AN EXPEDITION TO MOUNT KINA BALU. 73 



Amphibians. 



Of these we obtained fifteen different species, one of which 

 proved new to science. Unlike the Reptiles, we obtained of 

 most species of this group numerous specimens, until on Kina 

 Balu we had to refuse the more common species which the men 

 brought in. We also noticed on our march how the various 

 species of Batrachians replaced each other as we went along. 

 At Panjut, nearest the coast, we obtained only liana e'rythrcea, 

 which was followed by Rhacophorus leucpmystax at the Tuaran 

 River, by Rana kuhlii on Gunong Kappa and Gunong Kalawat, 

 by Megalophrys nasuta&t Koung, Kiou and the Kadamaian River, 

 Kina Balu, 2,100'. Finally Bufo leptopus, B. penangensis and 

 especially Rana whiteheadi were dominant on Kina Balu. Of the 

 latter species enormous numbers were brought in. The single 

 specimen of Ichthyophis glutinosus was found lying near the bank 

 of the Menternan River, after a heavy thunderstorm, with a 

 great deal of sand sticking to its slimy surface. 



Very interesting were the tadpoles of Rana cavitympaniim, 

 with their huge ventral suckers, which my men found attached 

 to the boulders in the most foaming parts of the Inuman River 

 where the current was so strong that we could keep our feet 

 only with the greatest difficulty. T. Mocquard (7) in an appendix 

 to Whitehead's ' Exploration of Kina Balu,' pp. 285-286, discusses 

 these adhesive disks and considers the tadpoles to be parasitic. If, 

 however, he had had the opportunity of seeing these creatures 

 alive in their natural surroundings, he would have had no diffi- 

 culty in discovering the true function of those suckers, which 

 can only be to enable their owners to hold on to a firm object in 

 the midst of the raging 1 torrent in which their existence com- 

 mences. 



The Amphibians obtained are : 

 Rana cavitympanum (tadpoles). Inuman River. 



erythraa. Panjut. 



kuhlii. Gunong Kappa and G. Kalawat. 



luctuosa. Koung. 



whiteheadi. Kina Balu, 2,100' and 4,200' . 



Rhacophorus acutirostris. Kina Balu, 4,200'. 



leucomystax. Tuaran River. 



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