TEE BANGSRINGS. 
347 
as sluggish in its habits, at least during the day, when it generally rests clinging to the trunks of trees, 
and at this time, if it has occasion to move, it goes up the tree by short runs of a few feet, and then 
stops a moment as if it found the action difficult and fatiguing. We have already quoted Mr. 
Wallace’s description of the flight of the animal as witnessed by him early in the evening, and no 
doubt it is active enough during the dark hours. 
The regular food of the Colugo appears to consist of vegetable substances, but authors differ 
somewhat in their statements upon this subject. By most zoologists it is said to feed on fruits ; but 
Mr. Wallace says that “like the cuscus of the Moluccas, the 
Galeopithecus feeds chiefly on leaves.” From the statements of 
some naturalists it would seem that it occasionally or habitually 
adds insects to its diet, and also that it frequently captures and 
devours small birds. In all probability the truth is that it eats 
almost anything that comes in its way. 
Some five or six supposed species of Galeopithecus have been 
described by various authors, but most of these are now admitted 
to be founded upon young animals, or upon mere varieties. The 
Colugo of the Philippine Islands is, however, generally regarded 
as a distinct species, although even as to this there is some doubt. It was described by Mr. 
Waterhouse as Gcdeojnthecus pMlippinensis , and presents a close general resemblance to the species 
above described, but is smaller, has a shorter head, and shows certain slight diflerences in the teeth. 
FAMILY II.— 1 TUPAIIDJE, OR BANGSRINGS. 
The preceding family, as already stated, is regarded by Mr. Gill as constituting an actual sub- 
order of Insectivora, and we have seen that its characters are really of a very singular kind. 
The remainder of the order is treated by him as forming a single great group, characterised by the 
absence of parachute membranes, the shortness and robustness of the limbs, and by the want of 
that peculiar comb-like structure of the incisor teeth which distinguishes the Gcdeopitheei from all 
other Mammals. Moreover the condylar process of the lower jaw is never extended outwards. This 
group Mr. Gill proposes to name Besticc or Insectivora vera. 
The Bangsrings, or Sinsrings, form the first family, called Tupaiidee, from the name of the 
most characteristic and best known genus Tupcda , which again was derived by its discoverer and first 
describer, Sir Stamford Baffles, from the native name for a Squirrel, with which these animals are 
confounded by the Malays of Sumatra. The Bangsrings have either four or six incisors in the upper, 
and always six in the lower jaw ; and three or four premolars, and four true molars on each side in 
both jaws. The canines are situated far back, and have a single root. In the skull the orbit is 
usually complete, or nearly so, and there is a complete zygomatic arch, with a small slit or aperture 
beneath the orbit. The bones of the shank are separate ; the intestine has a large caecum ; and the 
feet are furnished with five toes, armed with strongly curved claws. The upper molar teeth are formed 
of two nearly equal parts, anterior and posterior, each of which represents a triangular prism narrowed 
inwards. 
The Bangsrings live in and about trees, where their activity and general appearance give them a 
considerable resemblance to small Squirrels or Lemurs. They also remind one considerably of some of 
the smaller Marsupials. Their fur is exceedingly fine and soft ; their tail generally long and well- 
clothed with hair (except in Hylomys ) ; and their food consists partly of fruits and partly of insects. 
The species inhabit South-eastern Asia and the islands of the Eastern Archipelago. 
THE TANA* 
In the genus Tupcda (or Cladobates) from which the present family takes its name, there are four 
small incisor teeth separated from each other in the upper jaw ; and six incisors, the middle four of 
which are close together, long, and much inclined forwards in the lower jaw. The upper canines are at 
* Tupaia tana. 
