54 



Zoological Society . 



Selby, Esq. of Twizell-Honse ;— and Part II. of a Descriptive Cata- 

 logue of the Gasteropodous Mollusca of Berwickshire. By George 

 .Johnston, M.D., F.R.C.S.E. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



July 13, 1841. — Professor Owen, Vice-President, in the Chair. 



The following letter, addressed to Mr. Waterhouse, from James 

 Brooke, Esq., was read: — 



" Singapore, 25th March, 1841. 



" My dear Sir, — I am happy to announce the departure of five 

 live Orang Utans by the ship Martin Luther, Captain Swan, and I 

 trust they will reach you alive. In case they die, I have directed 

 Captain Swan to put them into spirit, that you may still have an op- 

 portunity of seeing them. The whole of the five are from Borneo : 

 one large female adult from Sambas ; two, with slight cheek callosities, 

 from Pontiana ; a small male, without any sign of callosities, from 

 Pontiana likewise ; and the smallest of all, a very young male with 

 callosities, from Sadung. I will shortly forward a fine collection of 

 skulls and skeletons from the north-west coast of Borneo, either 

 shot by myself or brought by the natives, and I beg you will do me 

 the favour to present the live Orangs and this collection to the 

 Zoological Society. I have made many inquiries and gained some 

 information regarding these animals, and I can, beyond a doubt, 

 prove the existence of two, if not three distinct species in Borneo. 



" First, I will re-state the native account ; secondly, give you my 

 own observations ; and thirdly, enter into a brief detail of the spe- 

 cimens hereafter to be forwarded. 



" 1st. The natives of the north-west coast of Borneo are all po- 

 sitive as to the existence of two distinct species, which I formerly 

 gave you by the names of the Mias Pappan and Mias Rambi ; but I 

 have since received information from a few natives of intelligence 

 that there are three sorts, and what is vulgarly called the Mias 

 Rambi is in reality the Mias Kassar, the Rambi being a distinct and 

 third species. The Mias Pappan is the Simia Wurmbiioi Mr. Owen, 

 having callosities on the sides of the face : the natives treat with de- 

 rision the idea of the Mias Kassar or Simia Morio being the female 

 of the Mias Pappan or Simia Wurmbii, and I consider the fact can 

 be established so clearly that I will not trouble you with their state- 

 ments : both Malays and Dyaks are positive that the female of the 

 Mias Pappan has cheek-callosities, the same as the male ; and if on 

 inquiry it prove to be so, the existence of three distinct species in 

 Borneo will be established. The existence of the Mias Rambi is 

 vouched by a few natives only, but they were men of intelligence 

 and well acquainted with the animals in the wild state. They re- 

 present the Mias Rambi to be as tall as the Pappan, or even taller, 

 but not so stout, with longer hair, a smaller face, and no callosities 



