently 

 received it seems as if, there was a variety of the last-named was 

 confined to parts of Southern India. Of that interesting animal 

 the Hispid Hare, found along the foot of the Himalayas and in 

 Assam, hardly any thing is known regarding its habits. The exact 

 range of the common Mouse Deer or Indian Chevrotain is imper- 

 fectly known, and the study of a large series of skins from all 

 parts of India would, in all probability, lead to some interesting 

 results. The same might also be said of the wild Pig about which 

 we have more to learn than many people imagine. 



To try and remedy the above defects, the Committee of our 

 Society have decided to undertake a survey of the Mammals of 

 India, Burma and Ceylon, and recently issued an appeal to members 



