On the myriapods collected during the 'Skeat expedition' to the Malay peninsula, 1899-1900 / by F.G. Sinclair (formerly F.G. Heathcote).
- F. G. Heathcote
- Date:
- 1901
Licence: In copyright
Credit: On the myriapods collected during the 'Skeat expedition' to the Malay peninsula, 1899-1900 / by F.G. Sinclair (formerly F.G. Heathcote). Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![convinced me that our knowledge of the Indo-Anstralian Myria- pods is very fragmentary, and does not as yet suffice to allow of a satisfactory division of the groups into species. Atterns, in his excellent work on the Myriapods collected by Prof. Kukenthal in the Malay Archipelago, says that in most Myriapods there is a want of characteristic distinctions confined to a species, and in this I thoroughly agree with him. d'he only species-character which at present seems satisfactory is the form of the copulatory apparatus. There is, however, much practical inconvenience in resting too much upon a single character which is confined to one sex ; and our knowledge of the differences between male and female is at present so imperfect, that it is easy to see how much confusion may arise. Moreover, we see from Verhoef’s investigations that there may be considerable variations in the copulatory apparatus at different ages. Pocock too, in his work on the Myriapoda of the Mergui Archipelago, has pointed out that other characteristics vary extremely with age. Under these circumstances, I rather hope that my descriptions and figures may be of use to future observers than expect that my species may prove permanent. The consideration that we can have no satisfactorily defined species of Indo-Australian Myria- pods until we have a better acquaintance with their numerous variations of form, and especially some knoAvledge of the differ- ences due to different ages of individuals, must be my excuse for extending the present paper to what seems an undue length. It will be observed that I have described one oc two peculiarities that are evidently individual mnlformations. Some of the questions raised by Mr. Bateson’s book on Variation (‘ Materials for the Study of Variation,’ 1894) seem to me to render any such peculiarities worth recording, and, so far as I know, very few such have been noticed by authors. This collection contains examples of 40 species, of which 16 are already known, 15 are varieties of known species, and 9 are new. The Polydesmoidea are the most numerous, and the number of species of Chilopoda are few. This may be partly due to the difficulty of capturing the latter. As I know, from personal experience, it is no easy matter to collect a large and lively Scolojyendra. The manner in which some of them have been taken is shown by a noose of thin grass round the neck of one specimen. The way in which another has been taken may be guessed from the fact that it is completely flattened. The specimens were collected in the months of May, June, August, and September at the following places :— April. Patalung State.... Koh ha. Patalung (on shore of ’‘Inland Sea”), Tapelung. Pataui (District of Patani, Patani State). [2]](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22406426_0006.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
