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Editor: Charles Darwin

MAMMALIA,

Described by

GEORGE R. WATERHOUSE, ESQ. CURATOR OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, ETC. ETC.

WITH

A NOTICE OF THEIR HABITS AND RANGES,

BY CHARLES DARWIN, ESQ., M.A., F.R.S. SECRETARY TO THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS COLOURED ENGRAVINGS.

THE ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. BEAGLE, UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAPTAIN FITZROY, R.N., DURING THE YEARS 1832 to 1836.

Edited and Superintended by CHARLES DARWIN, ESQ. M.A. F.R.S. SEC. G.S. NATURALIST TO THE EXPEDITION.

LONDON: PRINTED BY STEWART AND MURRAY, OLD BAILEY.

GEOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION.

BY MR. DARWIN.

The object of the present Introduction, is briefly to describe the principal localities, from which the Zoological specimens, collected during the voyage of the Beagle, were obtained. At the conclusion of this work, after each species has been separately examined and described, it will be more advantageous to incorporate any general remarks. The Beagle was employed for nearly five years out of England; of this time a very large proportion was spent in surveying the coasts of the Southern part of South America, and of the remainder, much was consumed in making long passages during her circumnavigation of the globe. Hence nearly the entire collection, especially of the animals belonging to the higher orders, was procured from this continent; to which, however, must be added the Galapagos Archipelago, a group of islands in the Pacific, but not far distant from the American coast. The localities may be briefly described under the following heads.

BRAZIL. This country presents an enormous area, supporting the most luxuriant productions of the intertropical regions. It is composed of primary formations, and may be considered as being hilly rather than mountainous. LA PLATA includes the several provinces bordering that great river;--namely, Buenos Ayres, Banda Oriental, Santa F?, Entre Rios, &c. My collections were chiefly made at BUENOS AYRES, at MONTE VIDEO, the capital of Banda Oriental, and at MALDONADO, a town in the same province, situated on the northern shore, near the mouth of the estuary of the Plata. These countries consist either of an undulating surface, clothed with turf, or of perfectly level plains with enormous beds of thistles. Except on the banks of the rivers, trees nowhere grow; there are, however, thickets in some of the valleys, in the more hilly parts of Banda Oriental. During the winter and spring of this hemisphere, a considerable quantity of rain falls, and the plains of turf are then everywhere verdant; but in summer the country assumes a brown and parched appearance.

BAHIA BLANCA forms a large bay, in latitude 39? S. on a part of the coast, which falls within the territory of the province of Buenos Ayres, but which from its physical conditions would more properly be classed with Patagonia. The tertiary plains of PATAGONIA, extend from the Strait of Magellan to the Rio Negro, which is commonly assumed as their Northern boundary. This space of more than seven hundred miles in length, and in breadth reaching from the Cordillera to the Atlantic Ocean, is everywhere characterised by the dreary uniformity of its landscape. Nearly desert plains, composed of a thick bed of shingle, and often strewed over with sea-shells, are but rarely interrupted by hills of porphyry, and other crystalline rocks. The plains support scattered tufts of wiry grass, and stunted bushes; whilst in the broad flat-bottomed valleys, dwarf thorn-bearing trees, barely ornamented with the scantiest foliage, sometimes unite into thickets; and here the few feathered inhabitants of these sterile regions resort. There is an extreme scarcity of water; and where it is found, especially if in lakes, it is generally as salt as brine. The sky in summer is cloudless, and the heat in consequence, considerable; whereas the frosts of winter are, sometimes, severe. The principal localities visited by the Beagle, were the RIO NEGRO, in latitude 41? S., PORT DESIRE, PORT ST. JULIAN, and SANTA CRUZ. At the latter place, a party, under the command of Captain FitzRoy, followed up the river in boats, to within a few miles of the Cordillera; and an opportunity was thus afforded of verifying the nature of the country in its entire breadth. At the Rio Negro the plains are much more thickly covered with bushes, than in any other part of Patagonia.

TIERRA DEL FUEGO may be supposed to include all the broken land south of a line joining the opposite mouths of the Strait of Magellan. The land is mountainous, and may be aptly compared to a lofty chain, partly submerged in the sea;--bays and channels occupying the position of valleys. The Eastern side almost exclusively consists of clay-slate; the Western, of primary, and various plutonic formations. The mountains, from the water's edge, to within a short distance of the lower limit of perpetual snow, are everywhere concealed by an impervious forest, the trees of which do not periodically shed their leaves. On the East coast, the outline of the land shows that tertiary formations, like those of Patagonia, extend south of the Strait of Magellan; but with the exception of this part, it is rare to find even a small space of level ground; and where such occurs, a thick bed of peat invariably covers the surface. The climate is of that kind which has been denominated insular: the winters are far from being excessively cold, whilst the summers are gloomy, boisterous, and seldom cheered by the rays of the sun. In all seasons, a large quantity of rain falls. Hence, from the physical conditions of Tierra del Fuego, all the land animals must live either on the sea-beach, or within the humid and entangled forests.

The FALKLAND ISLANDS are situated in the same latitude as the Eastern entrance of the Strait of Magellan, and about 270 miles East of it. The climate is nearly the same as in Tierra del Fuego, but the surface of the land, instead of being as there, concealed by one great forest, does not support a single tree. We see on every side a withered and coarse herbage, with a few low bushes, which spring from the peaty soil of an undulating moorland. Scattered hills, and a central range of quartz rock, protrude through formations of clay-slate and sand-stone which compose the lower country.

The structure of the west coast of South America, from the Strait of Magellan northward to latitude 38?, in its greater part, is very similar to that of Tierra del Fuego. The climate likewise is similar,--being gloomy, boisterous, and extremely humid; and, consequently, the land is concealed by an almost impenetrable forest. In the northern part of this region, the temperature of course is considerably higher than near the Strait of Magellan; but nevertheless it is much less so, than might have been anticipated from so great a change in latitude. Hence, although the vegetation of this northern district presents a marked difference when compared with that of the southern; yet the zoology in many respects has, like the general aspect of the landscape, a very uniform character. The specimens were chiefly collected from the PENINSULA OF TRES MONTES, the CHONOS ARCHIPELAGO , CHILOE with the adjoining islets, and VALDIVIA. The contrast between the physical conditions and productions of the East and West coasts of this part of South America is very remarkable. On one side of the Cordillera, great heavy clouds are driven along by the western gales in unbroken sheets, and the indented land is clothed with thick forests; whilst on the other side of this great range, a bright sky, with a clear and dry atmosphere, extends over wide and desolate plains.

CHILE in the neighbourhood of CONCEPCION may be called a fertile land; for it is diversified with fine woods, pasturage, and cultivated fields. But towards the more central districts although by the aid of irrigation, the soil in the valleys yields a most abundant return, yet the appearance of the hills, thinly scattered with various kinds of bushes and cylindrical Opuntias, bespeaks an arid climate. In winter, rain is copious, but during a long summer of from six to eight months, a shower never moistens the parched soil. The country has a very alpine character, and is traversed by several chains of mountains extending parallel to the Andes. These ranges include between them level basins, which appear once to have formed the beds of ancient channels and bays, such as those now intersecting the land further to the south. North of the neighbourhood of Valparaiso, the climate rapidly becomes more and more arid, and the land in proportion desert. Beyond the valley of COQUIMBO it is scarcely habitable, excepting in the valleys of Guasco, Copiap?, and Paposa, which owe their entire fertility to the system of irrigation, invented by the aboriginal Indians and followed by the Spanish colonists. Northward of these places, the absolute desert of Atacama forms a complete barrier, and eastward, the snow-clad chain of the Cordillera separates the Zoological province of Chile, from that of the wide plains which extend on the other side of the Andes.

The last district which it is at all necessary for me to mention here, is that of the GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO, situated under the Equator, and between five and six hundred miles West of the coast of America. These islands are entirely volcanic in their composition; and on two of them the volcanic forces have within late years been seen in activity. There are five principal islands, and several smaller ones: they cover a space of 2? 10? in latitude, and 2? 35? in longitude. The climate, for an equatorial region, is far from being excessively hot: it is extremely dry; and although the sky is often clouded, rain seldom falls, excepting during one short season, and then its quantity is variable. Hence, in the lower part of these islands, even the more ancient streams of lava are clothed only with thin and nearly leafless bushes. At an elevation of 1200 feet, and upwards, the land receives the moisture condensed from the clouds, which are drifted by the trade wind over this part of the ocean at an inconsiderable height. In consequence of this, the upper and central part of each island supports a green and thriving vegetation; but from some cause, not very easily explained, it is much less frequented, than the lower and rocky districts are, by the feathered inhabitants of this archipelago.

The vertebrate animals in my collection have been presented to the following museums:--the Mammalia and Birds to the Zoological Society; the Fishes to the Cambridge Philosophical Society; and the Reptiles, when described, will be deposited in the British Museum. For the care and preservation of all these and other specimens, during the long interval of time between their arrival in this country and my return, I am deeply indebted to the kindness of the Rev. Professor Henslow of Cambridge. With respect to the gentlemen, who have undertaken the several departments of this publication, I hope they will permit me here to express the great personal obligation which I feel towards them, and likewise my admiration at the disinterested zeal which has induced them thus to bestow their time and talents for the good of Science.

LIST OF PLATES.

INDEX TO THE SPECIES.

LONDON: PRINTED BY STEWART AND MURRAY, OLD BAILEY.

MAMMALIA,

Described by

GEORGE R. WATERHOUSE, ESQ. CURATOR OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, ETC. ETC.

WITH

A NOTICE OF THEIR HABITS AND RANGES,

BY CHARLES DARWIN, ESQ. M.A. F.G.S. &c. CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

MAMMALIA.

FAMILY--PHYLLOSTOMIDAE.

DESCRIPTION.--The fur of this Bat is glossy and has a silk-like appearance; that on the top of the head, sides of the face, and the whole of the upper parts of the body, is of a deep brown colour; all the hairs on these parts, however, are white at the base. The flanks, interfemoral membrane, and the arms, are also covered on their upper side with brown hairs. On the lower part of the sides of the face, and the whole of the under parts of the body, the hairs are of an ashy-white colour. The membrane of the wing is brownish. The ears are of moderate size, and somewhat pointed; externally they are covered with minute brown hairs, and internally with white. The tragus is also covered with white hairs; it is of a narrow form, pointed at the tip, and has a small acute process in the middle of the outer margin. The nose-leaf is pierced by the nostrils, which diverge posteriorly, and is so deeply cleft on its hinder margin, that it may be compared to two small leaflets joined side by side near their bases. These leaflets, unlike the nose-leaf of the Phyllostomina, lie horizontally on the nose to which they are attached throughout, a slight ridge only indicating their margin. Around the posterior part of the nose-leaf there is a considerable naked space, in which two small hollows are observable, situated one on each side, and close to the nose-leaf; and, at a short distance behind the nose-leaf, this naked membrane is slightly elevated, and forms a transverse fleshy tubercle.

In. Lines. Length of head and body 3 3 interfemoral membrane 0 3 1/2 the antibrachium 2 2 thumb 0 8 tibia 0 10 tarsus 0 8 1/3 ear 0 4 tragus 0 3 nose-leaf 0 2 1/4 Expanse the wings of 12 8

Habitat, Coquimbo, Chile.

"The Vampire Bat," says Mr. Darwin in his MS. notes upon the present species, "is often the cause of much trouble, by biting the horses on their withers. The injury is generally not so much owing to the loss of blood, as to the inflammation which the pressure of the saddle afterwards produces. The whole circumstance has lately been doubted in England; I was therefore fortunate in being present when one was actually caught on a horse's back. We were bivouacking late one evening near Coquimbo, in Chile, when my servant, noticing that one of the horses was very restive, went to see what was the matter, and fancying he could distinguish something, suddenly put his hand on the beast's withers, and secured the Vampire. In the morning, the spot where the bite had been inflicted was easily distinguished from being slightly swollen and bloody. The third day afterwards we rode the horse, without any ill effects."

Before the introduction of the domesticated quadrupeds, this Vampire Bat probably preyed on the guanaco, or vicugna, for these, together with the puma, and man, were the only terrestrial mammalia of large size, which formerly inhabited the northern part of Chile. This species must be unknown, or very uncommon in Central Chile, since Molina, who lived in that part, says "that no blood-sucking species is found in this province."

It is interesting to find that the structure of this animal is in perfect accordance with the habits as above detailed by Mr. Darwin. Among other points, the total absence of true molars, and consequent want of the power of masticating food, is the most remarkable. On the other hand we find the canines and incisors perfectly fitted for inflicting a wound such as described, while the small size of the interfemoral membrane together with the unusually large size of the thumb and claw, would enable this Bat, as I should imagine, to fix itself with great security to the body of the horse.

I knew I would not have written anything on so important a subject without proper consideration; and he knew it too. However, I realized the fact that an effort to believe such a story as I had offered to the public may have made a somewhat weighty demand upon credulity, at least with some people. To answer his last suggestion, I merely drew out of my pocket a copy of the "Savannah Morning News", containing an account of a stranger's mysterious movements about Warsaw Island near Savannah, and his sudden disappearance, leaving good evidence that he had carried with him a hidden treasure found there, and which tradition had stated lay upon the Island. I also reminded him of the fact that Dutch Island near Savannah is full of what are known as "treasure holes", which have been made by persons seeking the buried booty of the pirates of the olden times. He knew all about these; and he had also heard that some of the enterprising explorers into the mysteries of that island had been successful.

But Jamesby was still incredulous. So I turned the conversation to my fowls; and he was very ready to admit that I had told the genuine thing in describing to him some of the excellent points of my prize birds. There was no doubt that I could exhibit several specimens which any fancier would be proud of.

Jamesby remained to tea, so that we could go to the lodge together, and I enjoyed the quiet stroll down town with him. We had hardly entered the hall, though, before the historian of the town, who is also a leading Mason, approached me regarding my Money Island revelations. "Sir," he said, "I regard it throughout as a most interesting and plausible narrative; and I am glad we have been favored by being allowed to read it. I have made a study of the pirates who infested our coast in the early colonial days, and I know that this section, particularly the lower region of the Cape Fear, was a favorite rendezvous for them. It is known upon most reliable information that there are immense quantities of captured treasure secreted along the coast, and the wonder is that there have not been some really serious efforts to find it."

Another gentleman added, "Yes, and they also buried treasure further down South; for at my old home I have stood in the hole from which my friend, Mr. Coachman, unearthed accidentally a small fortune, which gave him a very comfortable start in life."

The conversation lingered in this absorbing vein until the meeting was opened, much to my relief; for I had been surfeited with the subject of money finding for that day, at least. But that was not all; for, during the solemnity of the opening exercises, I heard some one telling, in an undertone, of a negro who had found a roll of old bank notes in a log which had been hauled to a saw mill to be cut.

The next day I was still aware that I possessed an unusual attraction; and I resigned myself patiently to the service of all my inquiring friends. Jamesby actually stopped by my office to walk up with me at lunch time. He was willing to move along slowly with me, for now in my old age I find I have to walk slowly. I knew it would have been more natural for him to have gone on briskly; but he was polite and assured me that the pleasure of my company was better than too much time spent at his meal.

We stopped on the way at a newspaper office. The editor and proprietor had observed our approach and they were awaiting us with looks of amused interest. "Hello!" the proprietor said cheerily, "you have really stimulated the enterprise of the town. Why have you kept so reticent on that subject all these years?"

Of course, I knew what subject was referred to; for I had been living for those two days in an atmosphere filled with the phantoms of hidden gold, buried treasure, marvelous discoveries, pirates and other engaging topics of thought; and I now looked for nothing else.

"In my opinion," he continued, "it was a very good story. Of course, it goes without saying that it is true. I tell you, sir, that it is my judgment that this whole section of coast line is rich in gold. Not only did those pirates bury gold here, but, during the Civil War, the Confederate blockade runners, when fearing capture, were known repeatedly to throw gold into the sea along the beach, sometimes by the keg full; and not one dollar's worth of it has ever yet been recovered, so far as I can learn. It is all right there where they dropped it. And besides that, at least on one occasion, it is a well proven fact that a chest of gold was buried by the commander of one of the blockade runners in the marsh grass on the shore not far below Wilmington; and there is no evidence that it has ever yet been unearthed. In fact, all knowledge of the exact spot has been lost, I understand."

"Yes," interposed the editor, "it is all quite reasonable; and, as something germain to the subject, I can cite an interesting instance. When, soon after the War our old Confederate naval captain bought his home on Greenville Sound and was preparing to build his residence, he had the old house which stood upon the site torn down, and, upon the carpenters coming one morning to begin the erection of the new building, they found an immense excavation right where the old house stood. Now, that old building was in former years used by a Portuguese as an inn for the entertainment of sailors from the vessels in the port of Wilmington; and, there being certain traditions in regard to some money having been buried beneath it, it was natural to conclude that the excavation resulted from an energetic effort to find the money. The hole was made at night, but by whom it has never been found out. The incident was shrouded in a mystery which has never been cleared."

We talked still further along that vein, the editor emphatically asserting his assured belief in the possibility of recovering quantities of gold from the seashore below Wilmington, and from the decaying hulks of blockade runners that rise a little here and there above the waves, where they met a disastrous check to their efforts to slip into the harbor.

As we started out again upon the street, Jamesby said, "Well, sir,--pardon my frankness--but I must say that I have never found your company so interesting before; and I shall be equally frank in saying that--I have never been able yet to believe half the tales I have heard about the mysterious discovery of buried treasure. There is something so unsubstantial about most of them. Of course, there may be some exceptions, and--"

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