Sus-studies in the Leyden Museum

Several years ago I was informed by an old Resident from Palembang, Sumatra, that in that part of the large island was living a Pig, differing from all other described species and called Nangoei by the natives; the animal is not always to be found in that country but in certain months and then in large numbers, so that the natives can procure quantities by netting. In vain I tried to become specimens until the now Resident of Palembang presented me with the skull of a Pig, afterwards with two heads in spirits: all three were told to belong to what the natives call Nangoei. Unhappily the skull first mentioned is that of a not-adult specimen (6 molars in each jaw), moreover it is in a rather poor condition, as the upperparts have been smashed into pieces; and the extracted skulls of the now finely mounted heads show that they belong to still younger (5 molars in each jaw) specimens than the first skull; apparently these two heads however cannot belong to the same species; for meanwhile one of them has the naked parts of the muzzle light colored the profile-line concave, the ears small, of an oval shape having the upper part of the inner margin nearly straight, very faintly concave with rather broadly rounded tip, outer margin slightly concave below the tip, for the rest broadly convex — has the other head the muzzle dark colored, the profile-line convex, the ears large, having the inner margin of a curved shape without concavity passing over in the rather sharply pointed tip, beneath the tip the outer margin deeply concave, then slightly curved towards the rounded off angle, from where the margin goes in a nearly straight line to the base of the earopening. The skulls present the same striking difference in the shape of the profile-line; moreover the small-eared specimen has a more elongated and in all parts more stoutly build skull, notwithstanding it belongs to a somewhat younger individual as the less development of the molars indicates. This small-eared, youngest but largest of the two specimens has the bony palate extended much more backwards, the anterior palatine foramina more elongate piriform, the distance between anterior incisors and end of intermaxillaria much larger, all the teeth are greater sized together with small differences in shape, nasalia more elongate and more slender, parietalia behind closer together than in the older large-eared specimen — distance of parietalia 17 mm. in the former (the youngest but largest) and 28 mm. in the latter (the oldest but smallest)! In the lower jaw the distance between the articular condyle and the coronoid process is the smallest in the largest of the two. So there are several more or less important differences to be observed between these two skulls by close examination, differences very difficultly to describe in a few lines, very evident however by an experienced eye. By comparing the skulls with other ones of about the same size and development it grows evident that they both belong to female-specimens. As the large-eared, smallest but oldest of these two specimens shows the same characteristics in external appearance of the head as well as in the above mentioned characteristics of the skull as are peculiar to Sus vittatus, I do not hesitate to bring it under that head — so that one of the so-called Nangoeispecimens turns out to be not a Nangoei at all! As however Sus vittatus is the sole well-known Pig-species living in Sumatra, there may be questioned to what species known from neighboring islands we must bring the other specimen just discussed?