Two New Helminths from Rhinoceros sondaicus

Abstract

Of the three species of Rhinoceros extant in Asia, the lesser onehorned R. sondaicus appears to be by far the rarest. In the immediate past the species was known in the Sunderbans of Bengal, in Burma, the Malay Peninsula and some of the mountainous islands of the East Indies, but to such an extent have its numbers been reduced that the species is now considered very rare. A small herd of unknown size is being jealously conserved in the islands of the Dutch East Indies, in which country alone is it still definitely known to persist. Among the few specimens that are preserved in the museums of the world, the specimen in the Museum of Comparative Zoology is the only one in America. In the Malay States the species was thought to have become extinct, but a story, largely discredited by officials, persisted among the natives living on the edge of the bush in Lower Perak to the effect that an old cow of this species, presumably the mate of a specimen illicitly killed some ten years ago, still survived and at intervals various natives made claims of having seen the animal. Commissioned, if possible, to secure this unique specimen for mounting in the British Museum of Natural History, Mr. Arthur S. Vernay, a celebrated naturalist and hunter of big game, fitted out an expedition to the region and in January, I932, succeeded in locating and shooting the animal.