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352 GEOGRAPHICAL ZOOLOGY. [part iv.
species ranging over half the globe. They are found in many re-
mote islands ; and in some of these—as the Gallinula of Tristan
d'Acunha, and the Notomis of Lord Howe's Island and New Zealand,—
they have lost the power of flight. The classification of
the Eallidse is not satisfactory, and the following enumeration of
the genera must only be taken as affording a provisional sketch
of the distribution of the group :
—
Rallus (18 sp.), Porzana (24 sp.), Gallinula (17 sp.), and
Fulica (10 sp.), have a world-wide range ; Ortygometra (1 sp.),
ranges over the whole North Temperate zone ; Porphyrio (14 sp.),
is more especially Oriental and Australian, but occurs also in
South America, in Africa, and in South Europe ; Eulabeornis
(15 sp.), is Ethiopian, Malayan, and Australian ; Himantornis (1
sp.), is West African only ; Aramides (24 sp.), is North and
South American ; Rallina (16 sp.), is Oriental, but ranges east-
ward to Papua ; Habroptila (1 sp.), is confined to the Moluccas
Pareudiastes (1 sp.), the Samoa Islands ; Tribonyx (4 sp.), is
Australian, and has recently been found also in New Zealand
Ocydromus (4 sp.) ; Notomis (2 sp.), (Plate XIII. Vol. I. p. 455) ;
and Cabalus (1 sp.), are peculiar to the New Zealand group.
The sub-family, Heliornithinse (sometimes classed as a distinct
family) consists of 2 genera, Heliornis (1 sp.), confined to the
Neotropical region ; and Podica (4 sp.), the Ethiopian region ex-
cluding Madagascar, and with a species (perhaps forming mother
genus) in Borneo.
Extinct Ballidce.—Remains of some species of this family have
been found in the Mascarene Islands, and historical evidence
shows that they have perhaps been extinct little more than a
century. They belong to the genus Fulica, and to two extinct
genera, Aphanapteryx and Erytlironiachus. The Aphanaptcryx
was a large bird of a reddish colour, with loose plumage, and
perhaps allied to Ocydromus. Erythromachus was much smaller,
of a grey-and-white colour, and is said to have lived chiefly on
the eggs of the land-tortoises. (See lUs, 1869, p. 256 ; and
Proc. Zool. Soc, 1875, p. 40.)
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