WCP2358

Letter (WCP2358.2248)

[1]1

Zamboanga2.

April 13. 1878.

My dear Sir3

Your letter containing the list of the "Challenger"4 birds reached me in Manila a few weeks ago. I was glad to have the list, for I know nothing that has been published on the birds of the Philippines except the Marquis of Tweeddale’s old catalogue in the Transactions5,6 — Of the reviews published of Steere’s Collection7,8 and of my own no copies have yet reached me — As you remark, the collectors here previous to Steere must have been very superficial. Even Zamboanga which has been so often visited has never been worked. Here in sight of the town I have collected in 20 days 214 skins representing 87 species, and have passed over a dozen species more as not worth preserving. Only that I am single-handed, having lost my assistant by fever in Palawan9, I have no doubt that I could have done half as well again. Several of the birds are new — some 6 or 7 I think and I have a nice little series of the Batrachostomas10, — both sexes in rufous plumage.

My trip to Palawan was most unfortunate. In the first place it was expensive, and in the second, though I was three months there, I collected next to nothing owing to the severe jungle-fever for which the island is well-known. The small lot of birds which I sent last March sufficiently shows, however, what there is to be done in this locality, and I fully intend returning there when S[outh]. Mindanao11 and Basilan12 have been well worked. The island seems still poorer in Mammalia than the rest of the Philippines. As for the various new mammals of which I spoke in former letters, I have sent to Dr. Gunther13,14 [sic], or have ascertained beyond doubt the existence of, nine species, not including the Tupaia15 and squirrel from Palawan, which I believe Sterre obtained. These species [1 word illeg. struck through] belong to the following genera:

<1.> Sorex16— Cebu.

2. Felis17— S[outh]. Negros

3. Sciurus18— S[outh]. Leyte

4. Tupaia— S[outh]. Mindanao

5. Hystrix19 — Palawan

6. Pteromys20 —Palawan

7. Tragulus21—Balabac22

8. Mus?23—S[outh]. Negros24

9. Gymnura??25 — - — Palawan

Of this last I am not sure, not having seen a specimen. I sent also a large rat from Dinagat26 where it lives in the rice-fields, but I think it was only a common brown rat which had undergone a slight alteration in size and in its fur. The Sorex is the "blind earth-rat" of which my informant spoke. The Tupaia from Zamboanga is remarkable for its stout limbs and sparsely-haired tail. I have no doubt that there still remain some species [2]27 of mammals to be discovered, especially in Palawan. Can you inform me on what authority Cynopithecus28 has been included in the Philippine fauna? I can find no evidence of its existence and the only localities which I have not visited where it may exist are Mindoro and N[orth]. Luzon29. The natives tell me that black monkies [sic] are brought up from "the Moluccas"30 — a term including Celebes31 — in trading vessels, together with numbers of red Lories32, which may be seen all over Manila, where they are said to be brought from Sulu33, though really coming from the Moluccas through Zamboanga.

I am sorry to say that I have done nothing in these islands in the way of collecting either beetles or butterflies. I find the vertebrates take up most of my time and besides I dare not be out in the sun now during the best hours for insects. The beetles I sent from Dinagat were collected by the natives. By the way, in Palawan I saw an Ornithoptera34 which exactly resembled O[rnithoptera]. brookiana. It flew up quite close to me and there could be no mistake about its general identity, though it is most likely a representative species. I cannot definitely promise to send you the small series of the finest butterflies, but if I get them and in duplicate, they will come to you. Mr. Higgins35 has ceased to act as my Agent in London, and my collections will, I believe, go in the first instance to Mr. H. E. Dresser36 for the future.

In your list of Philippine Mammalia, the existence of a <species> of wild swine is left doubtful. Wild pigs are abundant in all the large islands that I have visited — but whether of one or several varieties I am unable to say.

I remain | very truly yours | A Everett. [signature]

P[ost]. S[crip[tum]. I have just received a letter from Mr. J. Evans37 [to]day that the money for the Borneo Caves will be forthcoming.

1
Page numbered 385 in pencil in top RH corner.
2
Zamboanga City is located in Mindanao, the 3rd largest city by land area in the Philippines.
3
The recipient is ARW, although not indicated elsewhere in the letter.
4
The Royal Society obtained use of H.M.S. Challenger from the Royal Navy to survey and explore the world’s oceans. The expedition led by Charles Wyville Thomson travelled nearly 130,000 km. The Report Of The Scientific Results of the Exploring Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873-76 catalogued over 4,000 previously unknown species.
5
Arthur Hay (1824-1878), known until 1876 as Arthur, Viscount Walden and after that date as Arthur, the ninth Marquis of Tweeddale, Scottish soldier and ornithologist.
6
Walden, A. (1871) A list of the birds known to inhabit the Island of Celebes Transactions of the Zoological Society of London. Vol 8, pt. 2-3.
7
http://www.biodiversitylibrary/creator/4379218421940Steere, Joseph Beal (1842-1940) American ornithologist. He went on a scientific expedition to the Philippines and Moluccas from 1874-1875.
8
Steere, J. B. (1890) A list of the birds and mammals collected by the Steere Expedition to the Philippines: with localities, and with brief preliminary descriptions of supposed new species. Ann Arbor, Michigan, The Courier Office.
9
The westernmost island province of the Philippines, located to the SW. of Mindoro and W. of Negros.
10
A genus of the bird family Podargidae, known as frogmouths, found in the Philippines and Indonesia.
11
The second largest and southernmost major island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, consisting of the island of Mindanao and smaller outlying islands.
12
An island province of the Philippines within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
13
Günther, Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf (also Günther, Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf) (1830-1914) German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist and herpetologist.
14
Günther, A. (1879) List of the Mammals, Reptiles, and Batrachians sent by Mr. Everett from the Philippine Islands. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London Vol.47, Issue 1, pages 74-79.
15
A genus in the Tupaiidae family, known as tree shrews.The name derives from the Malay word tupai meaning squirrels or small animals that resemble squirrels.
16
Members of this genus, known as long-tailed shrews, are the only members of the tribe Soricini of the subfamily Soricinae (red-toothed shrews).
17
A genus of cats in the family Felidae, including the familiar domestic cat and its closest wild relatives.
18
A genus in the family Sciuridae, (squirrels) which contains most of the common, bushy-tailed squirrels.
19
A genus in the family Hystricidae, including porcupines.
20
A genus of the family Sciuridae (squirrels), which contains the flying squirrels.
21
A genus of even-toed ungulates in the Tragulidae family that are known as mouse-deer.
22
The southern-most island of the Palawan province in the Philippines, only about 50 km north from Sabah, Malaysia, across the Balabac Strait.
23
A genus of the rodent family Muridae, containing mice.
24
An island of the Philippines, the fourth largest island in the country.
25
A genus of the ray family Gymnuridae, known as butterfly rays. They are found in warm oceans worldwide.
26
A group of islands constituting a province in the Philippines, located on the south side of Leyte Gulf. The island of Leyte is to its west, across Surigao Strait, and Mindanao is to its south.
27
Page numbered 386 in pencil in top RH corner.
28
A genus of Old World monkeys of the family Cercopithecidae, including only the black ape of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes), C. niger. Hence the author’s enquiry regarding its inclusion in the Philippine fauna.
29
The largest and most populous island of the Philippines, at the northern end of the archipelago and the location of Manila, the capital city.
30
The Maluku Islands or the Moluccas are an archipelago within Indonesia.
31
Modern day Sulawesi, an Indonesian island east of Borneo.
32
The red lory (Eos bornea or Eos rubra) is a species of parrot in the Psittaculidae family. The red lory in particular is endemic to the Moluccas and surrounding islands in Indonesia.
33
The Sulu Archipelago lies between Basilan and Tawi-Tawi in the Mindanao region of the Philippines.
34
A genus of the Swallowtail butterfly family Papilionidae, known as Birdwing butterflies.
35
Not identified.
36
Dresser, Henry Eeles (1838-1915) English businessman and ornithologist.
37
Evans, John (1823-1908) English archeologist and geologist and Treasurer of the Royal Society 1878-1898. In 1878 and 1879 the author was engaged by the Royal Society and British Association to explore 'the Caves of Borneo' in search of the remains of ancient man.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2358.2248)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by O'Dell, Sandra [2015-07-13] Transcription checked by Benny, Ruth [2015-07-13] Transcription checked by Sherwood, Danni [2020-08-10]

Please cite as “WCP2358,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2358