The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang ... during the years 1843-1846. Vol. 1

1848-1850

Expedition Reports Q115 S238 1843

London: Reeve and Benham

The voyage of the HMS Samarang was initiated by the British Royal Navy to explore and survey the ‘Islands and Islanders of the Eastern Hemisphere’. Under the command of irascible captain, Sir Edward Belcher (1799-1877) the Samarang visited Borneo, Brunei, Hong Kong, Singapore, Manila and Japan. However the ship was forbidden to approach China or any of its territories. This plate showing Galidictis vittata, a species of mongoose from the island of Madagascar, was drawn by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (b. 1807). Hawkins was a famed natural history artist who also provided artwork for Darwin’s Beagle expedition publications.