FAUNA AND FLORA O F MANGROVE SWAMPS
157
(1911) and Annandale (1920) from brackish water ponds and from
mangrove areas in South East Asia. Its tadpoles are common in pools
within the mangal (personal observation) and Pearse (191 1) records
that the eggs are laid in crab holes.
Rana limnocharis has subspecies in the Philippines and in Timor
which also enter salt water with impunity (Neil, 1958).
C. Mammals
Of mammals a few monkeys have adopted the habit of visiting and
even of living within the mangals. Monkeys become clever at catching
fish and crabs but have not been seen to eat the fruit of mangroves.
Sykes’s monkey, Cercopithecus mitis Wolf, was commonly seen eating
crabs on the banks of the distributaries in the Rufiji delta. Macaques,
formerly included within Macaca irus Aw., a name which covers many
species, are common in South East Asia and penetrate to Java and
Borneo. One of the species in this group is said by Schuster (1952) to be
a nuisance around the fish ponds of Java.
Leaf monkeys Presbytis cristatus (Raffles) in Malaya and proboscis
monkeys Nasalis larvatus (Wurmb.) in Borneo are almost entirely
restricted to mangals. Both of these have complex stomachs to deal
with the mass of leafage eaten by them.
Occasionally small carnivores such as the fish cat Felis viverrima
Benn. and mongooses Herpestes spp. may visit mangrove areas seeking
fish and small birds, and may even live there. Otters are common but
rarely seen : Amblonyx cinerea 111. and Lutra (Lutrogale) perspicillata
Geoff. in South East Asia ; Lufra (Hydrictis) maculicollis Licht. in
eastern Africa. None of these mammals has penetrated to Madagascar
or to Australia.
Wild pigs Sus scroj’a L. and mouse deer Tragulus sp. are common
in the nypa swamps.
Flying foxes (Pteropus spp.) roost in large camps in the mangals of
Australia. They have been suspected of being reservoir hosts of
viraemias of man and domestic animals. Some of these camps contain
10 000-220 000 individuals (Ratcliffe, 1930). Flying foxes do not reach
the African mainland but do roost in the mangals of Pemba and of
Madagascar.
D. Insects
The flowers of Aegiceras cornicula,tum form an important source of
commercial honey in Australia and no doubt of wild honey elsewhere
in its range. Bees also visit the flowers of species of Rhizophora but the
honey is said by Australian aboriginals to be poisonous. Stewart (1954)
157
(1911) and Annandale (1920) from brackish water ponds and from
mangrove areas in South East Asia. Its tadpoles are common in pools
within the mangal (personal observation) and Pearse (191 1) records
that the eggs are laid in crab holes.
Rana limnocharis has subspecies in the Philippines and in Timor
which also enter salt water with impunity (Neil, 1958).
C. Mammals
Of mammals a few monkeys have adopted the habit of visiting and
even of living within the mangals. Monkeys become clever at catching
fish and crabs but have not been seen to eat the fruit of mangroves.
Sykes’s monkey, Cercopithecus mitis Wolf, was commonly seen eating
crabs on the banks of the distributaries in the Rufiji delta. Macaques,
formerly included within Macaca irus Aw., a name which covers many
species, are common in South East Asia and penetrate to Java and
Borneo. One of the species in this group is said by Schuster (1952) to be
a nuisance around the fish ponds of Java.
Leaf monkeys Presbytis cristatus (Raffles) in Malaya and proboscis
monkeys Nasalis larvatus (Wurmb.) in Borneo are almost entirely
restricted to mangals. Both of these have complex stomachs to deal
with the mass of leafage eaten by them.
Occasionally small carnivores such as the fish cat Felis viverrima
Benn. and mongooses Herpestes spp. may visit mangrove areas seeking
fish and small birds, and may even live there. Otters are common but
rarely seen : Amblonyx cinerea 111. and Lutra (Lutrogale) perspicillata
Geoff. in South East Asia ; Lufra (Hydrictis) maculicollis Licht. in
eastern Africa. None of these mammals has penetrated to Madagascar
or to Australia.
Wild pigs Sus scroj’a L. and mouse deer Tragulus sp. are common
in the nypa swamps.
Flying foxes (Pteropus spp.) roost in large camps in the mangals of
Australia. They have been suspected of being reservoir hosts of
viraemias of man and domestic animals. Some of these camps contain
10 000-220 000 individuals (Ratcliffe, 1930). Flying foxes do not reach
the African mainland but do roost in the mangals of Pemba and of
Madagascar.
D. Insects
The flowers of Aegiceras cornicula,tum form an important source of
commercial honey in Australia and no doubt of wild honey elsewhere
in its range. Bees also visit the flowers of species of Rhizophora but the
honey is said by Australian aboriginals to be poisonous. Stewart (1954)