The Zoologist/4th series, vol 1 (1897)/Issue 674/Natural History Notes from the West Indies

by Percy Rendall

 

THE ZOOLOGIST

 

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No. 674.—August, 1897.

 

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NATURAL HISTORY NOTES FROM THE WEST
INDIES.

By Percy Rendall, M.D., F.Z.S.

 

Early this year I spent three months in the Antilles collecting zoological specimens of all kinds. The bulk of this time was passed in Trinidad, or, as the Indians call it, Iëre, and most of my collecting was done in the south-west province known locally as the district of Savana Grande. Geographically both this island and Tobago (which is nineteen miles further north) are portions of the South American Continent, and the respective faunas bear strong resemblance therefore one to the other. The small mammals from these islands are, however, so little known that I contribute a few remarks upon those I captured.

Most of my work was done with break-back traps baited with banana, Indian corn, and sweet cassava, but the last named was much the deadliest. My rendezvous was a Government resthouse, but though I had genuine primæval forest within a mile, I found that all the small things were to be taken along the course of a little stream, with a growth of balisiers and mixed bush, that fringed the cultivated but partly-cleared gardens and cocoa groves.

For the scientific names I am indebted to my friend Mr. Oldfield Thomas. The English equivalents are those used by the "natives," who seem to be any colour, and combine strains of French, Spanish, and Indian blood with a basis generally emancipated negro. The native is more useful to the naturalist than to the struggling planter, as he objects to all work, though he often has a sporting tendency.

Didelphis marsupialis. Large Manicou.—Ruthless war is waged by all and sundry upon these Opossums, which have a great predilection for poultry. They are to be found in Trinidad, Tobago, and St. Vincent to my knowledge, and in the last-named island I found that on moonlight nights they were to be shot in certain trees, the fruit of which acted as an unfailing lure. I have seen them killed in the day time with a mongrel pack of dogs, but their habits are generally nocturnal. They used to show their carnivorous propensities by eating my trapped victims; sometimes carrying the trap away also. One female which I dissected carried seven immature young in her pouch.

Philander trinitatis. The Yellow-eyed Manicou.—Though this little animal was only described by Mr. O. Thomas about three years ago, I found it plentiful and generally distributed wherever I collected.

Marmosa murina. The Black-eyed Manicou.—This is much the most common of the three marsupials found in Trinidad. Many partially eaten rats in my traps I fancy may be put to their credit, though banana was their favourite bait. One which I caught in a hollow stump in the daylight opened its mouth, and as it showed its teeth "swore" at me in the most unmistakable manner, with a sound like the rasping of a metal comb. It is found in Tobago.

Dasyprocta aguti.—This animal is the usual species taken in Trinidad; it is hunted with dogs and eaten by the natives, who will not let their hounds eat the entrails, which they say "disagree with them, as they feed on poisonous berries." Whether this is true I know not, but they always carefully disembowel these rodents and hang the intestines out of reach.

Dasyprocta cristata.—The main difference to the eye in D. aguti is the red rump, which in this species has a markedly yellowish hue. Before I brought the two species back from Trinidad, only the former had been recorded from that island. Both of them give excellent sport, and I have had several good runs with dogs in their pursuit. One that the dogs ran into in the open squealed like a rabbit sometimes does under similar circumstances. In the forest they make regular tracks or paths by constantly taking the same line of country. They are very smart and up to every wrinkle, often escaping from some bolthole which has been overlooked, whilst they are being dug out, after having been run to earth. The native hunters frequently remark that "an old Agouti always knows where he is going when he once starts to run"—and admit that he often fools them!

Cœlogenys paca. The Lapp.—This, the largest rodent of Trinidad, is such good eating that the Catholics have thought it worth while to obtain special permission from the Pope to sanction its flesh as a Lenten comestible! They say it is amphibious and ranks with fish. Certainly it dives and swims well when it is hunted, and it is perhaps convenient for them that the See has such a slender zoological knowledge. Its earth is always a hole in a bank, often amongst the tangled roots of some large tree, and is generally near water. It is rapidly becoming rare in the neighbourhood of the most elementary civilization. It is not found in Tobago.

Tatusia novemcincta. The Tattu.—Some of the commonest signs of wild life in the high woods are the scratchings which this Armadillo makes amongst the dead leaves, &c, in the damper spots. I have eaten this animal, and even prefer it to the "Lapp." One female which I examined had four fœtuses in utero in the middle of February. Its habits are nocturnal, and its home is invariably some hole in a bank.

Sciurus æstuans. Squirrel.—In both Tobago and Trinidad the cocoa-planters employ a man to shoot these little animals, as they raid the trees and destroy an immense amount of cocoapods. Though they may in some cases destroy only the outer covering of the pods, they do the Woodpeckers and other birds a service in many cases, by making their work of destruction the more easy. They are sometimes kept in the ordinary Squirrel's cage, and I have seen them thriving in captivity in more than one instance.

Rhipidomys couesii. Tree Cocoa Rat.—This species I found very rare and difficult to secure. Traps have to be set for them in the cocoa trees, and at a considerable height from the ground.

Oryzomys brevicauda. The Garden Rat.—Widely distributed in both islands; the bulk of my captures consisted of this species, and a long series showed that there was considerable difference in the colour of the pelage.

Nectomys palmipes. Water Rat.—On the margins of the small streams this rat was always taken, and never away from water. The immature specimens were much darker and the pelage much shorter than in the adults.

Akodon urichi. Black Garden Rat.—Difficult to catch, and scarce everywhere; only taken in Trinidad.

Mus rattus. Black Rat.— This species was only secured in one cocoa shed, and had only taken up its quarters there after the Brown Rat had been poisoned.

Mus decumanus. Common House Rat.—Generally distributed wherever I collected. They were trapped in the out-door kitchens used in the West Indies, but in the day time retired to the bush to return at nightfall.

Mus musculus. House Mouse.—The foregoing remarks also apply to this species. I found both this and the House Rat living in the arrowroot fields in St. Vincent.

Heteromys anomalus. Pouched Rat.—Local in its distribution, and found at some elevation (800 feet). I had reliable information of its existence in Tobago. It is at times caught with both cheeks stuffed with seeds or corn.

Loncheres guianæ. Porcupine Rat.—In Trinidad these curious spiny rats are common on the large mangrove bushes that fringe the mouth of the Caroni river; they are to be seen lying parallel with the branches at some height above the water. They must be pugnacious in their habits, as both their ears and their tails are often found mutilated. The immature of this rodent shows very little difference in the length of the ears compared to the adult, and is in contrast with other small rodents belonging to kindred species. My friend Mr. R.R. Mole, of Trinidad, informs me that they are the chief food of the large water Pythons, and in their excreta he has found great quantities of their typical spiny bristles. I caught one of these rats in Tobago, in a tree a considerable distance from the Great Dog River; it was larger than any of the long series I obtained in Trinidad, and the basal portion of the pelage was more red in coloration.

Echimys trinitatis. Long-tailed Piloui.—Otherwise called the "No-tail Piloui." The fact that some specimens of this species are found to have no tail, which others possess, has led the natives to give to it the second name, under the very excusable belief that it was another species. I understand they are eaten with relish.

Coassus nemorivagus. Deer.—I procured one pair of the horns of this deer, which were said to be the largest ever seen; they measure 5⅛ in. This animal is very plentiful on the borders of the high woods, and does an immense amount of damage to young plantations of cocoa, nutmegs, &c. They are very wary, and though I heard them, and constantly saw their fresh spoor, I never even once got a snap-shot, and I was perpetually on the alert to obtain a complete skin and skull. Very few are ever killed, as they simply scorn the mongrel dogs, who cannot live with them for even a mile, and generally refuse to take up their fresh trail.

There are other points of zoological interest perhaps worthy of note; but, as Mr. Rider Haggard remarks, "that is another story!"