642 



SCIENGE. 



[N. S. Vol. V. No. 121. 



Borneo from Sarawak. It seems to avoid 

 the valley forests as well as the higher alti- 

 tudes, the central region of its dispersion 

 being between Sambas and Batang Lupar- 

 Seen. There they are so plentiful that 

 Moret, who after my departure hunted for 

 them to gather embryo material, found in 

 that region alone 139 specimens in 3 months. 

 How far north this distribution reaches 

 cannot be ascertained from Mr. Hose, who 

 himself does not seem to have met them. I 

 conclude that the northern limit of distri- 

 bution is not above southern Sarawak. 



Eastward the distribution is limited, and 

 it is not found east of Batang Lupar-Seen, 

 and to the Sibau-Djaks it is only known 

 by name. At the sources of the Kapuas it 

 is not found. The cause of this limited 

 distribution is not obvious, for the region 

 of wild figs and similar fruit greatly ex- 

 ceeds its range and the climate does not 

 vary. Another region in which it is found is 

 the great alluvial plain of south Borneo, 

 where it inhabits the swampy forests as 

 far as the coast. The numerous specimens 

 in the Leyden museum came from this re- 

 gion. Their color varies from a dusky red 

 to a russet brown. 



The attempt has been made to separate 

 the dark varieties into a distinct species to 

 which the name Siviia morio has been given. 



The orangutan lives exclusively in the 

 tops of the trees and in his search for food 

 covers a large territory ; it does not like 

 the gibbons, which are much more active, 

 swing itself to a great distance, because 

 of its great size, and is sometimes forced 

 to descend. After eating it can be hunted 

 with great ease by a practiced shot, but un- 

 less mortally wounded or shot in the arms 

 it is impossible to bring it down. If 

 a mother is shot with her young by her, 

 the latter can be easily captured and readily 

 tamed. The habit of the Maias (which is the 

 Djak name of the orang) ia to build it- 

 self a nest which he uses at night. 



In the forests of the Kenepai, where it is 

 often met with, we found so many of these 

 nests that I am convinced that it does not 

 occupy the same nest every night, but builds 

 them when necessity requires. They are 

 about the size of an eagle's nest, and are 

 often found on small young trees ; and not 

 much skill or pains or uniformity of design 

 is shown in building them. 



The gibbon is much livelier and lives in 

 small communities of five or ten individ- 

 uals ; it hj preference inhabits the moun- 

 tain forests, and I have found it at an 

 attitude of 900 metres, while in the river 

 valleys it is seldom found. They rush 

 through the forest with great noise and 

 crying, swinging from tree to tree; the Djaks 

 call them mblian. The varieties are two, 

 light and dark ; the former named Hylo- 

 bates eoncolor, the latter H. Mulleri. 



The proboscis monkey has his home on 

 the banks of the rivers and never ascends the 

 mountains. I found them near the mouth 

 of the Palin river as it flows into the Kapuas. 

 They live in small families of 5 or 8 and 

 are not at all shy ; a living specimen I ob- 

 tained was quite white, and his nose was 

 just a little elongated. 



A very pretty animal is the lemur {Nycti- 

 cebus tardigradus) , most plentiful in the lower 

 Kapuas, but not found much above Sin tang; 

 of these I collected several living specimens. 

 The tarsier (Tarsius spectrum) is not rare 

 in the lower river regions and is brought 

 living, for sale by the Malays. On the day 

 of my arrival at Pontianak, I bought a fly- 

 ing lemur ( Galeopithicas volans) , which I kept 

 alive. Of the insectivora the Tupaias, or tree 

 shrews, are most numerous. The Gym- 

 nura alba is much rarer and more inter- 

 esting. The Malays, because of its noc- 

 turnal habits and appearance, call it tihus 

 bulan, which means moon-rat; in color 

 it is a dirty white with a stiflT, spindle- 

 shaped, naked tail. In the daytime it lives 

 among the roots of the trees and burrows 



