1892.] 
115 
eggs of the turtle form one of the staple foods of the Hydrosaunis, to 
the omnivorus propensities of which the writer has already had occasion 
to allude.* In Barren Island none of these lizards were seen hut it is 
not at all improbable that they are present, for there are two small bays 
at the south-west corner where there are sandy beaches with a Pandanus 
fence and some Coco-nut trees behind. Owing to the strong swell and 
heavy surf the writer was unable to land at either of these places, nor 
did he succeed in crossing the outer cone at a point whence he could reach 
them from the interior. It is, however, not at all unlikely that turtles 
visit these sandy patches and, if so, there is no doubt that, if Rydro- 
saurtis exists on the island, he will he in evidence there. 
Crustaceans ;—Besides hermit-crabs, which are very plentiful, there 
are, at least on Barren Island, land-crabs.f And, as might be sur¬ 
mised, Grapsus is plentiful on the rocks along the coast and is a source 
of interest to the Blue Reef-Heron and some of the other sea-fowl. 
Other Air-Breathing Creatures The writer did not see a single 
beetle on Barren Island, but perhaps the season of his visit (March— 
April) had something to do with their absence. One or two were met 
with on Harcondam—the specimens obtained including, amongst others, 
a Golden-Beetle. 
Spiders are common on both islands, particularly on Harcondam, 
where also a scorpion is to be found. It was, however, only seen once, 
when digging up an Amorphophallas tuber, and was not preserved. J 
Ants are very common, the two chief kinds being the common red 
mango-ant, or a species very like it, both physically and physiologically; 
and a very small species that makes long powdery tunnels along the 
outside of, and sometimes also makes its home inside, the stems and 
branches of various shrubs, e. g., it is common to find it inside living 
branches of a species of Leea and of two species of Ficus (F. hrevicuspis 
and F. hispida var. daemonum. 
Among insects, besides a sand-fly and a mosquito, whose pres¬ 
ence goes without saying, there is a very striking form, only 
noticed however in Barren Island, in the shape of a small hornet which 
builds sometimes a discoid nest composed of single cells, mouth down¬ 
wards, in juxtaposition, and sometimes a long narrow nest of single 
* Joum. As. Soc. Beng. vol. lx, pt. 2, p. 403, [footnote]. 
t Land-crabs were not obseiwed either on Narcondam or on Barren Island, bnt 
Mr. Wood Mason has very kindly shown the writer specimens of a laud-crab that 
are preserved in the Indian Museum; these were obtained in Barren Island by Mr. 
Oldham. 
X The writer’s native collector promptly treated it as vermin, and ere a protest 
could be uttered had crushed it between two stones. 
241 
