While. most branches of animal life are well represented in the Shanghai area, there is one that is so little in evidence that the man in the street might be pardoned fcr believing it almost entirely absent. This is the order Mammalia, to which belong the warm-blooded vertebrates that suckle their young. Yet this absence of mammals in or about Shanghai is more apparent than real, for, on making out a list of the different species and sub.species of such animals which I know to occur here, I find that their number, excluding the bats, is least sixteen, Just how many species of bats are represented in the fauna of Shanghai is not known, but there must be quite'a large number, probably. exceeding that of all the other mammals together. There are' some 78 different forms of bats known to occur in China, and a goodly. proportion of these almost certainly occur in the vicinity of Shanghai at some time of the year or other, some hibernating here, others visiting in summer, and yet others passing through on migration, for many species of bats migrate just as birds do. In summer the local bat population is enormous, as may be appreciated by anyone watching the evening flights of these winged mammals as they leave the built-up areas for the surrounding country to feed during the hours of darkness. This, of course, takes place only during the warmer months of the year.
The only records of bats from Shanghai given by Dr. Glover M. Allen in his recent monumental and comprehensive work, "The Mammals of China and Mongolia," are of the Chinese mouse-eared bat (Myotis chinensis, Tomes) and the Formosan mouse-eared bat (Myotis formosus rufe-niger, Tomes). A noctule Known scientifically /as ' Nyctalus aviator, Thomas, has been retarded from Shaweishan Tsland at the mouth of the Yangtze, while the strange little west China bat named La io by "Thomas and another noctule named Nyctalus volutinns G. M. Allen have been recorded from Nanking. Rickeit's bat (Rickettia pilose, Peters) has been recorded, from Soochow, while the Chinese common' pipistrelle (Pipistrellus abrams Temminck) is known, to inhabit the whole of the eastern coastal regions of China from north to south, so that it certainly occurs in eir area Of the other mammals found in the environs of Shanghai one is an insectivore, the hedgehog (Erinaceus ehropaeus kreyenbergi, Matschie), already fully dealt with in a previous article, five are carnivores, one is a cetácean, one an edentate, one a lagomorph and seven are rodents.. The carnivores, or flesh-eaters, include the Chinese spotted wild cat, or tiger cat, as it is also called, scientifically' known as Felis bengalensis chinensis, Gray; the rasse or lesser civet (Viverricula malaccensis pallid, Gray), the badger. (Meles leptorynchus, Milne-Edwards); the Chinese mink or golden weasel (Mustela sibirica fontanierii,. Milne-Edwards) and the raccoon-dog (Nyctereutes procyonides, Gray). Of these the tiger cat and the lesser civet are still fairly common in the suburban districts of Shanghai, while the mink or golden weasel is positively plentiful, occurring even in the central business districts, where it frequents drains and the roofs of houses hunting for rats ànd other vermin, In the surrounding country it may be sought along the banks of creeks and canals, feeding upon frogs, fish and other aquatic animals. Badgers are sometimes to be found in outlying areas, where also the raccoon-dog is fairly common. ye The so-called Indian river-porpoise (Neomeris phocaenoides, Cuvier) is the local representative of the Cetacea, and occurs in the Whangpoo River, in which specimens have been caught by fishermen close to Shanghai. One such specimen is mounted in the Shanghai Museum (RAS), having been netted just above Nantao. Schools of these porpoises are a common sight in the Seven Mile Reach and from Minghong to above Tunglimiao. This is a blunt-nosed porpoise running up to some 6 ft. or more in length, with no dorsal fin or hump, and of a grey colour with whitish lips. It may here be noted that large schools of Scammon's blackfish or pilot whale (Globicebhalus scammonii, Cope) have been recorded as occurring off Woosung in the Yangtze Estuary, while a few years ago a full grown specimen of the sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis Lesson) was stranded on the coast near Woosung. But these, of course, can hardly be included in the fauna of Shanghai.
The edentate found in this area is the well known pangolin or scale anteater (Manis pentadactyla dalmanni Sundevall). Within very recent times specimens of this strange creature have been captured in the Western District of Shanghai, while only a few years ago one was found actually in the centre of the Native City. when an old building was being demolished. What it had been living on is a mystery.
In the outskirts of Shanghai and the surrounding country the south China hare (Caprolagus sinensis, Gray) is fairly common. It is a smaller animal than the north China hare, with little or no white on the under parts and grey instead of white on the under side of the tail. It also has shorter ears and smaller hind feet. It belongs to the order Lagomorpha, which was formerly included in that of the rodents...
The true rodents or gnawing animals, order Rodentia, are represented in the Shanghai area by five species or sub-species or ordinary rary namely, the common brown or Norway rat! (Rattus norvegicus norvegicus, Linnaeus), introduced here by human agency from Europe the Chinese common brown rat (Rattus mor. wegicus socer, Miller); the English black rat (Rattus rattus rattus, Linnaeus), also introduced by human agency from Europe; the Egyptian plague-carrying rat (Rattus rattus alexandrinus, Geoffrey); and the Chinese yellow-breasted rat (Rattus flavipectus flavipectus, Milne-Edwards), which is by far the commonest rat in this area. Then there is some form of common mouse which is very plentiful in Shanghai, both in gardens and houses. But it has never been properly identified, and it may well be that atleest two forms occur here. One of these is probably the south China house mouse (Mus.bactrianus kakhyensis, Anderson), and the other the European house mouse (Mus musculus, Linnaeus), which has been distributed all over the world by human agency, and has been recorded from other parts of China. It is probable also that the little harvest mouse (Micromys minutes pygmaeus, Milne-Edwards), which is common in the reed-beds of the Lower Yangtze and the estuary and delta of that river, occurs in the outskirts of Shanghai along creek banks. This smallest of rodents makes a spherical nest in the reeds some distance above the ground.
Finally there is evidence that a form of small striped hamster rat, related, to, if not identical with, the grey stu hamster (Cricetulus barabensis grisons, Milne-Edwards) of further north, occurs in this region. Some years ago I found a partially decayed specimen of.this form lying on a lawn in a garden on Jessfield Road, and, while it was not too far gone to diagnose as a striped hamster, its condition was such as to preclude its preservation. 'Travelling showman also exhibit rats of this type doing tricks at country fairs or on highways. but they may have come from north of the Yangtze. Hamsters may be distinguished from ordinary rats and mice' by their short tails and the presence of large cheek-pouches in which they carry grain. and other food to store away in commodious chambers in their burrows underground,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.