Relative to the inferior classes of _Invertebrata_ very little has as yet been ascertained. The Mollusca, especially the lacustrine and fluviatile, have been most imperfectly investigated; and of the land-shells, a large proportion have yet to be submitted to scientific examination. The same may be said of the _Arachnida_ and _Crustacea_. The jungle is frequented by spiders, _phalangia_[1], and acarids, of which nothing is known with certainty; and the sea-shore and sands have been equally overlooked, so far as concerns the infinite variety of lobsters, crayfish, crabs, and all their minor congeners. The _polypi, echini, asterias_, and other _radiata_ of the coast, as well as the _acalephæ_ of the deeper waters, have shared the same neglect: and literally nothing has been done to collect and classify the infusoriæ and minuter zoophytes, the labours of Dr. Kelaart amongst the Diatomaceæ being the solitary exception. [Footnote 1: Commonly called "harvest-men."] Nothing is so likely to act as a stimulant to future research as an accurate conception of what has already been achieved. With equal terseness and truth Dr. Johnson has observed that the traveller who would bring back knowledge from any country must carry knowledge with him at setting out: and I am not without hope that the demonstration I now venture to offer, of the little that has already been done for zoology in Ceylon, may serve to inspire others with a desire to resume and complete the inquiry. J. EMERSON TENNENT London: November 1st, 1861. CONTENTS. * * * * * CHAPTER I. MAMMALIA. Neglect of zoology in Ceylon Labours of Dr. Davy Followed by Dr. Templeton and others Dr. Kelaart and Mr. E.L. Layard Monkeys The Rilawa, _Macacus pileatus_ Wanderoos Knox's account of them Error regarding the _Silenus Veter (note)_ Presbytes Cephalopterus Fond of eating flowers A white monkey Method of the flight of monkeys P. Ursinus in the Hills P. Thersites in the Wanny P. Priamus, Jaffna and Trincomalie No dead monkey ever found Loris Bats Flying Fox, _Pteropus Edwardsii_ Their numbers at Peradenia Singularity of their attitudes Food and mode of eating Horse-shoe bat, _Rhinolophus_ Faculty of smell in bat A tiny bat, _Scotophilus foromandelicus_ Extraordinary parasite of the bat, the _Nycteribia_ _Carnivora_.--Bears Their ferocity Singhalese belief in the efficacy of charms (_note_) Leopards Erroneously confounded with the Indian _cheetah_ Curious belief Anecdotes of leopards Their attraction by the smallpox Native superstition Encounter with a leopard Monkeys killed by leopards Alleged peculiarity of the claws Palm-cat Civet Dogs Cruel mode of destroying dogs Their republican instincts Jackal Cunning, anecdotes of The horn of the jackal Mungoos Its fights with serpents Theory of its antidote Squirrels Flying squirrel Tree-rat Story of a rat and a snake Coffee-rat