410 MR. OLDF1ELD THOMAS ON MAMMALS 



a skull, which Dr. Meyer placed, not unnaturally, in the genus Phloeomys. On the 

 arrival of Mr. Whitehead's series, the form was generically separated by myself, 

 and a little later Dr. Meyer published a second account of the animal, with coloured 

 figures. No further description of it is therefore necessary. 



"Schadenberg's great Rat seems to be fairly common among the high mountains of 

 Central N.W. Luzon. Like most Rodents, it is of nocturnal habits, and therefore the 

 domestic economy of this Rat, or perhaps Squirrel-Rat, is difficult to describe. The 

 Igorrotes, however, captured a number of specimens for me, some, they said, from holes 

 in trees, others from holes among the tree-roots ; they described the animal as feeding 

 on fruits up in the trees, and not on the fallen ones. As this Rat was nearly always 

 brought to me alive, 1 often allowed it to climb the pine-trees, which it did with 

 perfect ease. In the day these animals tried to hide from the sun as much as possible, 

 and I formed an opinion that they w r ere dull and inoffensive creatures, until one day, 

 directly an Igorrote opened the basket in which he carried the captured Rat, the 

 animal sprang out, and was back in the basket again in a second, but the Igorrote' s 

 thumb had the top nearly bitten off. The cry of the Crateromys is a curious ' Thewo 

 thewo thewo,' uttered so shrilly that the notes might proceed from some of the 

 peculiar forest insects. 



"Generally speaking, Crateromys is jet-black; about 30 per cent, are of a beautiful 

 white-grey, and some 15 per cent, piebald, black and white. This distribution of 

 colouring has nothing to do with age, as both grey and black young ones were 

 obtained. The Igorrote name for this curious mammal is ' Bu-ut.' 



" Distribution. High mountains of Central Northern Luzon." — J. W. 



Bubalus mindorensis Heude. 



Bubalus mindorensis Heude, Mem. Hist. Soc. Chin, ii. p. 50 (1888); Meyer, Abh. Mus. Dresd. 



1896-7, no. 6, p. 12 (1896). 

 Probubalus mindorensis Steere, P. Z. S. 1888, p. 415. 



" This interesting little Bovine is not uncommon in the huge virgin forests that cover 

 nearly the entire island of Mindoro. It is, however, difficult to hunt the animal 

 successfully, unless a number of beaters, accompanied by good dogs, are employed. I 

 foolishly followed a professional (!) native hunter about for several days ; but, although 

 we found a number of fresh tracks, we never saw a sign of a ' Tamarau.' The 

 ' Tamarau,' as the natives name this animal, is also found high up on the mountains. 

 I have seen regular tunnelled pathways through the thick bamboo undergrowth which 

 covers the mountain-sides above 6000 feet. But the animal is so small that one has 

 to bend double or go on one's hands and knees, making it quite impossible to follow up 

 the tracks. On moonlight nights the ' Tamarau ' might be heard bellowing on the 

 mountain-side, generally far away and above my mountain-camp. The aboriginals of 

 Mindoro told me that they never attack the ' Tamarau,' being too much afraid of it ; 



