1899.] REPTILES OF THE MAL.'^Y PENINSULA AND HXX^I. 601 



appeared giving a list of the Reptiles of Siam^ most of our knowledge 

 of which is from the collections made by M. Moiihot fortv years 

 ago ; so we have to turn to that invaluable work, Mr. Boulengers 

 ' Catalogue of the Reptiles ' in the British Museum to get an idea of 

 our present knowledge of the herpetological fauna of the country, 

 and in the seven volumes we find S5 species mentioned, to v.hich 

 21 more can now be added, viz., Batagur sp. inc., Chelone wydus, 

 ( 'hdone imbricata, Thalassochdys caretta, Pehcheh/s cantoris, Phyl- 

 lodactylus siamensis, Gehyra imitUata, Draco volans, Calotes micro- 

 lepis. Caloics emuui, Lyc/osoma niacidatum, Lyyosoma melanostictum, 

 Li/(/osonia howriiujii, Typhlups (dhiceps, Ty jMopjs Jioiveri, Acrochordus 

 juvanicus, Coluber radiatus, Dlpsadomorphv.s dendrophihis, Ui/dropMs 

 obscurus, Enhydris hardAoicJ,-ii,'dnd DoliopJiis bivirrjatn^ : thus making 

 a total of 106 species. 



Only one genus, Frymnomiodon, is peculiar to Siam, and 13 

 species. Adz., Fhyllodactylus siamensis, Acanthosaxira capra, Acan- 

 thosaura coronata, Pkysignatlius merdager, Mabida loagicandata, 

 Typlilops siamensis, TypMops schnelderi, Typldops albiceps, Typldops 

 jJoiveri, Frymnomiodon clialceus, Lycodon laoensis, Hypsirhina 

 jagorii, and Amblycephalus margaritophorus. 



Boundary. — It is impossible to divide the fauna of Siam fi"om 

 that of the Malay Peuinsula, as the northern part of the Malay 

 Peninsula forms what is known as " Lower Siam." Zoologically 

 so little is known of this tract of country that we cannot sav 

 wliere the fauna of Siam (?'. e. the neighbourliood of Bangkok and 

 the Menam Valley) stops and that of British Malaya commences, 

 or whether the two gradually merge into eacli other, as seems 

 probable. 



Imperfection of jyresent knowledge. — Although Giinther in 1864 

 ( Reptiles Brit. Ind. p. ix) wrote of the Malayan Peninsula and 

 Siam, "this belt of land is well explored," and Stoliczka in 1873 

 (Journal Asiatic Soc. Bengal, vol. xlii. ii. p. 112) wrote : " The 

 present list, in connection with that of Drs. Cantor, Gray, and 

 Giinther, and my own published in 1870, may be considered as 

 fairly completing the number of reptiles and amphibians inhabiting 

 Penang and the neighbouring Wellesley Province," I venture to 

 think that a very great deal remains to be done in this part of the 

 world : no one has yet collected over the greater part of the area of 

 either the Malay Peninsula or Siam, and particularly the fauna 

 of the many mountain-ranges requires investigation. 



The great variety of Tortoises, 23 species, inhabiting this region 

 is remarkable, and the curious local distribution of species with 

 practically similar habits, \vhen fully worked out, might give verv 

 interesting results. 



The natural distribution of the Malayan Geckoes it is almost 

 too late to be able to trace : certain species apparently are yearly 

 extendi]ig their area, unconsciously taking advantage of and 

 following the march of civilization, while other species, less 



^ Giinther. " On the Eeptiles of Siani," P. Z. S. 1860, pp. 113-117. 



