Pacific Nature Notes

Written for "RIM" by Charles Barrett, FRZS

Crocodiles Ln Fiji

THAT the range of the saltwater croco dile extends to Fiji has been doubted by some naturalists, unfamiliar with all the literature relating to saurians— and Pacific isles. There are definite records of the occurrence of Crocodilus porosus in Fijian waters, though it is not indigenous to the group. Such authorities as Arthur Loveridge, of the Museum of Comparative Anatomy, Cambridge, Mass., USA, include Fiji in the saltwater crocodile’s range.

The earliest record appears to be that of Will Mariner, who lived for several years among the Friendly Islanders at the beginning of last century, and made “extensive communications” to Dr. John Martin, compiler of the famous Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands. An ‘ enormous lizard” made its appearance at a small island in the Fiji Group, as related by the people of Pau, who fancied that it had come from Bulu (Heaven).

The monster took two members of a party camped on the isle—its landfall after a journey from the Solomons, possibly. Later, a woman washing tolo root in a saltwater lake, was seized by the giant “lizard”.

Before his capture and destruction, the visitor from Heaven had claimed nine victims. The natives changed their mind about the man-eater’s divinity, and, cut ting up the body, they made a hearty meal of the tenderest parts, baked to suit their taste.

This note may serve as a reply to a correspondent at Namosau, Ba, Fiji, who asked me to check up on a statement in one of my books, that the saltwater crocodile is distributed over India and Ceylon and ranges from South China tc Northern Australia, the Solomons and Fiji.

“I have not seen or heard of crocodiles in Fiji,” writes H. D. “A few years ago excitement was caused by the finding of a young crocodile in Fiji, supposed to have got there accidentally.” This in cident may have recalled Will Mariner’s story, of the “enormous lizard”, to some familiar with the Tonga Islands book, which, by the way, has become rare and valuable in the original edition; I paid seven guineas for a finely-bound copy in perfect condition, and regarded the price as reasonable.

Seafaring Reptiles F

“QEA-FARING” crocodile has been O proposed as a popular name for C. porosus, which, though mainly an estuarine creature, makes long journeys by sea: it has been sighted hundreds of miles from any land. Its wide distri bution may, as some naturalists believe, be due to this sea-going habit. Personally, I have not met with the saltwater croco dile far out at sea; but there are authentic records, and maybe some readers of the “PIM” can add to our knowledge of C. porous as an ocean wanderer.

The “mugger” or marsh crocodile (C. palustris), which has an extensive distri bution. including India and Ceylon and the Malay Archipelago, unlike its larger ally, the saltwater crocodile, occurs far inland, inhabiting marshes and pools.

When drought commences to dry up their haunts, the muggers emigrate across country in quest of more permanent waters: and, during such times, to quote the late Dr. Raymond Ditmars. they may be found wandering through the jungle,

at what seem to be considerable distances from water.

The Kabara-goya, as the Sinhalese call the common water monitor, ranges from the Philippines to Celebes and, possibly, New Guinea and Northern Australia (one record for Cape York). It is a powerful swimmer, and has been observed far out at sea. Another water monitor, related to the kabara-goya, is native to Celebes, whence it ranges to the Solomon Islands, and northwards from that group to the Carolines p/nd Marshalls, according tb Loveridge. These sea-faring lizards, cousins of the Australian goannas, have compressed tails which serve admirably as swimming organs, though less effective than the paddle-like tails of sea snakes.

The Air-Plant

GROWERS of succulents usually in clude the air-plant (Bryophyllum pinnatum) in their collections, but not all of them know that is was originally described from Mauritius, and has become a citizen of the Pacific world. Natural ised in many parts of the tropics, the air-plant flourishes as a weed in favour able conditions. K. W„ who found it growing in the New Hebrides, sends me some leaves, “for cultivation”.

Few plants are more easily grown than Bryophllum, whose every leaf produces plantlets; they develop in notches around the edge of the succulent leaf—asexual reproduction. Many a crop of air-plants have I raised without giving any special attention to the mother plants, whose stems grew to a height of about three feet, and bore abundance of leaves and, at the ends, “Chinese lantern” shaped flowers.

Dr. Otto Degener, whose great work on the Flora of Hawaii is in course of publi cation, says that, in those islands, the air-plant is pollinated chiefly by sphinx moths, and the flower develops into a many-seeded capsule-like fruit. I have noticed sphinx or hawk-moths flying in the vicinity of my Bryophyllum plants, but, so far, none of the flowers has been pollinated.

More than one hundred species of hawk-moths are Pacific islanders— natives of the region; and I do not pretend to know them all, not a tenth of the total; but among those on my list are large handsome insects, including a species of Callambulyx, whose fore-wings are green and the hind pair red. Which kinds pollinate the air-plant? Possibly representatives of Macroglossum.

Giant Grasshopper

FROM Papua comes a fine specimen of the great shielded grasshopper, col lected in hill country by D. B.

Readers of Alfred Russel Wallace’s Malay Archipelago will know about this remarkable insect, which the great naturalist describes in his best manner' he also gives a figure of the oddity.

Megalodon ensifer, to-give the insect its scientific title, is even more remarkable than the mountain grasshopper of Aus tralia. Its thorax is protected by a triangular horny shield which has serrated edges and measures about two and a half inches in length. The all-green in sect’s shield helps to camouflage it, for it resembles a leaf, the mid-rib being represented by a median line. The wing-covertp of this huge grasshopper have an expanse of more than eight inches; they, too, are leaf-like, being veined in the manner of leaves of some jungle plants. The legs are spiny; the

body is short, but the female Insect has a large curved ovipositor resembling a miniature scimitar.

The great shielded grasshopper pro vides a good example of camouflage in nature. But one imagines that it hardly needs such protection: it would make an unpleasant beakful for a bird; and a lizard might not enjoy crunching the

Communications from Nature students in the Pacific Islands are welcomed by our contributor—Mr.

Charles Barrett, “Maralena,” Mays bury Avenue, Elsternwick S 4, Victoria.

strongly-spined legs. My specimens have been sent to a museum. All rare speci mens should be preserved in museums.

At least, that is my opinion. Enthusi astic collectors of insects, especially those who favour butterflies, will not agree.

I have collected thousands of insects, from ants to butterflies and beetles; but very few of them remain in my possession

The Shell King

SHELLS form the bulk of my natural history collection; and cowries pre dominate, with cone shells next on the list. Cowries and cones have always been favourites with amateur concholo gists, some of whom have formed large and valuable collections, notably Hugh Cuming, a Devonshire man, who combed the Pacific for rare and beautiful shells.

A man of some means, Hugh Cuming built a yacht and in 1826 sailed from England for the South Seas. The first isle he visited, after touching at Juan Ferandez, was Pitcairn. John Adams was still living and Cuming spent a week on the island as his guest. Then to Tahiti, where the shell man was well received by Queen Pomare, who furthered his researches into the molluscan fauna of tropic seas. Dredging and wading, Hugh reaped a rich harvest, many of his specimens bein£ rare, others new to science. The cruise lasted for a year, and was a glorious experience for the owner of the yacht, which had been fitted up expressly for natural history purposes—the collecting and storing of specimens.

Hugh Cuming fully deserved the title, Shell King. He was a born collector, and a great collector, who added much to our knowledge of shell life in the southern and south-western Pacific. At one time his shell cabinets contained at least 30,000 specimens, including the types of numerous species of cowries. He had a host of perfect specimens. The orange cowry was well represented: but even Hugh Cuming may not have possessed a finer specimen of this lovely shell than the one given to me by a school teacher of Fiji, who had dozens, collected from the reefs.

Fancy prices were, paid for cowries when shell collecting was a fashionable hobby in Europe and America. At auction in 1821, a specimen of Cypraea aurora fetched £2O/10/-; while a Cypraea aurantia was knocked down for eighteen guineas. At another sale at Stevens’ rooms, a specimen of C. princeps was put up at £25. Hugh Cuming, himself, often was a bidder, not only for shells, but other natural history specimens. He paid fifteen guineas for a splendid speci men of “Venus’s flower-basket”, a lovely marine fabric known to science as Euplectella aspergellum. Later, numbers of specimens were dredged from the Persian Gulf, and one could buy a Venus’ flower-basket for less than a quarter the price given by Cuming.