[476] I compared my notes with the description and figures given by Agassiz in his “Contrib. Nat. Hist. U.S.A.” (1862: vols. iii. and iv.). In the Solomon Island species, the dendriform mass resolves itself into 8 principal branches, each ramose, and all united at their bases by a common membrane. The umbrella, which was finely lobed or crenulated at its margin, displayed about 40 radiating canals, each communicating by an anastomosing network with the canal on either side of it.
The singular habits of these Scypho-Medusæ were noticed by Brandt in 1838. They have since been remarked by Mosely[477] in the Philippines, and by Archer[478] in the West Indies. L. Agassiz in his “Contributions to the Natural History of the United States,” describes and figures the Florida species (Polyclonia frondosa); and some additional notes on its habits have been made by A. Agassiz, to whose communication in “Nature” (Sept. 29th, 1881) I have been much indebted.
[477] Mosely’s “Notes by a Naturalist,” p. 404.
[478] “Nature” Aug. 4th, 1881.
Whilst we lay at anchor in Treasury Harbour, in April, 1884, a cetacean, unknown to the natives and to ourselves, got partly stranded in the shallow water, and was captured by the villagers. It was nine feet long, and possessed this remarkable character that, although no teeth showed through the gums, each lower jaw possessed a short, conical, hollow tooth an inch long, placed at the anterior extremity. I obtained the head from the natives, and placed it in a safe place, as I thought; but when we returned to Treasury a few weeks after, I found only portions of the skull with the lower jaw-bones, the wild pigs having held a feast over it. The remains, however, together with my notes and a sketch by Lieutenant Leeper were sent to the British Museum. I there learned that it is a species of Ziphius, probably unknown.
The Solomon Islanders believe in the existence of anthropoid apes in the interiors of the large islands, regarding them, however, like the Dyaks of Borneo in the case of the Orang-utan, as “wild men of the woods.” In Malaita they are said to be 41⁄2 to 5 feet high, and to come down in troops to make raids on the banana plantations. Captain Macdonald informed me that the natives allege that one of these apes was caught, and, after being kept for some time, escaped. Taki, the St. Christoval chief, told Mr. Stephens that he had seen one of these apes, and pointed out the locality. Tanowaio, the Ugi chief, also made a similar statement. In Guadalcanar, they are believed to live in the trees, and to attack men. Dr. Codrington refers to the prevalence of these beliefs throughout Melanesia (Journ. Anthrop. Inst., vol. x. p. 261). Such beliefs, as experience has shown in the case of the Gorilla and other anthropoids, have undoubtedly some foundation; but whether these mysterious animals are apes is quite another question.
CHAPTER XVI.
LAND AND FRESH-WATER SHELLS.
During my numerous excursions in these islands, I had in the majority of instances to follow up the stream-courses in order to examine their geological structure. I had therefore good opportunities in these regions of making a collection of the fresh-water shells, which, together with the land shells I collected, formed a total of between sixty and seventy species, amongst which there were 11 new species and at least 5 new varieties, whilst about 14 would appear to have been never previously recorded from the Solomon Islands, and there were in addition several from new localities in the group. The collection was sent to the British Museum and was examined and described by Mr. E. Smith, to whose paper on the subject[479] I am indebted for my acquaintance with the shells in question, and through whose kindness I have been thus enabled to supplement my other observations in these islands. A list of the shells with the descriptions of the new species is given on [page 344]. For its size, my collection presented a large amount of novelty, coming as it did from a region the land and fresh-water shells of which were previously considered to be fairly known. There can be no doubt, however, that in the Solomon Islands the conchologist has much work that remains to be done. Not only are the higher regions of the larger islands, entirely unexplored, but it would appear from the collections made up to the present date in this large group, that particular species may be not only confined to a special sub-group of islands but may be restricted to a single island, and that other species more widely distributed through the group may be represented in each island and in different districts of the larger islands by different varieties. Had I been aware of the extent of the influence of locality in this region, I might have made my collection of greater value. It would therefore seem necessary for future collectors in this group to make in every small island and in different districts of the larger islands special independent collections, disregarding the fact that they may have apparently met with the same shell very frequently before, because many of the varieties and some of the species can only be distinguished by the practised eye of the specialist, and a new locality for a previously well-known species may be often unwittingly found.