SKULL OF COLUGO.
The brain in the Galeopithecus is very small, and Mr. Wallace found it to possess such a remarkable tenacity of life that it was killed with difficulty by any ordinary means. He describes it 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 Galeopithecus philippinensis, and presents a close general resemblance to the species above described, but is smaller, has a shorter head, and shows certain slight differences in the teeth.
FAMILY II.—TUPAIIDÆ 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 Galeopitheci from all other Mammals. Moreover the condylar process of the lower jaw is never extended outwards. This group Mr. Gill proposes to name Bestiæ or Insectivora vera.
The Bangsrings, or Sinsrings, form the first family, called Tupaiidæ, from the name of the most characteristic and best known genus Tupaia, which again was derived by its discoverer and first describer, Sir Stamford Raffles, 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 cæcum; 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.