[1]1
Singapore.
July 20th 1878.
My dear Sir
It will be of interest to you to know that the fact of the Anoa depressicornis2 (or allied species) existing in Mindoro3 no longer admits doubt. I had previously made many inquiries of persons acquainted with Mindoro — and [1 word illeg] lately when visiting the museum of the College of Sto Thomas4 [sic] in Manila I lit upon an imperfect specimen of the animal itself. Having the description of the Celebes5 species by me, I cannot say whether the Philippine animal belongs to a distinct variety or not. The Professor of Natural History who showed me round the Museum had labelled the specimen as Anoa depressicornis , he being under the idea that it was peculiar to Mindoro and not knowing of its being found in Celebes. It was of an uniform reddish-brown, — blacker brown on the face, — and with one small creamy-white spot on the cheek. The specimen was ♂. I have not been able to get any reliable evidence that the Anoa is found also in Mindanao6 and Luzon7, as I [2]8 at first reported. Its occurrence in Mindoro has caused me to feel doubt whether the Cynopithecus9 may not also prove to inhabit the same island, though absent in others. Since my letter of April 13th, I have met with two other mammals, viz.10, a Deer from the chief island of the Sulu11 group, of which I have sent a detailed description to Dr. Günther12, and a squirrel from Basilan13, resembling the small mouse-lke Sciurus exilis14 of Borneo. With regard to the Anoa, it can be of little use commenting on the significance of its occurrence in the Philippines until something more is known about the general fauna of Mindoro. As yet, I think, absolutely nothing whatever has been recorded or the subject. My arrangements, however, will not admit of my visiting the island until the close of next year.
I remain | Yours sincerely | A Everett [signature]
A. R. Wallace Esq[ui]re.
Cynopithecus. Celebes Crested macaque. Encyclopedia of Life <http://eol.org/pages/42190069/details> [accessed 3 June 2015]. Found exclusively in the northern region of the Indonesian island of Celebes, which is also called Sulawesi. Animal Diversity Web
<http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Bubalus_depressicornis/> [accessed 3 June 2015].
Sulu, an island in the southernmost part of the Philippines.
<http://www.tourism.gov.ph/SitePages/InteractiveSitesPage.aspx?siteID=1049> [accessed 3 June 2015].
Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2364.2254)]
For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon
Please cite as “WCP2364,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2364