The geographical distribution of animals, with a study of the relations ...

Boston UniversityCollege of LiberalArtsLibraryFrom the Pierce Collection

THE GEOGRAPHICALDISTRIBUTIONOF ANIMALS.BOSTON UNIVERSITYCOLLEGE OF»!3ERALARTSLIBRARV

Till. WOULD „» M Km 'ATI IK'S I'UO.IX THIN „„„.,. im /' >' " ;''< " ;" "'" "' " HKlilo.XS MTUHMMtfH IN htkiXS ... tin m'l.AN It K

THE GEOGRAPDISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS.WITH A STUDY OF THE RELATIONS OF LIVING AND EXTINCTKAUNAS AS ELUCIDATING THE PAST CHANGESOF THE EARTH'S SURFACE.By ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE,AUTHOR OF THE " MALAY ARCHIPELAGO," ETC.IN TWO VOLUMES.Vol. I.WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.BOSTON UNIVERSITY'COLLEGE OF 'BERAL ARTSHARPER &NEW YORK:BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,FRANKLIN SQUARE.1876.

1IvWNrf*^ • '-^Taircecollection V**VAce '-\ol*| Wjb\W^

—qLjOl£76PREFACE.The present work is an attempt to collect and summarize theexisting information on the Distribution of Land Animals;and to explain the more remarkable and interesting of thefacts, by means of established laws of physical and organicchange.The main idea, which is here worked out in some detail forthe whole earth, was stated sixteen years ago in the concludingpages of a paper on the " Zoological Geography of the MalayArchipelago," which appeared in the Journal of Proceedings ojthe Linnean Society for 1860 ; and again, in a paper read beforethe Eoyal Geographical Society in 1863, it was briefly summarizedin the following passage :"My object has been to show the important bearing ofresearches into the natural history of every part of the world,upon the study of its past history. An accurate knowledge ofany groups of birds or of insects and of their geographical distribution,may enable us to map out the islands and continentsof a former epoch,—the amount of difference that exists betweenthe animals of adjacent districts being closely relatedto preceding geological changes. By the collection of suchminute facts, alone, can we hope to fill up a great gap in the

viPREFACE.past history of the earth as revealed by geology, and obtainsome indications of the existence of those ancient lands whichnow lie buried beneath the ocean, and have left us nothing butthese living records of theirformer existence."The detailed study of several groups of the birds and insectscollected by myself in the East, brought prominently before mesome of the curious problems of Geographical Distribution;but I should hardly have ventured to treat the whole subject,had it not been for the kind encouragement of Mr. Darwin andProfessor Newton, who, about six years ago, both suggested thatI should undertake the task. I accordingly set to work ; butsoon became discouraged by the great dearth of materials inmany groups, the absence of general systematic works,and theexcessive confusion that pervaded the classification. Neitherwas it easy to decide on any satisfactory method of treatingthe subject. ;Duringthe next two years, however, several importantcatalogues and systematic treatises appeared, whichinduced me to resume my work ;and during the last three yearsit has occupied a large portion of my time.After much consideration, and some abortive trials, an outlineplan of the book was matured ; and as this is, so far as I amaware, quite novel, it will be well to give a few of the reasonsforadopting it.Most of the previous writingson Geographical Distributionappeared to me to be unsatisfactory, because they drew theirconclusions from a more or less extensive selection of facts ;anddid not clearly separate groups of facts of unequal value, orthose relating to groups of animals of unequal rank. As anexample of what is meant, I may refer to Mr. Andrew Murray'slarge and valuable work on the Geographical Distribution ofMammalia, in which an immense number of coloured maps are

;FKEFACE.viiused to illustrate thedistribution of various groups of animals.These maps are not confined to groups of any fixed rank, butare devoted to a selection of groups of various grades. Someshow the range of single species of a genus—as the lion, thetiger, the puma, and a species of fox ; others are devoted tosections of genera,—as the true wolves ;others to genera,—as thehyaenas, and the bears ; others to portions of families,—as theflying squirrels, and the oxen with the bisons ; others to families,— as the Mustelidse, and the Hystricidse ; and others to groupsof families or to orders,—as the Insectivora, and the opossumswith the kangaroos. But in no one grade are all the groupstreated alike.Many genera are wholly unnoticed, while severalfamilies are only treated in combination with others, or arerepresented by some of the more important genera.In making these observations I by no means intend tocriticise Mr. Murray's book, but merely to illustrate by anexample, the method which has been hitherto employed, andwhich seems to me not well adapted to enable us to establishthe foundations of the science of distribution on a secure basis.To do this, uniformity of treatment appeared to me essential,both as a matter of principle, and to avoid all imputation of apartial selection of facts, which may be made to prove anything.I determined, therefore,to take in succession every well-establishedfamily of terrestrial vertebrates, and to give an account ofthe distribution of all its component genera, as far asmaterialswere available. Species, as such, are systematically disregarded,—firstly, because they are so numerous as to be unmanageableand, secondly, because they represent the most recent modificationsof form, due to a variety of often unknown causes, andare therefore not so clearly connected with geographical changesas are the natural groups of species termed genera ; which maybe considered to represent the average and more permanent

—viiiPREFACE.distribution of an organic type, and to be more clearly influencedby the various known or inferred changes in the organic andphysical environment.This systematic review of the distribution of families andgenera, now forms the last part of my book—GeographicalZoology; but it was nearly the first written, and the copiousmaterials collected for it enabled me to determine the zoogeographicaldivisions of the earth (regions and sub-regions) tobe adopted. I next drew up tables of the families and generafound in each region and sub-region ;and this afforded a basisfor the geographical treatment of the subject—Zoological Geography—themost novel, and perhaps the most useful andgenerally interesting part of my work. While this was in progressI found it necessary to make a careful summary of the distributionof extinct Mammalia. This was a difficult task, owingto the great uncertainty that prevails as to the affinities of manyof the fossils, and my want of practical acquaintance withPalaeontology; but having carefully examined and combinedthe works of the best authors, I have given what I believe isthe first connected sketch of the relation of extinct Mammaliato the distribution of living groups, and have arrived at somevery interesting and suggestive results.It will be observed that man is altogether omitted fromthe series of the animal kingdom as here given, and some explanationof this omission may perhaps be required. If thegenus Homo had been here treated like all other genera, nothingmore than the bare statement— " universally distributed"could have been given ;—and this would inevitably have provokedthe criticism that it conveyed no information. If, on theother hand, I had given an outline of the distribution of thevarieties or races of man, I should have departed from the planof my work for no sufficient reason. Anthropology is a science

PREFACE.ixby itself; and it seems better to omit it altogether from azoological work, than to treat it in a necessarily superficialmanner.The best method of illustrating a work of this kind was amatter requiring much consideration. To have had a separatecoloured or shaded map for each family would have madethe work too costly, as the terrestrial vertebrates alonewould have required more than three hundred maps. I hadalso doubts about the value of this mode of illustration, as itseemed rather to attract attention to details than to favour thedevelopment of general views.T determined therefore to adopta plan, suggested in conversation by Professor Newton ;and tohave one general map, showing the regions and sub-regions,which could be referred to by means of a series of numbers.These references I give in the form of diagrammatic headingsto each family ; and, when the map has become familiar,these will, I believe, convey at a glance a body of importantinformation.Taking advantage of the recent extension of our knowledgeof the depths of the great oceans, I determined to give upon thismap a summary of our knowledge of the contours of the oceanbed, by means of tints of colour increasing in intensity withthe depth.Such a map, when it can be made generally accurate,will be of the greatest service in forming an estimate of themore probable changes of sea and land during the Tertiaryperiod ; and it is on the effects of such changes that any satisfactoryexplanation of the facts of distribution must to a greatextent depend.Other important factors in determining the actual distributionof animals are, the zones of altitude above the sea level, and thestrongly contrasted character of the surface as regards vegetation—aprimary condition for the support of animal life. I

PREFACE.therefore designed a series of six maps of the regions, drawn ona uniform scale, on which the belts of altitude are shown bycontour-shading, while the forests, pastures, deserts, and perennialsnows, are exhibited by means of appropriate tints of colour.These maps will, I trust, facilitate the study of geographicaldistribution as a science, by showing, in some cases, an adequatecause in the nature of the terrestrial surface for the actual distributionof certain groups of animals. As it is hoped they willbe constantly referred to, double folding has been avoided, andthey are consequently rather small ; but Mr. Stanford, and hisable assistant in the map department, Mr. Bolton, have takengreat care in working out the details from the latest observations;and this, combined with theclearness and the beauty of theirexecution, will I trust render them both interesting and instructive.In order to make the book more intelligible to those readerswho have no special knowledge of systematic zoology, and towhom most of the names with which its pages are often crowdedmust necessarily be unmeaning, I give a series of twenty plates,each one illustrating at once the physical aspect and thespecialzoological character of some well-marked division of a region.Great care has been taken to associate in the pictures, such speciesonly as do actually occur together in nature ; so that each platerepresents a scene which is,at all events, not an impossible one.The species figured all belong to groups which are either peculiarto, or very characteristic of,the region whose zoology theyillustrate ;and it is hoped that these pictures will of themselvesserve to convey a notion of the varied types of the higheranimals in their true geographical relations. The artist, Mr. J.B. Zwecker, to whose talent as a zoological draughtsman andoreat knowledge both of animal and vegetable forms we areindebted for this set of drawings, died a few weeks after he

PREFACE.X ihad put the final touches to the proofs. He is known to manyreaders by his vigorous illustrations of the works of SirSamuelBaker, Livingstone, and many other travellers,—but these, hislast series of plates, were, at my special request, executed witha care, delicacy, and artistic finish, which his other designsseldom exhibit. It must, however, be remembered, that thefigures of animals here given are not intended toshow specificor generic characters for the information of the scientific zoologist,but merely to give as accurate an idea as possible, of someof the more remarkable and more restrictedtypes of beast andbird, amid the characteristic scenery of their native country ;-'-and in carrying out this object there are probably few artistwho would have succeeded better than Mr. Zwecker hasdone.The general arrangement of the separate parts of which thework is composed, has been, to some extent, determined bythe illustrations and maps, which allmore immediately belongto Part III. It was at first intended to place this part last, butas this arrangement would have brought all the illustrationsinto the second volume, its place was changed,—perhaps inother respects for the better, as it naturally follows Part II.Yet for persons not well acquainted with zoology, it will perhapsbe advisable to read the more important articles of PartIV. (and especially the observations at the end of each order)after Part II., thus making Part III. the conclusion of thework.Part IV. is, in fact, a book of reference, in which the distributionof all the families and most of the *genera of the higheranimals, is given in systematic order. Part III. is treatedsomewhat more popularly; and, although it is necessarilycrowded with scientific names (without which the inferences

xiiPREFACE.and conclusions would have nothing solid to rest on), these maybe omitted by the non-scientific reader, or merely noted as acertain number or proportion of peculiar generic types. ManyEnglish equivalents to family and generic names are, however,given; and, assisted by these, it is believed that any readercapable of understanding Lyell's "Principles," or Darwin's" Origin," will have no difficulty in following the main argumentsand appreciating the chief conclusions arrived at in thepresent work.To those who are more interested in facts than in theories,pie book will serve as a kind of dictionary of the geographyand affinities of animals. By means of the copious Index, thenative country, the systematic position, and the numericalextent of every important and well established genus of landanimalmay be at once discovered ;—information now scatteredthrough hundreds of volumes.In the difficult matters of synonymy, and the orthography ofgeneric names, I have been guided rather by general utilitythan by any fixed rules. When I have taken a whole familycroup from a modern author of repute, I have generally followedhis nomenclature throughout. In other cases, I use the nameswhich are to be found in a majority of modern authors, ratherthan follow the strict rule of priority in adopting some newlydiscovered appellation of early date. In orthography I haveadopted all such modern emendations as seem coming intogeneral use, and which do not lead to inconvenience ;but wherethe alteration is such as to completely change the pronunciationand appearance of a well-known word, I have not adopted it.I have also thought it best to preserve the initial letter of wellknownand old-establishedto the Indices of established works.names, for convenience of referenceAs an example I may referto Enicurus,—& name which has been in use nearly half a

;PREFACE.xiiicentury, and which is to be found under the letter E, in Jerdon'sBirds of India, Blyth's Catalogue, Bonaparte's Conspectus, andthe Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London down to1865. Classicists now write Henicurus as the correct formbut this seems to me one of those cases in which orthographicalaccuracy should give way to priority, and still more to convenience.In combining and arranging so much detailfrom such variedsources, many errors and omissions must doubtless have occurred.Owing to my residence at a distance from the scientificlibrariesof the metropolis, I was placed at a great disadvantage ; and Icould hardly have completed the work at all, had I not beenpermitted to have a large number of volumes at once, from thelibrary of the Zoological Societyof London, and to keep themfor months together;—a privilege for which I return my bestthanks to Mr. Sclater the Secretary, and to the Council.Should my book meet with the approval of working naturalists,I venture to appeal to them, to assist me in renderingany future editions more complete, by sending me (to the care ofmy publishers) notes of any important omissions, or correctionsof any misstatements of fact ;as well as copies of any of theirpapers or essays, and especially of any lists, catalogues, andmonographs, containing information on the classification ordistribution of living or extinct animals.To the many friends who have given me information orassistance 1 beg to tender my sincere thanks.Especially am Iindebted to Professor Newton, who not only read through muchof my rough MSS., but was so good as to make numerous correctionsand critical notes.These were of great value to me, asthey often contained or suggested important additional matter,or pointed out systematic and orthographical inaccuracies.

::::—::xivPREFACE.Professor Flower was so good as toread over my chapters onextinct animals, and to point out several errors into which I hadfallen.Dr. Gunther gave me much valuable information on theclassification of reptiles, marking on my lists the best establishedand most natural genera, and referring me to reliablesources ofinformation.I am also greatly indebted to the following gentlemen fordetailed information on special subjects :To Sir Victor Brooke, for a MS. arrangement of the generaof Bovidse, with the details of their distributionTo Mr. Dresser, for lists of the characteristic birds of Northernand Arctic EuropeTo Dr. Hooker, forinformation on the colours and odours ofNew Zealand plantsTo Mr. Kirby, for a list of the butterflies of ChiliTo Professor Mivart, for a classification of the Batrachia, andan early proof of his article on " Apes " in the EncyclopediaBritannicaTo Mr. Salvin, for correcting my list of the birds of theGalapagos, and for other assistanceTo Mr. Sharpe, for MS. lists of the birds of Madagascarand the Cape Verd Islands:To Canon Tristram, for a detailed arrangement of the difficultfamily of the warblers,—Sylviidse :To Viscount Walden, for notes on the systematic arrangementof the Pycnonotidse and Timaliidse, and for an early proof ofhis list of the birds of the Philippine Islands.I also have to thank many naturalists, both in this countryand abroad, who have sent me copies of their papers;and I trust they will continue to favour me in the samemanner.

PREFACE.xvAn author may easily be mistaken in estimating his ownwork. I am well aware that this first outline of a greatsubject is, in parts, very meagre and sketchy; and, thoughperhaps overburthened with some kinds of detail, yet leavesmany points most inadequately treated. It is therefore withsome hesitation that I venture to express the hope that I havemade some approach to the standard of excellence I have aimedat ;—which was, that my book should bear a similar relation tothe eleventh and twelfth chapters of the " Origin of Species," asMr. Darwin's " Animals and Plants under Domestication " doesto the first chapter of that work. Should it be judged worthyof such a rank, my long, and often wearisome labours, will bewell repaid.Makch, 1876.

2—CONTENTS OF THE EIEST VOLUME.PAET I.THE PEINCIPLES AND GENEKAL PHENOMENA OF DISTRIBUTION.CHAPTEE I.INTRODUCTORY.CHAPTER II.THE MEANS OF DISPERSAL AND THE MIGRATIONS OF ANIMALS.Means of Dispersal of Mammalia (p. 10)—Climate as a Limit to the Range ofMammals (p. 11)—Valleys and Rivers as Barriers to Mammals (p. 12)—Armsof the Sea as Barriers to Mammals ([j. 13)—Ice-floes and drift-wood as aidingthe Dispersal of Mammals (p. 14)—Means of Dispersal of Birds (p. 15)—Dispersalof Birds by Winds (p. 16)—Barriers to the Dispersal of Birds (p. 17)The Phenomena of Migration (p. 18)—Migrations of Birds (p. 19)—Generalremarks on Migration (p. 25)—Means of Dispersal of Reptiles and Amphibia(p. 28)—Means of Dispersal of Fishes (p. 29)—Means of Dispersal of Mollusca(p. 30)— Means of Dispersal of Insects and the Barriers which limit theirRange (p. 32) 10—34CHAPTER III.DISTRIBUTION AS AFFECTED BY THE CONDITIONS AND CHANGES OF THE EARTH'SLand and Water (p.SURFACE.35)—Continental Areas (p. 36)—Recent Changes in the ContinentalAreas (p. 38)—The Glacial Epoch as affecting the Distribution ofAnimals (p. 40)—Changes of Vegetation as affecting the Distribution of Animals(p. 43)— Organic Changes as affecting Distribution (p. 44) . 35—49Vol. I.—

—xviiiCONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.CHAPTER IV.ON ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS.Principles upon which Zoological Regions should be formed (p.53)—Which classof Animals is of most importance in determining Zoological Regions (p. 56)Various Zoological Regions proposed since 1857 (p. 58)— Discussion of proposedRegions (p. 61)—Reasons for adopting the Six Regions first proposed by Mr.Sclater (p.63)—Objections to the system of Circumpolar Zones (p. 67)—Doesthe Arctic Fauna characterise an independent Region (p.68)—Palsearctic Region(p. 71)—Ethiopian Region (p. 73)—Oriental Region (p. 75)—Australian Region(p. 77)—Neotropical Region (p. 78)—Nearctic Region (p. 79)—Observationson the series of Sub-regions (p. 80) 50—82CHAPTER V.CLASSIFICATION AS AFFECTING THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.Classification of the Mammalia (p. 85)—Classification of Birds (p. 92)—Classificationof Eeptiles (p. 98)—Classification of Amphibia (p. 100)—Classification ofFishes (p. 101)—Classification of Insects (p. 102)—Classification of Mollusca104) 83—104(P-PART IION THE DISTRIBUTIONOF EXTINCT ANIMALS.CHAPTER VI.THE EXTINCT MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD.Historic and Post-pliocene Period (p. 110)—Pliocene Period (p. 112)—GeneralConclusions as to the Pliocene and Post-pliocene Faunas of Europe (p. 113)—Miocene Period (p. 114)—Extinct Animals of Greece (p. 115)—Miocene Faunaof Central and Western Europe (p. 117)—Upper Miocene Deposits of India(p. 121)— General Observations on the Miocene Faunas of Europe and Asia(p. 123)—Eocene Period (p. 124)—General Considerations on the ExtinctMammalian Fauna of Europe (p. 126) 107—128

—CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.xixCHAPTER VII.EXTINCT MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD.North America—Post-pliocene Period (p. 129)—Remarks on the Post-plioceneFauna of North America (p. 130)— Tertiary Period (p. 132)—Primates (p. 32)Insectivora (p. 133)—Carnivora (p. 134)—Ungulata (p. 135)—Proboscidea(p.138)—Tillodontia (p. 139)—Eodentia (p. 140)—General Relations of the ExtinctTertiary Mammalia of North America and Europe (p. 140)- South America(p. 143)—Fauna of the Brazilian Caves (p. 143) — Pliocene Period of TemperateSouth America (p. 146)—Pliocene Mammalia of the Antilles (p. 148)—Eocene Fauna of South America (p. 148)—General Remarks on the ExtinctMammalian Fauna of the Old and New Worlds (p. ] 48)—The Birth-place anc 1Migrations of some Mammalian Families and Genera (p. 153) . 129—156CHAPTER VIII.VARIOUS EXTINCT ANIMALS ;—AND ON THE ANTIQUITY OF THE GENERA OFINSECTS AND LAND-MOLLUSCA.Extinct Mammalia of Australia (p. 157)—Mammalian Remains of the SecondaryFormations (p. 159)—Extinct Birds (p. 160)—Pahearctic Region and NorthIndia (p. 161)—North America (p. 163)— South America, Madagascar, NewZealand (p. 164)—Extinct Tertiary Reptiles (p. 165)—Antiquity of the Generaof Insects (p.(p. 168)166)—Antiquity of the Genera of Land and Fresh-water Shells157-170PART III.ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY :A REVIEW OF THE CHIEF FORMS OF LIFEIN THE SEVERAL REGIONS AND SUB-REGIONS, WITH THE INDICA-TIONS THEY AFFORD OF GEOGRAPHICAL MUTATIONS.CHAPTER IX.THE ORDER OF SUCCESSION OF THE REGIONS.—COSMOPOLITAN GROUPS OFANIMALS.—TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION.Order of succession of the Regions (p. 173)—Cosmopolitan Groups (p. 175)Tables of Distributions of Families and Genera (p. 177) . .173—179

xxCONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.CHAPTER X.THE PAL.EARCTIC REGION.Zoological Characteristics of the Palsearctic Region (p.181)—Summary of PalsearcticVertebrata (p. 186)—Insects (p. 1 87)—Land-shells (p. 190)—The PalsearcticSub-regions (p. 190)—Central and Northern Europe (p. 191)—NorthEuropean Islands (p. 197)—Mediterranean Sub-region (p. 199)—The Mediterraneanand Atlantic Islands (p. 206) —The Siberian Sub-region, or NorthernAsia (p. 216)—Japan and North China, or the Manchurian Sub-region (p. 220)— Birds (p. 223)—Insects (p. 227)—Eemarks on the General Character of theFauna of Japan (p. 230)— General Conclusions as to the Fauna of the PalsearcticRegion (p. 231)—Table I. Families of Animals inhabiting the PalsearcticRegion (p. 234)—Table II. List of the Genera of Terrestrial Mammaliaand Birds of the Palsearctic Region (p. 239) .... 181—250CHAPTER XLTHE ETHIOPIAN REGION.Zoological Characteristics of the Ethiopian Region (p. 252)—Summary of EthiopianVertebrates (p. 255)—The Ethiopian Sub-regions (p. 258)—The EastAfrican Sub-region, or Central and East Africa (p. 258)—The West AfricanSub-region (p. 262)—Islands of the West African Sub-region (p. 265)—SouthAfrican Sub-region (p. 266)—Atlantic Islands of the Ethiopian Region ;—St.Helena (p. 269)—Tristan dAcunha (p. 271)—Madagascar and the MascareneIslands, or the Malagasy Sub-region (p. 272)—The Mascarene Islands (p. 280)—Extinct Fauna of the Mascarene Islands and Madagascar (p. 282)—GeneralRemarks on the Insect Fauna of Madagascar (p. 284)— On the probable PastHistory of the Ethiopian Region (p. 285)—Table I. Families of Animalsinhabiting the Ethiopian Region (p. 294)—Table II. List of Genera of TerrestrialMammalia and Birds of the Ethiopian Region (p. 300) . 251—313CHAPTER XII.THE ORIENTAL REGION.Zoological Characteristics of the Oriental Region (p; 315)—Summary of OrientalVertebrata (p. 318)—The Oriental Sub-regions (p. 321)—Hindostan, or IndianSub-region (p. 321)—Range of the Genera of Mammalia which inhabit the Subregionof Hindostan (p. 322)— Oriental, Palsearctic, and Ethiopian Genera ofBirds in Central India (p. 224)—Sub-region of Ceylon and South India(p-. 326)—The Past History of Ceylon and South India, as indicated by its Fauna(p. 328)—Himalayan or Indo-Chinese Sub-region (p. 329)—Islands of the

—CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.xxiIndo-Chinese Sub-region (p. 333)—Indo-Malaya, or the Malayan Sub-region(p. 334)—Malayan Insects (p. 341)—The Zoological Relations of the severalIslands of the Indo-Malay Sub-region (p. 345)— Philippine Islands (p. 345)—Java (p. 349)—Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo (p. 353)— Probable recent GeographicalChanges in the Indo-Malay Islands (p. 357)—Probable Origin of theMalayan Fauna (p. 359)—Concluding Remarks on the Oriental Region (p. 362)—Table I. Families of Animals inhabiting the Oriental Region (p. 365)—Table II. Genera of Terrestrial Mammalia and Birds in the Oriental Region(p. 371) 314-386CHAPTER XIII.THE AUSTRALIAN REGION.General Zoological Characteristics of the Australian Region (p. 390)—Summaryof the Australian Vertebrata (p. 397)—Supposed Land-connection betweenAustralia and South America (p. 398)—Insects (p. 403)—Land shells (p. 407)—Australian Sub-regions (p. 408)—Austro-Malayan Sub-region (p. 409)—Papua, or the New Guinea Group (p. 409)—The Moluccas (p. 417)— InsectsPeculiarities of the Moluccan Fauna (p. 420)—Timor Group (p. 422)—Celebes Group (p. 426)—Origin of the Fauna of Celebes (p. 436)— Australiaand Tasmania, or the Australian Sub-region (p. 438)—The Pacific Islands, orPolynesian Sub-region (p. 442)—Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa Islands (p. 443)Society and Marquesas Islands (p. 443)—Ladrone and Caroline Islands (p. 444)—New Caledonia and the New Hebrides (p. 444)— Sandwich Islands (p. 445)—Reptiles of the Polynesian Sub-region (p. 448)—New Zealand Sub-region(p. 449)— Islets of the New Zealand Sub-region (p. 453)—Reptiles, Amphibia,and Fresh-water Fishes (p. 456)—Insects (p. 457)—The Ancient Fauna of NewZealand (p. 459)—The Origin of the New Zealand Fauna (p. 459)—Causes ofthe Poverty of Insect-life in New Zealand : its Influence on the Character ofthe Flora (p. 462)—Concluding Remarks on the Early History of the AustralianRegion (p. 464)—Table I. Families of Animals inhabiting the AustralianRegion (p. 468)—Table II. Genera of Terrestrial Mammalia and Birds of theAustralian Region (p. 473) 387—485Index to Vol. I 489-503

MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. I.1. Map of the World, showing the Zoo-Geographical Regions and thecontour of the Ocean-bed FrontispieceTo face page2. Map of the Pahearctic Region . . . . . . .1813. Plate I. The Alps of Central Europe with Characteristic Animals 1954. Plate II. Characteristic Mammalia of Western Tartary . . . 2185. Plate III. Characteristic Animals of North China .... 2266. Map of the Ethiopian Region 2517. Plate IV. Characteristic Animals of East Africa . ...2618. Plate V. Scene in West Africa with Characteristic Animals . . 2649. Plate VI. Scene in Madagascar with Characteristic Animals . . 27810. Map of the Oriental Region 31511. Plate VII. Scene in Nepaul with Characteristic Animals . . . 33112. Plate VIII. A Forest in Borneo with Characteristic Mammalia .. 33713. Plate IX. A Malacca Forest with some of its Peculiar Birds . . 34014. Map of the Australian Region 38715. Plate X. Scene in New Guinea with Characteristic Animals . . 41516. Plate XI. The Characteristic Mammalia of Tasmania . . 43917. Plate XII. The Plains of New South Wales with Characteristic Animals44218. Plate XIII. Scene in New Zealand with some of its Remarkable Birds 455

THEGEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTIONOF ANIMALS.PART I.THE PRINCIPLES AND GENERAL PHENOMENAOF DISTRIBUTION.

CHAPTEE I.INTRODUCTORY.It is a fact within the experience of most persons, that thevarious species of animals arenot uniformly dispersed over thesurface of the country. If we have a tolerable acquaintancewith any district, be it a parish, acounty, or a larger extent ofterritory, we soon become aware that each well-marked portionof it has some peculiarities in its animal productions. If wewant to find certain birds or certain insects, we have not only tochoose the right season but to go to the right place. If wetravel beyond our district in various directions we shall almostcertainly meet with something new to us ; some species whichwe were accustomed to see almost daily will disappear, others'which we have never seen before will make their appearance.If we go very far, so as to be able to measure our journey bydegrees of latitude and longitude and to perceive importantchanges of climate and vegetation, the differences in the forms ofanimal life will become greater ;till at length we shall come to acountry where almost everything will be new, all the familiarcreatures of our own districtless differing from them.If we have been observantbeing replaced by others more orduring our several journeys, andhave combined and compared the facts we have collected, it willbecome apparent that the change we have witnessed has beenof two distinct kinds.In our own and immediately surroundingdistricts, particular species appeared and disappeared because

4 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.the soil, the aspect, or the vegetation, was adapted to them orthe reverse. The marshes, the heaths, the woods and forests,the chalky downs, the rocky mountains, had each their peculiarinhabitants, which reappeared again and again as we came totracts of country suitable for them. But as we got further awaywe began to find that localities very similar to those we hadleft behind were inhabited by a somewhat different set of species;and this difference increased with distance, notwithstandingthat almost identical external conditions might be often metwith. The first class of changes is that of stations ; the secondthat of habitats. The one is a local, the other a geograiihicalphenomenon. The whole area over which a particular animalis found may consist of any number of stations, but rarely ofmore than one habitat.Stations, however, are often so extensiveas to include the entire range of many species. Such are thegreat seas and oceans, the Siberian or the Amazonian forests,the North African deserts, the Andean or the Himalayanhighlands.There is yet another difference in the nature of the changewe have been considering. The new animals which we meetwith as we travel in any direction from our starting point, aresome of them very much like those we have left behind us,and can be at once referred to familiar types ; while othersare altogether unlike anything we have seen at home. Whenwe reach the Alps we find another kind of squirrel, in SouthernItaly a distinct mole, in Southern Europe fresh warblersand unfamiliar buntings. We meet also with totally newforms ;as the glutton and the snowy owl in Northern, the genetand the hoopoe in Southern, and the saiga antelope andcollared pratincole in Eastern Europe. The first series areexamples of what are termed representative species, the secondof distinct groups or types of animals. The one represents acomparatively recent modification, and an origin in or near thelocality where it occurs ; the other is a result of very ancientchanges both organic and inorganic, and is connected with someof theto discuss.most curious and difficult of the problems we shall have

chap, i.] INTRODUCTORY.Having thus defined our subject, let us glance at the opinionsthat have generally prevailed as to the nature and causes ofthe phenomena presented by the geographical distribution ofanimals.It was long thought, and is still a popular notion, that themanner in which the various kinds of animals are dispersedover the globe is almost wholly due to diversities of climate andof vegetation. There is indeed much to favour this belief. Thearctic regions are strongly characterised by their white bearsand foxes, their reindeer, ermine, and walruses, their whiteptarmigan, owls, and falcons ;the temperate zone has its foxesand wolves, its rabbits, sheep, beavers, and marmots, its sparrowsand its song birds ;while tropical regions alone produce apes andelephants, parrots and peacocks, and a thousand strange quadrupedsand brilliant birds which arefound nowhere in the coolerregions. So the camel, the gazelle and the ostrich live in thedesert ; the bison on the prairie ; the tapir, the deer, and thejaguar in forests. Mountains and marshes, plains and rockyprecipices, have each their animal inhabitants ;•be thought, in the absenceand it might wellof accurate inquiry, that these andother differences would sufficiently explain why most of theregions and countriesinto which the earth is popularly dividedshould have certain animals peculiar to them and should wantothers which are elsewhere abundant.A more detailed and accurate knowledge of the productions ofdifferent portions of the earth soon showed that this explanationwas quite insufficient ; for it was found that countries exceedinglysimilar in climate and all physicalvery distinct animal populations.features may yet haveThe equatorial parts of Africaand South America, for example, are very similar in climateand are both covered with luxuriant forests, yet their animal lifeis widely different; elephants, apes, leopards, guinea-fowlsand touracos in the one, are replaced by tapirs, prehensiletailedmonkeys, jaguars, curassows and toucans in the other.Again, parts of South Africa and Australia are wonderfullysimilar in their soil and climate;yet one has lions, antelopes,zebras and giraffes ; the other only kangaroos, wombats, phalan-

6 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part I.gers and mice. In like manner parts of North America andEurope are very similar in all essentials of soil climate andvegetation, yet the former has racoons, opossums, and hummingbirds; while the latter possesses moles, hedgehogs and true flycatchers.Equally striking are the facts presented by thedistribution of many large and important groups of animals.Marsupials (opossums, phalangers &c.) are found from temperateVan Diemen's land to the tropical islands of New Guinea andCelebes, and in America from Chili to Virginia. No crowsexist inSouth America, while they inhabit every other part ofthe world, not excepting Australia. Antelopes are found onlyin Africa and Asia ; the sloths only in South America ; the truelemurs are confined to Madagascar, and the birds-of-paradise toNew Guinea.If we examine more closely the distribution of animals inany extensive region, we find that different, though closely alliedspecies, are often found on the opposite sides of any considerablebarrier to their migration.Thus, on the two sides of the Andesand Eocky Mountains in America, almost all the mammalia, birds,and insects are of distinct species. To a less extent, the Alpsand Pyrenees forma similar barrier, and even great rivers andriver plains, as those of the Amazon and Ganges, separate moreor less distinct groups of animals. Arms of the sea are stillmore effective, if they are permanent ; a circumstance in somemeasure indicated by their depth. Thus islands far away fromland almost alwayselse ;have very peculiar animals found nowhereas is strikingly the case in Madagascar and New Zealand,and to a less degree in the West India islands. But shallowstraits, like the English Channel or the Straits of Malacca, arenot found to have the same effect, the animals being nearly orquite identical on their opposite shores. A change of climate ora change of vegetation may form an equally effectivebarrier tomigration. Many tropical and polar animals are pretty accuratelylimited by certain isothermal lines ;and the limits of thegreat forests in most parts of the world strictly determine theranges of many species.Naturalists have now arrived at theconclusion, that by some

chap, i.] INTRODUCTORY.slow process of development or transmutation, all animals havebeen produced from those which preceded them ; and the oldnotion that every species was specially created as they nowexist, at a particular time and in a particular spot, isabandonedas opposed to many striking facts, and unsupported by anyevidence. This modification of animal forms took place veryslowly, so that the historical period of three or four thousandyears has hardly produced any perceptible change in a singlespecies. Even the time since the last glacial epoch, which onthe very lowest estimate must be from 50,000 to 100,000 years,has only served to modify a few of the higher animals into veryslightly different species. The changes of the forms of animalsappear to have accompanied, and perhaps to have dependedon,changes of physical geography, of climate, or of vegetation;since it is evident that an animal which is well adapted to onecondition of things will require to be slightly changed in constitutionor habits, and therefore generally in form, structure, orcolour, in order to be equally well adapted to a changedcondition of surrounding circumstances. Animals multiply sorapidly, that we may consider them as continually trying toextend their range ; and thus any new land raised above thesea by geological causes becomes immediately peopled by acrowd of competing inhabitants, the strongest and best adaptedof which alone succeed in maintaining their position.If we keep in view these facts— that the minor features of theearth's surface are everywhere slowly changing ;that the forms,and structure, and habits of all living things are also slowlychanging ; while the great features of the earth, the continents,and oceans, and loftiest mountain ranges, only change after verylong intervals and with extreme slowness ; we must see thatthe present distribution of animals upon the several parts ofthe earth's surface is the final product of all these wonderfulrevolutions in organic and inorganic nature. The greatest andmost radical differences in the productions of any part of theglobe must be dependent on isolation by the most effectualand most permanent barriers. That ocean which has remainedbroadest and deepest from the most remote geological epochs

8 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.will separate countries the productions of which most widelyand radically differ; while the most recently-depressed seas,or the last-formed mountain ranges, will separate countriesthe productions of which are almost or quite identical. Itwill be evident, therefore, that the study of the distributionof animals and plants may add greatly to our knowledgeof the past history of our globe. It may reveal to us, in amanner which no other evidence can, which are the oldestand most permanent features of the earth's surface, and whichthe newest. It may indicate the existence of islands or continentsnow sunk beneath the ocean, and which have left norecord of their existence save the animal and vegetable productionswhich have migrated to adjacent lands. It thusbecomes an important adjunct to geology, which can rarely domore than determine what lands have been raised above thewaters, under what conditions and at what period; but canseldom ascertain anything of the position or extent of thosewhich have sunk beneath it. Our present study may oftenenable us, not only to say where lands must have recentlydisappeared, but also to form some judgment as to their extent,and the time that has elapsed since their submersion.Having thus briefly sketched the nature and objects of thesubject we have to study, it will be necessary—before enteringon a detailed examination of the zoological features of thedifferent parts of the earth, and of the distribution of the orders,families, and genera of animals— to examine certain preliminaryfacts and principles essential for our guidance. We must firstinquire what are the powers of multiplication and dispersal ofthe various groups of animals, and the nature of the barriersthat most effectually limit their range. We have then toconsider the effects of changes in physical geography and inclimate ;to examine the nature and extent of such changes ashave been known to occur ; to determine what others are possibleor probable ; and to ascertain the various modes in which suchchanges affect the structure, the distribution, or the very existenceof animals.

3chap, i.] INTRODUCTORY. 9Two subjects of a different nature must next engage ourattention. We have to deal with two vast masses of facts,each involving countlessdetails, and requiring subdivision andgrouping to be capable of intelligible treatment. All the continentsand their chief subdivisions, and all the more importantislands of the globe, have to be compared as regards their variousanimal forms. To do this effectively we require a naturaldivision of the earth especially adapted to our purpose ; and weshall have to discuss at some length the reasons for the particularsystem adopted,—a discussion which must to some extentanticipate and summarize the conclusions of the whole work.We have also to deal with many hundreds of families and manythousands of genera ofanimals, and here too a true and naturalclassification is of great importance. We must therefore give aconnected view of the classification adopted in the variousclasses of animals dealt with.And lastly, as the existing distribution of animals is theresult and outcome ofall preceding changes of the earth and ofitsinhabitants, we require as much knowledge as we can get ofthe animals of each country during past geological epochs, inorder to interpret the facts we shall accumulate. We shall,therefore, enter upon a somewhat detailed sketch of the variousforms of extinct animals that have lived upon the earthduringthe Tertiary period ; discuss their migrations at various epochs,the changes of physical geography that they imply, and theextent to which they enable us to determine the birthplaceof certain families and genera.The preliminary studies above enumerated will, it is believed,enable us to see the bearing of many facts in the distribution ofanimals that would otherwise be insoluble problems ;and, whatis hardly less valuable, will teach us to estimate the comparativeimportance of the various groups of animals, and to avoidthe common error of cutting the gordian knot of each difficultyby vast hypothetical changes in existing continents and oceans—probably the most permanent features of our globe.Vol. I—

CHAPTEE II.THE MEANS OF DISPERSAL AND THE MIGRATIONS OF ANIMALS.All animals are capable of multiplying so rapidly, that if asingle pair were placed ina continent with abundance of foodand no enemies, they might fully stock it in a very short time.Thus, a bird which produces ten pairs of young during its lifetime(and this is far below the fertility of many birds) will, ifwe take its life at five years, increase to a hundred millions inabout forty years, a number sufficient to stock a large country.Many fishes and insects are capable of multiplying severalthousandfold each year, so that in a few years they would reachbillions and trillions. Even large and slow breeding mammals,which have only one at a birth but continue to breed from eightto ten successive years, may increase from a single pair to tenmillions in less than forty years.But as animals rarely have an unoccupied country to breedin, and as the food in any one district is strictly limited, theirnatural tendency is to roam in every direction in search of freshpastures, or new hunting grounds.In doing so, however, theymeet with many obstacles. Kocks and mountains have to beclimbed, rivers or marshes to be crossed, deserts or forests to betraversed ;while narrow straits or wider arms of the sea separateislands from the main land or continents from each other.Wehave now to inquire what facilities the different classes ofanimals have for overcoming these obstacles, and what kind o£barriers are most effectual in checking their progress.Means of Dispersal of Mammalia.—Many of the largest mammaliaare able to roam over whole continents and are hardly

chap, ii.] DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. 11stopped by any physical obstacles. The elephant is almostequally at home on plainsand mountains, and it even climbs tothe highest summit of Adam's Peak in Ceylon, which isand rocky as to be very difficult of ascent for man.so steepIt traversesrivers with great ease and forces its way through the densestjungle. There seems therefore to be no limit to its powers ofwandering, but theof enduring changes of climate.great powers of dispersal.necessity of procuring food and its capacityThe tiger is another animal withIt crosses rivers and sometimes evenswims over narrow straits of the sea, and it can endure thesevere cold of North 'China and Tartary as well as the heats ofthe plains of Bengal. The rhinoceros, the lion, and many of theruminants have equal powers of dispersal ;so that wherever thereis land and sufficient food, there are no limits to their possiblerange.Other groups of animals are more limited in their migrations.The apes, lemurs, and many monkeys are so strictlyadapted to an arboreal lifethat they can never roam far beyondthe limits of the forest vegetation. The same may be said ofthe squirrels, the opossums, the arboreal cats, and the sloths, withmany other groups of less importance. Deserts or open countryare equally essential to the existence of others. The camel, thehare, the zebra, the giraffeexist in a forestprairie marmots.and many of the antelopes could notcountry any more than could the jerboas or theThere are other animals which are confined to mountains, andcould not extend their range into lowlands or forests. The goatsand the sheep are the most striking group of this kind, inhabitingmany of the highest mountains of the globe ;of which theEuropean ibex and mouflon are striking examples. Eivers areequally necessary to the existence of others, as the beaver, otter,water-vole and capybara ; and to such animals high mountainrangesor deserts must form an absolutely impassable barrier.Climate as a Limit to the Range of Mammals.—Climate appearsto limit the range of many animals, though there is some reasonto believe that in many cases it is not the climate itself so muchas the change of vegetation consequent on climate which producesthe effect. The quadrumana appear to be limited by climate,

;12 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.since they inhabit almost all the tropical regions but do notrange more than about 10° beyond the southern and 12° beyondthe northern tropic, while the great bulk of the species arefound only within an equatorial belt about 30° wide. But asthese animals are almost exclusively fruit-eaters, their distributiondepends as much on vegetation as on temperature ;and thisis. strikingly shown by the fact that the Semnopitheeus schistaceusinhabits the Himalayan mountains to a height of 11,000feet, where it has been seen leaping among fir-trees loaded withsnow-wreaths ! Some northern animals are bounded by theisothermal of 32°. Such are the polar bear and the walrus,which cannot live in a state of nature far beyond the limits ofthe frozen ocean ;but as they live in confinement in temperatecountries, their range is probably limited by other conditionsthan temperature.We must not therefore be too hasty in concluding, that animalswhich we now see confined to a very hot or a very cold climateare incapable of living in any other. The tiger was once considereda purely tropical animal, but it inhabits permanently thecold plains of Manchuria and the Amoor, a country of an almostarctic winter climate. Few animals seem to us more truly inhabitantsof hot countries than the elephants and rhinocerosesyet in Post-tertiary times they roamed over the whole of thenorthern continents to within the arctic circle ;and we know thatthe climate was then as cold as it is now, from their entire bodiesbeing preserved in ice. Some change must recently haveoccurred either in the climate, soil, or vegetation of NorthernAsia which led to the extinction of these forerunners of existingtropical species ;and we must always bear in mind that similarchanges may have acted upon other species which we now findrestricted within narrow limits, but which may once have roamedover a wide and varied territory.Valleys and Rivers as Barriers to Mammals.—To animals whichthrive best in dry and hilly regions, a broad level and marshyvalley must often prove an effectual barrier. The difference ofvegetation and of insect life,together with an unhealthy atmosphere,no doubt often checks migration if it is attempted. Thus

;chap, ii.] DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. 13many animals are restricted to the slopes of the Himalayasor to the mountains of Central India, the fiat valley of theGanges forming a limit to their range. In other cases, however,it is the river rather than the valley which is the barrier. Inthe great Amazonian plains many species of monkeys, birds, andeven insects are fonnd up tonot cross to the other.the river banks on one side but doThus in the lower part of the Rio Negrotwo monkeys, the Jacchus bicolor and the Brachiurus couxiou, arefound on the north bank of the river but never on the south,where a red-whiskered Pithecia is alone found.Higher up Atelcspaniscus extends to the north bank of the river while Lagothrixhumboldtii comes down to the south bank :native of Guiana, the latter of Ecuador.of the genus Psophia or trumpeters, isAmazon, Madeira, Eio Negro and some others ;the former being aThe range of the birdsalso limited by the riversso that in thesecases we are able to define the limits of distribution with anunusual degree of accuracy, and there is little doubt the samebarriers also limit a large number of other species.Arms of the Sea as Barriers to Mammals.—Very few mammalscan swim over any considerable extent of sea, although many canswim well for short distances. The jaguar traverses the wideststreams in South America, and the bear and bison cross theMississippi ;and there can be no doubt that they could swim overequal widths of salt water, and ifaccidentally carried out to seamight sometimes succeed in reaching islands many miles distant.Contrary to the common notion pigs can swim remarkably well.Sir Charles Lyell tells us in his ."Principles of Geology" thatduring the floods in Scotland in 1829, some pigs only six monthsold that were carried out to sea, swam five miles and got onshore again. He also states, on the authority of the late EdwardForbes, that a pig jumped overboard tothe Grecian Archipelago, and swam safely toescape from a terrier inshore many milesdistant. These facts render it probable that wild pigs, fromtheir greater strength and activity, might under favourable circumstancescross arms of the sea twenty or thirty miles wideand there are facts in the distribution of this tribe of animalswhich seem to indicate that they have sometimes done so.Deer

14 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.take boldly to the water and can swim considerable distances,but we have no evidence to show how long they could live atsea or how many miles they could traverse.Squirrels, rats, andlemmings often migrate from northern countries in bands ofthousands and hundreds of thousands, and pass over rivers, lakesand even arms of the sea, but they generally perish in the saltwater.Admitting, however, the powers of most mammals toswim considerable distances, we have no reason to believe thatany of them could traverse without help straits of upwards oftwenty miles in width, while in most cases a channel of halfthat distance would prove an effectual barrier.Ice-floes and Driftwood as Aiding the Dispersal of Mammals.—In the arctic regions icebergs originate in glaciers which descendinto the sea, and ofteneven some vegetation on their surfaces ;bear masses of gravel, earth, andand extensive level icefieldsbreak away and float southwards. These might oftencarry with them such arctic quadrupeds as frequent the ice, oreven on rare occasions true land-animals, which might sometimesbe stranded on distant continents or islands.But a moreeffectual because a more wide-spread agent, is to be found inthe uprooted trees and rafts of driftwood often floated downgreat rivers and carried out to sea. Such rafts or islands aresometimes seen drifting a hundred miles from the mouth of theGanges with living trees erect upon them ;and the Amazon, theOrinoco, Mississippi, Congo, and most great rivers producesimilar rafts.Spix and Martius declare that they saw at differenttimes on the Amazon, monkeys, tiger-cats, and squirrels,being thus carried down the stream. On the Parana, pumas,squirrels, and many other quadrupeds have been seen on theserafts ; and Admiral W. H. Smyth informed Sir C. Lyell thatamong the Philippine islands after a hurricane, he met withfloating massesof wood with trees growing upon them, so thatthey were at first mistaken for islands till it was found that theywere rapidly drifting along. Here therefore, we have amplemeans for carrying all the smaller and especially the arborealmammals out to sea ; and although in most cases they wouldperish there, yet in some favourable instances strong winds or

;chap, ii.] DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. 15unusual tidal currents might carry them safely to shores perhapsseveral hundred miles from their native country.The factof green trees so often having been seen erect on these rafts ismost important ;for they would act as a sail by which the raftmight be propelled in one direction for several days in succession,and thus at last reach a shore to which a current alone wouldnever have carried it.There are two groups of mammals whichhave quite exceptionalmeans of dispersal— the bats which.fly, and the cetacea,seals, &c, which swim. The former are capable of traversingconsiderable spaces of sea, since two North American specieseither regularly or occasionally visit the Bermudas, a distanceof 600 miles from the mainland. The oceanic mammals (whalesand porpoises) seem to have no barrier but temperature; thepolar species being unable to cross the equator, while the tropicalforms are equally unfitted for the cold polar waters.The shorefeedingmanatees, however, can only live where they findfoodand a long expanse of rocky coast would probably be as completea barrier to them as a few hundred miles of open ocean.The amphibious seals and walruses seem many of them to becapable of making long sea journeys, some of the species beingfound on islands a thousand miles apart, but none of the arcticare identical with the antartic species.The otters with one exception are freshwater animals, and wehave no reason to believe they could or would traverse any greatdistances of salt water. In fact, they would be less liable todispersal across arms of the sea than purely terrestrial species,since their powers of swimming would enable them to regainthe shore ifaccidentally carried out to sea by a sudden flood.Means of Dispersal of Birds.—It would seem at first sight thatno barrierscould limit the range of birds, and that they oughtto be the most ubiquitous of living things, and little fitted thereforeto throw any light on the, laws or causes of the geographicaldistribution of animals. This, however, is far from being thecase ; many groups of birds are almost as strictly limited bybarriers as the mammalia ; and from their larger numbers andthe avidity with which they have been collected, they furnish

;16 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.materials of the greatest value for our present study. Thedifferent groups of birds offer remarkable contrasts in the extentof their range, some being the most cosmopolite of the higheranimals, while others are absolutely confined to single spots onthe earth's surface. The petrels (Procellariidce) and the gulls(Laridce) are among the greatest wanderers ; but most of thespecies are confined to one or other of the great oceans, or to thearctic or antarctic seas, a few only being found with scarcelyany variation over almost the whole globe.plovers wander along the shores as far asThe sandpipers anddo the petrels over theocean. Great numbers of them breed in the arctic regions andmigrate as far as India and Australia, or down to Chili andBrazil ; the species of the old and new worlds, however, beinggenerally distinct. In striking contrast to these wide rangeswe find many of the smaller perching birds, with some of theparrots and pigeons, confined to small islands of a few squaremiles in extent, or to single valleys or mountains on the mainland.Dispersal of Birds by Winds.—Those groups of birds whichpossess no powers of flight, such as the ostrich, cassowary, andapteryx, are in exactly the same position as mammalia as regardstheir means of dispersal, or are perhaps even inferior to themsince, although they are able to cross rivers by swimming, it isdoubtful ifthey eould remain so long in the water as most landquadrupeds. A very large number of short-winged birds, suchas toucans, pittas, and wrens, are perhaps worse off; for they canfly very few miles at a time, and on falling into the water wouldsoon be drowned. It is only the strong-flying species that canventure to cross any great width of sea ;and even these rarely doso unless compelled by necessity to migrate in search of food, orto a more genial climate.Small and weak birds are, however,often carried accidentally across great widths of ocean by violentgales. This is well exemplified by the large numbers ofstragglers from North America, which annually reach theBermudas. No less than sixty-nine species of American birdshave occurred in Europe, most of them in Britain and Heligoland.They consist chiefly of migratory birds which in autumn

chap, ii.] BIRDS. 17return along the eastern coasts of the United States, and oftenfly from point to point across bays and inlets. They are thenliable to be blown out tosea by storms, which are prevalent atthis season ; and it is almost always at this time of year thattheir occurrence has been noted on the shores of Europe. Itmay, however, be doubted whether this is not an altogethermodern phenomenon, dependent on the number of vessels constantlyon the Atlantic which afford resting-places to the wanderers; as it is hardly conceivable that such birds as titlarks,cuckoos, wrens, warblers, and rails, could remain on the wingwithout food or rest, the time requisite to pass over 2,000 milesof ocean. It is somewhat remarkable that no European birdsreach the American coast but a few which pass by way ofIceland and Greenland ; whereas a considerable number doreach the Azores, fully half way across ; so that their absencecan hardly be due to the prevailing winds being westerly.Thecase of the Azores is, however, an argument for the unassistedpassage of birds for that distance ; since two of the finches arepeculiar ' species,' but closely allied to European forms, so thattheir progenitors must, probably, have reached the islands beforethe Atlantic was a commercial highway.Barriers to the Dispersal of Birds.—We have seen that, as arule, wide oceans are an almost absolute barrier to the passage ofmost birds from one continent to another ; but much narrowerseas and straits are also very effectualbarriers where the habitsof the birds are such as to preserve them from being carriedaway by storms. All birds which frequent thickets and forests,and which feed near or on the ground, are secure from suchaccidents ; and they are also restricted in their range by theextent of the forests they inhabit. In South America a largenumber of the birds have their ranges determined by the extentof the forest country, while others are equally limited to theopen plains.Such species are also bounded by mountain rangeswhenever these rise above the woody region.Great rivers, suchas the Amazon, also limit the range of many birds, even whenThethere would seem to be no difficulty in their crossing them.supply of food, and the kind of vegetation, soil, and climate

18 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [part i.best suited to a bird's habits, are probably the causes which markout the exact limits of the range of each species ; to which mustbe added the prevalence of enemies of either the parent birds,the eggs, or the young.most where monkeys do not occur ;In the Malay Archipelago pigeons aboundand in South America thesame birds are- comparatively scarce in the forest plains wheremonkeys are very abundant, while they are plentiful on the openplainsand campos, and on the mountain plateaux, where thesenest-hunting quadrupeds are rarely found. Some birds areconfined to swamps, others to mountains ; some can only live onrocky streams, others on deserts or grassy plains.The Phenomena of Migration.—The term " migration " is oftenapplied to the periodical or irregular movements of all animals ;but it may be questioned whether there are any regular migrantsbut birds and fishes. The annual or periodical movementsof mammalia are of a different class. Monkeys ascend theHimalayas in summer to a height of 10,000 to 12,000 feet, anddescend again in winter.Wolves everywhere descend from themountains to the lowlands in severe weather. In dry seasonsgreat herds of antelopes move southwards towards the Cape ofGood Hope. The well-known lemmings, in severe winters, atlong intervals, move down from the mountains of Scandinavia inimmense numbers, crossing lakes and rivers, eating their waythrough haystacks, and surmounting every obstacle till theyreach the sea, whence very few return. The alpine hare, thearctic fox, and many other animals, exhibit similar phenomenaon a smaller scale ; and generally it may be said, that whenevera favourable succession of seasons has led to a great multiplicationof any species, it must on the pressure of hunger seekfood in fresh localities.For such movements as these we haveno special term. The summer and winter movements bestcorrespond to true migration, but they arealways on a smallscale, and of limited extent; the other movements are rathertemporary incursions than true migrations.The annual movements of many fishes are more strictlyanalogous to the migration of birds, since they take placein large bodies and often to considerable distances, and are

;chap. 11.] BIRDS. 19immediately connected with the process of reproduction.as the salmon, enter rivers ;approach the coast in the breeding season ;Some,others, as the herring and mackerel,but the exact courseof their migrations is unknown, and owing to our completeignorance of the area each species occupies in the ocean, and theabsence of such barriers and of such physical diversities as occuron the land, they are of far less interest and less connected withour present study than the movements of birds, to which weshall now confine ourselves.Migrations of Birds.—In all the temperate parts of the globethere are a considerable number of birds which reside only apart of the year, regularly arriving and leaving at tolerably fixedepochs. In our own country many northern birds visit us inwinter, such as the fieldfare, redwing, snow-bunting, turnstone,and numerous ducks and waders ;with a few, like the black redstart,and (according to Rev. C. A. Johns) some of the woodcocksfrom the south. In the summer a host of birds appear—thecuckoo, the swifts and swallows, and numerous warblers, beingthe most familiar,—which stay to build their nests and rear theiryoung, and then leave us again. These are true migrants ; buta number of other birds visit us occasionally, like the waxwing,the oriole, and the bee-eater, and can only be classed asstragglers, which, perhaps from too rapid multiplication one yearand want of food the next, are driven to extend their ordinaryrange of migration to an unusual degree.We will now endeavourto sketch the chief phenomena of migration in differentcountries.Europe.—It is well ascertained that most of the birds thatspend their spring and summer in the temperate parts of Europepass the winter in North Africa and Western Asia. The wintervisitants, on the other hand, pass the summer in the extremenorthof Europe and Asia, many of them having been found tobreed in Lapland. The arrival of migratory birds from thesouth is very constant as to date, seldom varying more than aweek or two, without any regard to the weather at the timebut the departure is less constant, and more dependent on theweather.Thus the swallow always comes to us about the middle

20 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [part i.of April, however cold it may be, while its departure may takeplace from the end of September to late in October, and is said byForster to occur on the first N. or KE. wind after the 20th ofSeptember.Almost all the migratory birds of Europe go southward tothe Mediterranean, move alongover in three places only ;its coasts east or west, and crosseither from the south of Spain, in theneighbourhood of Gibraltar, from Sicily over Malta, or to theeast by Greece and Cyprus. They are thus always in sight ofland.The passage of most small birds (and many of the largerones too) takes place at night ;and they only cross the Mediterraneanwhen the wind is steady from near the east or west,and when there is moonlight.It is a curious fact, but one that seems to be well authenticated,that the males often leave before the females, and bothbefore the young birds,later and alone.old ones ;which in considerable numbers migrateThese latter, however, seldom go so far as theand numbers of young birds do not cross the Mediterranean,but stay in the south of Europe.The same rule appliesto the northward migration; the young birds stopping shortof the extreme arctic regions, to which the old birds migrate. 1When old and young go together, however, the old birds takethe lead. In the south of Europe few of the migratory birdsstay to breed, but pass on to more temperate zones ;thus, in thesouth of France, out of 350 species only 60 breed there. Thesame species isoften sedentary in one part of Europe and migratoryin another ; thus, the chaffinch is a constant resident inEngland, Germany, and the middle of France ;the south of France and in Holland :thebut a migrant inrook visits the southof France in winter only : the Falco tinnunculus is both aresident and a migrant in the south ot France, according toM. Marcel de Serres, there being two regular passages everyyear, while a certain number always remain.1Marcel de Serres states this as a general fact for wading and swimmingbirds. He says that the old birds arrive in the extreme north almost alone,the young remaining on the shores of the Baltic, or on the lakes of Austria,Hungary, and Russia. See his prize 'essay, Des Causes des Migrations, &c.2nd ed., Paris, 1845, p. 121.

chap, ii.] BIRDS. 21We see, then, that migration is governed by certain intelligiblelaws ; and that it varies in many of its details, even in the samespecies, according to changed conditions. It may be lookedupon as an exaggeration of a habit common to all locomotiveanimals, of moving about in search of food. This habit is greatlyrestricted in quadrupeds by their inability to cross the sea oreven to pass through the highly-cultivated valleys of suchcountries as Europe ; but the power of flight in birds enablesthem to crossevery kind of country, and even moderate widthsof sea ; and as they mostly travel at night and high in the air,their movements are difficult to observe, and are supposed to bemore mysterious than they perhaps are. In the tropics birdsmove about to different districts according as certain fruitsbecome ripe, certain insects abundant, or as flooded tracts dryup. On the borders of the tropics and the temperate zoneextends a belt of country of a more or less arid character, andliable to be parched at the summer solstice. In winter andearly spring its northern margin is verdant, but it soon becomesburnt up, and most of its birds necessarily migrate to the morefertile regions to the north of them.They thus follow the springor summer as it advances from the south towards the pole, feedingon the young flower buds,the abundance of juicy larvae, and onthe ripening fruits ; and as soon as these become scarce theyretrace their steps homewards to pass the winter. Others whosehome is nearer the pole are driven south by cold, hunger, anddarkness, to more hospitable climes, returning northward in theearly summer. As a typical example of a migratory bird, let ustake the nightingale. During the winter this bird inhabitsalmost all North Africa, Asia Minor, and the Jordan Valley.Early in April it passes into Europe by the three routes alreadymentioned,and spreads over France, Britain, Denmark, and thesouth of Sweden, which it reaches by the beginning of May.does not enter Brittany, the Channel Islands, or the western partof England, never visitingWales, except the extreme south ofGlamorganshire, and rarely extending farther north than Yorkshire.It spreads over Central Europe, through Austria andHungary to Southern Russia and the warmer parts of Siberia,It

;22 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [part i.but it nevertheless breeds in the Jordan Valley, so that insome places it is only the surplus population that migrates.In August and September, all who can- return to their winterquarters.Migrations of this type probably dateback from at least theperiod when there was continuous land along the routepassedover; and it is a suggestive fact that this land connection isknown to have existed in recent geological times. Britain wasconnected with the Continent during,and probably before, theglacial epoch ; and Gibraltar, as well as Sicily and Malta, werealso recently united with Africa, as is proved by the fossilelephants and other large mammalia found in their caverns,the comparatively shallow water stillbyexisting in this part of theMediterranean while the remainder is of oceanic profundity,and by the large amount of identity in the species of land animalsstill inhabiting the opposite shores of the Mediterranean. Thesubmersion of these two tracts of land (which were perhaps ofconsiderable extent) would be a slow process, and from year toyear the change might be hardly perceptible. It is easy to seehow the migration that had once taken place over continuousland would be kept up, first over lagoons and marshes, then overa narrow channel, and subsequently over a considerable sea,no one generation of birds ever perceiving any difference in theroute.There is, however, no doubt that the sea-passage is now verydangerous, to many birds. Quails cross in immense flocks, andgreat numbers are drowned at sea whenever the weather is unfavourable.Some individuals always stay through the winterin the south of Europe, and a few even in England and Irelandand were thesea to become a little wider the migration wouldcease, and the quail, like some other birds, would remaindivided between south Europe and north Africa. Aquaticbirds are observed to follow the routes of great rivers andlakes, and the shores of the sea. One great body reachescentral Europe by way of the Danube from the shores of theBlack Sea; another ascends the Rhone Valley from the Gulfof Lyons.

;;chap, ii.] BIRDS. 23India and China.—In the peninsula of India and in Chinagreat numbers of northern birds arrive during September andOctober, and leave from March to May. Among the smallerbirds are wagtails, pipits, larks, stonechats, warblers, thrushes,buntings, shrikes, starlings, hoopoes, and quails. Some speciesof cranes and storks, many ducks, and greatnumbers of Scolopacidcealso visit India in winter ;and to prey upon thesecome a band of rapacious birds— the peregrine falcon, the hobby,kestrel, common sparrowhawk, harrier,and the short-eared owl.These birds are almost all natives of Europe and "Western Asiathey spread over all northern and centralIndia, mingling withthe sedentary birds of the oriental fauna, and give tothe ornithologyof Hindostan at this season quite a European aspect.The peculiar species of the higher Himalayas do not as a ruledescend to the plains in winter, but merely come lower down themountains; and in southern India and Ceylon comparativelyfew of these migratory birds appear.In China the migratory birds follow generally the coast line,coming southwards in winter from eastern Siberia and northernJapan ; while a few purely tropical forms travel northwards insummer to Japan, and on the mainland as far as the valley ofthe Amoor.North America.—The migrations of birds in North Americahave been carefully studied by resident naturalists, and presentsome interesting features. The birds of the eastern parts ofNorth America are pre-eminently migratory, a much smaller proportionbeing permanent residents than in corresponding latitudesin Europe.Thus, in Massachusetts there are only about 30 speciesof birds which are resident all the year, while the regularsummer visitors are 106. Comparing with this our own country,though considerably further north,the proportions are reversedthere being 140 residents and 63 summer visitors. This differenceis clearly due to the much greater length and severity ofthe winter, and the greater heat of summer, in America thanwith us. The number of permanent residents increases prettyregularly as we go southward ; but the number of birds at anylocality during the breeding season seems to increase as we go

24 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [part I.northward as far as Canada, where, according to Mr. Allen, morespecies breed than in the warm Southern States. Even in theextreme north, beyond the limit of forests, there are no less than60 species which breed ; in Canada about 1 60 ; while inThe extentCarolina there are only 135, and in Louisiana, 130.of the migration varies greatly, some species only going a fewdegrees north and south, while others migrate annually fromthe tropics to the extreme north of the continent ; and everygradation occurs between these extremes. Among those whichmigrate furthest are the species of Dendrceca, and otherAmericanflycatching warblers (Mniotiltidce), many of which breedon the shores of Hudson's Bay, and spend the winter in Mexicoor the West Indian islands.The great migratory movement of American birds is almostwholly confined to the east coast ; the birds of the high centralplains and of California being for the most part sedentary, oronly migrating for short distances.All the species which reachSouth America, and most of those which winter in Mexicoand Guatemala, are exclusively eas'tern species ; though a fewEocky Mountain birds range southward along the plateaux ofMexico and Guatemala, but probably not as regular annualmigrants.In America as in Europe birds appear in spring with greatregularity, while the time of the autumnal return is less constant.More curious is the fact, also observed in both hemispheres,that they do not all return by the same route followed ingoing northwards, some species being constant visitors to certainlocalities in spring but not in autumn, others in autumn but notin spring.Some interesting cases have been observed in America of agradual alteration in the extent of the migration of certain birds.A Mexican swallow (Hirundo klnifrons) first appeared in Ohioin 1815. Year by year it increased the extent of its range tillby 1845 it had reached Maine and Canada; and it is now quotedby American writers as extending its annual migrations toHudson's Bay. An American wren (Troglodytes ludovicianus)is another bird which has spread considerably northwards since

4chap, ii.] BIRDS. 25the time of the ornithologist Wilson ;and the rice-bird, or " Bobo'-link,"of the Americans, continually widens its range as riceand wheat are more extensively cultivated. Tins bird wintersin Cuba and other West Indian Islands, and probably also inMexico. In April it enters the Southern States and passesnorthward, till in June it reaches Canada and extends west tothe Saskatchewan Eiver in 54° north latitude.South Temperate America.—The migratory birds ofthis partof the world have been observed by Mr. Hudson at BuenosAy res. As in Europe and North America, there are winter andsummer visitors, from Patagonia and the tropics respectively.Species of Pyrocephalus, Milvulus, swallows, and a hummingbird,are among the most regular of the summer visitors.' Theyare all insectivorous birds. From Patagonia species of Tcenioptera,Cinclodes, and Centrites, come in winter, with two gulls,two geese, and six snipes and plovers.appear atFive species of swallowsBuenos Ayres in spring, some staying to breed, otherspassing on to more temperate regions farther south. As a rulethe birds which come late and leave early are the most regular.Some are very irregular in their movements, the Molothrus bonariensis,for example, sometimes leaves early in autumn, sometimesremains all the winter. Some resident birds also move inwinter to districts where they are never seen in summer.General Remarks on Migration.—The preceding summary ofthe main facts of migration(which might have been almost indefinitelyextended, owing to the groat mass of detailed informationthat exists on the subject) appears to accord with theview already suggested, that the "instinct" of migration hasarisen from the habit of wandering in search of food common toall animals, but greatly exaggerated in the case of birds by theirpowers of flight and by the necessity for procuring a largeamount of soft insect food for their unfledged young. Migrationin its simple form may be best studied in North America,where it takes place over a continuous land surface with a considerablechange of climate from south to north. We have here(as probably in Europe and elsewhere) every grade of migration,from species which merely shift the northern and southernVol. I.—

26 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [part j.limits of their range a few hundred miles, so that in the centralparts of the area the species is a permanent resident, to otherswhich move completely over 1,000 miles of latitude, so that inall the intervening districts they are only known as birds ofpassage. Now, just as the rice-bird and the Mexican swallowhave extended theirinduced by human agency ;so we may presume that large numbersof speciesmigrations, owing to favourable conditionswould extend their range where favourable conditionsarose through natural causes. If we go back only asfar as the heightof the glacial epoch, there is reason to believethat all North America, as far south as about 40° north latitude,was covered with an almost continuous and perennial ice-sheet.At this time the migratory birds would extend up to this barrier(which would probably terminate in the midst of luxuriantvegetation, just as the glaciers of Switzerland now often terminateamid forests and corn-fields), and as the cold decreased andthe ice retired almost imperceptibly year by year, would followit up farther and farther according as the peculiarities of vegetationand insect-food were more or less suited to their severalconstitutions. It is an ascertained fact that many individualbirds return year after year to build their nests in the samespot. This shows a strong local attachment, and is, in fact,the faculty or feeling on which their very existence probablydepends. For were they to wander at random each year, theywould almost certainly not meet with places so well suited tothem, and might even get into districts where they or theiryoung would inevitably perish. It is also a curious fact that inso many cases the old birds migrate first,leaving the young onesbehind, who follow some short time later, but do not go so far astheir parents. This is very strongly opposed to the notion ofan imperative instinct. The old birds have been before, theyoung have not ; and it is only when the old ones have all ornearly all gone that theyoung go too, probably following someof the latest stragglers. They wander, however, almost at random,and the majority are destroyed before the next spring.This is proved by the fact that the birds which return in springare as a rule not more numerous than those which came the

chap, ii.] BIRDS. 27preceding spring, whereas those which went away in autumnwere two or three times as numerous. Those young birds thatdo get back, however, have learnt by experience, and the nextyear they take care to go with the old ones. The most strikingfact in favour of the " instinct " of migration is the " agitation,"or excitement, of confined birds at the time when their wildcompanions are migrating. It seems probable, however, thatthis is what may be called a social excitement, due to theanxious cries of the migrating birds ; a view supported by thefact stated by Marcel de Serres, that the black swan of Australia,when domesticated in Europe, sometimes joins wild swans intheir northward migration.We must remember too that migrationat the proper time isin many cases absolutely essential tothe existence of the species ; and it is therefore not improbablethat some strong social emotion should have been graduallydeveloped in the race, by the circumstance that all who forwant of such emotion did not join their fellows inevitablyperished.The mode by which a passage originallyoverland has beenwithout apparently stopping on the way isconverted into one over the sea offers no insuperable difficulties,as has already been pointed out. The long flights of some birdsthought to be inexplicable,as well as their finding their nesting-place of theprevious year from a distance of many hundreds or even athousand miles.But the observant powers of animals are verygreat ; and birds flying high in the air may be guided by thephysical features of the country spread out beneath them in away that would be impracticable to purely terrestrial animals.It is assumed by some writers that the breeding-place of aspecies is to be considered as its true home rather than that towhich it retires in winter ; but this can hardly be accepted as arule of universal application. A bird can only breed successfullywhere it can find sufficient food for its young ;and thereason probably why so many of the smaller birds leave thewarm southern regions to breed in temperate or even cold latitudes,is because caterpillars and other soft insect larvae arethere abundant at the proper time, while in their winter home the

;28 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [part i.larvse have all changed into winged insects. But this favourablebreeding district will change its position with change of climateand as the last great change has been one of increased warmthin all the temperate zones, it is probable that many of the migratorybirds are comparatively recent visitors. Other changes mayhowever have taken place, affecting the vegetation and consequentlythe insects of a district ; and we have seldom the meansof determining in any particular caseextension of range occurred.in what direction the lastFor the purposes of the study ofgeographical distribution therefore, we must, except in specialcases, consider the true range of a species to comprise all thearea winch it occupies regularly for any part of the year, whileall those districts which it only visits at more or less distantintervals,apparently driven by storms or by hunger, and whereit never regularly or permanently settles, should not be includedas forming part of its area of distribution.Means of Dispersal of Reptiles and Amphibia.—If we leaveout of consideration the true marine groups—the turtles and seasnakes—reptilesare scarcely more fitted for traversing seas andoceans than are mammalia. We accordingly find that in thoseoceanic islands which possess no indigenous mammals, land reptilesare also generally wanting.The several groups of these animals,however, differ considerably both in their means of dispersaland in their power of resisting adverse conditions. Snakes aremost dependent on climate,becoming very scarce in temperateand cold climates and entirely ceasing at 62° north latitude, andthey do not ascend very lofty mountains, ceasing at 6,000 feetelevation in the Alps. Some inhabit deserts, others swamps andmarshes, while many are adapted for a life in forests. Theyswim rivers easily, but apparently have no means of passingthe sea, since they are very rarely found on oceanic islands.Lizards are also essentially tropical, but they go somewhatfarther north than snakes, and ascend higher on the mountains,reaching 10,000 feet in the Alps. They possess too someunknown means (probably in the egg-state) of passing over theocean, since they are found to inhabit many islands where thereare neither mammalia nor snakes.

chap. II.] REPTILES AND FISHES. 29The amphibia are much less sensitive to cold than are truereptiles, and they accordingly extend much farther north, frogsbeing found within the arctic circle. Their semi-aquatic lifealso gives them facilities for dispersal, and their eggs are no doubtsometimes carried by aquatic birds from one pond or stream toanother.Salt water is fatal to them as well as to their eggs, andhence it arises that they are seldom found in those oceanicislands from which mammalia are absent. Deserts and oceanswould probably form the most effectual barriers to their dispersal;whereas both snakes and lizards abound in deserts, andhave some means of occasionally passing the ocean which frogsand salamanders do not seem to possess.Means of Dispersal of Fishes.—The fact that the same speciesof freshwater fish often inhabit distinct river systems, provesthat they have some means of dispersal over land. The manyauthentic accounts of fish falling from the atmosphere, indicateone of the means by which they may be transferred from oneriver basin to another, viz., by hurricanes and whirlwinds, whichoften carry up considerable quantities of water and with it fishesof small size. In volcanic countries, also, the fishes of subterraneanstreams may sometimes be thrown up by volcanic explosions,as Humboldt relates happened in South America.Anothermode by which fishes may be distributed is by their eggs beingoccasionally carried away by aquatic birds ; and it is stated byGmelin that geese and ducks during their migrations feed on theeggs of fish, and that some of these pass through their bodieswith their vitality unimpaired. 1Even water-beetles flying fromone pond to another might occasionally carry with them some ofthe smaller eggs of fishes.are also enabled toBut it is probable that fresh-water fishmigrate by changes of level causing streamsto alter their course and carry their waters into adjacent basins.On plateaux the sources of distinct river systems often approacheach other, and the same thing occurs with lateral tributarieson the lowlands near their mouths. Such changes, althoughsmall in extent, and occurring only at long intervals, would1Quoted in LyelPs Principles of Geology (11th ed. vol. ii. p. 374), fromAmozn. Acad. Essay 75.

30 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [part i.act very powerfully in modifying the distribution of fresh-waterfish.Sea fish would seem at first sight to have almost unlimitedmeans of dispersal, but this is far from being the case. Temperatureforms a complete barrier to a large number of species, coldwater being essential to many, while others can only dwell inthe warmth of the tropics. Deep water is another barrier tolarge numbers of species which are adapted to shores andshallows ; and thus the Atlantic is quite as impassable a gulfto most fishes as it is to birds. MaDy sea fishes migrate to alimited extent for the purpose of depositing their spawn infavourable situations. The herring, an inhabitant of the deepsea, comes in shoals to our coast in the breeding season ;whilethe salmon quits the northern seas and enters our rivers, mountingupwards to the clear cold water near their sources to depositits eggs. Keeping in mind the essential fact that changes oftemperature and of depth are the main barriers to the dispersalof fish, we shall find little difficulty in tracing the causes thathave determined their distribution.Means of Dispersal of Mollusca.—The marine, fresh-water, andland mollusca are three groups whose powers of dispersal andconsequent distribution are very different, and must be separatelyconsidered. The Ptcropoda, the lanthina, and other groups offloating molluscs, drift about in mid-ocean, and their dispersalis probably limited chiefly by temperature, but perhaps also bythe presence of enemies or the scarcity of proper food. Theunivalve and bivalve mollusca, of which the whelk and thecockle may be taken as types, move so slowly in their adultstate, that we should expect them to have an exceedingly limiteddistribution; but the young of all these are free swimmingembryos, and they thus have a powerful means of dispersal, andare carried by tidesand currents so as ultimately to spread overevery shore and shoal that offers conditions favourable for theirdevelopment. The fresh water molluscs, which one might atfirstsuppose could not range beyond their own river-basin, areyet very widely distributed in common with almost all otherfresh water productions ; and Mr. Darwin has shown that this is

chap, ii.] LAND-SHELLS AND INSECTS. 31due to the fact, that ponds and marshes are constantly frequentedby wading and swimming birds which arepre-eminently wanderers,and which frequently carry away with them the seeds ofplants, and the eggs of molluscs and aquatic insects. Freshwater molluscs just hatched were found toa duck's foot suspended in an aquarium ;attach themselves toand they would thus beeasily carried from one lake or river to another, and by the helpof different species of aquatic birds, might soon spread all overthe globe. Even a water-beetle has been caught with a smallliving shell (Ancylus) attached to it ;and these fly long distancesand are liable to be blown out to sea, one having been caught onboard the Beagle when forty-five miles from land. Althoughfresh water molluscs and their eggs must frequently be carriedout to sea, yet this cannot lead to their dispersal, since saltwater is almost immediately fatal to them ;forced toand we are thereforeconclude that the apparently insignificant and uncertainmeans of dispersal above alluded to are really what haveled to their wide distribution.The true land-shells offer a stillmore difficult case, for they are exceedingly sensitive to theinfluence of salt water; they are not likely to be carried byaquatic birds, and yet they are more or less abundant all overthe globe, inhabiting the most remote oceanic islands. It hasbeen found, however, that land-shells have the power of lyingdormant a long time. Some have lived two years and a halfshut up in pill boxes ;and one Egyptian desert snail came to lifeafter having been glued down to a tablet in the British Museumfor four years !We are indebted to Mr. Darwin for experiments on the powerof land shells to resist seawater, and he found that when theyhad formed a membranous diaphragm over the mouth of theshell they survived many days'immersion (in one case fourteendays) ; and another experimenter, quoted by Mr. Darwin, found thatout of one hundred land shells immersed for a fortnight in the sea,twenty-seven recovered.It is therefore quite possible for them tobe carried in the chinks of drift wood for many hundred milesacross the sea, and this is probably one of the most effectualmodes of their dispersal. Very young shells would also some-

32 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [part i.times attach themselves to the feet of birds walking or restingon the ground, and as many of the waders often go far inland,this may have been one of the methods of distributing speciesof land shells ;for it must always be remembered that nature canafford to wait, and that if but once in a thousand years a singlebird should convey two or three minute snails to a distant island,thisis all that is required for us to find that island well stockedwith a great and varied population of land shells.Means of Dispersal of Insects a?id the Barriers luhich Limittheir Range.—Winged insects, as a whole, have perhaps morevaried means of dispersal over the globe than any other highlyorganised animals. Many of them can fly immense distances,and the more delicate ones are liable to be carried by stormsand hurricanes over a wide expanse of ocean. They are oftenmet with far out at sea. Hawk-moths frequently fly on boardships as they approach the shores of tropical countries, and theyhave sometimes been captured more than 250 miles from thenearest land. Dragon-flies came on board the Adventure frigatewhen fifty miles off the coast of South America. A southerlywind brought flies in myriads to Admiral Smyth's ship in theMediterranean when he was 100 miles distant from the coast ofAfrica. A large Indian beetle (Chrysochroa ocellata) was quiterecently caught alive in the Bay of Bengal by Captain Payne ofthe barque William Mansoon, 273 miles from the nearest land.Darwin caught a locust 370 miles from land; and in 1844swarms of locusts several miles in extent, and as thick as theflakes in a heavy snowstorm, visited Madeira.come with perfect safety more than 300 miles ;These must haveand as they continuedflying over the island for a long time, they could evidentlyhave travelled to a much greater distance, Numbers of livingbeetles belonging to seven genera, some aquatic and some terrestrial,were caught by Mr. Darwin in the open sea, seventeenmiles from the coast of South America, and they did not seeminjured by the salt water.Almost all the accidental causes thatlead to the dispersal of the higher animals would be still morefavourable for insects. Floating trees could carry hundreds ofinsects for one bird or mammal ;and so many of the larvre, eggs,

;chap, ii.] DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. 33and pupse of insects have their abode in solidmight survive being floated immense distances.timber, that theyGreat numbersof tropical insects have been captured in the London docks,where they have been brought in foreign timber ;and some haveemerged from furniture after remaining torpid for many years.Most insects have the power of existing weeks or months withoutfood, and some are very tenacious of life. Many beetleswill survive immersion for hours in strong spirit ; and water afew degrees below the boiling point will not always kill them.We can therefore easily understand how, in the course of agesinsects may become dispersed by means which would be quiteinadequate in the case of the higher animals.The drift-wood andtropical fruits that reach Ireland and the Orkneys ; the doublecocoa-nuts that cross the Indian ocean from the Seychelle Islandsto the coast of Sumatra; the winds that carry volcanic dust andashes for thousands of miles ;revolving course over wide oceans ;the hurricanes that travel in theirall indicate means by whicha few insects may, at rare intervals be carried to remote regions,and become the progenitors of a group of allied forms.But the dispersal of insects requires to be looked at fromanother point of view. They are, of all animals, perhaps themost wonderfully adapted for special conditions ;and are so oftenfitted to fill one place in nature and one only, that the barriersagainst their permanent displacement are almost as numerousand as effective as their means of dispersal.Hundreds of speciesof lepidoptera, for example, can subsist in the larva state only onone species of plant ; so that even if the perfect insects werecarried to a new country, the continuance of the race would dependupon the same or a closely allied plant being abundantthere. Other insects require succulent vegetable food all theyear round, and are therefore confined to tropical regionssome can live only in deserts, others in forests ; some are dependenton water-plants, some on mountain-vegetation.Manyare so intimately connected with other insects during somepart of their existence that they could not live without themsuch are the parasitical hymenoptera and diptera, and thosemimicking species whose welfare depends upon their being

34 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.mistaken for something else. Then again, insects have enemiesin every stage of their existence—the egg, the larva, the pupa,ind the perfect form ; and the abundance of any one of theseanemies may render their survival impossible in a country otherwisewell suited to them. Ever bearing in mind these twoopposing classes of facts, we shall not be surprised at theenormous range of some groups of insects, and at the extremelocalization of others ; and shall be able to give a rational accountof many phenomena of distribution that would otherwise seemquite unintelligible

-CHAPTEK III.DISTRIBUTION AS AFFECTED BY THE CONDITIONS AND CHANGES OFTHE EARTH'SSURFACE.The distribution of animals over the earth's surface, is evidentlydependent in great measure upon those grand and importantcharacteristics of our globe, the study of which is termed physicalgeography. The proportion of land and water ; the outlines anddistribution of continents; the depth of seas and oceans; theposition of islands ;the height, direction, and continuity of mountainchains ;the position and extent of deserts, lakes, and forests ;the direction and velocity of ocean currents, as well as of prevalentwinds and hurricanes ; and lastly, the distribution of heat andcold, of rain, snow, and ice, both in their means and in theirextremes, have all to be considered when we endeavour toaccount for the often unequal and unsymmetrical manner inwhich animals are dispersed over the globe. But even thisknowledge is insufficient unless we inquire further as to theevidence of permanence possessed by each of thesefeatures, inorder that we may give due weight to the various causes thathave led to the existing facts of animal distribution.Land and Water.—The well-known fact that nearly threefourths of the surface of the earth isoccupied by water, and buta little more than one-fourth by land, is important as indicatingthe vast extent of ocean by which many of the continents andislands are separated from each other. But there is another fact

36 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part r.which greatly increases its importance, namely, that the meanheight of the land is very small compared with the mean depthof the sea. It has been estimated by Humboldt that the meanheight of all the land surface does not exceed a thousand feet,owing to the comparative narrowness of mountain ranges and thegreat extent of alluvial plains and valleys ;the ocean bed, on thecontrary, not only descends deeper than the tops of the highestmountains rise above its surface, but these profound depths arebroad sunken plains, while the shallows correspond to the mountainranges, so that its mean depth is, as nearly as can be estimated,twelve thousand feet. 1Hence, as the area of water is threetimes that of the land, the total cubical contents of the land,above the sea level, would be only -^ that of the waters whichare below that level. The important result follows, that whereasit is scarcely possible that in past times the amount of land surfaceshould ever greatly have exceeded that which now exists, it isjust possible that all the land may have been at some timesubmerged ; and therefore in the highest degree probable thatamong the continual changes of land and sea that have beenalways going on, the amount of land surface has often beenmuch less than it is now. For the same reason it is probablethat there have been times when large masses of land have beenmore isolated from the rest than they are at present; just asNorth America were submerged, orSouth America would be ifas Australia would become if the Malay Archipelago were tosink beneath the ocean. It is also very important to bear inmind the fact insisted on by Sir CharlesLyell, that the shallowparts of the ocean are almost always in the vicinity of land ;that an amount of elevation that would make little differenceandthe bed of the ocean, would raise up extensive tracts of dry landin the vicinity of existing continents. It is almost certain,therefore, that changes in the distribution of land and seamust have taken place more frequently by additions to, ortoiThis estimate has been made for me by Mr. Stanford from the materialsused in delineating the contours of the ocean-bed on our general map. Itembodies the result of all the soundings of the Challenger, Tuscarora, andother vessels; obtainable up to August, 1875.

chap, in.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 37modifications of pre-existing land, than by the upheaval ofentirely new Continents in mid-ocean. These two principleswill throw light upon two constantly recurring groups of factsin the distribution of animals,—the restriction of peculiar formsto areas not at present isolated,—and on the other hand, theoccurrence of allied forms in lands situated on oppositeof the great oceans.shoresContinental Areas.—Although the dry land of the earth'ssurface is distributed with so much irregularity, that there ismore than twice as much north of the equator asof it,there is southand about twice as much in the Asiatic as in the Americanhemisphere; and, what is still more extraordinary, that on ahemisphere of which a point in St. George's Channel betweenEngland and Ireland is the centre, the land is nearly equal inextent to the water, while in the opposite hemisphere it is inthe proportion of only one-eighth,— yet the whole of the land isalmost continuous. It consists essentially of only three masses:the American, the Asia-African, and the Australian. The twoformer are only separated by thirty-six miles of shallow seaat Behring's Straits, so that it is possible to go from Cape Hornto Singapore or the Cape of Good Hope without ever beingout of sight of land ; and owing to the intervention of thenumerous islands of the Malay Archipelago the journey mightbe continued under the same conditions as far as Melbourne andHobart Town.This curious fact, of the almost perfect continuityof all the great masses of land notwithstanding theirextremelyirregular shape and distribution, is no doubt dependent on thecircumstances just alluded to ;that the great depth of the oceansand the slowness of the process of upheaval, has almost alwaysproduced the new lands either close to, or actually connectedwith pre-existing lands ;and this has necessarily led to a muchgreater uniformity in the distribution of organic forms, thanwould have prevailed had the continents been more completelyisolated from each other.The isthmuses which connect Africa with Asia,and Northwith South America, are, however, so small and insignificantcompared with the vast extent of the countries they unite that

38 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.we can hardly consider them to form more than a nominalconnection. The Isthmus of Suez indeed, being* itself a desert,and connecting districts which for a great distance are more orless desert also, does not effect any real union between the luxuriantforest-clad regions of intertropical Asia and Africa. TheIsthmus of Panama is a more effectual lineof union, since it ishilly, well watered, and covered with luxuriant vegetation ;andwe accordingly find that the main features of South Americanzoology are continued into Central America and Mexico. InAsia a great transverse barrier exists, dividing that continentinto a northern and southern portion ; and as the lowlands occuron the south and the highlands on the north of the great mountainrange, which ischange of climate is produced ;situated not far beyond the tropic, an abruptso that a belt of about a hundredmiles wide, is all that intervenes between a luxuriant tropicalregion and an almost arctic waste.Between the northern partof Asia, and Europe, there is no barrier of importance ;and it isimpossible to separate these regions as regards the main featuresof animal life. Africa, like Asia, has a great transverse barrier,but it is a desert instead of a mountain chain ; and it is foundthat this desert is a more effectual barrier to the diffusion ofanimals than the Mediterranean Sea; partly because it coincideswith the natural division of a tropical from a temperate climate,but also on account of recent geological changes which we shallpresently allude to. It results then from this outline sketch ofthe earth's surface, that the primary divisions of the geographercorrespond approximately with those of the zoologist. Somelarge portionof each of the popular divisions forms the nucleusof a zoological region ; but the boundaries are so changed thatthe geographer would hardly recognise them : it has, therefore,been found necessary to give them those distinct "nameswill be fully explained in our next chapter.Recent Changes in thewhichContinental Areas.—The important facthas been now ascertained, that a considerable portion of theSahara south of Algeria and Morocco was under water at a veryrecent epoch. Over much of this area sea-shells, identical withthose now living in the Mediterranean, are abundantly scattered,

chap, m.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 39not only in depressions below the level of the sea but up to aheight of 900 feet above it. Borings for water made by theFrench government have shown, that these shells occur twentyfeet deep in the sand ;and the occurrence of abundance of salt,sometimes even forming considerable hills, isof the disappearance of a large body of salt water.an additional proofcockle is one of the most abundant of the shells found ;The commonand theEev. H. B. Tristram discovered a new fish, in a salt lake nearly300 miles inland, but which has since been found to inhabit theGulf of Guinea.Connected with this proof of recent elevationin the Sahara, we have most interesting indications of subsidencein the area of the Mediterranean, which were perhaps contemporaneous.Sicily and Malta are connected with Africa by asubmerged bank from 300 to 1,200 feet below the surface ;whilethe depth of the Mediterranean, both to the east and west, isenormous, in some parts more than 13,000 feet ; and anothersubmerged bank with a depth of 1,000 feet occurs at the straitsof Gibraltar. In caves in Sicily, remains of the living Africanelephant have been found by Baron Anca ;and in other caves Dr.Falconer discovered remains of the Elephas antiquus and of twospecies of Hippopotamus. In Malta, three species of elephanthave been discovered by Captain Spratt ;a large one closely alliedto E. antiquus and two smaller ones not exceeding five feet highwhen adult. These facts clearly indicate, that when NorthAfrica was separated by a broad arm of the sea from the rest oithe continent, it was probably connected with Europe ;and thisexplains why zoologists find themselves obliged to place it alongwith Europe in the same zoological region.Besides this change in the level of the Saharaand the Mediterraneanbasin, Europe has undergone many fluctuations in itsphysical geography in very recent times. In Wales, abundanceof sea-shells of living species have been found at an elevationof 1,300 feet; and in Sardinia there is proof of an elevationof 300 feet since the human epoch ; and these are only samplesof many such changes of level.But these changes, though veryimportant locally and as connected with geological problems,need not be further noticed here ; as they were not of a

40 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.nature to affect the larger features of the earth's surface or todetermine the boundaries of great zoological regions.The only other other recent change of great importance whichcan be adduced to illustrate our present subject, is that whichhas taken place between North and South America.marineThe livingshells of the opposite coasts of the isthmus of Panama,as well as the corals and fishes, are generally of distinct species,but some are identical and many are closely allied ; the WestIndian fossil shells and corals of the Miocene period, however,are found to be largely identical with those of the Pacificcoast.The fishes of the Atlantic and Pacific shores of America areas a rule very distinct ; but Dr. Giinther has recently shownthat a considerable number of species inhabiting the seas onopposite sides of the isthmus are absolutely identical. Thesefacts certainly indicate, that during the Miocene epoch a broadchannel separated North and South America ; and it seems probablethat a series of elevations and subsidences have takenplace uniting and separating them at different epochs ;the mostrecent submersion having lasted but a short time, and thus,while allowing the passage of abundance of locomotive fishes,not admitting of much change in the comparatively stationarymollusca.The Glacial Epoch as affecting the Distribution of Animals.—The remarkable refrigeration of climate in the northern hemispherewithin the epoch, of existingspecies, to which the termGlacial epoch is applied, together with the changes of level thataccompanied and perhaps assisted to produce it, has been one ofthe chief agents in determining many of the details of the existingdistribution of animals in temperate zones. A comparisonof the effects produced by existing glaciers with certain superficialphenomena in the temperate parts of Europe and NorthAmerica, renders it certain that between the Newer Pliocene andthe Eecent epochs, a largeportion of the northern hemispheremust have been covered with a sheet of ice several thousandfeet thick, like that which now envelopes the interior of Greenland.Much further south the mountains were covered withperpetual snow, and sent glaciers down every valley ;and all the

5;chap, in.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTEIBUTION. 41great valleys on the southern side of the Alps poured downstreams of ice which stretched farout into the plains of NorthernItaly, and have left their debris in the form of hugemountainous moraines, in some cases more than a thousand feethigh.In Canada and New Hampshire the marks of moving iceare found on the tops of mountains from 3,000 to 5,000 feethigh ; and the whole surface of the country around and to thenorth of the great lakes is scored by glaciers. Wherever theland was submerged during a part of this cold period, a depositcalled boulder-clay, or glacial-drift has been formed. This is amass of sand, clay, or gravel, full of angular or rounded stonesof all sizes, up to huge blocks as large as a cottage ; and especiallycharacterized by these stones being distributed confusedlythrough it, the largest being as often near the top as near thebottom, and never sorted into layers of different sizes as inmaterials carried by water. Such deposits are known to beformed by glaciers and icebergs ; when deposited on the land byglaciersthey form moraines, when carried into water and thusspread with more regularity over a wider area they form drift.This drift is rarely found except where there isother evidence ofice-action, and never south of the 40th parallel of latitude, towhich in the northern hemisphere signs of ice-action extend.In the southern hemisphere, inPatagonia and in New Zealand,exactly similar phenomena occur.A very interesting confirmation of the reality of this coldepoch is derived from the study of fossil remains. Both theplants and animals of the Miocene period indicate that theclimate of Central Europe was decidedly warmer or more equablethan it is now ; since the flora closely resembled that of theSouthern United States, with a likeness also to that of EasternAsia and Australia. Many of the shells were of tropical generaand there were numbers of large mammalia allied to theelephant, rhinoceros, and tapir. At the same time, or perhapssomewhat earlier, atemperate climate extended into the arcticregions, and allowed a magnificent vegetation of shrubs andforest trees, some of them evergreen, ta 'flourish within twelvedegrees of the Pole. In the Pliocene period we find ourselvesVol. I.—

42 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part iamong forms implying a climate very little different from thepresent ; and our own Crag formation furnishes evidence of agradual refrigeration of climate ; since its three divisions, theCoralline, Ked, and Norwich Crags, show a decreasing numberof southern, and an increasing number of northern species, as weapproach the Glacial epoch. Still later than these we have theshells of the drift, almost all of which are northern and manyof them arctic species. Among the mammalia indicative ofcold, are the mammoth and the reindeer.In gravels and cavedepositsof Post-Pliocene date we find the same two animals,which soon disappear asthe climate approached its present condition;and Professor Forbes has given a list of fifty shellswhich inhabited the British seas before the Glacial epoch andinhabit it still, but are all wanting in the glacial deposits. Thewhole of these are found in the Newer Pliocene strata of Sicilyand the south of Europe, where they escaped destruction duringthe glacial winter.There are also certain facts in the distribution of plants, whichare so well explained by the Glacial epoch that they may be saidto give an additional confirmation to it. All over the northernhemisphere within the glaciated districts, the summits of loftymountains produce plants identical with those of the polarregions. In the celebrated case of the "White Mountains an NewHampshire, United States (latitude 45°), all the plants on thesummit are arctic species, none of which exist in the lowlandsfor near a thousand miles further north. It has also been remarked.that the plants of each mountain are more especiallyrelated to those of the countries directly north of it. Thus,those of the Pyrenees and of Scotland are Scandinavian, andthose of the White Mountains are all species found in Labrador.Now, remembering that we have evidence of an exceedinglymild and uniform climate in the arctic regions during theMiocene period and aevident that with each degreegradual refrigeration from that time, it isof change more and more hardyplants would be successively driven southwards ;till at last theplains of the temperate zone would be inhabited by plants, whichwere once confined to alpine heights or to the arctic regions.

chap, ill.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 43As the icy mantle gradually melted off the face of the earththese plants would occupy the newly exposed soil, and wouldthus necessarily travel in two directions, back towards the arcticcircle and up towards the alpine peaks. The facts are thusexactly explained by a cause which independent evidence hasproved to be a real one, and every such explanation is an additionalproof of the reality of the cause. But this explanation implies,that in cases where the Glacial epoch cannot have so actedalpine plants should not be northern plants ;and a striking proofof this is to be found on the Peak of Teneriffe, a mountain12,000 feet high. In the uppermost 4,500 feet of this mountainabove the limit of trees, Von Buch found only eleven species ofplants, eight of which were peculiar ; but the whole were alliedto those found at lower elevations. On the Alps or Pyrenees atthis elevation, there would be a rich flora comprising hundredsof arctic plants ; and the absence of anything corresponding tothem in this case, in which their ingress was cut off by the sea,is exactly what the theory leads us to expect.Changes of Vegetation as affecting the Distribution of Animals.—As so many animals are dependent on vegetation, its changesimmediately affect their distribution. A remarkable example ofthis is afforded by the pre-historic condition of Denmark, asinterpreted by means of the peat-bogs and kitchen-middens.This country is now celebrated for itsbeech-trees; oaks and pinesbeing scarce ; and it is known to have had the same vegetation inthe time of the Eomans. In the peat-bogs, however, are founddeposits of oak trees ; and deeper still pines alone occur. Nowthe kitchen-middens tell us much of the natural history ofDenmark in the early Stone period ; and a curious confirmationof the fact that Denmark like Norway was then chiefly coveredwith pine forests is obtained by the discovery, that the Capercailziewas then abundant, a bird which feeds almost exclusivelyon the young shoots and seeds of pines and allied plants. Thecause of this change in the vegetation is unknown ; but from theknown fact that when forests are destroyed trees, of a differentkind usually occupy the ground, we may suppose that some suchchange as a temporary submergence might cause an entirely

44 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.different vegetation and a considerably modified fauna to occupythe country.Organic Changes as affecting Distribution.—We have now brieflytouched on some of the direct effects of changes in physicalgeography, climate, and vegetation, on the distribution of animals; but the indirect effects of such changes are probably ofquite equal, if not of greater importance. Every changebecomes the centre of an ever-widening circle of effects. Thedifferent members of the organic world are so bound together bycomplex relations, that any one change generally involvesnumerous other changes, often of the most unexpected kind.We know comparatively little of the way in which one animalor plant is bound up with others, but we know enough to assureus that groups the most apparently disconnected are oftendependent on each other. We know, for example, that theintroduction of goats into St. Helena utterly destroyed a wholeflora of forest trees ; and with them all the insects, mollusca, andperhaps birds directly or indirectly dependent on them. Swine,which ran wild in Mauritius, exterminated the Dodo. The sameanimals are known to be the greatest enemies of venomousserpents. Cattle will, in many districts, wholly prevent thegrowth of trees ;and with the trees the numerous insects dependenton those trees, and the birds which fed upon the insects,must disappear, as well as the small mammalia which feed onthe fruits, seeds, leaves, or roots. Insects again have the mostwonderful influence on the "range of mammalia.In Paraguay acertain species of fly abounds which destroys new-born cattleand horses ;and thus neither of these animals have run wild inthat country, although they abound both north and southof it.This inevitably leads to a great difference in the vegetation ofParaguay, and through that toa difference in its insects, birds,reptiles, and wild mammalia. On what causes the existence ofthe fly depends we do not know, but it is not improbable that somecomparatively slight changes in the temperature or humidity ofthe air at a particular season, or the introduction of some enemymight lead to its extinction or banishment. The whole face ofthe country would then soon be changed : new species would

chap, in.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 46come in, while many others would be unable to live there ; andthe immediate cause of this great alteration would probably bequite imperceptible to us, even if we could watch it in progressyear by year. So, in South Africa, the celebrated Tsetse flyinhabits certain districts having well defined limits ; and whereit abounds no horses, dogs, or cattle can live. Yet asses,zebras, and antelopes are unaffected by it. So long as this flycontinues tc exist, there is a living barrier to the entrance ofcertain animals, quite as effectual as a lofty mountain rangeor a wide arm of the sea. The complex relations of one formof life with others is nowhere better illustrated than in Mr.Darwin's celebrated case of the cats and clover, as given in hisOrigin of Species, 6th ed., p. 57. He has observed that bothwild heartsease and red-clover are fertilized in this country byhumble-bees only, so that the production of seed depends onthe visits of these insects. A gentleman who has speciallystudied humble-bees finds that they are largely kept down byfield-mice, which destroy their combs and nests. Field-micein their turn are kept down by cats ;and probably also by owls;so that these carnivorous animals are really the agents in renderingpossible the continued existence of red-clover and wildheartsease. For if they were absent, the field-mice having noenemies, would multiply to such an extent as to destroy, all thehumble-bees ; and these two plants would then produce noseed and soon become extinct.Mr. Darwin has also shown that one species often exterminatesanother closely allied to it, when the two are brought intocontact. One species of swallow and thrush are known tohave increased at the expense of allied species. Rats, carriedall over the world by commerce, are continually extirpatingother species of rats. The imported hive-bee is, in Australia,rapidly exterminating a native stingless bee. Any slight change,therefore, of physical geography or of climate, which allowsallied species hitherto inhabiting distinct areas to come intocontact, will often lead to the extermination of one of them; andthis extermination will be effected by no external force, by noactual enemy, but merely because the one is slightly better

—46 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.adapted to live, to increase, and to maintain itself under adversecircumstances, than the other.Now if we consider carefully the few suggestive facts herereferred- to (and many others of like import are to be found inMr. Darwin's various works), we shall be led to conclude thatthe several species, genera, families, and orders, both of animalsand vegetables which inhabit any extensive region, are boundtogether by a series of complex relations ;so that the increase,diminution, or extermination of any one, may set in motion aseries of actions and reactions more or less affecting a largeportion of the whole, and requiring perhaps centuries of fluctuationbefore the balance is restored. The range of any speciesor group in such a region, will in many cases (perhaps in most)be determined, not by physical barriers, but by the competitionof other organisms. Where barriers have existed from a remoteepoch, they will at first have kept back certain animals fromcoming in contact with each other; but when the assemblageof organisms on the two sides of the barrier have, after manyages, come to form a balanced organic whole, the destructionthe barrier may lead to a very partial intermingling of thepeculiar forms of the two regions. Each will have becomemodified in special ways adapted to the organic and physicalconditions of the country, and will form a living barrier to theentrance of animals less perfectly adapted to those conditions.Thus while the abolition of ancient barriers will always leadtomuch intermixture of forms, much extermination and widespreadalteration in some families of animals ; other importantgroups will be unable materially to alter their range ;or theymay make temporary incursions into the new territory, and beultimately driven back to very near their ancient limits.In order to make thissomewhat difficult subject more intelligible,it may be well to consider the probable effects of certainhypothetical conditions of the earth's surface :1. If the dry land of the globe had been from the firstcontinuous, and nowhere divided up by such boundaries as loftymountain ranges, wide deserts, or arms of the sea, it seemsprobable that none of the larger groups (as orders, tribes, orof;

chap, in.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 47families) would have a limited range ; but, as is to some extentthe case in tropical America* east of the Andes, every suchgroup would be represented over the whole area, by countlessminute modifications of form adapted to local conditions.2. One great physical barrier would, however, even thenexist ;the hot equatorial zone would divide the faunas and florasof the colder regions of the northern and southern hemispheresfrom any chance of intermixture. This one barrier would bemore effectual than it is now, since there would be no loftymountain ranges to serve as a bridge for the partial interchangeof northern and southern forms.3. If such a condition of the earth as here supposed continuedfor very long periods, we may conceive that the actionand reaction of tjie various organisms on each other, combinedwith the influence of very slowly changing physical conditions,would result in an almost perfect organic balance, which wouldbe manifested by a great stability in the average numbers, thelocal range, and the peculiar characteristics of every species.4. Under such a condition of things it is not improbable thatthe total number of clearly differentiated specific forms might bemuch greater than it is now, though the number of generic andfamily types might perhaps be less ;for dominant species wouldhave had ample time to spread into every locality where theycould exist, and would then become everywhere modified intoforms best suited to the permanent local conditions.5. Now let us consider what would be the probable effect ofthe introduction of a barrier, cutting off a portion of this homogeneousand well-balanced world. Suppose, for instance, that asubsidence took place, cutting off by a wide arm of the sea alarge and tolerably varied island. The first and most obviousresult would be that the individuals of a number of specieswould be divided into two portions, while others, the limits ofwhose range agreed approximately with the line of subsidence,would exist in unimpaired numbers on the new island or on themain land. But the species whose numbers were diminishedand whose original area was also absolutely diminished by theportion now under the sea, would not be able to hold their

;48 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.ground against the rival forms whose numbers were intact.Some would probably diminish and rapidly die out; otherswhich produced favourable varieties, might be so modified bynatural selection as to maintain their existence under a differentform ; and such changes would take place in varying modes onthe two sides of the new strait.6. But the progress of these changes would necessarily affectthe other species in contact with them. New places would beopened in the economy of nature which many would struggleobtain ; and modification would go on in ever-widening circleand very long periods of time might be required to bring thewhole again into a state of equilibrium.7. A new set of factors would in the meantime have comeinto play.The sinking of land and the influx, of a large bodyof water could hardly take place without producing importantclimatal changes.The temperature, the winds, the rains, mightall be affected, and more or less changed in duration and amount.This would lead to a quite distinct movement in the organicworld.Vegetation would certainly be considerably affected, andthrough this the insect tribes. We have. seen how closely thelife of the higher animals is often bound up with that of insectsand thus a set of changes might arise that would modify thenumerical proportions, and even the forms and habits of a greatnumber of species, would completely exterminate some, and raiseothers from a subordinate to a dominant position. And all thesechanges would occur differently on oppositetosides of the strait,since the insular climate could not fail to differ considerablyfrom that of the continent.8. But the two sets of changes, as above indicated, producedby different modes of action of the same primary cause, wouldact and react on each other ;and thus lead to such a far-spreadingdisturbance ofthe organic equilibrium as ultimately perhapsto affect in one way or another, every form of life upon theearth.This hypothetical case is useful as enabling us better to realizehow wide-spreading might be the effects of one of the simplestchanges of physical geography, upon a compact mass of mutually

chap, in.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 49adapted organisms. In the actual state of things, the physicalchanges that occur and have occurred through all geological epochsare larger and more varied. Almost every mile of land surfacehas been again and again depressed beneath the ocean ;most ofthe great mountain chains have either originated or greatlyincreased in height during the Tertiary period ; marvellousalterations of climate and vegetation have taken place over halfthe land-surface of the earth ; and all these vast changes haveinfluenced a globe so cut up by seas and oceans, by desertsand snow-clad mountains, that in many of its more isolatedland-masses ancient forms of life have been preserved, which,in the more extensive and more varied continents have longgiven way to higher types. How complex then must have beenthe actions and reactions such a state of things would bringabout ; and how impossible must it be for us to guess, in mostcases, at the exact nature of the forces that limit the range ofsome species and cause others to be rare or to become extinct !All that we can in general hope to do is, to trace out, more orless hypothetically, some of the larger changes in physicalgeography that have occurred during the ages immediately preceedingour own, and to estimate the effect they will probablyhave produced on animal distribution.We may then, by theaid of such knowledge as to past organic mutations as the geologicalrecord supplies us with, be able to determine the probablebirthplace and subsequent migrations of the more importantgenera and families; and thus obtain some conception of thatgrand series of co-ordinated changes in the earth and its inhabitants,whose final result is seen in the forms and the geographicaldistribution of existing animals.

CHAPTER IV.ON ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS.To the older school of Naturalists the native country of an animalwas of little importance, except in as far as climates differed.Animals were supposed to be specially adapted to live in certainzones or under certain physical conditions, and it was hardlyrecognised that apart from these conditions there was anyinfluence in locality which could materially affect them. Itwas believed that, whilethe animals of tropical, temperate, andarctic climates, essentially differed ; those of the tropics wereessentially alike all over the world. A group of animals wassaid to inhabit the "Indies;" and important differences ofstructure were often overlooked from the idea, that creaturesequally adapted to live in hot countries and with certaingeneral resemblances, would naturally be related to each other.Thus the Toucans and Hornbills, the Humming- Birds and Sun-Birds, and even the Tapirs and the Elephants, came to bepopularly associated as slightly modified varieties of tropicalforms of life; while to naturalists, who were acquainted withthe essential differences of structure, it was a never-failingsource of surprise, that under climates and conditions soapparently identical, such strangely divergent forms shouldbe produced.To the modern naturalist, on the other hand, the nativecountry (or " habitat " as it is technically termed) of an animal

chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL KEGIONS. 51or a group of animals, is a matter of the first importance ; and,as regards the general history of life upon the globe, may beconsidered to be one of its essential characters. The structure,affinities, and habits of a species, now form only a part of itsnatural history. We require also to know its exact range atthe present day and in prehistoric times, and to have someknowledge of its geological age, the place of its earliest appearanceon the globe, and of the various extinct forms most nearlyallied to it. To those who accept the theory of development asworked out by Mr. Darwin, and the views as to the generalpermanence and immense antiquity of the great continentsandoceans so ably developed by Sir Charles Lyell, it ceases to be amatter of surprise that the tropics of Africa, Asia,and Americashould differ in their productions, but rather that they shouldhave anything in common.Their similarity, not their diversity,is the fact that must frequently puzzles us.The more accurate knowledge we have of late years obtainedof the productions of many remote regions, combined with thegreater approaches that have been made to a naturalclassificationof the higher animals, has shown, that every continent orwell-marked division of a continent, every archipelago andeven every island, presents problems of more or less complexityto the student of the geographical distribution of animals. Ifwe take up the subject from the zoological side, and study anyfamily, order, or even extensive genus, we are almost sure tomeet with some anomalies either in the present or pastdistributionof the various forms. Let us adduce a few examples ofthese problems.Deer have a wonderfully wide range, over the whole of Europe,Asia, and North and South America ;yet in Africa south ofthe great desert there are none.Bears range over the whole ofEurope, Asia, and North America, and true pigs of the genusSus, over all Europe and Asia and as far as New Guinea ;yetboth bears and pigs, like deer, are absent from Tropical andSouth Africa.Again, the West Indian islands possess very few Mammalia,all of small size and allied to those of America, except oneBOSTON UNIVERSITY~'COLLEGE Or r*Al ARTS

;52 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.genus ; and that belongs to an Order, " Insectivora," entirelyabsent from South America, and to a family, " Centetidae," allthe other species of which inhabit Madagascar only. And asif to add force to this singular correspondence we have oneMadagascar species of a beautiful day-flying Moth, Urania, allthe other species of which inhabit tropical America. Theseinsects are gorgeously arrayed in green and gold, and areunlike any other Lepidoptera upon the globe.The island of Ceylon generally agrees in itsquiteproductions withthe Southern part of India;yet it has several birds which areallied to Malayan and not to Indian groups, and a fineof the genus HcsHa, as well as severalare purely Malayan.butterflygenera of beetles, whichVarious important groups of animals are distributed in away not easy to explain. The anthropoid apes in West Africaand Borneo ; the tapirs in Malaya and South America ; thecamel tribe in the deserts of Asia and the Andes ; the trogonsin South America and Tropical Asia, with one species in Africa;the marsupials in Australia and America, are examples.The cases here adduced (and they might be greatly multiplied)are merely to show the kind of problems with which thenaturalist now has to deal ; and in order to do so he requiressome system of geographical arrangement, which shall servethe double purpose of affording a convenient subdivisionsubject, and at the same time of givingof hisexpression to the mainresults at which he has arrived. Hence the recent discussionson " Zoological Eegions," or, what are the most naturalprimary divisions of the earth as regards its forms of animallife.The divisions in use till quite recently were of two kindseither those ready made by geographers, more especially thequarters or continents of the globe ; or those determined byclimate and marked out by certain parallels of latitude or byisothermal lines. Either of these methods was better thannone at all; but from the various considerations explained inthe preceding chapters, it will be evident, that such divisionsmust have often been very unnatural, and have disguised many

chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 53of the most important and interesting phenomena which astudy of the distribution of animals presents to us.The merit of initiating a more natural system, that of determiningzoological regions, not by any arbitrary or a priori considerationbut by studying the actualranges of the more importantgroups of animals, is due to Mr. Sclater, who, in 1857, establishedsix primary zoological regions from a detailed examination ofthe distribution of the chief genera and families of Birds.Before stating what these regions are, what objections havebeen made to them, what other divisions have been sinceproposed, and what are those which we shall adopt in thiswork, it will be well to consider the general principles whichshould guide us in the choice between rival systems.Principles on which Zoological Regions should he formed.—It will be evident in the first place that nothing like a perfectzoological division of the earth is possible. The causesthat have led to the present distribution of animal life are sovaried, their action and reaction have been so complex, thatanomalies and irregularities are sure to exist which will mar thesymmetry of any rigid system. On two main points every systemyet proposed, or that probably can be proposed, is open toobjection ; they are,—lstly, that the several regions are not ofequal rank ;—2ndly, that they are not equally applicable toclasses of animals. As to the first objection, it will be foundimpossible to form any three or more regions, each of which differsfrom the rest in an equal degree or in the same manner. Onewill surpass all others in the possession of peculiar families;another will have many characteristic genera ;be mainly distinguished by negative characters.allwhile a third willThere will alsobe found many intermediate districts, which possess some of thecharacteristics of two well-marked regions, with a few specialfeatures of their own, or perhaps with none; and it will be adifficult question to decide in all cases which region shouldpossess this doubtful territory, or whether it should be formedinto a primary region itself. Again, two regions which havenow well-marked points of difference, may be shown to have beenmuch more alike at a comparatively recent geological epoch;

54 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.and this, it may be said, proves their fundamental unity andthat they ought to form but one primary region. To obviatesome of these difficulties a binary or dichotomous division issometimes proposed; that portion of the earth which differsmost from the rest being cut off as a region equal in rankto all that remains, which is subjected again and again tothe same process.To decide these various points it seems advisable that convenience,intelligibility, and custom, should largely guide us.The first essential is, a broadly marked and easily rememberedset of regions ;which correspond, as nearly as truth to naturewill allow, with the distribution of the most important groupsof animals.What these groups are we shall presently explain.In determining the number, extent, and boundaries of theseregions, we must be guided by a variety of indications, sincethe application of fixed rules is impossible. They should evidentlybe of a moderate number, corresponding as far aspracticable with the great natural divisions of the globe markedout by nature, and which have always been recognized bygeographers. There should be some approximation to equalityof size, since there is reason to believe that a tolerably extensivearea has been an essential condition for the development ofmost animal forms ; and it is found that, other things beingequal, the numbers, variety and importance of the forms ofanimal and vegetable life, do bear some approximate relationto extent of area. Although the possession of peculiar familiesor genera isthe main character of a primary zoological region,yet the negative character of the absence of certain familiesor genera is of equal importance, when this absence does notmanifestly depend on unsuitability to the support of the group,and especially when there is now no physical barrier preventingtheir entrance.This will become evident when we consider thatthe importance of the possession of a group by one region dependson its absence from the adjoining regions ; and if there isnow no barrier to its entrance, we may be sure that there hasonce been one ;and that the possession of the area by a distinctand well balanced set of organisms, which must have been slowly

chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 55developed and adjusted, isthe living barrier that now keeps outintruders.When it is ascertained that the chief differences whichnow obtain between two areas did not exist in Miocene orPliocene times, the fact is one of great interest, and enables usto speculate with some degree of probability as to the causes thathave brought about the present state of things ; but it is not areason for uniting these two areas into one region. Our objectis to represent as nearly as possible the main features of thedistribution of existing animals, not those of any or all pastgeological epochs. Should we ever obtain sufficient informationas to the geography and biology of the earth at past epochs, wemight indeed determine approximately what were thePlioceneor Miocene or Eocene zoological regions ; but any attempt toexhibit all these in combination with those of our own period,must lead to confusion.The binary or dichotomous system, although it brings outthe fundamental differences of the respective regions, is aninconvenient one in its application, and rather increases thanobviates, the difficulty as to equality or inequality of regions;for although a, b, c, and d, may be areas of unequal zoologicalrank, a being the most important, and d the least, yet thisinequality will probably be still greater if we first dividethem into a, on one side, and b, c, and d, on the other,and then, by another division, make b, an area of the second,and c, and d, of the third rank only.Coming to the second objection, the often incompatibledistribution of different groups of animals, affords ground foropposition to any proposed scheme of zoological regions.Thereis first the radical difference between laud and sea animals;the most complete barriers to the dispersal of the one, sometimesoffering the greatest facilities for the emigration of the other,and vice versa. A large number of marine animals, however,frequent shallow water only ;and these, keeping near the coasts,will agree generally in their distribution with those inhabitingthe land. But among land animals themselves there are verygreat differences of distribution, due to certain specialities

56 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.in their organization or mode of life. These act mainly intwo ways,— lstly, by affecting the facilities with which ;— theycan be dispersed, either voluntarily or involuntarily 2ndly,by the conditions which enable them to multiply and establishthemselves in certain areas and not in others. When boththese means of diffusion are at a maximum, the dispersal ofa group becomes universal, and ceases to have much interestfor us. This is the case with certain groups of fungi andlichens, as well as with some of the lower animals ; and ina less degree, as has been shown by Mr. Darwin, with manyfresh-water plants and animals.At the other extreme we mayplace certain arboreal vertebrata such as sloths and lemurs,which have no means of passing such barriers as narrowstraits or moderately high mountains, and whose survival inany new country they might reach, would be dependent on thepresence of suitable forests and the absence of dangerous enemies.Almost equally, or perhaps even more restricted, are the meansof permanent diffusion of terrestrial molluscs; since these arewithout any but very rare and accidental means of being safelytransported across the sea ; their individual powers of locomotionare highly restricted ; they are especially subject to theattacks of enemies; and they often depend not only on apeculiar vegetation, but on the geological character of the country,their abundance being almost in direct proportion to thepresence of some form of calcaxeous rocks. Between theseextremes we find animals possessed of an infinite gradation ofpowers to disperse and to maintain themselves ;and it will evidentlybe impossible that the limits which best define thedistribution of one group, should be equally true for all others.Which class of Animals is of most importance, in determiningZoological Regions.—To decide this question we have to considerwhich groups of animals are best adapted to exhibit,by their existing distribution, the past changes and presentphysical condition of the earth's surface; and at the sametime, by the abundance of their remains inthe various tertiaryformations will best enable us to trace out the more recentof the series of changes, both of the earth's surface and

6;chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 57of its inhabitants, by which the present state of things hasbeen brought about. For this purpose we require a groupwhich shall be dependent for its means of dispersal on the distributionof land and water, and on the presence or absenceof lofty mountains, desert plains or plateaux, and great forestssince these are the chief physical features of the earth's surfacewhose modifications at successive periods we wish to discover.It is also essential that they should not be subject to dispersalby many accidental causes ; as this would inevitably in timetend to obliterate the effect of natural barriers, and produce ascattered distribution, the causes of which we could only guess at.Again, it is necessary that they should be so highly organized asnot to be absolutely dependent on other groups of animals, andwith so much power of adaptation as to be able to exist in oneform or another over the whole globe. And lastly, it is highlyimportant that the whole group should be pretty well known,and that a fairly natural classification, especially of its minordivisions such asfamilies and genera, should have been arrivedat ; the reason for which last proviso is explained in our nextchapter, on classification.Now in every one of these points the mammalia arepreeminent; and they possess the additional advantage of being themost highly developed class of organized beings, and that towhich we ourselves belong. We should therefore construct ourtypical or standard Zoological Regions in the first place, from aconsideration of the distribution of mammalia, only bringing toour aid the distribution of other groups to determine doubtfulpoints. Regions so established will be most closely in accordancewith those long-enduring features of physical geography,on which the distribution of all forms of life fundamentallydepend ; and all discrepancies in the distribution of otherclasses of animals must be capable of being explained, eitherby their exceptional means of dispersion or by special conditionsaffecting their perpetuation and increase in each locality.If these considerations are well founded, the objections ofthose who study insects or molluscs, for example,— that ourregions are not true for their departments of nature—cannot beVol. I.—

58 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.maintained. For they will find, that a careful consideration ofthe exceptional means of dispersal and conditions of existence ofeach group, will explain most of the divergences from the normaldistribution of higher animals.We shall thus be led to an intelligent comprehension of thephenomena of distribution in all groups, which would not bethe case if every specialist formed regions for his own particularstudy. In many cases we should find that no satisfactorydivision of the earth could be made tocorrespond with the distributioneven of an entire class ; but we should have the coleopteristand the lepidopterist each with his own Geography.Andeven this would probably not suffice, for it is very doubtful ifthe detailed distribution of the Longicornes, so closely dependenton woody vegetation, could be made to agree with that of theStaphylinidse or the Carabidse which abound in many of themost barren regions, or with that of the Scarabeidse, largely dependenton the presence of herbivorous mammalia.And wheneach of these enquirers had settled a division of the earth into" regions "which exhibited with tolerable accuracy the phenomenaof distribution of his own group, we should have gainednothing whatever but a very complex mode of exhibitingthe bare facts of distribution. We should then have to beginto work out the causes of the divergence of one group fromanother in this respect ; but as each worker would refer to hisown set of regions as the type, the whole subject would becomeinvolved in inextricable confusion. These considerations seemto make it imperative that one set of "regions" should beestablished as typical for Zoology ; and it is hoped the reasonshere advanced will satisfy most naturalists that these regionscan be best determined, in the first place, by a study of the distributionof the mammalia, supplemented in doubtful cases bythat of the other vertebrates.We will now proceed to a discussionof what these regions are.Various Zoological Regions proposed since 1857.— It has alreadybeen pointed out that a very large number of birds are limitedby the same kind of barriers as mammalia ;it will thereforenot be surprising that a system of regions formed to suit the

—CHAr. iv.] • ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 59one, should very nearly represent the distribution of the other.Mr. Sclater's regions are as follows :1. The Palsearctic Region ; including Europe, Temperate Asia,and N. Africa to the Atlas mountains.2. The Ethiopian Region ;Africa south of the Atlas, Madagascar,and the Mascarene Islands, with Southern Arabia.3. The Indian Region ; including India south of the Himalayas,to South China, and to Borneo and Java.4. The Australian Region ; including Celebes and Lombock,eastward to Australia and the Pacific Islands.5. The Nearctic Region; including Greenland, and N.America, to Northern Mexico.6. The Neotropical Region ; including South America, theAntilles, and Southern Mexico.This division of the earth received great support from Dr.Giinther, who, in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for1858, showed that the geographical distribution of Reptilesagreed with it very closely, the principal difference being thatthe reptiles of Japan have a more Indian character than thebirds, this being especially the case with the snakes. In thevolume for 1868 of the same work, Professor Huxley discussesat considerable length the primary and secondary zoologicaldivisions of the earth. He gives reasons for thinking that themost radical primary division, both as regards birds and mammals,is into a Northern and Southern hemisphere (Arctogreaand Notogaea), the former, however, embracing all Africa, whilethe latter includes only Australasia and the Neotropical orAustro-Columbian region. Mr. Sclater had grouped his regionsprimarily into Palasogaea and Neogaea, the Old and NewWorlds of geographers ; a division which strikingly accordswith the distribution of the passerine birds, but not so wellwith that of mammalia or reptiles. Professor Huxley pointsout that the Nearctic, Palsearctic, Indian, and Ethiopianregions of Mr. Sclater have a much greater resemblance toeach other than any one of them has to Australia or to SouthAmerica ;and he further suggests that New Zealand alone haspeculiarities which might entitle it to rank as a primary region

;GO DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.along with Australasia and South America ;and that a CircumpolarProvince might be conveniently recognised as of equalrank with the Palsearctic and Nearctic provinces.In 1866, Mr. Andrew Murray published a large and copiouslyillustrated volume on the Geograjihical Distribution of Mammals,in which he maintains that the great and primarymammalian regions are only four : 1st. The Palrearctic regionof Mr. Sclater, extended to include the Sahara and Nubia2nd. the Indo-African region, including the Indian and Ethiopianregions of Mr. Sclater; 3rd. the Australian region (unaltered);4th. the American region, including both North and SouthAmerica. These are the regions as described by Mr. Murray,but his coloured map of " Great Mammalian Regions " showsall Arctic America to a little south of the Isothermal of 32°Fahr. as forming with Europe and North Asia one great region.At the meeting of the British Association at Exeter in 1869,Mr. W. T.Blanford read a paper on the Fauna of British India,in which he maintained that a large portion of the peninsulaof India had derived its Fauna mainly from Africa ;and that theterm "Indian region" of Mr. Sclater was misleading, becauseIndia proper, if it belongs to it at all, is the least typical portionof it. He therefore proposes to call it the " Malayan region,"because in the Malay countries it is most highly developed.Ceylon and the mountain ranges of Southern India have markedMalay affinities.In 1871 Mr. E. Blyth published in Nature "A suggested newDivision of the Earth into Zoological Regions," in which heindicates seven primary divisions or regions, subdivided intotwenty-six sub -regions. The seven regions are defined asfollows: 1. The Boreal region; including the whole of thePalsearctic and Nearctic regions of Mr. Sclater along with theWest Indies, Central America, the whole chain of the Andes,with Chili and Patagonia. 2. The Columbian region ; consistingof the remaining part of South America. 3. The Ethiopianregion ;comprising besides that region of Mr. Sclater, the valleyof the Jordan, Arabia, and the desert country towards India,with all the plains and table lands of India and the northern

;chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 61half of Ceylon. 4. The Lemurian region ;consisting of Madagascarand its adjacent islands. 5. The Austral-Asian regionwhich is the Indian region of Mr. Sclater without the portiontaken to be added to the Ethiopian region. 6. The Melanesianregion ; which is the Australian region of Mr. Sclater withoutNew Zealand and the Pacific Islands, which form 7. thePolynesian region. Mr. Blyth thinks this is " a true classificationof zoological regions as regards mammalia and birds."In an elaborate paper on the birds of Eastern North America,their distribution and migrations (Bulletin of Museum of ComparativeZoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Vol. 2), Mr. J. A.Allen proposes a division of the earth in accordance with whathe terms, " the law of circumpolar distribution oflife in zones,"as follows : 1. Arctic realm. 2. North temperate realm. 3.American tropical realm. 4. Indo-African tropical realm.5. South American tropical realm. 6. African temperate realm.7. Antarctic realm. 8. Australian realm. Some of these aresubdivided into regions; (2) consisting of the American andthe Europaeo-Asiatic regions ; (4) into the African and Indianregions; (8) into the tropical Australian region, and one comprisingthe southern part of Australia and New Zealand. Theother realms each form a single region.Discussion of proposed Regions.—Before proceeding to definethe regions adopted in this work, it may be as well to makea few remarks on some of the preceding classifications, andto give the reasons which seem to render it advisable to adoptvery few of the suggested improvements on Mr. Sclater'soriginal proposal. Mr. Blyth's scheme is one of the leastnatural, and also the most inconvenient. There can be littleuse in the knowledge that a group of animals is found in theBoreal Eegion, if their habitat might still be either Patagonia,the West Indies, or Japan ; and it is difficult to see on whatprinciple the Madagascar group of islands is made of equalrank with this enormous region, seeing that its forms of lifehave marked African affinities. Neither does it seem advisableto adopt the Polynesian Eegion, or that comprising New Zealandalone (as hinted at by Professor Huxley and since adopted by

;G2 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.Mr. Sclater in his Lectures on Geographical Distribution at theZoological Gardens in May 1874), because it is absolutely withoutindigenous mammalia and very poor in all forms of life,and therefore by no means prominent or important enough toform a primary region of the earth.It may be as well here to notice what appears tobe a seriousobjection to making New Zealand, or any similar isolateddistrict, one of the great zoological regions, comparable to SouthAmerica, Australia, or Ethiopia ;which is, that its claim to thatdistinction rests on grounds which are liable to fail. It isbecause New Zealand, in addition to its negative merits, possessesthree families of birds (Apterygidse living, Dinornithidse andPalapterygidae extinct), and a peculiar lizard-like reptile,Hatteria, which has to be classed in a distinct order, Ehynchocephalina,that the rank of a Eegion is claimed for it. Butsupposing, what is not at all improbable, that other Ehynchocephalinashould be discovered in the interior of Australia orin New Guinea, and that Apterygidre or Palapterygi'dre shouldbe found to have inhabited Australia in Post-Pliocene times,(as Dinornithidae have already been proved to have done) theclaims of New Zealand would entirely fail, and it would beuniversally acknowledged to be a part of the great Australianregion. No such reversal can take place in the case of theother regions ;because they rest, not upon one or two, but upon alarge number of peculiarities, of such a nature that there isroom upon the globe for discoveries that can seriously modifythem. Even if one or two peculiar types, like Apterygidre ornoHatteria, should permanently remain characteristic of New Zealandalone, we can account for these by the extreme isolationofthe country, and the absence of enemies, which have enabledthese defenceless birds and reptiles to continue their existencejust as the isolation and protection of the caverns of Carniolahave enabled the Proteus to survive in Europe.But supposingthat the Proteus was the sole representative of an order ofBatrachia, and that two or three other equally curious andisolated forms occurred with it,no one would propose that thesecaverns or the district containing them, should form one of the

chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 63primary divisions of the earth. Neither can much stress belaid on the negative characteristics of New Zealand, since theyare found to an almost equal extent in every oceanic island.Again, it is both inconvenient and misleading to pick outcertain tracts from the midst of one region or sub-region and toplace them in another, on account of certain isolated affinitieswhich may often be accounted for by local peculiarities.Evenif the resemblance of the fauna of Chili and Patagonia to thatof the Palsearctic and Nearctic regions was much greater than itis, this mode of dealing with it would be objectionable ; but itis still more so, when we find that these countries have astrongly marked South American character, and that the northernaffinities are altogether exceptional. The Eodentia, whichcomprise a large portion of the mammalia of these countries,are wholly South American in type, and the birds are almost allallied to forms characteristic of tropical America.For analogous reasons the Ethiopian must not be made toinclude any part of India or Ceylon ;for although the Fauna ofCentral India has some African affinities, these do not preponderate;and it will not be difficult to show that to follow Mr.Andrew Murray in uniting bodily the Ethiopian and Indianregions of Mr. Sclater, is both unnatural and inconvenient.Theresemblances between them are of the same character as thosewhich would unite them both with thePalasarctic and Nearcticregions ; and although it may be admitted, that, as ProfessorHuxley maintains, this group forms one of the great primarydivisions of the globe, it is far too extensive and too heterogeneousto subserve the practical uses for which we require adivision of the world into zoological regions.Reasons for adopting the six Regions first proposed by Mr. Sclater.—So that we do not violate any clear affinities or produce anyglaring irregularities, it is a positive, and by no means an unimportant,advantage to have our named regionsapproximatelyequal in size, and with easily defined, and therefore easily remembered,boundaries. All elaborate definitions of interpenetratingfrontiers, as well as regions extending over three-fourthsof the land surface of the globe, and including places which are

G4 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.the antipodes of each other, would be most inconvenient, evenif there were not such difference of opinion about them.Therecan be little doubt, for example, that the most radical zoologicaldivision of the earth is made by separating the Australian regionfrom the rest; but although it is something useful anddefinite to know that a group of animals is peculiar to Australia,it is exceedingly vague and unsatisfactory to say of any othergroup merely that it is extra-Australian. Neither can it be saidthat, from any point of view, these two divisions are of equalimportance. The next great natural division that can be madeis the separation of the Neotropical Region of Mr. Sclater fromthe rest of the world. We thus have three primary divisions,which Professor Huxley seems inclined to consider as oftolerably equal zoological importance. But a consideration ofall the facts, zoological and palseontological, indicates, that thegreat northern division (Arctogsea) is fully as much more importantthan either Australia or South America,as its four componentparts are less important ; and if so, convenience requiresus to adopt the smaller rather than the larger divisions.This question, of comparative importance or equivalence ofvalue, is very difficult to determine.It may be considered fromthe point of view of speciality or isolation, or from that ofrichness and variety of animal forms.In isolation and speciality,determined by what they want as well as what they possess, theAustralian and Neotropical regions are undoubtedly each comparablewith the rest of the earth (Arctogsea). But in richnessand variety of forms, they are both very much inferior, and aremuch more nearly comparable with the separate regions whichcompose it.Taking the families of mammalia as established bythe best authors, and leaving out the Cetacea and the Bats,which are almost universally distributed, and about whoseclassification there is much uncertainty, the number of familiesrepresented in each of Mr. Sclater's regions is as follows :I. Palsearctic region has 31 families of terrestrial mammalia.II. Ethiopian „ „ 40 „ „III. Indian „ „ 31 „ „IV. Australian „ „ 14 „ „V. Neotropical „ „ 26 „ „VI. Nearctic „ ,,23 „ „

;chap. iv.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 65We see, then, that even the exceedingly rich and isolated Neotropicalregion is less rich and diversified in its forms of mammalianlife than the very much smaller area of the Indian region,or the temperate Palcearctic, and very much less so than theEthiopian region ; while even the comparatively poor Nearcticregion, is nearly equal to it in the number of its family types. Ifthese were united they would possess fifty-five families, a numbervery disproportionate to those of the remaining two.Anotherconsideration is, that although the absence of certain forms oflife makes a region more isolated, it does not make itzoologicallymore important ; for we have only to suppose some five or sixfamilies, now common to both, to become extinct either in theEthiopian or the Indian regions, and they would become asstrongly differentiatedwhile still remaining as rich in family types.from all other regions as South America,In birds exactly thesame phenomenon recurs, the family types being less numerous inSouth America than in either of the other tropical regions of theearth, but a larger proportion of them are restricted to it.It willbe shown further on, that the Ethiopian and Indian, (or, as I proposeto call it in this work, Oriental) regions, are sufficiently differentiatedby very important groups of animals peculiar toeachand that, on strict zoological principles they are entitled torank asregions of equal value with the Neotropical and Australian.It is perhaps less clear whether the Palsearctic shouldbe separated from the Oriental region, with which it has undoubtedlymuch in common ; but there are many and powerfulreasons for keeping it distinct.facies in the animal forms of the two regions ;There is an unmistakably differentand although nofamilies of mammalia or birds, and not many genera, are whollyconfined to the Palsearctic region, a very considerable numberof both have their metropolis in it,and are very richly represented.The distinction between the characteristic forms of life in tropicaland cold countries is,on the whole, very strongly marked in thenorthern hemisphere ; and to refuse to recognise this in a subdivisionof the earth which is established for the very purpose ofexpressing such contrasts more clearly and concisely than byordinary geographicalterminology, would be both illogical and

;GG DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.inconvenient. The one question then remains, whether theNearctic region should be kept separate, or whether it shouldform part of the Paleearctic or of the Neotropical regions.ProfessorHuxley and Mr. Blyth advocate the former course ;Mr.Andrew Murray (for mammalia) and Professor Newton (for birds)think the latter would be more natural. No doubt much is tobe said for both views, but both cannot be right ; and it will beshown in the latter part of this chapter that the Nearctic regionis, on the whole, fully as well defined as the PalaBarctic, by positivecharacters which differentiate it from both the adjacentregions. More evidence in the same direction will be found inthe Second Part of this work, in which the extinct faunas of theseveral regions are discussed.A confirmation of the general views here set forth, as to thedistinctness and approximate equivalence of the six regions, isto be found in the fact, that if any two or more of them are combinedthey themselves become divisions ofthe next lower rank,or " sub-regions " —and these will be very much more important,;both zoologically and geographically, than the subdivisions ofthe remaining regions,.It is admitted then that these six regionsare by no means of precisely equal rank, and that some of themare far more isolated and better characterized than others ; butit is maintained that, looked at from every point of view, theyare more equal in rank than any others that can be formedwhile in geographical equality, compactness of area, and facilityof definition, they are beyond all comparison better than anyothers that have yet been proposed forthe purpose of facilitatingthe study of geographical distribution. They may be arrangedand grouped as follows, so as to exhibit their variousrelations and affinities.Regions.jt ( Neotropical ... Austral zone Notogsea.°') Nearctic ) -n ,Boreal zonePai^arctic ...P1I Ethiopian P1 , . .Palaeogaea' 0riental jPalaeotropical zone\IJArctogaaa.\ Australian ... Austral zone Notogsea.The above table shows the regions placed in the order followedin the Fourth Part of this work, and the reasons for which are

chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 07explained in Chapter IX. As a matter of convenience, and forother reasons adduced in the same chapter, the detailed expositionof the geographical distribution of the animals of the severalresions in Part III. commences with the Palsearctic and terminateswith the Nearctic region.Objections to the system of Circumpolar Zones.—Mr. Allen'ssystem of " realms " founded on climatic zones (given atp. 61), having recently appeared in an ornithological workof considerable detail and research, calls for a few remarks.The author continually refers to the " law of the distribution oflife in circumpolar zones," as if it were one generally acceptedand that admits of no dispute. But this supposed " law " onlyapplies to the smallest details ofdistribution—to the range andincreasing or decreasing numbers of species as we pass fromnorth to south, or the reverse ;while it has little bearing on thegreat features of zoological geography—the limitation of groupsof genera and families to certain areas. It is analogous tothe " law of adaptation " in the organisation of animals, bywhich members of various groups are suited for an aerial, anaquatic, a desert, or an arboreal life ;are herbivorous, carnivorous,or insectivorous; are fitted to live underground, or in freshwaters, or on polar ice.It was once thought that these adaptivepeculiarities were suitable foundations for a classification,—thatwhales were fishes, and bats birds ; and even to this clay thereare naturalists who cannot recognise the essential diversityof structure in such groups as swifts and swallows, sun-birds andhumming-birds, under the superficial disguise caused by adaptationto a similar mode of life.The application of Mr. Allen'sprinciple leads to equally erroneous results, as may be well seenby considering his separation of " the southern third of Australia" to unite it with New Zealand as one of his secondaryzoological divisions.If there is one country in the world whosefauna is strictly homogeneous, that country is Australia ;whileNew Guinea on the one hand, and New Zealand on the other,are as sharply differentiated from Australia as any adjacent partsof the same primary zoological division can possibly be. Yetthe " laiv of circumpolar distribution " leads to the division of

;68 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.Australia by an arbitrary east and west line, and a union of thenorthern two-thirds with New Guinea, the southern third withNew Zealand. Hardly less unnatural is the supposed equivalenceof South Africa (the African temperate realm) to alltropical Africa and Asia, including Madagascar (the Indo-African tropical realm). South Africa has, it is true, somestriking peculiarities ; but they are absolutely unimportant ascompared with the great and radical differences between tropicalAfrica and tropical Asia. On these examples we may fairlyrest our rejection of Mr. Allen's scheme.We must however say a few words on the zoo-geographicalnomenclature proposed in the same paper, which seems alsovery objectionable. The following terms are proposed : realm,region, province, district, fauna and flora ; the first being thehighest, the last the lowest and smallest sub-division. Consideringthat most of these terms have been used in very differentsenses already, and that no means of settling their equivalencein different parts of the globe has been even suggested,such acomplex system must lead to endless confusion. Until thewhole subject is far better known and its firstprinciples agreedupon, the simpler and the fewer the terms employed the better ;and as " region " was employed for the primary divisions byMr. Sclater, eighteen years ago, and again by Mr. AndrewMurray, in his Geographical Distribution of Mammals ;nothingbut obscurity can result from each writer using some new, anddoubtfully better, term. For the sub-divisions of the regionsno advantage is gained by the use of a distinct term— " province"—whichhas been used (by Swainson) for the primarydivisions, and which does not itself tell you what rank it holdswhereas the term " sub-region " speaks for itself as being unmistakablynext in subordination to region, and this clearness ofmeaning gives it the preference over any independent term.As to minor named sub-divisions, they seem at present uncalledfor; and till the greater divisions are themselves generallyagreed on, itseems better to adopt no technical names for whatmust, for a long time to come, be indeterminate.Does the Arctic Fauna characterize an independentRegion.—

chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 69The proposal to consider the Arctic regions as constituting one ofthe primary zoological divisions of the globe, has been advocatedby many naturalists. Professor Huxley seems to consider itadvisable, and Mr. Allen unhesitatingly adopts it, as well as an" antarctic " region to balance it in the southern hemisphere.The reason why an " Arctic Eegion " finds no place in this workmay therefore be here stated.No species or group of animals can properly be classed as" arctic," which does not exclusively inhabit or greatly preponderatein arctic lauds. For the purpose of establishing theneed of an " arctic "zoological region, we should consider chieflysuch groups as are circumpolar as well as arctic ; because, ifthey are confined to, or greatly preponderate in, either theeastern or western hemispheres, they can be at once allocated tothe Nearctic or Palasarctic regions, and can therefore afford nojustification for establishing a new primary division of theglobe.Thus restricted, only three genera of land mammalia are trulyarctic : Gulo, Myodes, and Rangifcr. Two species of widelydispersed genera are also exclusively arctic, Ursits maritimusand Vilifies lagopus.Exclusively arctic birds are not much more numerous. Ofland birds there are only three genera (each consistingof but asingle species), Pinicola, Nyctea, and Surnia. Lagopus is circumpolar,but the genus has too wide an extension in thetemperate zone to be considered arctic. Among aquatic birdswe have the genus of ducks, Somateria ; three genera of Uriidse,Uria, Catarractes, and Mergulus ; and the small family Alcidse rconsisting of the genera Alca and Fratercula. Our total thenis, three genera of mammalia, three of land, and six of aquaticbirds, including one peculiar family.In the southern hemisphere there is only the single genusAptenodytes that can be classed as antarctic ; and even that ismore properly south temperate.In dealing with this arctic fauna we have two courses opento us ; we must either group them with the other species andgenera which are common to the two northern regions, or we

70 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part r.must form a separate primary region for them. As a matter ofconvenience the former plan seems the best ; and it is thatwhich is in accordance with our treatment of other intermediatetracts which contain special forms of life. The great desertzone, extending from the Atlantic shores of the Sahara acrossArabia to Central Asia, is a connecting link between the Palsearctic,Ethiopian, and Oriental regions, and contains a numberof " desert " forms wholly or almost wholly restricted to it ; butthe attempt to define it as a separate region would introducedifficulty and confusion. Neither to the " desert " nor to the" arctic " regions could any defined limits, either geographicalor zoological, be placed ; and the attempt to determine whatspecies or genera should be allotted to them would prove aninsoluble problem. The reason perhaps is, that both are essentiallyunstable, to a much greater extent than those great massesof land with more or less defined barriers, which constitute oursix regions.The Arctic Zone has been, within a recent geologicalperiod, both vastly more extensive and vastly lessextensivethan it is at present. At a not distant epoch it extended overhalf of Europe and of North America. At an earlier date itappears to have vanished altogether ; since a luxuriant vegetationof tall deciduous trees and broad-leaved evergreensflourished within ten degrees of the Pole ! The great desertshave not improbably been equally fluctuating; hence neitherthe one nor the other can present that marked individualityin their forms of life, which seems to have arisen only whenextensive tracts of land have retained some considerable stabilityboth of surface and climatal conditions, during periodssufficient for the development and co-adaptation of their severalassemblages of plants and animals.We must also consider that there isno geographical difficultyin dividing the Arctic Zone between the two northern regions.The only debateable lands, Greenland and Iceland, are generallyadmitted to belong respectively to America and Europe.Neither is there any zoological difficulty ; for the land mammaliaand birds are on the whole wonderfully restricted to theirrespective regions even in high latitudes ; and the aquatic forms

;chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL EEGIONS. 71are, for our present purpose, of much less importance. As aprimary division the " Arctic region " would be out of all proportionto the other six, whether as regards its few peculiartypes or the limited number of forms and species actually inhabitingit ; but it comes in well as a connecting link betweentwo regions, where the peculiar forms of both are specially modified; and is in this respect quite analogous to the great desertzone above referred to.I now proceed to characterize briefly the six regions adoptedin the present work, together with the sub-regions into whichthey may be most conveniently and naturally divided, as shownin our general map.Palcearctic Region.—Thisvery extensive region comprises alltemperate Europe and Asia, from Iceland to Behring's Straits andfrom the Azores to Japan. Its southern boundary is somewhatindefinite, but it seems advisable to comprise in it allthe extra- tropical part of the Sahara and Arabia, and allPersia, Cabul, and Beloochistan to the Indus. It comes downto a little below the upper limit of forests in the Himalayas,and includes the larger northern half of China, not quite sofar down the coast as Amoy. It has been said that thisregion differs from the Oriental by negative characters only ; ahost oftropical families and genera being absent, while there islittle or nothing but peculiar species to characterize it absolutely.This however is not true. The Paleearctic region is wellcharacterized by possessing 3 families of vertebrata peculiarto it, as well as 35 peculiar genera of mammalia, and 57of birds, constituting about one-third of the total number itpossesses. These are amply sufficient to characterize a regionpositively ; but we must also consider the absence of many importantgroups of the Oriental, Ethiopian, and Nearctic regionsand we shall then find, that taking positive and negativecharacters together,and making some allowance for the necessarypoverty of a temperate as compared with tropical regions,the Palsearctic is almost asany other.strongly marked and well defined asSub-divisions of the Palmarctic Region.—These are by no means

72 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part I.so clearly indicated as in some of the other regions, and they areadopted more for convenience than because they are very naturalor strongly marked.The first, or European sub-region, comprises Central andNorthern Europe as far South as the Pyrenees, the Maritimeand Dinaric Alps, the Balkan mountains, the Black Sea, and theCaucasus. On the east the Caspian sea and the Ural mountainsseem the most obvious limit ; but it is doubtful if they form theactual boundary, which is perhaps better marked by the valleyof the Irtish, where a pre-glacial sea almost certainly connectedthe Aral and Caspian seas with the Arctic ocean, and formedan effective barrier which must still, to some extent, influencethe distribution of animals.The next, or Mediterranean sub-region, comprises SouthEurope, North Africa with the extra-tropical portion of theSahara, and Egypt to about the first or second cataracts ; andeastward through Asia Minor, Persia, and Cabul, to the desertsof the Indus.The third, or Siberian sub-region, consists of all north andcentral Asia north of Herat, as far as the eastern limits of thegreat desert plateau of Mongolia, and southward to about theupper limit of trees on the Himalayas.The fourth, or Manchurian sub-region, consists of Japan andNorth China with the lower valley of the Amoor ;and it shouldprobably be extended westward in a narrow strip along theHimalayas, embracing about 1,000 or 2,000 feet of verticaldistance below the upper limit of trees, till it meets an easternextension of the Mediterranean sub-region a little beyond Simla.These extensions are necessary to avoid passing from the Orientalregion, which isessentially tropical, directly to the Siberian subregion,which has an extreme northern character ; whereas theMediterranean and Manchurian sub-regions are more temperatein climate. It will be found that between the upper limit ofmost of the typical Oriental groups and the Thibetan or Siberianfauna, there is a zone in which many forms occur common totemperate China. This is especially the case among the pheasantsand finches.

7;chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 73Ethiopian Region.—The limits of this region have been indicatedby the definition of the Palsearctic region.Besides Africasouth of the tropic of Cancer, and its islands, it comprises thesouthern half of Arabia.This region has been said to be identical in the main charactersof its mammalian fauna with the Oriental region, and hastherefore been united with it by Mr. A. Murray. Most importantdifferences have however been overlooked, as the followingsummary of the peculiarities of the Ethiopian region will, Ithink, show.It possesses 22 peculiar families of vertebrates ; 90 peculiargenera of mammalia, being two-thirds of its whole numberand 179 peculiar genera of birds, being three-fifths of all itpossesses. It is further characterized by the absence of severalfamilies and genera which range over the whole northernhemisphere, details of which will be found in the chaptertreating of the region. There are, it is true, many pointsof resemblance, not to be wondered at between two tropicalregionsin the same hemisphere, and which have evidently beenat one time more nearly connected, both by intervening landsand by a different condition of the lands that even now connectthem.remarkable ;But these resemblances only render the differences moresince they show that there has been an ancient andlong-continued separation of the two regions, developing a distinctfauna in each, and establishing marked specialitieswhichthe temporary intercommunication and immigration has notsufficed to remove. The entire absence of such wide-spreadgroups as bears and deer, from a country many parts of whichare well adapted to them, and in close proximity to regionswhere they abound, would alone mark out the Ethiopian regionas one of the primary divisions of the earth, even if it possesseda less number than it actually does of peculiar family andgenericgroups.Sub-divisions of the Ethiopian Region.—The African continentsouth of the tropic of Cancer is more homogeneous in itsprominent and superficial zoological features than most of theother regions, but there are nevertheless important and deep-Vol. I.—

74 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.seated local peculiarities. Two portions can be marked off aspossessing many peculiar forms ; the luxuriant forest districtof equatorial West Africa, and the southern extremity or Capedistrict. The remaining portion has no well-marked divisions,and a large proportion of its animal forms range over it fromNubia and Abyssinia, to Senegal on the one side and to theZambesi on the other ; this forms our first or East-Africansub-region.The second, or West African sub-region extends along thecoast from Senegal to Angola, and inland to the sources of theShary and the Congo.The third, or South African sub-region, comprises the CapeColony and Natal, and is roughly limited by a line from DelagoaBay to Walvish Bay.The fourth, or Malagasy sub-region, consists of Madagascar andthe adjacent islands, from Eodriguez to the Seychelles ;and thisdiffers so remarkably from the continent that it has been proposedto form a distinct primary region for its reception. Itsproductions are indeed highly interesting; since it possesses3 families, and 2 sub-families of mammals peculiar to itself,while almost all its genera are peculiar. Of these a fewshow Oriental or Ethiopian affinities, but the remainder arequite isolated. Turning to other classes of animals, we findthat the birds are almost as remarkable ; but, as might beexpected, a larger number of genera are common to surroundingcountries. More than 30 genera are altogether peculiar,in separate families or sub-families.and some of these are so isolated as to require to be classedThe African affinity is howeverhere more strongly shown by the considerable number (13)of peculiar Ethiopian genera which in Madagascar have representativespecies. There can be no doubt therefore about Madagascarbeing more nearly related to the Ethiopian than to anyother region ; but its peculiarities are so great, that, were it notfor its small size and the limited extent of its fauna, its claim torank as a separate region might not seem unreasonable. It istrue that it is not poorer in mammals than Australia ;but thatcountry is far more isolated, and cannot be so decidedly and

chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 75naturally associated with any other region as Madagascar canbe with the Ethiopian. It is therefore the better and morenatural course to keep it as a sub-region ; the peculiarities itexhibits being of exactly the same kind as those presented bythe Antilles, by New Zealand, and even by Celebes and Ceylon,but in a much greater degree.Oriental Region.—On account of the numerous objectionsthat have been made to naming a regionfrom the least characteristicportion of it, and not thinking " Malayan," proposed byMr. Blanford, a good term, (as it has a very circumscribed anddefinite meaning, and especially because the " Malay " archipelagois half of it in the Australian region,) I propose to usethe word " Oriental " instead of " Indian," as being geographicallyapplicable to the whole of the countries included in the regionand to very few beyond it ; as being euphonious, and as beingfree from all confusion with terms already used in zoologicalgeography. I trust therefore that it may meet with generalacceptance.This small, compact, but rich and varied region, consists ofall India and China from the limits of the Palsearctic region ;all the Malay peninsula and islands as far east as Java andBaly, Borneo and the Philippine Islands ; and Formosa. It ispositively characterized by possessing 12 peculiar families ofvertebrata ; by 55 genera of land mammalia, and 165 generaof land birds, altogether confined to it ; these peculiar generaforming in each case about one half of the total number itpossesses.Sub-divisions of the Oriental region.—First we have theIndian sub-region, consisting of Central India from the foot ofthe Himalayas in the west, and south of the Ganges to theeast, as far as a linedrawn from Goa curving south and up tothe Kistna river; this is the portion which has most affinitywith Africa.The second, or Ceylonese sub-region, consists of thesouthernextremity of India with Ceylon ; this is a mountainous forestregion, and possesses several peculiar forms as well as someMalayan types not found in the firstsub-region.

76 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.Next we have the Indo-Chinese sub-region, comprising SouthChina and Burmah, extending westward along the Himalayanrange to an altitude of about 9,000 or 10,000 feet, and southwardto Tavoy or Tenasserim.The last is the Indo-Malayan sub-region, comprising thePeninsula of Malacca and the Malay Islands to Baly, Borneo,and the Philippines.On account of the absence from the first sub-region of many ofthe forms most characteristic of the other three, and the numberof families and genera of mammalia and birds which occur in itand also in Africa, it has been thought by some naturalists thatthis part ofIndia has at least an equal claim to be classed as apart of the Ethiopian region.discussed in Chapter XII. devoted toThis question will be found fullythe Oriental region, whereit is shown that the African affinity is far less than has beenrepresented, and that in all itswholly Oriental in its fauna.essential features Central India isBefore leaving this region a few words may be said aboutLemuria, a name proposed by Mr. Sclater for the site of a supposedsubmerged continent extending from Madagascar to Ceylonand Sumatra, in which the Lemuroid type of animals was developed.This is undoubtedly a legitimate and highly probable supposition,and itis an example of the way in which a study of thegeographical distribution of animals may enable us to reconstructthe geography of a bygone age.But we must not, as Mr. Blythproposed, make this hypothetical land one of our actual Zoologicalregions. It represents what was probably a primaryZoological region in some past geological epoch ; but what thatepoch was and what were the limits of the region in question, weare quite unable to say. If we are to suppose that it comprisedthe whole area now inhabited by Lemuroid animals, we mustmake it extend from West Africa to Burmah, South China, andCelebes ; an area which it possibly did once occupy, but whichcannot be formed into a modern Zoological region without violatingmuch more important affinities. If, on the other hand,we leave out all those areas which undoubtedly belong to otherregions, we reduce Lemuria to Madagascar and its adjacent

chap. IV.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 77islands, which, for reasons already stated, it is not advisable totreat as a primary Zoological region. The theory of this ancientcontinent and the light it may throw on existing anomalies ofdistribution, will be more fully considered in the geographicalpart of this work.Australian Region.—Mr. Sclater's original name seems preferableto Professor Huxley's, "Austral- Asian- ; " the inconvenienceof which alteration is sufficiently shown by the factthat Mr. Blyth proposed to use the very same term as anappropriate substitute for the " Indian region " of Mr. Sclater.Australia is the great central mass of the region ; it is by far therichest in varied and highly remarkable forms of life ; and ittherefore seems in every way fitted to give a name to the regionof which it is the essential element. The limits of this regionin the Pacific are somewhat obscure, but as so many of thePacific Islands are extremely poor zoologically, this is not ofgreat importance.Sub-divisions of the Australian Region.—The firstsub-regionis the Austro-Malayan, including the islands from Celebes andLombock on the west to the Solomon Islands on the east. TheAustralian sub-region comes next, consisting of Australia andTasmania. The third, or Polynesian sub-region, will consistof all the tropical Pacific Islands, and is characterized byseveral peculiar genera of birds which are all allied to Australiantypes. The fourth, consists of New Zealand with Auckland,Chatham, and Norfolk Islands, and must be called the NewZealand sub-region.The extreme peculiaritiesof New Zealand, due no doubt toits great isolation and to its being the remains of a moreextensive land, have induced several naturalists to suggest thatit ought justly to form a Zoological region by itself. But theinconveniences of such a procedure have been already pointedout ; and when we look at its birds as a whole (they being theonly class sufficiently well represented tofound any conclusionupon) we find that the majority of them belong to Australiangenera, and where the genera are peculiar they aremost nearlyrelated to Australian types. The preservation in these islands

78 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.of a single representative of a unique order of reptiles, is, asbefore remarked, of the same character as the preservation ofthe Proteus in the caverns of Carniola ;and can give the localitywhere it happens to have survived no claim to form a primaryZoological region, unless supported by a tolerably varied anddistinctly characterized fauna, such as never exists in a veryrestricted and insular area.Neotropical Region.—Mr. Sclater's original name for thisregion is preserved, because change of nomenclature is alwaysan evil; and neither Professor Huxley's suggested alteration" Austro-Columbia," nor Mr. Sclater's new term " Dendrogaea,"appear to be improvements. The region is essentially a tropicalone, and the extra-tropical portion of it is not importantenough to make the name inappropriate. That proposed byProfessor Huxley is not free from the same kind of criticism,since it would imply that the region was exclusively SouthAmerican, whereas a considerable tract of North Americabelongs to it. This region includes South America, theAntilles and tropical North America ; and it possesses morepeculiar families of vertebrates and genera of birds and mammaliathan any other region.Subdivisions of the Neotropical Region.—The great centralmass of South America, from the shores of Venezuela to Paraguayand Eastern Peru, constitutes the chief division, and may betermed the Brazilian sub-region. It is on the whole a forestcountry; its most remarkable forms are highly developedarboreal types ; and it exhibits all the characteristics of this richand varied continent in their highest development.The second, or Chilian sub-region, consists of the open plains,pampas, and mountains of the southern extremity of the continent;farand we must include in it the west side of the Andes asas the limits of the forest near Payta, and the whole of thehigh Andean plateaus as far as 4° of south latitude; whichmakes it coincide with the range of the Camelidse and Chinchillidae.The third, or Mexican sub-region, consists of Central Americaand Southern Mexico, but it has no distinguishing character-

chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 79istics except the absence of some of the more highly specializedNeotropical groups. It is, however, a convenient division ascomprising the portion ofthe North American continent whichbelongs zoologically to South America.The fourth, or Antillean sub-region, consists of the WestIndia islands(except Trinidad and Tobago, which are detachedportions of the continent and must be grouped inthe first subregion);and these reproduce, in a much less marked degree,the phenomena presented by Madagascar.Terrestrial mammalsare almost entirely wanting, but the larger islands possess threegenera which are altogether peculiar to them. The birds areof South American forms, but comprise many peculiar genera.Terrestrial molluscs are more abundant and varied than inanypart of the globe of equal extent ; and if these alone wereconsidered, the Antilles would constitute an important Zoologicalregion.Nearctic Region.—This region comprises all temperate NorthAmerica and Greenland. The arctic lands and islands beyondthe limit of trees form a transitional territory to the Palsearcticregion, but even here there are some characteristic species.The southern limit between this region and the Neotropical islittle uncertain ; but it may be drawn at about the Rio Grandedel Norte on the east coast, and a little north of Mazatlan onthe west ; while on the central plateau it descends much farthersouth, and should perhaps include all the open highlands ofMexico and Guatemala.several characteristic Nearctic genera.This would coincide with the range ofDistinction of the Nearctic from the Palcearctic Region.—TheNearctic region possesses twelve peculiar families of vertebratesor one-tenth of its whole number. It has also twenty-fourpeculiar genera of mammalia and fifty-two of birds, in eachcase nearly one-third of all it possesses.This proportion is verynearly the same as in the Palsearctic region, while the number ofpeculiar families of vertebrata is very much greater.aIt has beenalready seen that both Mr. Blyth and Professor Huxley aredisposed to unite this region with the Palsearctic, while ProfessorNewton, in his article on birds in the new edition of the

;80 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.Encyclopaedia Britannica, thinks that as regards that class itcan hardly claim to be more than a sub-region of the Neotropical.These views are mutually destructive, but it will be shown inthe proper place, that on independent grounds the Nearcticregion can very properly be maintained.Subdivisions of the Nearctic Region.—The sub-regions heredepend on the great physical features of the country, and havebeen in some cases accurately definedby American naturalists.First we have the Californiau sub-region, consisting of Californiaand Oregon—a narrow tract between the Sierra Nevadaand the Pacific, but characterized by a number of peculiarspecies and by several genera found nowhere else in the region.The second, or Rocky Mountain sub-region, consists of thisgreat mountain range with its plateaus, and the central plainsand prairies to about 100° west longitude, but including NewMexico and Texas in the South.The third and most important sub-region, which may betermed the Alleghanian, extends eastward to the Atlantic, includingthe Mississippi Valley, the Alleghany Mountains, andthe Eastern United States. This is an old forest district, andcontains most of the characteristic animal types of the region.The fourth, or Canadian sub-region, comprises all the northernpart of the continent from the great lakes to the Arctic oceana land of pine-forests and barren wastes, characterized by Arctictypes and the absence of many of the genera which distinguishthe more southern portions of the region.Observations on the series of Sub-regions.—The twenty-four subregionshere adopted were arrived at by a careful considerationof the distribution of the more important genera, and of thematerials, both zoological and geographical, available for tbeirdetermination ; and it was not till they were almost finallydecided on, that they were found to be equal in number throughoutall the regions—four in each. As this uniformity is of greatadvantage in tabular and diagrammatic presentations of thedistribution of the several families, I decided not to disturbit unless very strong reasons should appear for adopting a greateror less number in any particular case. Such however have not

CHAP. IV.] ZOOLOGICAL EEGIONS. 81arisen ; and it is hoped that these divisions will prove as satisfactoryand useful to naturalists in general as they have been tothe author. Of course, in a detailed study of any region muchmore minute sub-division may be required; but even in thatcase it is believed that the sub-regions here adopted, will befound, with slight modifications, permanently available for exhibitinggeneral results.I give here a table showing the proportionate richness andspeciality of each region as determined by itsfamilies of vertebratesand genera of mammalia and birds ; and also a generaltable of the regions and sub-regions, arranged in the order thatseems best to show their mutual relations.Comparative Richness of the Six Regions.

82 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part. I.Table of Regions and Sub-regions— continued.Regions.

—CHAPTER V.CLASSIFICATION AS AFFECTING THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHICALDISTRIBUTION.A little consideration will convince us, that no inquiry intothe causes and laws which determine the geographical distributionof animals or plants can lead to satisfactory results, unlesswe have a tolerably accurate knowledge of the affinities of theseveral species, genera, and families to each other; in otherwords, we require a natural classification to work upon.for example, take three animalsLet us,a, b, and c—which have ageneral external resemblance to each other, and are usuallyconsidered to be really allied ; and let us suppose that a and binhabit the same or adjacent districts, while c is found far awayon the other side of the globe, with no animals at all resemblingit in any of the intervening countries.We should here have adifficult problem to solve ; for we should have to show that thegeneral laws by which we account for the main features ofdistribution, will explain this exceptional case. But now, supposesome comparative anatomist takes these animals in hand,and finds that the resemblance of c to a and b isonly superficial,while their internal structure exhibits marked and importantdifferences ; and that c really belongs to another group ofanimals, d, which inhabits the very region in which c wasfound— and we should no longer have anything to explain.This is no imaginary case. Up to a very few years ago acurious Mexican animal, Bassaris astuta, was almost alwaysclassed in the civet family (Viverrida3), a group entirely con-

84 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.fined to Africa and Asia ;but it has now been conclusivelyshown by Professor Flower that its real affinities are with theracoons (Procyonidae), a group confined to North and SouthAmerica. In another case, however, an equally careful examinationshows, that an animal peculiar to the Himalayas (JZlurusfulgens) has its nearest ally in the Cercolejrtes of South America.Here, therefore, the geographical difficulty really exists, and anysatisfactory theory of the causes that have led to the existingdistribution of living things, must be able to account, more orless definitely, for this and other anomalies. From these casesit will be evident, that if any class or order of animals is veryimperfectly known and its classification altogether artificial, it isuseless to attempt to account for the anomalies its distributionmay present ; since those anomalies may be, to a great extent,due to false notions as to the affinities of its component species.According to the laws and causes ofdistribution discussed inthe preceding chapters, we should find limited and defineddistribution to be the rule, universal or indefinite distribution tobe the exception, in everynatural group corresponding to whatare usually regarded as families and genera ; and so much isthis the case in nature, that when we find a group of thisnominal rank scattered as it were at random over the earth, wehave a strong presumption that it is not natural ; but is, to aconsiderable extent, a haphazard collection of species.Of coursethis reasoning will only apply, in cases where there are nounusual means of dispersal, nor any exceptional causes whichmisht determine a scattered distribution.From the considerations now adduced it becomes evident, thatit is of the first importance for the success of our inquiry tosecure a natural classification of animals, especially as regardsthe families and genera.The higher groups, such as classes andorders, are of less importance for our purpose ; because they arealmost always widely and often universally distributed, exceptthose which are so small as to be evidently the nearly extinctrepresentatives of a once more extensive series of forms. Wenow proceed to explain the classification to be adopted, as lowdown as the series of families. To these, equivalent English

.CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 85names are given wherever they exist, in order that readers possessingno technical knowledge, may form some conception ofthe meaning of the term " family " in zoology.The primary divisions of the animal kingdom according totwo eminent modern authorities are as follows :Huxley.Classification of Animals (1S69).1. Protozoa2. Infusoria3. Ccelenterata4. Annuloida5. Annulosa6. Molluscoida7. Mollufeca8. VertebrataCarus and Gerstaeker.Handbuch der Zoologie (1868).1. Protozoa.2. Coelenterata.3. Echinoderrnata.( 4. Vermes.( 5. Arthropoda.6. Molluscoida.7. Mollusca.8. Vertebrata.For reasons already stated it is only with the fifth, seventh,and eighth of these groups that the present work proposes todeal ; and even with the fifth and seventh only partially and inthe most general way.The classes of the vertebrata, according to both the authorsabove quoted, are: 1. Mammalia. 2. Aves. 3. Eeptilia. 4.Amphibia. 5. Pisces, in which order they will be taken here.The sub-classes and orders of mammalia are as follows :MAMMALIA.Huxley (1869), Flower (1870).1. Primates2. Chiroptera3. Insectivora4. Carnivora5. Cetaeea )Monodelpbia... < 6. Siren ia )7. Ungulata8. Proboscidea .9. Hyracoidea ..10. RodentiaEdentataill.Didelphia 12. Marsupialia .Ornithodelphia 13. MonotremataCarus (1868).{ 1. Primates.\ 5. Prosimii.2. Chiroptera.3. Insectivora.5 6. Carnivora.I7. Pinnipedia.12. Natantia.5 10. Artiodactyla.11 Perissodactyla.I9. Proboscidea.8. Lamnungia.4. Rodentia.13. Brut a.14. Marsupialia.15. Monotremata.

86 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part I.The above series of orders is arranged according to ProfessorFlower's Osteology of Mammalia, and they will follow in thissuccession throughout my work. Professor Huxley arrangesthe same orders in a different series.In determining the manner in which the several ordersbe subdivided into families, I have been guided inshallmy choice ofclassifications mainly by the degree of attention the author appearsto have paid to the group, and his known ability as aIn many cases it is a matter of great doubt whethera certain group should form several distinct families or be unitedinto one or two ; but one method may bring out the peculiaritiesof distribution much better than the other, and this is, in ourcase, a sufficient reason for adopting it.For the Primates I follow, with some modifications, theclassification of Mr. St. George Mivart given in his article" Apes " in the new edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, andin his paper in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London,1865, p. 547. It is as follows :systematic zoologist ; and in a less degree by considerations ofconvenience as regards the special purposes of geographical distribution.Order-

CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 87better to treat them as families, a rank which is claimed for theanthropoid apes by many naturalists.As no good systematic work on the genera and species of batshas been yet published, I adopt the five families as generallyused in this country, with the genera as given in the papers ofDr. J. E. Gray and Mr. Tomes. A monograph by Dr. Petershas long been promised, and his outline arrangement waspublished in 1865, but this will perhaps be materially alteredwhen the work appears.FrugivoraInsectivorailstiophoraGyrunorhiniOrder—CHIROPTERA.Fam....9. Pteropida?{ 10. Phyllostomidse(11. Rhinolophidse(12. Vespertilionidae( 13. NoctilionidseFruit-eating Bats.Leaf-nosed Bats.Horse-shoe Bats.True Bats.Dog-headed Bats.The genera of Chiroptera are in a state of great confusion, thenames used by different authors being 1 often not at all comparable,so that the few details given of the distribution of thebats are not trustworthy. We have therefore made little useof this order in the theoretical part of the work.The osteology of the Insectivora has been very carefullyworked out by Professor Mivart in the Jounral of Anatomyand Physiology (Vol. ii., p. 380), and I follow his classificationas given there, and in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society(1871).Fam.14. Galeopithecidae15. Macroscelididse16. Tupaiidae17. Erinaceidse ...18. Centetidse19. Potamogalidse20. Chrysochloridse21. Talpidae22. SoricidseOrder—INSECTIVORA.Flving Lemurs.Elephant Shrews.Squirrel Shrews.Hedgehogs.Tenrecs.Otter Shrew.Golden Moles.Moles.Shrews.The next order, Carnivora, has been studied in detail byProfessor Flower ;and I adopt the classification given by him inthe Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1869, p. 4.

131..88 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part I.Order—CARNIVORA.iEluroideaFissipedia 'Cynoidea. ArctoideaPinnipediaFam.23. Felidfe ...24. Cryptoproctida?25. Viverridae26. Protelidre^27. Hysenidse28. Canidse ...'29. Mustelidae30. Procyonida;iEluridae...32. Ursidee ...33. Otariidae . .34. Trichechidge35. Phocidse....Cats, Lion, &c.Cryptoprocta.Civets.Aard-wolf.Hyaenas.Dogs, Foxes, &c.Weasels.Racoons.Pandas.Bears.Eared Seals.Walrus.Seals.The Cetacea is one of those orders the classification of whichis very unsettled. The animals comprising it are so huge, andthere is so much difficulty in preserving them, that only a veryfew species are known with anything like completeness. A considerablenumber of genera and species have been described orindicated ;but as many of these are founded on imperfect specimensof perhaps a single individual, it isnot to be wondered atthat those few naturalists who occupy themselves with the studyof these large animals, cannot agree as to the proper mode of groupingthem into natural families.They are, however, of but littleimportance to us, as almost all the species inhabit the ocean, andof only a few of them can it be said that anything is accuratelyknown of their distribution. I therefore consider it best to followProfessor Cams, who makes a smaller number of families ; butI give also the arrangement of Dr. Gray in his British Museumcatalogue of whales and seals, as modified subsequently inthe Proceedings of Zoological Society, 1870, p. 772. The Zeuglodontidse,a family of extinct tertiary whales, are classed byProfessors Owen and Carus between Cetacea and Sirenia, whileProfessor Huxley considers them to have been carnivorous andallied to the seals.

,:8:CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 89Order— CETACEA.Sub-order I.-Mystaceti.Fam. (Carus).BalaenidaeBalsenopteridaeC Catodontidae ...HyperoodontidseSu£ ord er l}-\ MonodontidfflfOdontoceti.Extinct familyDelphinidas ...Zeuglodontidae,Fam. (Gray).36. Balaenidae.37. Balaenopteridae.38. CatodontidaB.!Hyperoodontidae.Epiodontklae.Xiphiada?.40. (Part of Delphinidae.)Platanistida?.41Iniadae.Delphinidae.Globiocephalidas.Orcadse.Belugidae.Pontoporiadae.Order— SIKENIA.The order Sirenia, comprising the sea-cows, consists of a singlefamilyFamily 42.Manatidae.The extensive order Ungulata comprises the three ordersPachydermata, Solidungula, and Paiminantia of the older naturalists.The following classification is that now generallyadopted, the only difference of opinion being as to whethersome of the groups should be classed as families or sub-families,a matter of little importance for our purposeOrder—UNGULATA.Perissodactyla orOdd-toed UngulatesArtiodactyla orEven-toed UngulatesVol. I.—,Fam.43. Equidae... 44. Tapiridse45. Rhinocerotidae . .Suina( 46. Hippopotamida?(47. SuidseI Tylopoda 48. Camelidae< Tragulina 49. Tragulidae50. CervidaePecora{50. J 51. Canielopardidae52. BovidaeHorses.Tapirs.Rhinoceros.Hippopotamus.Swine.Camels.Chevrotains.Deer.Giraffes.( Cattle, Sheep,( Antelopes, &c.

,62.:90 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part I.The two next orders consist of but a single family each, viz.OrderPROBOSCIDEAHYRACOIDEAFam.53. Elephantidse54. HyracidseElephants.Bock-rabbits.We now come to the Eodentia, a very extensive and difficultorder, in which there is still much difference of opinion as tothe details of classification, although the main outlines are prettywell settled. The foundations of a true classification of thisorder were laid by Mr. G. E. Waterhouse more than thirty yearsago, and succeeding authors have done little more than followhis arrangement with unimportant modifications. ProfessorLilljeborg, of Upsala, has however made a special study of thisgroup of animals, and has given an original and detailed classificationof all the genera. {Systematisk Ofversigt af de GnagandeDaggdjuren, Glires. Upsala, 1866.) I follow this arrangementwith a few slight modifications suggested by other naturalists,and which make it better adapted for the purposes of this work.SimplicidentatixMurina(Waterhouse)Hystricina(Waterhouse)Duplicidentatij (wSZe)Order—RODENTIA.Fam.55. Muridag56. Spalacidae57. Dipodidse58. Myoxidse59. Saccomyidai ...60. Castoridse61. SciuridreHaploodontida?63. Chinchillidse ...64. Octodontidse ..65. Echimyidse66. Cercolabidse ..,67. Hystricidse68. Caviidse( 69. Lagomyidse\ 70. LeporidseRats.Mole-rats.Jerboas.Dormice.Pouched Rats.Beavers.Squirrels.Sewellels.Chinchillas.Octodons.Spiny Rats.Tree Porcupines.Porcupines.Cavies.Pikas.Hares.'The Edentata have been classified by Mr. Turner, in theProceedings of the Zoological Society (1851, p. 205), by Dr.Gray in the British Museum Catalogue, and by Professor Camsin his Handhuch. The former takes a middle course between

''HAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 91the numerous families of Dr. Gray, seven in number, and thetwo families to which Professor Carus restricts the existingspecies. I therefore follow Mr. Turner.Order—EDENTATA.BradypodaEntomophagaFain.71. Bradypodidae'72. Manididae73. Dasypodidae74. Orycteropodidaa...75. MyrinecophagidaeSloths.Scaly Ant-eaters.Armadillos.Ant-bears.Ant-eaters.The Marsupials have been well classified and described byMr. Waterhouse in the first volume of his Natural History ojMammalia, and his arrangement is here followed. The subordersadopted by Professor Carus are also given.Order—MARSUPIALIA.Kapacia (Wagner)Poephaga (Owen)Carpophaga (Owen)Rhizophaga (Owen)Fam.76. Didelphidae ...77. Dasyuridae ...78. Myrmecobiidae79. Peramelidae ...80. Macropodidae81. Phalangistidae82. PhascolomyidajOpossums.Native Cats.Native Ant-eater.Bandicoots.Kangaroos.Phalangers.Wombats.Order—MONOTEEMATA.The last order, the Monotremata, consist of two families, whichProfessor Carus combines into one, but which it seems morenatural to keep separate.Fam.83. Ornithorhynchidae84. EchidnidaeDuckbill.Echidna.

.92 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.BIRDS.Birds are perhaps the most difficult to classify of all thedivisions of the vertebrata. The species and genera areexceedingly numerous, and there is such a great uniformityin oeneral structure and even in the details of external form,that it isexceedingly difficult to find characters by which ordersand families can be characterised.For a long time the systemof Vigors and Swainson was followed ; but this wholly ignoredanatomical characters and in many cases plainly violated wellmarkedaffinities. Characters derived from the form of thesternum, the scutellation of the tarsi, and the arrangement ofthe feathers, have all assisted in determining natural groups.More recently Professor Huxley has applied the variations of thebony palate to the general arrangement of birds ;and still morerecently Professor Garrod has studied certain leg-muscles forthe same purpose. The condition of the young as regardsplumage, and even the form, texture, and coloration of the egg,have also been applied to solve doubtful cases of affinity;yetthe problem is not settled, and it will probably remain foranother generation of ornithologists to determine with anyapproach to accuracy what are the most natural divisions of theclass into orders and families. In a work like the present it isevidently not advisable to adopt all the recent classifications;since experience has shown thatno arrangement in which oneset of characters is mainly relied on, long holds its ground.Such modifications of the old system as seem to be wellestablished will be adopted ; but the older groups will be adheredto in cases where the most recent classificationsare opento doubt, or seem inconvenient as separating families, which,owing to their similarity in general structure, form and habitsare best kept together for the purposes of geographical distribution.The old plan of putting the birds of prey at the head of theclass, is now almost wholly given up ;both because they are not

chap, v.] CLASSIFICATION. 93the most highly organised, but only one of the most specialisedforms of birds, and because their affinities are not with thePasseres, but rather with the cormorants and some otherof theaquatic groups. The Passeres therefore are placed first ; and theseries of families is begun by the thrushes, which are certainlythe most typical and generally well-organised form of birds.Instead of the Scansores and Fissirostres of the older authors, theorder Picarise, which includes them both, is adopted, but withsome reluctance; as the former are, generally speaking, well markedand strongly contrasted groups, although certain families havebeen shown to be intermediate.In the Picarise are included thegoat-suckers, swifts, and humming-birds, sometimes separatedas a distinct order, Macrochires. The parrots and the pigeonsform each a separate order. The old groups of Grallse andAnseres are preserved, as more convenient than breaking themup into widely separated parts ; for though the latter plan mayin some cases more strictly represent their affinities, its detailsare not yet established, nor is it much used by ornithologists.In accordance with these views the following is the series oforders and families of birds adopted in this work :Class—AVES.Orders.1 Passeres \ Including the great mass of the smaller birds—Crows,'\ Finches, Flycatchers, Creepers, Honeysuckers, &c, &c.2 Picari-e ""\( ^ncm^m g Woodpeckers, Cuckoos, Toucans, Kingfishers,Swifts, &c, &c.3. Psittaci . . . Parrots only.4. Columbee ... Pigeons and the Dodo.5. Gallinaa ... Grouse, Pheasants, Curassows, Mound-builders, &c.6. Opisthocomi The Hoazin only.7. Accipitres ... Eagles, Owls, and Vultures.8. Grallse ... Herons, Plovers, Eails, &c.9. Anseres ... Gulls, Ducks, Divers, &c10. Struthiones . . . Ostrich, Cassowary, Apteryx, &c.The Passeres consistof fifty families, which may be arrangedand grouped in series as follows. It must however be rememberedthat the first family in each series is not always thatwhich is most allied to the last family of the preceding series.All extensive natural groups consist of divergent or branchingalliances, which renders it impossible to arrange the whole inone continuous series.

—94 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part I.A.Typical or Turdoid

—:CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 95D.— Formicaroid Passeres — continued.46. Pteroptochidae47. Pittidfe48. PaictidsePittas.49. Menuridae50. AtrichidaeE.Anomalous Passeres.Lyre-birds.Scrub-birds.The preceding arrangement is a modification ofthat proposedby myself in the Ibis (1874, p. 406). The principal alterationsare adding the families Panuridae and Sittidae in seriesA, commencing series B with Dicaeidae ; bringing Vireonidaenext to the allied American family Mniotiltidae ; and placingMotacillidae in series C next to Alaudidae.Professor Newton I place Menuridae and AtrichidaeAt the suggestion ofapart fromthe other Passeres, as they both possess striking peculiarities ofanatomical structure.The heterogeneous families constituting the order Picariae maybe conveniently arranged as follows

:,Numidinae..:96 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PAET I.The Psittaci or parrot tribe are still in a very unsettled stateof classification ; that recently proposed by Professor Garroddiffering widely from the arrangement adopted in Dr. Finsch'smonograph of the order. Taking advantage of the researchesof these and other authors, the following families are adopted asthe most convenient in the present state of our knowledge76. Cacatuidae ...77. Platycercidas78. Palaeornithidae79. Trichoglossidae80. Conuridse ...81. Psittacidae ...82. Nestoridae ...83. StringopidaeThe Cockatoos.The Broad-tailed Paroquets of Australia.The Oriental Parrots and Paroquets.The Brush-to ngued Paroquets and Lories.The Macaws and their allies.The African and South American Parrots.The Nestors of New Zealand.The Owl-parrots of New Zealand.The Columbre, or pigeons, are also in a very unsatisfactorystate as regards a natural classification. The families, subfamilies,and genera proposed by various authors are verynumerous, and often quite irreconcilable. I therefore adoptonly two families ; and generally follow Mr. G. E. Gray's handlistfor the genera, except where trustworthy authorities existfor a different arrangement. The families are :84. Columbidee85. DididsePigeons and Doves.The extinct Dodo and allies.The Gallinae, or game-birds, may be divided into sevenfamiliesFam.86. Pteroclidae87. Tetraonidae88. Phasianidae ..89. Turnicidae90. Megapodiida?91. Cracidae92. TinamidaeSub-fam.Pavoninae . .LophophorinaePhasianinae . .\ EuplocaminaeGallinaeMeleagrinae . ....{CracinaePenelopinae .Oreophasina?Sand-grouse.Partridges and Grouse.Peafowl.Tragopans, &c.Pheasants.Fire-backed Pheasants, &c.Jungle-fowl.Turkeys.Guinea-fowl.Hemipodes.Mound-makers.Curassows.Guans.Mountain-pheasant.Tinamous.

—; 91..CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION.The Opisthocomi consist of one family containing a singlespecies, the " Hoazin " of Guiana.Family 93.Opisthocomidae.The Accipitres, or birds of prey, which were long consideredto be the highest and most perfect order of birds, are nowproperly placed lower down in the series, their affinities beingmore with the aquatic than with the perching birds. Thefollowing is the arrangement adopted by Mr. Sharpe in hisrecently published British Museum catalogue of diurnal birdsof prey :Sub-orders.Fam.VulturidaeFalcones 95. Serpentariidce1 96. Falconida?Pandiones...97. Pandionida?Striges ...98. StrigidseSub-families.( Vulturinre .. ..\SarcorhamphinrePolyborn iaeAccipitrinse( ButeoninseAquilinte . .k. FalconinreVultures.Turkey-buzzards.Caracaras.Hawks.Buzzards.Eagles.Falcons.Fishing-eagles.Owls.The Grallse or Grail atores are in a very unsettled state. Thefollowing series of families is in accordance with the views ofsome of the best modern ornithologists :99. Rallidae ...100.' Scolopacidae101. Chionididse102. Thinocoridse103. Parridse ...104. Glareolidae105. Charadriidse106. Otididse ...»107. Gruidse ...108. Cariamidas109. Aramida?...110. Pspphiidse111. Eurypygida?112. Rhinochoetida3113. Ardeida3 ...114. Plataleidae115. Ciconiidse116. Palamedeidse117. Ph£enicopterida3Rails, &c.Sandpipers and SnipesSheath-bills.Quail-snipes.Jacanas.Pratincoles.Plovers.Bustards.Cranes.Cariarnas.Guaraunas.Trumpeters.Sun-bitterns.Kagus.Herons.Spoonbills and Ibis.Storks.Screamers.Flamingoes.

—98 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I.The Anseres or Natatores are almost equally unsettled. Theflamingoes are usually placed in this order, but their habits bestassort with those of the waders.Fam.118. Anatidse119. Larida?120. Procellariidae121. Pelecanidse ...122. Spheniscidae123. Colymbidae124. Podicipidse ...125. AlcidseDuck and Geese.Gulls.Petrels.Pelicans.Penguins.Divers.Grebes.Auks.The last order of birds is the Struthiones or Katitse, consideredby many naturalists to form a distinct sub-class. It consists ofcomparatively few species, either living or recently extinct.Fam.?126. Struthionidae127. Casuariidse ...128. Apterygidae ...( 129. DinornithidaeExtinct < 130. Palapterygidse( 131. ^EpyornithidseOstriches.Cassowaries.Apteryx.Dinomis.Palapteryx.iEpyornis.EEPTILES.In reptiles I follow the classificationof Dr. Giinther as givenin the Philosojrfiical Transactions, vol. clvii., p. 625. He dividesthe class into five orders as follows :

——CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 99The Ophidia, or Snakes, form the first order and are classifiedas follows :Fain.1. Typhlopidae2. Tortricidse3. Xenopeltidse4. Uropeltidae5. Calamaridae6. Oligodontidae.7. Colubridae8. Homalopsidse ••9. Psammophidse ..Innocuous Snakes { 10. Rachiodontidae.11. Dendrophidae ..12. Dryiophidas13. Dipsasidae14. Scytalidae.15. Lycodontidae16. Amblycephalidae17. Pythonidae18. Erycida?19. Acrochordidae ..20. ElapidaeVenomous Colubrine } 21. Dendraspididae.Snakes j 22. Atractaspididae.23. HydrophidaeBurrowing Snakes.Dwarf ground-snakes.Colubrine Snakes.Fresh-water Snakes.Desert-snakes.Tree-snakes.Whip-snakes.Nocturnal tree-snakes.Fanged ground-snakes.Blunt-heads.Pythons.Sand-snakes.Wart-snakes.Cobras, &c.Sea-snakes.Viperine Snakes24. Crotalidae25 ViperidaePit-vipers.True vipersThe second order, Lacertilia, are arranged as follows :Fam.26. Trogonophidse ...27. Chirotidae28. Amphisbsenidse29. Lepidosternidae30. Varanidae31. Heloderrnidae.32. Teidse33. Lacertidae34. Zonuridae35. Chalcidae.36. Anadiadse.37. ChirocoUdae.38. Iphisadae.39. Cercosaurid82.40. Chamaesauridae.41. Gymnopthalmidae42. Pygopodidae43. Aprasiadae.> Amphisbaenians.Water Lizards.Teguexins> Land LizardsGape-eyed Scinks.Two-legged Lizards.

———100 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART 1.Fam.44. Lialidae.45. Scincidae46. Ophiomoridae47. Sepidae ...48. Acontiadae.49. Geckotidae50. Iguanidae51. Agamidae52. Chameleonida?Scinks.Snake-lizards.Sand-lizards.Geckoes.Iguanas.Fringed Lizards.Chameleons.The third order, Bhyncocephalina consists of a single family53. Rhyncocephalidae .. The Hatteria of New Zealand.The fourth order, Crocodilia or Loricata, consists of threefamilies :54. Gavialidse55. Crocodilidae56. AlligatoridaeGavials.Crocodiles.Alligators.The fifth order, Chelonia, consists of four families :57. Testudinidae58. Chelydidee59. Trionychidae60. CheloniidaeLand and fresh -water Tortoises.Fresh-water Turtles.Soft Turtles.Sea Turtles.AMPHIBIA.In the Amphibia I follow the classification of ProfessorMivart, as given for a largepart of the order in the Proceedingsof the Zoological Society for 1869. For the remainder I followDr. Strauch, Dr. Giinther, and a MSS. arrangement kindlyfurnished me by Professor Mivart.The class isfirst divided into three groups or orders, and theninto families as follows :

CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 101Order I.—PSEUDOPHIDIA.Fam.1. CseciliadaeCsecilia.Order II.—BATEACHIA URODELA.2. Sirenidae ...3. Proteidae ...4. Arnphiuniidae5. Menopornidae6. SalainandridaeSiren.Proteus.Amphiuma.Giant Salamanders.Salamanders and Newts.Fam.7. Rhinophrynidae8. Phryniscidae ..9. Hylaplesidse ..10. Bufonidae11. Xenorhinidae ..12. Engystoniidae ..13. Bombinatoridse14. Plectromantidae15. AlytidaeOrder III.>Toads.'.} Frogs.BATRACHIA ANOURA.Fam.16. Pelodryadae17. Hylidae ...18. Polypedatidae19. Rauidae ...23. Discoglossidse21. Pipidae ...22. DactvlethridaeiTree Frogs.( Frogs.I Tongueless] Toads.FISHES.These are arranged according to the classification of Dr.Giinther, whose great work " The British Museum Catalogue ofFishes," has furnished almost all the material for our accountof the distribution of the class.In that work all existing fishes are arranged in six sub-classesand thirteen orders. A study of the extraordinary Ceratodusfrom Australia has induced Dr. Giinther to unite three of hissub-classes ; but as his catalogue will long remain a handbookfor every student of fishes, it seems better to follow the arrangementthere given, indicating his later views by bracketingtogether the groups he now thinks should be united.

102 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part I.

;chap, v.] CLASSIFICATION. 103The number of species of Butterflies isabout the same as thatof Birds, while the six families of Coleoptera selected, comprisemore thau twenty thousand species, far exceeding the number ofall other vertebrates. These families have all been recently catalogued,so that we have very complete information as to theirarrangement and distribution.LEPIDOPTERA DIURNA, OR BUTTERFLIES.Fam.Fain.1. Danaidse. 9. Libythseidse.2. Satyrida;. 10. Nerneobiidae.3. Elyinniidae. 11. Eurygonidse.4. Morphidse. 12. Erycinidse.5. Brassolidse. 13. Lycsenidae.6. Acraeidse. 14. Pieridse.7. Heliconidse. 15. Papilionidae.8. Nymphalidse. 16. Hesperidae.COLEOPTERA, OR BEETLES.Fam.Fam.1. Cicindelidae... Tiger-beetles. 4. Cetoniidse ... Rose-chafers.2. Carabidse ... Ground-beetles. 5. Buprestidse . . .Metallic Beetles.3. Lucanidae ... Stag-beetles. 6. Longicornia . . . Long-horned Beetles.The above families comprise the extensive series of groundbeetles (Carabidse) containing about 9,000 species, and the Longicorns,which are nearly as numerous and surpass them in varietyof form and colour as well as in beauty. The Cetoniidse andBuprestidse are among the largest and most brilliantof beetlesthe Lucanidae are pre-eminent for remarkable form, and theCicindelidae for elegance; and all the families are especialfavourites with entomologists, so that the whole earth has beenransacked to procure fresh species.Results deduced from a study of these will, therefore, fairlyrepresent the phenomena of distribution of Coleoptera, and,. as they are very varied in their habits, perhaps of insects ingeneraL

——104 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I.MOLLUSCA.The Mollusca are usually divided into five classes asfollows :Classes.I. CephalopodaII. GasteropodaIII. PteropodaIV. BrachiopodaV. ConchiferaCuttle-fish.Snails and aquatic Univalves.Oceanic Snails.Symmetrical Bivalves.Unsymmetrical Bivalves.The Gasteropoda and Conchifera alone contain land andfreshwater forms, and to these we shall chiefly confine ourillustrations of the geographical distribution of the Mollusca.The classification followed is that of Dr. Pfeiffer for theOperculata and Dr. Von Martens for the Helicidse. Thefamilies chiefly referred to are :ClassII.—GASTEROPODA.In- operculataOperculata ..Order 2.—Pulmonifera.Fam.1. Helicidse.2. Lhnacidse.3. Oncidiadse.4. Lirnneeidae.5. Auriculidae.6. Aciculidae.7. Diplommatinidse.8. Cyclostomidse.9. Helicinidse.

9PART IT.ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS.Vol. L—

CHAPTER VI.THE EXTINCT MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD.Although it may seem somewhat out of place to begin thesystematic treatment of our subject with extinct rather thanwith living animals, it is necessary to do so in order that wemay see the meaning and trace the causes of the existing distributionof animal forms. It is true, that the animals foundfossil in a country are very generally allied to those which stillinhabit it ; but this is by no means universally the case. If itwere, the attempt to elucidate our subject by Palaeontologywould be hopeless, since the past would show us the samepuzzling diversities of faunas and floras that now exist. "Werind however very numerous exceptions to this rule, and it isthese exceptions which tell us of the past migrations of wholegroups of animals. We are thus enabled to determine whatportion of the existing races of animals in a country are descendantsof its ancient fauna, and which are comparativelymodern immigrants ; and combining these movements of theforms of life with known or probable changes in the distributionof land and sea, we shall sometimes be able to trace approximatelythe long series of changes which have resulted in theactual state of things. To gain this knowledge is our object instudying the " Geographical Distributionof Animals," and ourplan of study must be determined, mainly, by the facilities itaffords us for attaining this object. In discussing the countlessdetails of distribution we shall meet with in our survey of thezoological regions, we shall often find it useful to refer to theevidence we possess of the range of the group in question in

108 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.past times ; and when we attempt to generalise the phenomenaon a large scale, with the details fresh in our memory, we shallfind a reference to the extinct faunas of various epochs to beabsolutely necessary.The decree of our knowledge of the Palaeontology of variousparts of the world is so unequal, that it will not be advisable totreat the subject under each of our six regions.Yet some subdivisionmust be made, and it seems best to consider separatelythe extinct animals of the Old and of the New Worlds. Those ofEurope and Asia are intimately connected, and throw light onthe past changes which have led to the establishment of thethree great continental Old World regions, with their varioussubdivisions. The wonderful extinct fauna recently discoveredin North America, with what was previously known from Southtemperate America, not only elucidates the past history of thewhole continent, but also gives indications of the mutual relationsof the eastern and western hemispheres.The materials to be dealt with are enormous ; and it will benecessary to confine ourselves to a general summary, with fullerdetails on those points which directly bear upon our specialsubject. The objects of most interest to the pure zoologist andto the geologist—those strange forms which are farthest removedfrom any now living—are of least interest to us, since we aimat tracing the local origin or birthplace of existing genera andfamilies ; and for this purpose animals whose affinities withliving forms are altogether doubtful, are of no value whatever.The great mass of the vertebrate fossils of the tertiary periodconsist of mammalia, and this is precisely the class which is ofmost value in the determination of zoological regions. Theanimals of the secondary period, though of thehighest interestto the zoologist are of little importance to us ; both because oftheir very uncertain affinities for any existing groups, and alsobecause we can form no adequate notion of the distribution ofland and sea in those remote epochs. Our great object is totrace back, step by step, the varying distribution of the chiefforms of life ; and to deduce, wherever possible, the physicalchanges which must have accompanied or caused such changes.

;chap, vi.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 109The natural division of our subject therefore is into geologicalperiods. We first go back to the Post-Pliocene period, whichincludes that of the caves and gravels of Europe containing flintimplements, and extends back to thedeposit of the glacial driftin the concluding phase of the glacial epoch. Next we havethe Pliocene period, divided into its later portion (the NewerPliocene) which includes the Glacial epoch of the northernhemisphere ; and its earlier portion (the Older Pliocene), representedby the red and coralline crag of England, and deposits ofsimilar age in the continent. During this earlier epoch theclimate was not very dissimilar from that which now prevailsbut we next get evidence of a still earlier period, the Miocene,when a warmer climate prevailed in Europe, and the wholefauna and flora were very different. This is perhaps the mostinteresting portion of the tertiary deposits, and furnishes uswith the most valuable materials for our present study.Further back still we have the Eocene period, with apparentlyan almost tropical climate in Europe ; and here we find a clueto some of the most puzzling facts in the distribution of livinganimals. Our knowledge of this epoch is however very imperfect;and we wait for discoveries that will elucidate someof the mystery that still hangs over the origin and migrationsof many important families. Beyond this there is a great chasmin the geological record as regards land animals ;and we have togo so far back into the past, that when we again meet with mammalia,birds,and land-reptiles, they appear under such archaicforms that they cease to have any local or geographical significance,and we can only refer them to wide-spread classesand orders.For the purpose of elucidating geographical distribution,therefore, it is, in the present state of our knowledge,unnecessary to go back beyond the tertiary period of geology.The remains of Mammalia being so much more numerous andimportant than those of other classes, we. shall at first confineourselves almost exclusively to these. What is known of thebirds, reptiles, and fishes of the tertiary epoch will be bestindicated by a brief connected sketch of their fossils in all partsof the globe, which we shall give in a subsequent chapter.

—110 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. Tpart ti.Historic Period.—In tracing back the history of the organicworld we find, even within the limits of the historical period,that some animals have become extinct, while the distribution ofothers has been materially changed. The Rytina of the NorthPacific, the dodo of Mauritius, and the great auk of the NorthAtlantic coasts, have been exterminated almost in our owntimes. The kitchen-middens of Denmark contain remains ofthe capercailzie, the Bos primigenins, and the beaver.The firststill abounds farther north, the second is extinct, and the thirdis becoming so in Europe. The great Irish elk, a huge-antlereddeer, probably existed almost down to historic times.Pleistoceneor Post-Pliocene Period.—We first meet with proofsof important changes in the character of the European fauna,studying the remains found in the caverns of England and France,which have recently been so well explored.inThese cave -remainsare probably all subsequent to the Glacial epoch, and they allcome within the period of man's occupation of the country. Yetwe find clear proofs of two distinct kinds of change in theforms of animal life. First we have a change clearly traceableto a difference of climate. We find such arctic forms asthe rein-deer, the musk-sheep, the glutton, and the lemming,with the mammoth and the woolly rhinoceros of the Siberianice-cliffs, inhabiting this country and even the south of France.This is held to be good proof that a sub-arctic climate prevailedover all Central Europe ; and this climate, together withthe continental condition of Britain, will sufficiently explainsuch a southward range of what are now arcticforms.But together with this change we have another that seems atfirst sight to be in an exactly opposite direction. We meetwith numerous animals which now only inhabit Africa, or SouthEurope, or the warmer parts of Asia. Such are, large felinessome closely related to the lion (Felis spelcca), others of altogetherextinct type (Machairodus) and forming the extreme developmentof the feline race ;—hyaenas ; horses of two or morespecies ;and a hippopotamus. If we go a little further back, tothe remains furnished by the gravels and brick-earths, we stillfind the same association of forms. The reindeer, the glutton,

chap, vi.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. Illthe musk-sheep, and the woolly rhinoceros, are associated withseveral other species of rhinoceros and elephant; with numerouscivets, now abundant only in warm countries ; and withantelopes of several species. We also meet here with a greatextension of range of forms now limited to small areas. TheSaiga antelope of Eastern Europe occurs in France, where wildsheep and goats and the chamois were then found, together withseveral species of deer, of bear, and of hysena. A few extinctgenera even come down to this late period, such as the greatsabre-toothed tiger, Machairodus ;Galeotheriurn, a form of Viverridse; Palceospalax, allied to the mole ; and Trogontherium, agigantic form of beaver.We find then, that even at so early a stage of our inquiries wemeet with a problem in distribution by no means easy to solve.How are we to explain the banishment from Europe in so shorta space of time (geologically speaking) of so many forms of lifenow characteristic of warmer countries, and this too during aperiod when the climate of Central Europe was itselfbecomingwarmer ? Such a change must almost certainly have been dueto changes of physical geography, which we shalltobe better ableunderstand when we have examined the preceding Plioceneperiod. We may here notice, however, that so far as we yetknow, this great recent change in the character of the fauna isconfined to the western part of the Palaearctic region.In cavesin the Altai Mountains examined by Prof. Brandt, a great collectionof fossil bones was discovered. These comprised theSiberian rhinoceros and mammoth, and the cave hysena ;but allthe others, more than thirty distinct species, are now living inor near the same regions. We may perhaps impute this differenceto the fact that the migration of Southern types intothis part of Siberia was prevented by the great mountain anddesert barrier of the Central Asiatic plateau ;whereas in Europethere was at this time a land connection with Africa. PostpHocenedeposits and caverns in Algeria have yielded remainsresembling the more southern European types of the Postplioceneperiod, but without any admixture of Arctic forms;showing, as we might expect, that the glacial cold did not

112 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.extend so far south. We have here remains of Equus, Bos,Antilope, Hippopotamus, Elephas, Rhinoceros, Ursus, Canis,and Hycena, together with Phacoclmrus, an African type ofswine which has not occurred in the European deposits.It is perhaps to the earlier portion of this period that theMerycotherium of the Siberian drift belongs. This was ananimal related to the living camel, thus supporting the view thatthe Camelidce are essentially denizens of the extra-tropical zone.Pliocene Period.Primates.—We here first meet with evidence of the existenceof monkeys in Central Europe. Species of Macacus have leftremains not only in the Newer Pliocene of the Val d'Arno inItaly, but in beds of the same age at Grays in Essex ; whileSemnopithecus and Cercopithecus, genera now confined to theOriental and Ethiopian regions respectively, have been found inthe Pliocene deposits of the South of France and Italy.Carnivora.—Most of the genera which occurred in the PostPliocene are found here also, and many of the same species. Fewnew forms appear, except Hyamarctos, a large bear w T ith charactersapproaching the hyaenas, and Pristiphoca, a new form of seal,both from the Older Pliocene of France ; and Galecynus, a foxlikeanimal intermediate between Canis and Viverra, from thePliocene of OZninghen in Switzerland.Cetacea.—Species of Balcena, Physeter, and Dclphinus occur inthe Older Pliocene of England and France, and with these theremains of many extinct forms, Balccnodon and Hoplocctus(Balsenidse) ;Belemnoziphius and Chone&iphius (Hyperoodontidae),and Halitherium, an extinct form of the next order— Sirenia,now confined to the tropics, although the recently extinct Bytinaof the N. W. Pacific show r s that it is also adapted for temperateclimates.Ungulata.—The Pliocene deposits are not very rich in thisorder. The horses (Equidai) are represented by the genus Equus ;and here we first meet with Hipparion, in which small lateraltoes appear. Both genera occur in British deposits of this age.

;chat, vi.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 113A more interesting fact for us is the occurrence of the genusTapirus in the Newer Pliocene of France and in the older bedsof both France and England, since this genus is now isolatedin the remotest parts of the eastern and western tropics. Thegenera Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, and Sus, occur here asin thepreceding epoch.We next come to the deer genus {Cervus), which appears tohave been at its maximum in this period, no less than eightspecies occurring in the Norwich Crag, and Forest-beds. Amongthe Bovidae, the antelopes, ox, and bison, are the only forms representedhere, as in the Post- Pliocene period. Passing on to theProboscidea, we find three species of elephants and two of Mastodonpreserved in European beds of this period, all distinct fromthose of Post-Pliocene times.Rodentia.—In this order we find representatives of manyliving European forms ; as Cricetus (hamster), Arvicola (vole),Castor (beaver), Arctomys (marmot), Hystrix (porcupine),Lepus (hare), and Lagomys (pika) ; and a few that are extinct,the most important being Chalicomys, allied to the beaverand Issiodromys, said to come nearest to the remarkablePedetes of South Africa, both found in the Pliocene formationsof France.General Conclusions as to Pliocene and Post-Pliocene Faunas ofEurope.—This completes the series of fossil forms of the Pliocenedeposits of Europe. They show us that the presence of numerouslarge carnivora and ungulates (now almost wholly tropical) inthe Post- Pliocene period, was due to no exceptional or temporarycause, but was the result of a natural succession from similarraces which had inhabited the same countries for long precedingages. In order to understand the vast periods of time coveredbv the Pliocene and Post-Pliocene formations, the works of SirCharles Lyell must be studied. We shall then come to see, thatthe present condition of the fauna of Europe is wholly new andexceptional. For a long succession of ages, various* forms ofmonkeys, hyaenas, lions, horses, hipparions, tapirs, rhinoceroses,hippopotami, elephants, mastodons, deer, and antelopes, together

114 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.with almost all the forms now living, produced a rich and variedfauna such as we now see only in the open country of tropicalAfrica.During all this period we have no reason to believe thatthe climate or other physical conditions of Europe were morefavourable to the existence of these animals than now. We mustlook upon them, therefore, as true indigenes of thecountry, andtheir comparatively recent extinction or banishment as a remarkablephenomenon for which there must have been some adequatecause. What this cause was we can only conjecture ; but itseems most probable that it was due to the combined action ofthe Glacial period,and the subsidence of large areas of land ouceconnecting Europe with Africa. The existence, in the smallisland of Malta, of no less than three extinct species of elephant(two of very small stature), of a gigantic dormouse, an extincthippopotamus, and other mammalia, together with the occurrenceof remains of hippopotamus in the caves of Gibraltar, indicatevery clearly that during the Pliocene epoch, and perhaps duringa considerable part of the Post-Pliocene, a connection existedbetween South Europe and North Africa in at least these twolocalities. At the same time we have every reason to believethat Britain was united to the Continent, what is now the GermanOcean constituting a great river-valley. During the height ofthe Glacial epoch, these large animals would probably retire intothis Mediterranean land and into North Africa, making annualmigrations' northwards during the summer.But as the connectingland sank and became narrower and narrower, the migratingherds would diminish, and at last cease altogether ;and when theglacial cold had passed away would be altogether prevented fromreturning to their former haunts.Miocene Peeiod.We now come to a period which was wonderfully rich in allforms of life, and of which the geological record is exceptionallycomplete. Various lacustrine, estuarine, and other deposits inEurope, North India, and North America, have furnished such a

chap, vi.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 115vast number of remains of extinct mammalia, as to solve manyzoological problems, and to throw great light on the early distributionand centres of dispersal of various groups of animals.order to show the bearing of these remains on our special subject,we will first give an account of the extinct fauna of Greece,of the Upper Miocene period ;Insince this, being nearest to Africaand Asia, best exhibits the relations of the old European faunato those countries. We shall then pass to the Miocene fauna ofFrance and Central Europe ;and conclude with the remarkableSiwalik and other Indian extinct faunas, which throw an additionallight on the early history of the animal lifeold-world continents.Extinct Animals of Greece.of the greatThese are from the Upper Miocene deposits at Pikermi, nearAthens, and were collected by M. Gaudry a few years ago.They comprise ten living and eighteen extinct genera of mammalia,with a few birds and reptiles.Primates.—These are represented by Mcsopithecus, a genusbelieved to be intermediate between themonkeys, Semnopithecus and Macacus.two Indian genera ofCamivora.—These were abundant. Of Fclis there were fourspecies, ranging from the size of a cat to that of a jaguar, a largehycena, and a large weasel (Mustcla). Besides these there werethe huge Machairodus, larger than any existing lion or tiger, andwith enormously developed canine teeth ;extinct forms of Hysenidae ;genus of Viverridse but with resemblances toHymnictis and Lycarna,Thalassictis=Ictitlicrium, an extinctthe hyaenas, representedby three species, some of which were larger than anyexisting Viverridse ;Promephytis, an extinct form of Mustelidae,having resemblances to the European marten, to the otters, andto the S. African Zorilla ;carnivore of the size of a small panther,of a cat, the molars of a dog, and the jawsa bear.and lastly, Simocyon, an extraordinarybut having the caninesshaped like those ofUngulata.—These are numerous and very interesting. TheEquidse are represented by the three-toed Hipparion, which con-

116 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.tinued to exist till the Older Pliocene period. There are threelarge species of Rhinoceros, as well as a species of the extinctgenus Leptodon of smaller size. Eemains of a very large wildboar (Sus) were found. Very interesting is the occurrence of aspecies of giraffe (Camelopardalis) as tall as the African speciesbut more slender ; and also an extinct genus Ilclladotherium, notquite so tall as the giraffe but much more robust, and showingsome approach to the Antilopidse in its dentition. Antelopeswere abundant, ranging from the size of the gazelle to that othe largest living species.Three or four seem referable to livinggenera, but the majority are of extinct types, and are classedin the genera Palceotragus, Palceoryx, Tragocerus, and Palceoreas ;while Dremotherium is an ancient generalized form of Cervidceor deer.Proboscidea.—These are represented by two species of Mastodon,and two of Dinotherium, an extraordinary extinct form•supposed to be, to some extent, intermediate between theelephants and the aquatic manatees {Sirenia)Bodentia.—This order is represented by a species of Hystrix,larger than living porcupines.Edentata.—This order, now almost confined to South America,was represented in the Miocene period by several Europeanspecies. Ancylotherium and Macrotherium, belonging to an extinctfamily but remotely allied to the African ant-bear (Oryctcropus),occur in Greece.Birds.—Species of Phasianus and Gallus were found ; thelatter especially interesting as being now confined to India.Beptiles.—These are few and unimportant, consisting of atortoise {Testudo) and a large lizard allied to Varanus.Summary of the Miocene Fauna of Greece.—Although we cannotconsider that the preceding enumeration gives us by anymeans a complete view of the actual inhabitants of this partof Europe during the later portion of the Miocene period, weyet obtain some important information. The resemblance thatappeared in the Pliocene fauna of Europe, to that of the opencountry of tropical Africa, is now still more remarkable. We

——chap, vi.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 117not only find great felines, surpassing in size and destructivepower the lions and leopards of Africa, with hyaenas of a sizeand in a variety not to be equalled now, but also huge rhinocerosesand elephants, two forms of giraffes, and a host ofantelopes, which, from the sample here obtained, were probablyquite as numerous and varied as they now are in Africa.Joined with this abundance of antelopes we have the absenceof deer, which probably indicates that the country was openand somewhat of a desert character, since there were deer inother parts of Europe at this epoch. The occurrence of but asingle species of monkey is also favourable to this view, sincea well-wooded country would most likely have supplied manyforms of these animals.Miocene Fauna of Central and Western Europe."We have now to consider the Miocene fauna of Europegenerally, of which we have very full information from numerousdeposits of this age in France, Switzerland, Italy,Germany, and Hungary.Primates.—Three distinct forms of monkeys have been foundin Europe—in the South of France, in Switzerland, and Wurtemberg;one was very like Colobus or Semnopithecus ; the othersPliopithecus and Pryopithecus—were of higher type, and belongedto the anthropomorphous apes, being nearest to the genusHylobates or gibbons.Both have occurred in the South of France,The Dryopithecus was a very large animal (equal to the gorilla),and M. Lartet considers that in the character of itsdentition itapproached nearer to man than any of the existing anthropoidapes.Insectivora.—These small animals are represented by numerousremains belonging to four families and a dozen genera. OfErinaceus (hedgehog) several species are found in the UpperMiocene ; and in the Lower Miocene of Auvergne two extinctgenera of the same familyAmphechinus andTetracus—havebeen discovered. Several species of Talpa (mole) occur in theUpper Miocene of France, while the extinct Dinylus isfrom Germany,and Palonospalax from the Lower Miocene of the Isle of

——;118 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.Wight. The Malayan family Tupaiidae or squirrel-shrews, isbelieved to be represented by Oxygomphus, a fossil discovered inSouth Germany (Wiesenau) by H. von Meyer. The Soricidae orshrews, are represented by several extinct genera Plesiosorex,Mysarachne and Galcospalax ; as well as by Amphisorex and Myogalestill living.to Madagascar, isEcMnogale, a genus of Centetidse now confinedsaid to occur in the Lower Miocene of Auvergne,a most interesting determination, if correct, as it would form atransition to the Solcnodon of the Antilles belonging to the samefamily ;but I am informed by Prof. Flower that the affinities ofthe animals described under this name are very doubtful.Carnivora.—Besides Felis and Machairodus, which extend backto the Upper Miocene, there are two other genera of Felidae,Pseudmlurus in the Upper Miocene of France, and Hycenodon,which occurs in the Upper and Lower Miocene of France, namedfrom some resemblance in its teeth to the hyaenas, and consideredby some Palaeontologists to form a distinct family, Hyaenodontidae.The Viverridae, or civets, were very numerous, consisting of theliving genus Viverra, and three extinct formsIdithcrium, as largeoccurring both in France and Hungary.the living genus Hyccna, and theThalassirtis=as a panther, and Soricidis, a smaller form,Of Hycenidce, there wasextinct Hycenidis, which hasoccurred in Hungary as well as in Greece. The Canidae, orwolf and fox family, were represented by Pseudocyon, near toCanis ; Hemicyon, intermediate between dogs and gluttonsand Amphicyon, of which several species occur in the Upperand Lower Miocene of France, some of them larger than atiger. The Mustelidae, or weasels, were represented by fivegenera, the existing genera Zutra (otter) and Musiela (weasel)Potamotherium, an extinct form of otter ;Taxodon, allied to thebadger and otter; Palceomephitis in Germany, and the Promephytis(already noticed) in Greece.The bears were representedonly by Hyccnarctos, which has been noticed as occurring inthe Pliocene, and first appears in the Upper Miocene of France.Seals are represented by a form resembling the AntarcticOtaria, remains of which occur in the Upper Miocene ofFrance.

;chap, vi.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 119Cetacea (whales).—These occur frequently inthe Miocene deposits,four living, and five extinct genera having been describedbut these marine forms are not of much importance for ourpurpose.Sirenia (sea-cows).—These are represented by two extinctgenera, Halitherium and Trachytherium.Several species of theformer have been discovered, but the latter has occurred inFrance only, and its affinities are doubtful.Ungulata.—Horses are represented by Hipparion and Anchitherium,the latter occurring in both Upper and Lower Mioceneand Eocene ; while Hipparion, which is more nearly allied toliving horses, first appears in the Upper Miocene and continuesin the Pliocene.Hvppotherium, in the Upper Miocene of the Vienna basin,forms a transition to Paloplotherium, an Eocene genus of Tapiridaeor Palseotheridse. Tapirs, allied to living forms, occur inboth Upper and Lower Miocene. Ehinoceroses are still foundin the Upper Miocene, and here first appear the four-toed hornlessrhinoceros, Acerotherium. The Suidae (swine) are rathernumerous. Sus (wild boar) continued as far back as the UpperMiocene ; but now there first appear a number of extinct formswhich have been named Hyotherium, Palceochcerus,all of a small or moderate size ;Chceromorus,Hyopotamus, nearly as large as atapir ; and Anthracotherium, nearly the size of a hippopotamusand, according to Dr. Leidy, the type of a distinct family.Listriodon, from the Upper Miocene of the Vienna basin, issometimes classed with the tapirs.We now come to a well-marked new family of Artiodactyleor even-toed Ungulata, the Anop>lotheriidce, which consisted ofmore slender long-tailed animals, allied to the swine but withindications of a transition towards the camels. The only generathat appear in the Miocene formation are, Chalicotherium, nearlyas large asa rhinoceros, of which three species have been foundin Germany and France ;and Synaphodus, known only from itssomewhat from those of the Anoplotheriumteeth, which differwhich appears earlier in the Eocene formation.Another extinctfamily, Amphimericidce or Xiphodontidce, is represented by two

120 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.genera, Cainotherium and Microtherium, in the Miocene ofFrance. They were of very small size, and are supposed to beintermediate between the Suidse and Tragulidse.The Camelopardalidse, or giraffes, were represented in Europein Miocene times by the gigantic Helladotherium, which hasbeen found in the south of France, and in Hungary, as well asin Greece. The chevrotains (Tragulidse) are represented bythe extinct genus Hyomoschus.The Cervidsedo not seem to have appeared in Europe beforethe Upper Miocene epoch, when they were represented byDorcatherium and Amjihimoschus, allied to Moschus, and alsotrue Cervus, as well as by small allied forms, Dranotherium,Amphitragalus (in the Lower Miocene), Micromeryx, Palceomeryx,and Dicroccrus.The Bovidse, or hollow-horned ruminants, were not wellrepresented in Central Europe in Miocene times. There wereno sheep, goats, or oxen, and only a few antelopes of the genusTragocerus, and one allied to Hippotragus ; and these all livedin the Upper Miocene period, as did the more numerousforms of Greece.Proboscidea.—The true elephants do not extend back to theMiocene period, but they are represented by the Mastodons,which had less complex teeth. These first appear in the UpperMiocene of Europe, five species being known from France,Germany, Switzerland, and Greece. Dinotherium, alreadynoticed as occurring in Greece, extended also to Germany andFrance, where remains of three species have been found.Bodentia.—A considerable number of generic forms of thisorder have been obtained from the Miocene strata. The principalgenera are Cricetodon, allied to the hamsters, numerous inboth the Upper and Lower Miocene period of France ; Myoxus(the dormice) in France, and an allied genus, Brachymys, in Germany.The beavers were represented by the still living genusCastor, and the extinct Steneojiber in France. The squirrels bythe existing Scuirus and Sperrnophilus ; and by extinct forms,Lithomys and Aulacodon, in Germany, the latter resembling theAfrican genus Autocodes. The hares, by Lagomys and anby

chap, vi.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 121extinct form Titanomys. Besides these, remains referred to theSouth American genera, Cavia (cavy) and Basyprocta (agouti),have been found, the former in the Upper Miocene of Switzerland,the latter in the Lower Miocene of Auvergne.Palceomys,allied to the West Indian Cap>romys, has been found in the samedeposits ;as well as Theridomys, said by Gervais to be allied toAnomalurus and Echim.ys, thethe latter in S.America.Edentata.—These areformer now living in W. Africa,only represented by the Macrotheriumand Ancylotherhim of the Grecian deposits, the former occurringalso in France and Germany in Upper Miocene strata.Marsupials.—These consist of numerous species related tothe opossums {Didclphys), but separated by Gervais under thename Peratherium. They occur in both Upper and LowerMiocene beds.Upper Miocene Depositsof the Shvalik Hills and other Localitiesin N. W. India.These remarkable fresh-water deposits form a range of hillsat the foot of the Himalayas, a little south of Simla. Theywere investigated for many years by Sir P. Cautley and Dr.Falconer, and add greatly to our knowledge of the early faunaof the Old World continent.Primates.— Remains of the genera Semnopithecus and Macacuswere found, with other forms of intermediate character; andsome teeth indicated animals allied to the orang-utan of Borneo,and ofsimilar size.Camivora.—These consisted of species of Felis and Machairodusof large size ;Hyarna, Canis, Mcllivora, and an allied genusUrsitaxus; Ursus, in the deposits of the Nerbudda valley (ofPliocene age) ;Hymnarctos as large as the cave bear ;Amphicyonof the size of a polar bear (in the deposits of the Indusvalley, west of Cashmere) ; Lutra, and an extinct allied genusEnhydrion.Ungulata.— These are very numerous, and constitute the mostimportant feature of this ancient fauna. Horses are representedby a species of Equus from the Siwalik Hills and the TrawaddyVol. L—10

122 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.deposits in Burmah, and by two others from the Pliocene of theNerbudda Valley ;while Hippotherium—a slender, antelope-likeanimal, found in the Siwalik Hills and in Europe—is supposedto form a transition from the Equidse to the Tapiridae. Theselatter are found in the Upper Indus deposits, where there is aspecies of Tapirus, and one of an extinct genus Antelotherium.Of Rhinoceros, five extinct species have been found— in theSiwalik Hills, in Perim Island, and one at an elevation of 16,000feet in the deserts of Thibet.Hippopotamus occurs in the Plioceneof theNerbudda, and is represented in the older Miocenedeposits by Hcxapirotodon, of which three species have beenfound in various parts of India. Another remarkable genus,Merycopotamus, connects Hippopotamus with Anthracotherium;one of the extinct European forms allied to the swine. Theselast arerepresented by several large species of Sus, and by theextinct European genus Chcerotherium.The extinct Anoplotheridae are represented by a species ofthe European genus Chalicotherium, larger than a horse.An extinct camel, larger than the living species, was foundin the Siwalik Hills.Three species of deer (Cervus) have been found in theSiwaliks, and one in the Nerbudda deposits.A large and a small species of giraffe (Camclopardalis) werefound in the Siwalik Hills and at Perim Island.The Bovidse are represented by numerous species of Bos, andby the extinct genera Hemibos and AmpMhos. There are alsothree species of antelopes, one of which is allied to the AfricanAlccphalus.We now come toan extraordinary group of extinct animals,probably forming a new family intermediate between theantelope and the giraffe. The Sivatherium was an enormousfour-horned ruminant, larger than a rhinoceros. It had a shorttrunk like a tapir, the lower horns on the forehead were simple,the upper pair palmated. The Bramatherium, an allied formfrom Perim Island, showed somewhat more affinity for thegiraffe.Proboscidca.—No less than seven species of elephants and four

chap, vi.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 123of mastodons ranged over India, their remains being found in allthe deposits from the Siwalik Hills to Burmah. A large Dinotheriumhas also been found at Perim Island.Beptiles.—Many remains of birds were found, but these havenot been determined. Reptiles were numerous and interesting,the most remarkable being the huge tortoise, Golossochclys, whoseshell was twelve feet long and head and neck eight feet more.Other small tortoises of the genera Testudo, Emys, Trionyxand Emydida were found, the Emys being a living species.There were three extinct and one living species of crocodile,and one of them was larger than any now living. The onlyother reptile of importance was a large lizard of the genusVaranus.General Observations on the Miocene faunas of Europe andAsia.— Comparing the three faunas of approximately the sameperiod, and allowing for the necessarily imperfect record ofeach, we find a wonderful similarity of general type over theenormous areabetween France on the west and the Irawaddyriver in Burmah on the east. We may even extend our comparisonto Northern China, where remains of Hywna, Tapir,Rhinoceros, Chalicotherium, and Elephas, have been recentlyfound, closely resembling those from the Miocene or Pliocenedeposits of Europe or India, and showing that the Palasarcticregion had then the same great extent from west to eastthat it has now. Of about forty genera comprised in theIndian Miocene fauna, no less than twenty-seven inhabitedCentral and Western Europe during the same epoch. The IndianMiocene fossils are much what we should expect as the forerunnersof the existing fauna, the giraffes and hippopotamibeing the only additions from the present Ethiopian fauna.The numerous forms of the restricted bovine type, show thatthese probably originated in India ; while the monkeys appearto be altogether of Oriental types.In Europe, however, we meet with a totally different assemblageof animals from those that form the existing fauna. Wefind apes and monkeys, many large Felidse, numerous civets

124 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.and hyaenas, tapirs, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephants, giraffes,and antelopes, such as now characterise the tropics of Africaand Asia. Along with these we meet with less familiar types,showing relations with the Centetidae of Madagascar, theTupaiidaa of the Malay Islands, the Cajpromys, of the West Indies,and the Echimys of South America. And besides all theseliving types we have a host of extinct forms,—ten or twelvegenera allied to swine ; nine genera of tapir-like animals ; fourof horses ; nine of wolves ; with many distinct forms of theLong-extinct familiesof Anoplotheridae, Xiphodontidae, and theedentate Macrotheridae. It is almost certain that during theMiocene period Europe was not only far richer than it is nowin the higher forms of life,but not improbably richer than anypart of the globe now is, not excepting tropical Africa andtropical Asia.Eocene Period.The deposits of Eocene age are less numerous, and spreadover a far more limited area, than those of the Miocene period,and only restricted portions of them furnish any remains ofland animals.Our knowledge of the Eocene mammalian faunais therefore very imperfect and will not occupy us long, asmost of the new types it furnishes are of more interest to thezoologist than to the student of distribution. Some of theEocene mammalia of Europe are, however, of interest in comparisonwith those of North America of the same age ;whileothers show that ancestral types of groups now confined toAustralia or to South America, then inhabited Europe.Primates.— The only undoubted Eocene examples of thisorder, are the Ccenojnthecus lemuroides from the Jura, which haspoints of resemblance to the South American marmosets andhowlers, and also to the Lemuridae ; and a cranium recently discoveredin the Department of Lot (S.W. France), undoubtedlybelono-ino- to the Lemuridae, and which most resembles that ofthe West African " Potto " (Pcrodidicus). This discovery hasled to another for it is now believed that remains formerly

chap, vi.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 125referred to the Anoplotheridae (Adapts and Aphelotheriumfrom the Upper Eocene of Paris) were also Lemurs. Someremains from the Lower Eocene of Suffolk were at first supposedto be allied to Macacas, but were subsequently referred to theUngulate, Hyracothcrium. There is still, however, some doubtas to its true affinities.Chiroptera.—In the Upper Eocene of Paris remains of batshave been found, so closely resembling living forms as to bereferred to the genus Vesyertilio.Carnivora.—The only feline remains, are those of Hycenodonin the Upper Eocene of Hampshire, and Pterodon, an allied formfrom beds of the same age in France ; with yElurogale, foundin the South of France in deposits of phosphate of lime ofuncertain age, but probably belonging to this period.Viverridae(civets) are represented by two genera, Tylodon, the size of aglutton from the Upper Eocene, and Palceonyctis, allied toViverra, from the Middle Eocene of France. The Canidse(wolves and foxes) appear to have been the most ancient ofthe existing types of Carnivora, five genera being representedby Eocene remains. Of these, Galethylax and Cyotherium weresmall, and with the existing genus Canis are found in the UpperEocene of France. Arctocyon, about the size of a wolf, isa very ancient and generalised form of carnivore which cannot be placed in any existing family. It is found in the LoweiEocene of France, and is thus the oldest known member ofthe Carnivora.Ungidata.—These are more numerous. Equidae (horses) arerepresented by the Miocene Anchithcrium in the Lower, and by amore ancient form, Anchilophus, in the Middle Eocene of France.Tapiridse and Paheotheridae were very numerous.Palceotheriumand the allied genus Pcdoplotherium, were abundant in France andEngland in Upper Eocene times. They somewhat resembledthe tapir, with affinities for the horse and rhinoceros. A newgenus, Cadurcotherium, allied to the rhinoceros and equallylarge, has been found in the same deposits of phosphate of limeas the lemur and JElurogale. In the Middle Eocene of bothEngland and France are found Lophiodon allied to the tapir,

126 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.but in some of the species reaching a larger size ; Propalaiotheriumand Pachynolophus of smaller size and having affinitiesfor the other genera named ; and Plagiolopfius, a small, slenderanimal which Professor Huxley thinks may have been a directancestor of the horse. In the Lower Eocene we meet withCoryphodon, much larger than the tapir,and armed with largecanine teeth ; Pliohphus, a generalised type, allied to the tapirand horse ; and Hyracotherium, a small animal from the LowerEocene of England, remotely allied to the tapir.Among the Artiodactyla, or even-toed ungulates, the swineare represented by several extinct genera, of moderate or smalls ize— Acotherium,Chceropotamus, Cebochmrus and Dichobune, allfrom the Upper and the last also from the Middle Eocene ofFrance ; but Eutelodon, from the phosphate of lime deposits islarge. The Dichobune was the most generalised type, presentingthe characters of many of the other genera combined,and was believed by Dr. Falconer to approach the musk-deer.The Cainotherium of the Miocene also occurs here, and an alliedgenus Plesiom&ryx from the same deposits as Euteledon.The Eocene Anoplotheridae were numerous. The Anoplotheriumwas a two-toed, long-tailed Pachyderm, ranging from thesize of a hog to that of an ass ; the allied Eurytherium wasfour-toed ; and there are one or two others of doubtful affinity.All are from the Upper Eocene of France and England.Rodentia.—Eemains referred to the genera Myoxus (dormouse)and Sciurus (squirrel) have been found in the Upper Eoceneof France ; as well as Plesiarctomys, an extinct genus betweenthe marmots and squirrels. The Miocene Theridomys is alsofound here.Marsupials.—The Didclphys (opossum) of Cuvier, now referredto an extinct genus Peratherium, isof France and England.found in the Upper EoceneGeneral Considerations on the Extinct Mammalian Fauna ofEurope.— It is a curious fact that no family, and hardly a genus,of European mammalia occurs in the Pliocene deposits, withoutextending back also into those of Miocene age.There are, how-

;chap, vi.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 127ever, a few groups which seem to be late developments or recentimportations into the Palaearctic region, as they occur only inPost-Pliocene deposits. The most important of these are thebadger, glutton, elk, reindeer, chamois, goat, and sheep, whichonly occur in caves and other deposits of Post-Pliocene age.Camels only occur in the Post-Pliocene of Siberia (Merycotherium),although a true Camelus of large size appears to have inhabitedsome part of Central Asia in the Upper Miocene period, beingfound in the Siwalik beds. The only exclusively Pliocenegenera in Europe are Ursus, Equits, Hippopotamus, Bos,Elephas,Arvicola, Trogontherium, Arctomys, Hystrix and Lepus ; but ofthese Equus, Hippopotamus, Bos, and Elephas are found in theMiocene deposits of India. Owing, no doubt, in part to thesuperior productiveness of the various Miocene beds, largenumbers of groups appear to have their origin or earliest appearancehere. Such are Insectivora, Felidae, Hyaenidae, Mustelidae,Ursus, Equidae, Tapirus, Ehinocerotidae, Hippopotamidae, Anthracotheridae(extinct), Sus, Camelopardidae, Tragulidae, Cervidae,Bovidse, Elephantidae, and Edentata.Groups which go back to the Eocene period, are, Primatesallied to South American monkeys, as well as some of theLernuridae ; bats of the living genus Vespertilio ; Hyaenodontida?,an ancestral form of Carnivore ; Viverridae ; Canidae (to theUpper Eocene), and the ancestral Arctocyonidae to the LowerEocene ; Hijamarctos, an ancestral type of bears and hyaenasAnchitheridae, ancestral horses, to the Middle Eocene ; Palaeotheridae,comprising numerous generalised forms, ancestors of therhinoceros, horse, and tapir ; Suidoe, with numerous generalisedforms, to the Middle Eocene ;Anoplotheridae and Xiphodontidae,ancestral families of even-toed Ungulates, connecting the ruminantswith the swine ; and lastly, several groups of Eodents,and a Marsupial, in the Upper Eocene. We thus find allthe great types of Mammalia well developed in the earliestportion of the tertiary period ; and the occurrence of Quadrumana, of the highly specialized bats {Vespertilio), of variousforms of Carnivora, and ofUngulates, clearly differentiated intothe odd and even-toed series, associated with such lower forms a&

128 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part iiLemurs and Marsupials— proves,that we have here hardly madean approach towards the epoch when the mammalian type itselfbegan to diverge into its various modifications. Some of theCarnivora and Ungulates do, indeed, exhibit a less specialisedstructure than later forms; yet so far back as the UpperMiocene the most specialised of all carnivora, the great sabretoothedMachairodus, makes itsappearance.The Miocene is, for our special study, the most valuable andinstructive of the Tertiary periods, both on account of itssuperior richness, and because we here meet with many typesnow confined to separate regions. Such facts as the occurrencein Europe during this period of hippopotami, tapirs, giraffes,Tragulida?, Edentata, and Marsupials— will assist us in solvingmany of the problems we shall meet with in reviewing theactual distribution of living forms of those groups. Still morelight will, however, be thrown on the subject by the fossil formsof the American continent, which we will now proceed toexamine.

CHAPTEE VII.EXTINCT MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD.The discoveries of very richdeposits of mammalian remains invarious parts of the United States have thrown great light onthe relations of the faunas of verv distant regions. NorthAmerica now makes a near approach to Europe in the numberand variety of itsextinct mammalia, and in no part of the worldhave such perfect specimens been discovered.In what are calledthe " Mauvaises terres " of Nebraska (the dried-up mud of anancient lake), thousands of entire crania and some almost entireskeletons of ancient animals have been found, their teeth absolutelyperfect, and altogether more resembling the preparationsof the anatomist, than time-worn fossils such as we are accustomedto see in the museums of Europe. Other deposits havebeen discovered in Oregon, California, Virginia, South Carolina,Texas, and Utah, ranging over all the Tertiary epochs, fromPost-Pliocene to Eocene, and furnishing a remarkable pictureof the numerous strange mammalia which inhabited the ancientNorth American continent.North America— Post-Pliocene Period.Insedivora.—The only indications of this order yet discovered,consists of a single tooth of some insectivorous animal foundin Illinois, but which cannot be referred to any known group.Carnivora.—These are fairly represented. Two species ofFelis as large as a lion ; the equally large extinct Trucifelis,found only in Texas ; four species of Canis, some of them larger

;130 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.than wolves ; two species of Galera, a genus now confined to theNeotropical region; two bears, and an extinct genus, Arctodusan extinct species of racoon (Procyon), and an allied extinctgenus, Myxophagus— show, that at a very recent period NorthAmerica was better supplied with Carnivora than it is now.Remains of the walrus (Trichechus) have also been found as farsouth as Virginia.Cetacea.—Three species of dolphins belonging to existinggenera, have been found in the Eastern States ;ofManatus, or sea-cow, in Florida and South Carolina.and two speciesUngulata.—Six extinct horses {Equus), and one Hipparionthe living South American tapir, and a larger extinct species ; aDicotyles, or peccary, and an allied genus, Platygonus ;of the South American llamas (Auchenia), and onea speciesof a kind ofcamel, Procamclus ; two extinct bisons ; a sheep, and two musksheep(Ovibos) ;with three living and one extinct deer (Cervus),show an important increase in its Herbivora.Proboseidea.—Two elephants and two mastodons, added to thisremarkable assemblage of large vegetable-feeding quadrupeds.Bodentia.—These consist mainly of genera and species stillliving in North America ;the only important exceptions being aspecies of the South American capybara (Hydrochcerus) in SouthCarolina ;and Praotherium, an extinct form of hare, found in abone cave in Pennsylvania.Pde?itata.—Rere we meet with a wonderful assemblage, of sixspecies belonging to four extinct genera, mostly of gigantic size.A species of Megatherium, three of Megalonyx, and one ofMylodon—huge terrestrial sloths as large as the rhinocerosor even as the largest elephants—ranged over the SouthernStates to Pennsylvania, the latter {Mylodon) going as far as thegreat lakes and Oregon. Another form, Ereptodon, has beenfound in the Mississippi Valley.Marsupialia.—The living American genus of opossums, Didelphys,has been found in deposits of this age in South Carolina.Remarks on thePost-Pliocene fauna of .North America.—Theassemblage of animals proved, by these remains, to have

chap. VII.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 131inhabited North America at a comparatively recent epoch, ismost remarkable. In Europe, we found a striking changein the fauna at the same period; but that consisted almostwholly in the presence of animals now inhabiting countriesimmediately to the north or south. Here we have the appearanceof two new assemblages of animals, the one now confinedto the Old World—horses, camels, and elephants ; theother exclusively of South American type—Hamas, tapirs,capybaras, Galera, and gigantic Edentata. The age of thevarious deposits in which these remains are found is somewhatuncertain, and probably extends over a considerable period oftime, inclusive of the Glacial epoch, and perhaps both anteriorand subsequent to it. We have here, as in Europe, the presenceand apparent co-existence in the same area, of Arctic andSouthern forms—the walrus and the manatee— the musksheepand the gigantic sloths. Unfortunately, as we shall see,the immediately preceding Pliocene depositsof North Americaare rather poor in organic remains ;yet it can hardly be owingto the imperfection of the record of this period,the South American types above numerated occursthat not one ofthere, whilea considerable number of Old World forms are represented.Neither in the preceding wonderfully rich Miocene or Eoceneperiods, does any one of these forms occur ;or, with the exceptionof Morotherium, from Pliocene deposits west of the RockyMountains, any apparent ancestor of them ! Wehave hereunmistakable evidence of an extensive immigration from Southinto North America, not very long before the beginning of theGlacial epoch. It was an immigration of types altogether newto the country, which spread over all the southern and centralportions of it, and established themselves sufficiently to leaveabundance of remains in the few detached localities where theyhave been discovered. How such large yet defenceless animalsas tapirs and great terrestrial sloths, could have made their wayinto a country abounding in large felines equal in size anddestructiveness to the lion and the tiger, with numerous wolvesand bears of the largest size, is a great mystery. But it isnevertheless certain that they did so ;and the fact that no such

132 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part 11.migration had occurred for countless preceding ages, proves thatsome great barrier to the entrance of terrestrial mammaliawhich had previously existed, must for a time have been removed.We must defer further discussion of this subject tillwe have examined the relations of the existing faunas of Northand South America.Tertiary Period.When we get to remains of theTertiary age, especially thoseof the Miocene and Eocene epochs, we meet with so manyinteresting and connected types, and such curious relations withliving forms in Europe, that it will be clearer to trace thehistory ofeach order and family throughout the Tertiary period,instead of considering each of the subdivisions of that periodseparately.It will be well however first to note thefew American Post-Pliocene or living genera that are found in the Pliocene beds.These consist of several species of Cants, from the size of a foxto that of a large wolf; a Felis as large as a tiger; an Otter(Lutra) ;several species of Hipparion ; a peccary (Dicotylcs) ;a deer (Cervus) ;several species of Procamelus ; a mastodon;an elephant; and a beaver (Castor). It thus appears that outof nearly forty genera found in the Post-Pliocene deposits, onlyten are found in the preceding Pliocene period. About twelveadditional genera, however, appear there, as we shall see inaoinff over the various orders.Primates.—Among the vast number of extinct mammaliadiscovered in the Tertiary deposits of North America, noexample of this order had been recognized up to 1872, whenthe discovery of more perfect remains showed, that a numberof small animals of obscure affinities from the Lower Eoceneof Wyoming, were really allied to the lemurs and perhapsalso to the marmosets, the lowest form of American monkeys,but having a larger number of teeth than either. A number ofother remains of small animals from the same formation, previouslysupposed to be allied to the Ungulata, are now shown to

chap, vii.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD 133belong to the Primates ;so that no less than twelve genera of theseanimals are recognized by Mr. Marsh, who classesthem in twofamilies—Limnotheridse, comprising the genera Limnotherium,(which had larger canine teeth), Thinolestes, Telmatolestes,Mesacodon,Bathrodon, and Antiacodon of Marsh, with Notharctos,Hipposyus, Microsyops, and Palceacodon previously described byLeidy ;—and Leniuravidse, consistingof the genera Lemuravus(Marsh) and Hyopsodus (Leidy). The animals of the latterfamily were most allied to existing lemurs, but were a moregeneralized form, Lemuravus having forty-four teeth, the greatestnumber known in the order.These numerous forms ranged fromthe size of a small squirrel to that of a racoon. It is especiallyinteresting to find these peculiar lemuroid forms in America,just when a lemur has been discovered of about the same agein Europe ; and as the American forms are said to show anaffinity with the South American marmosets, while the Europeananimal is most allied to a West African group, we haveevidently not yet got back far enough to find the primevalor ancestral type from which all the Primates sprang.About the same time, in the succeeding Miocene formation,true monkeys were discovered. Mr. Marsh describes Laopithecusas an animal nearly the size of the largest South Americanmonkeys, and allied both to the Cebidse and the Eocene Limnotheridse.Mr. Cope has described Menotherium from the Mioceneof Colorado, as a lemuroid animal, the size of a cat, andperhaps allied to Limnotherium. More Miocene remains will,no doubt, be discovered, by which we shall be enabled to tracethe origin of some of the existing forms of South Americanmonkeys ;and perhaps help to decide the question (now in disputeamong anatomists) whether the lemurs are really Primates,or form an altogether distinct and isolated order of mammalia.Insectivora.—This order is represented by comparatively fewforms in the tertiary beds, and these areall very different fromexisting types. In the Upper Miocene of Dakota are foundremains indicating two extinct genera, Lepictis and Lctops. Inthe Miocene of Colorado, Professor Cope has recently discoveredfour new genera, Isacis ; allied to the preceding, but as large as a

—;134 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.Mephitis or skunk ; Herpetotherium, near the moles ; Embasis,more allied to the shrews ; and Dommina, of uncertain affinities.Two others have been found in the Eocene of Wyoming;Amo?nys,having some resemblance to hedgehogs and to the Eastern Tupaia;and Washakms, of doubtful affinities.Far back in the Triassic coal of North Carolina has been foundthe jaw of a small mammal (Dromothcrium), theteeth of whichsomewhat resemble those of the Australian Myrmccobius, andmay belong either to the Insectivora or Marsupials ; if indeed, atthat early period these orders were differentiated.Carnivora.—The most ancient forms of this order are someremains found in the Middle Eocene of Wyoming, and othersrecently described by Professor Cope (1875) from the Eocene ofNew Mexico, of perhaps earlier date. The former consist of threegenera, Patriofelis,Vintacyon, and Sinopa,—animals of large sizebut which cannot be classed in any existing family ; and twoothers, Mcsonyx and Synoplotheriurn,allied to Hyccnodon.believed by Mr. Cope to beThe latter consist of four genera,— Oxycena,consisting of several species, some as large as a jaguar, wasallied to Hyccnodon and Pterodon ; Pachyccna, allied to the lastPrototomus, allied to Amphicyon and the Viverridas ; and Limnocyon,a civet-like carnivore with resemblances to the Canidse.In the Miocene formations we find the Feline type well developed.The wonderful Machairodus, which in Europe lived downto Post-Pliocene times, is found in the Upper Miocene of Dakotaand perfect crania have been discovered, showing that the chinwas lengthened downwards toreceive and protect the enormouscanines. Dinyctis was allied both to Machairodus and to theweasels.Three new genera have been lately described by ProfessorCope from the Miocene of Colorado,Buncclurus, with charactersof both cats and weasels ; Baptophilus, allied to Dinyctis ; andHoplophoncus, more allied to Machairodus. The Canidas are representedby Amphicyon, which occurs in deposits of the sameage in Europe ; and by Canis, four species of which genus arerecorded by Professor Cope from the Miocene of Colorado, and italso occurs in the Pliocene. The Hyccnodon is represented bythree species in the Miocene of Dakota and Colorado.It occurs

chap, vii.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 135also in the European Miocene and Upper Eocene formations, andconstitutes a distinct family Hyaenodontidse, allied,according toDr. Leidy, to wolves, cats, hyaenas and weasels. The Ursidaeare represented by only one species of an extinct genus, Leptarchus,from the Pliocene of Nebraska. From the Pliocene ofColorado, Prof. Cope has recently described Tomarctos, as a" short-faced type of dog ;" as well as species of Cains andMartes.Ungulata.—The animals belonging to this order being usuallyof large size and accustomed to feed and travel in herds, areliable to wholesale destruction by floods, bogs, precipices, droughtor hunger. It is for these reasons, probably, that their remainsare almost always more numerous than those of other orders ofmammalia. In America they are especially abundant ; and thenumber of new and intermediate types about whose positionthere is much difference of opinion among Palaeontologists, rendersit very difficult to give a connected summary of them withany approach to systematic accuracy.Beginning with the Perissodactyla,or odd-toed ungulates, wefind the Equine animals remarkably numerous and interesting.The true horses of the genus Equus, so abundant in the Post-Pliocene formations, are represented in the Pliocene by severalancestral forms.The most nearly allied to Equus is Pliohippus,consisting of animals about the size of an ass, with the lateraltoes not externally developed, but with some differences of dentition.Next come Protohippus and Hipparion, in which thelateral toes are developed but are small and functionless. Thenwe have the allied genera, Anchippus, Merychippus, and Hyohippus,related to the European Hippotherium, which were all stillsmaller animals, Protohippus being only 2| feet high. In theolder deposits we come to a series of forms, still unmistakablyequine, but with three or more toes used for locomotion and withnumerous differentiations in form, proportions, and dentition.These constitute the family Anchitheridae. In the MioceDe wehave the genera Anchitherium (found also in the EuropeanMiocene), Miohippus and Mesohippus, all with three toes on eachfoot, and about the size of a sheep or large goat.In the Eocene of

—13G DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.Utah and Wyoming, we get a step further back, severalspecieshaving been discovered about the size of a fox with four toes infront and three behind. These form the genus Orohippus, andare the oldest ancestral horse known. Prof. Marsh points out theremarkably perfect series of forms in America, which, beginningwith this minute ancient type, is gradually modified by gainingincreased size, increased speed by concentration of the limb-bones,elongation of the head and neck, the canine teeth decreased insize, the molars becoming longer and being coated with cementtill we at last come to animals hardly distinguishable, specifically,from the living horse.Allied to these, are a series of forms showing a transition to thetapirs, and to the Palwotherium of the European Eocene. In thePliocene we have Parahippus ; in the Miocene Lophiodon, foundin the same formation and in the Eocene of Europe, and alliedto the tapir ; and in the Eocene, Palwosyops, as large as a rhinoceros,which had large canines and was allied to the tapir andPalccotherium ; Limnohyus, forming the type of a family Limnohyidse,which included the last genus and some others mentionedfurther on ; and Hyrachyus, allied to Lophiodon, and to Hyracodonan extinct form of rhinoceros. Besides these we have Lophiotherium(also from the Eocene of Europe) ; Diplacodon allied toLimnohyus, hut with affinities to modern Perissodactyla and nearlyas large as a rhinoceros ; and Colonoceras, also belonging to theLimnohyidse, an animal which was the size of a sheep, and haddivergent protuberances or horns on its nose. A remarkablegenus, JBathmodon, lately described by Professor Cope, and ofwhich five species have been found in the Eocene of New Mexicoand Wyoming, is believed to form the type of a new family,having some affinity to Palwosyops and to the extinct Brontotheridse.It had large canine tusks but no horns.The Bhinocerotidae are represented in America by the genusRhinoceros in the Pliocene and Miocene, and by Aceratheriumand Hyracodon in the Miocene. Both the latter were hornless,and Hyracodon was allied to the Eocene Hyrachyus, one of theLophiodontidse. In the Eocene and Miocene deposits of Utah,and Oregon, several remarkable extinct rhinoceroses have been

chap, vii.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 137recently discovered, forming the genus Diccratherium.These hada pair of nasal horns placed side by side on the snout, not behindeach other as in existing two-horned rhinoceroses, the rest oftheir skeleton resembling the hornless Aceratherium. They wereof rather small size.Next to these extinct rhinoceroses come the Brontotheridse,an extraordinary family of large mammalia, some of whichexceeded in bulk the largest living rhinoceros. They had fourtoes to the front and three to the hindfeet, with a pair of largedivergent horns on the front of the head, in both sexes. ProfessorMarsh and Dr. Leidy have described four genera, Brontotherium,Titanotherium, Megacerops, and Anisacodon, distinguished bypeculiarities of dentition. Though most nearly allied to therhinoceroses, they show some affinity for the gigantic Dinocerataof the Eocene to be noticed further on. Professor Copehas since described another genus, Symborodon, from the Mioceneof Colorado, with no less than seven species, one nearlythe size of an elephant. He thinks they had a short tapir-likeproboscis. The species differ greatly in the form of the craniumand development of the horn -bearing processes.We commence the Artiodactyla, or even-toed Ungulates, withthe hog tribe. These are represented by species of peccaries,{Dicotyles) from the Pliocene of Nebraska and Oregon ; and byan allied form Thinolujus, very like Dicotyles, but having anadditional premolar tooth and a much smaller brain-cavity.From the Miocene are three allied genera, Nanohyus, Leptochcerus,and Perchce-rus. Professor Cope, however, thinks Leptochcerusmay be Lemuroid, and allied to Menotherium. TheAnthracotheridae, a family which connects the Hippopotamidseand Euminants, and which occurs in the Miocene of Europeand India, are represented in America by the genus Hyopotamusfrom the Miocene of Dakota, and Elotherium from the Miocene ofOregon and the Eocene of Wyoming; the latter genus being sometimesclassed with the preceding family, and lately placed byProfessor Marsh, in the new order, Tillodontia. Professor Copehas since described three other genera from the Eocene ofVol. L—11New

—138 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.Mexico : Meniscotherium, having resemblances to Palccosyops,Hyopotamus, and the Limnotheridie ;Phenacodus, the size of ahog, of doubtful position, but perhaps near Motherium ; andAchmnodon, as large as a cow, but more hog-like than the preceding.Another new genus from the Miocene of ColoradoPclonax—issaid by Professor Cope to come between Elotheriurnand Hippopotamus.The Camelidse are very abundant, and form one of the moststriking features of the ancient fauna of America. Procamelus,Homocamelus, and Megalomeryx, are extinct genera found inPliocene formation ; the first very closely allied to the OldWorld camel, the last smaller and more sheep-like. In theMiocene two other generatheoccur, Poebrotherium and Protomeryx,the former allied to both the camel and the llama.Deer are represented by a single species of Ccrvus in thePliocene, while two extinct genera, Leptomeryx and Mcrycodus,are found in the Miocene deposits, the latter indicating a transitionbetween camels and deer. Two other genera, Hypisodusand Hypertracjulus, of very small size, are said by ProfessorCope to be allied to the Tragulidse and to Leptomeryx.The Bovidse, or hollow-horned ruminants, are only representedin the Newer Pliocene by a single species of an extinct genus,Casoryx, said toWe now come toan exclusively American family, the Oreodontidw,which consisted ofbe intermediate between antelopes and deer.small animals termed by Dr. Leidy,"ruminating hogs," and which had some general structuralresemblances to deer and camels. They abounded in NorthAmerica during the Pliocene, and especially during the Mioceneepoch, no less than six genera and twenty species having beendiscovered. Mcrychus contains the Pliocene forms ; whileOreodon, Eporeodon, Merychochcerus, Zeptauchcnia, and Agriochcerusare Miocene. The last genus extends back into theEocene period, and shows affinity to the European AnoplotheridtBof the same epoch.Proboscidea.—The Elephantidse are only represented inAmerica by one species of Mastodon and one of Elephas, inthe Newer Pliocene deposits. In the Older Pliocene, Miocene,

;chap, vii.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 139and Upper Eocene, no remains of this order have been foundand in 1869, Dr. Leidy remarked on the small average size ofthe extinct North American mammalia, which were almost allsmaller than their living analogues. Since then, however, wonderfuldiscoveries have been made in depositsof Middle Eoceneage in Wyoming and Colorado, of a group of huge animals notonly rivalling the elephants in size, but of so remarkable andpeculiar a structure as to require the formation of a new order ofmammals—Dinocerata—for their reception.This order consists of animals with generalisedUngulate andProboscidean affinities. The lower jaw resembles that of thehippopotamus ;the posterior ;they had five toes on the anterior feet and four onthree pairs of horns, the first pair on the top of thehead, large and perhaps palmated, the second pair above the eyes,while the third and smallest stood out sideways on the snout.They had enormous upper canines, of which the roots enteredthe middle horn cores, no upper incisors, and small molars.Professor Marsh believes that they had no trunk. The remainsdiscovered indicate four genera, Dinoceras (3 sp.), Tinoceras(2 sp.), Uintatherium (1 sp.), and Eobasilcus (2 sp.). Many othernames have been given to fragments of these animals, and eventhose here given may not be all distinct.Another new order, Tillodontia, recently established by ProfessorMarsh, is perhaps yet more remarkable in a zoologicalpoint of view, since it combines the characters of Carnivora,Ungulata, and Rodents.These animals have been formed intotwo families, Tillotheridse and Stylinodontidae; and three genera,Tillotherium, Anchippodus, and Stylinodontia.Eocene of Wyoming and New Jersey.added ElotheriumAll are from thePerhaps to these must befrom the Miocene of Dakota, the other formsbeing all Eocene. They were mostly animals of small size,between that of the capybara and tapir. The skull resembled inform that of a bear ;the molar teeth were of Ungulate type, andthe incisors like those of a Rodent ; but the skeleton was morethat of the Ursidpe, the feet being plantigrade. Professor Copehas since described three new genera from the Eocene ofNew Mexico, Ectoganus, Calamodon, and Estlwnyr, comprising

———140 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.seven species allied to Tillotherium and Anchippodus, and havingalso relations, as Professor Cope believes, with the South AmericanToxodontidse.Rodentia.—This order is represented in the Pliocene by abeaver, a porcupine, and an American mouse (Hespervmys), allextinct species of living genera, the Hystrix being an Old Worldtype ; and Professor Cope has recently described Panolax, anew genus of hares from the Pliocene of New Mexico. TheMiocene deposits have furnished an extinct genus allied to theharesPalccolagus ; one of the squirrel familya small extinct form of beavermouseIschyromys ;Palceocastor ; and an extinctEumys. The Eocene strata of Wyoming have latelyfurnished two extinct forms of squirrel, Paramys and Sciuravus ;and another of the Muridse (or mouse family), Mysops.Cetacea.—Numerous remains of dolphins and whales, belongingto no less than twelve genera, mostly extinct, have beenfound in the Miocene deposits of the Atlantic and Gulf States,from New Jersey to South Carolina and Louisiana ;while sevengenera of the extinct family, Zeuglodontidse, have been found inMiocene and Eocene beds of the same districts. Some remainsassociated with these are doubtfully referred to the Seal family(Phocidae) among the Carnivora.Edentata.—Tillquite recently no remains of this order haveoccurred in any North American deposits below the Post- Pliocene;but in 1874 Prof. Marsh described some remains allied toMegalonyx and Mylodon, from the Pliocene beds of Californiaand Idaho, and forming a new genus, Morotherinm. As theseremains have only occurred to the west of the Eocky Mountains,and in Pliocene deposits whose exact age is not ascertained, theyhardly affect the remarkable absence of this group from thewhole of the exceedingly rich Tertiary deposits in all other partsof North America.General Relations of the extinct Tertiary Mammalia of NorthAmerica and Europe.—Having now given a sketch of the extinctMammalia which inhabited Europe and North Americaduring the Tertiary period, we are enabled by comparing them,

chap, vii.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. HIto ascertain their relations to each other, and to see how tarthey elucidate the problem of the birth-place and subsequentmigrations of the several families and genera. We have alreadypointed out the remarkable features of the Quaternary (or Post-Pliocene) fauna of North America, and now proceed to discussthat of the various Tertiary periods, which isclosely connectedwith the extinct fauna of Europe.The Tertiary Mammalia of North America at present describedbelong to from eighty to one hundred genera, whilethose of Europe are nearly double that number ;yet onlyeighteen genera are common to the two faunas, and of theseeight are living and belong chiefly to the Pliocene period.Taking first, the genera which in America do not go back beyondthe Pliocene period (ten in number), we find that eight of themin Europe go back to the Upper Miocene. These are Felis,Pseudmlurus, Hipparion, Cervus, Mastodon, Elephas (in India),Castor and Hystrix ; while another, Canis, goes back to theUpper Eocene and the tenth, Equus, confined to the newerPliocene or perhaps to the Post-Pliocene in America, extendsback to the older Pliocene in Europe. Of the seven Europeangenera which are confined to the Miocene period in America,three, Hymnodon, Anchitherium, and Lophiodon go back to theEocene in Europe; three others, Machairodus, Rhinoceros, andAceratherium, are also of Miocene age in Europe; Amphicyon goesback to the Lower Miocene of Europe. Lophiotherium belongsto the Eocene of both countries.If we turn now to families instead of genera, we find that thesame general rule prevails.Mustelidae (weasels), Ursidae (bears),true Equidae (horses), and Bovidae (oxen &c), go no further backin America than the Pliocene, while they all go back to theMiocene in Europe.Suidae (swine) and Anoplotheridae (extinct)are found in the American Miocene and in the European Eocene.Anchitheridae (extinct) reach the Upper Eocene in America,while in Europe they range through Upper, Middle, and LowerEocene. Cervidae (deer) alone are Miocene in both countries.There remain two families in which America has the preeminence.Camelidae (camels) were •wonderfully developed in

142 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part 11.the American Pliocene and Miocene periods, abounding ingenera and species ; whereas in Europe the group only exists inthe Post-Pliocene or Lower Pliocene, with one Upper Miocenespecies of Camelus in N. India. The Anthracotheridae (extinct),found only in the Upper Miocene of France and India, reacheven the Lower Eocene in America.These facts may be due, in part, to a want of strictco-ordinationbetween the Tertiary deposits of Europe and North America,—in part to the imperfection of the record in the latter country.Yet it does not seem probable that they are altogether due tothese causes, because the Miocene beds, which are by far thebest know T n in America as in Europe, exhibit deficiencies of thesame kind as the less known Eocene deposits. The fossil faunaof both countries is so rich, that we can hardly impute great andwell marked differences to imperfect knowledge; yet we findsuch important families as the Civets, Hyamas, Giraffes, andHippopotami absent from America, with the Weasels, and Antelopesalmost so ; while America possesses almost all the Camelidaa,two peculiar orders, Dinocerata and Tillodontia, and four remarkablypeculiar families, Limnotheridse, Lemuravidse, Oreodontidseand Brontotheridae. If then the facts at present known representapproximately the real time-relations of the groups in questionon the two continents, they render it probable that weasels, bears,true horses, swine, oxen, sheep and antelopes, originated on theOld World continent, and were transmitted to America duringsome part of the Miocene period ;while camels originated in theNew World, and somewhere about the same time passed over toEurope. Of the extinct families common to the two hemispheres,the Anthracotheridse alone seem to have had anAmerican origin. Of the genera common to the two countries,almost all seem to have had a European origin, the only generaof equal date being the two rhinoceroses and three Anchitheridse;but if the Brontotheridse are allied to the Ehinocerotidae,these latter may have originated in America, althoughnow anexclusively Old World type. These conclusions are not improbablewhen we consider the much greater size of the OldWorld continents, extending far into the tropics and probably

chap, vii.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 143always more or less united to the tropical areas ; while theevidence of the extinct mammalia themselves shows, that SouthAmerica has been for the most part isolated from the northerncontinent, and did not take part in the development of itscharacteristic Tertiary fauna.Before speculating further on this subject, it will be well tolay before our readers a summary of South American palaeontology,after which we shall be in a better position to drawcorrect inferences from the whole body of the evidence.South America.Unfortunately, our knowledge of the interesting fossil faunaof this continent, is almost wholly confined to the Post-Plioceneand Pliocene periods. A few remains have been discovered indeposits believed to be of Eocene age, but nothing whateverrepresenting the vast intervening period, so rich in peculiarforms of animal life both in North America and Europe.Fauna of the Brazilian caves.—What we know of the Post-Pliocene period is chiefly due to the long-continued researchesof Dr. Lund in the caves of Central Brazil, mostly situated ina district near the head waters of the San Francisco riverin the Province of Minas Geraes. The caves are formed inlimestone rocks, and are so numerous that Dr. Lund visitedthousands, but only sixty contained bones in any quantity.These caves have a floor of reddish earth, often crowded withbones. In one experiment, half a cubic foot of this earthcontained jaws of 400 opossums, 2,000 mice, besides remainsof bats, porcupines and small birds. In another trial, thewhole of the earth in a cavern was carried out for examination,amounting to 6,552 firkins ; and, from a calculationmade by measured samples, it was estimated to containnearly seven millions of jaw-bones of cavies, opossums, porcupines,and mice, besides small birds, lizards, and frogs. _ Thisimmense accumulation is believed to have been formed fromthe bodies of animals brought into the cavern by owls ;and,as these are unsocial birds, the quantity found implies an

144 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part n.immense lapse of time, probably some thousands of years.More than 100 species of Mammalia, in all, were obtainedin these caves. Some were living species or closely alliedto such; but the majority were extinct, and a considerablenumber, about one-fourth, belonged to extinct genera, orgenera not now inhabiting South America. Stone implementsand human remains were found in several of the caves withextinct animals. The following enumeration of these remainsis from the corrected list of M. Gervais.Primates.—Extinct species of Cebus, Callithrix, and Jacchus—South American genera of monkeys; with an extinct genus,Protop>ithccus—axi animal of large size but belonging to theAmerican family Cebidae.Chiroptera.—Species belonging to the South American Phyllostomidre,and to two South American genera of other families.Carnivora.—Five species of Felis, some allied to living animals,others extinct ; a species of the widespread extinct genusMachairodiis ; and a small species referred to Cynmlurus, thegenus containing the hunting leopard now found only inAfricaand India. Canidse are represented by Canis and Icticyon (aliving Brazilian species of the latter genus), and the extinctgenus Speothos. Mustelidse are represented by extinct speciesof the South American genera Mephitis and G-alietis. ProcyonidaB,by a species of Nasua. Ursidse, by Arctotherium, agenus closely resembling, if not identical with, that containingthe " spectacled bear " of Chili.Ungulata.— Equus, Tapirus, Dicotyles, Auchenia, Cervus,Leptotherium,and Antilope, are the cave-genera of this order.Equus and Antelope are particularly interesting, asrepresentinggroups forming no part of existing South American zoology;while the presence also of Leptotherium, an extinct genus ofantelopes, shows that the group was fairly represented in SouthAmerica at this comparatively recent period.Proboscidea.—A species of Mastodon, found also in the Plioceneof La Plata, represents this order.Rodentia.—These abound. Dasyprocta, Cmlogemjs, Cavia,Kerodon, all living genera of Caviidae, are represented by

;chap, vii.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 145extinct species. Cercolabes, the ' tree porcupine ' (Cercolabidse)has two species, one as large as a peccary ;Myopotamus, Zoncheres,Carterodon, are existing genera of spiny rats (Echimyidse)and there are two extinct genera of the same family, Lonchophorusand Phyllomys. Lagodomus (Chinchillidae), the viscachaof the Pampas, is represented by an extinct species.There is also an extinct species of Lepus ; several species ofHesperomys and Oxymycterus ;living in South America.and a large Arvicola, a genus notEdentata.—These, which constitute the great feature of theexisting South American fauna, were still more abundant andvaried in the Cave period, and it is remarkable that most ofthem are extinct genera. The armadillos are alone representedby living forms, Dasypus, and Xenurus ; Ewrydon and Heterodon,are extinct genera of the same family, as well as Chlamydotherium—hugearmadillos the size of a tapir or rhinoceros, andPachytherium, which was nearly as large. The ant-eaters arerepresented only by Glossotherium, an extinct form allied toMyrmecophaga and Manis. The sloths were more numerous,being represented by the extinct genera Ccelodon, Sphenodonand Ochotlierium, the last of large size. The huge terrestrialsloths—Megatheridse, also abounded ; there being species ofMegatherium and Megalonyx, as well as the allied Scclidotherium,supposed to have some affinity for the African Orycteropus.Marsupials.—No new forms of these appear, but numerousspecies of Didelphys, all closely allied to opossums still livingin South America.The preceding sketch of the wonderful cave fauna of CentralBrazil, is sufficient to show that it represents, in the main, aperiod of great antiquity. Not only are almost the whole ofthe species extinct, but there are twenty extinct genera, and threeothers not now inhabitants of South America. The fact that sofew remains of the living animals of the country are found inthese caves, indicates that some change of physical conditionshas occurred since they were the receptacles of so*many of thelarger animals; and the presence of many extinct genera of

146 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.large size, especially among the Edentata and American familiesof Kodents, are additional proofs of a very high antiquity.Yet many of these cave animals are closely allied to thosewhich are found in North America in the Post-Pliocene depositsonly, so that we have no reason to suppose the cave-fauna tobe of much earlier date. But the great amount of organicchange it implies, must give us an enlarged idea of the vastperiods of time, as measured by years, which are included inthis, the most recent of all geological epochs.Pliocene Period of Temperate South America.—We have nowto consider the numerous remains of extinct animals found invarious deposits in the Pampas, and in Patagonia, and a few inBolivia. The age of these is uncertain; but as they are verysimilar to the cave-fauna, though containing a somewhat largerproportion of extinct genera and some very remarkable newforms, they cannot be very much older, and are perhaps bestreferred at present to the newer portion of the Plioceneformation.Carnivora.—The genus Machairodus orsabre-toothed tigers,represents the Felidae. There are several species of wolves(Canis) ; a weasel (Mustela) ;two bears of the Brazilian cavegenusArctotherium; and the extinct European genus Hyamarctos.Ungulata.—There are two species of Eqnus, found in thePampas, Chili, and Bolivia; two of Macrauchenia, an extraordinaryextinct group allied to the tapir and Palceothcrium, butwith the long neck, and general size of a camel. A secondspecies found on the highlands of Bolivia is much smaller.A more recent discovery, in Patagonia, is the almost perfectseries of teeth of a large animal named Homalodontotherium; andwhich is believed by Professor Flower, who has described it, tohave been allied to Rhinoceros, and still more to the MioceneHyracodon from North America ; and also to present someresemblances to Macrauchenia, and though much more remotely,to the curious genus Nesodon mentioned further on.The Artiodactyla, or even-toed Ungulates, are represented by aspecies of Picotyles, or peccary, found in the deposits of the

—;chap, vii.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 147Pampas ; by Auchenia, or llama, of which three extinct speciesinhabited Bolivia, in which country two allied but extinctgenera, Palmolama and Camelotherium, have also been found.Three speciesof deer (Cervus), from the Pampas deposits, completethe list of Pliocene Ungulates.Proboscidea.—The cave species of Mastodon is found also inthe Pampas deposits, and another in the Andes of Chili andBolivia.Rodents.—These are not so numerous as in the caves. Thereare species of the existing genera, Kerodon and Cavia (Caviidse)Zagostomus (Chinchillidse) ; Ctenomys (Octodontidse) ; Lepus(hare) ; Hesperomys and Oxymycterus (Muridre) ; Arvicola, agenus not living in South America ; and an extinct genus, Cardiodus.There is also a remarkable extinct form, Typotherium,larger than the capybara, and having affinities to Edentates andUngulates. Three species have been found in the Pampas deposits.Edentata.—These are as abundant and remarkable as in thecave deposits. Scelidotherium, Megatherium, Megalonyx, Glossotheriumand Dasypus, have already been noticed as from theBrazilian caves. We have here, in addition, the huge Mylodonallied to the Megatherium, and the allied genera Gnathopsisand Lestodon. We then come to the huge extinct armadillos,Glyptodon and Schistopleurum, the former consisting of numerousspecies, some of which were as large as an elephant. Anothergenus, Eutatus, is allied to the living three-banded armadillosand a species of the existing genus Euphractus has been foundin Bolivia.Toxodontidce.—There remain a number of huge animalsrivalling the Megatherium in size, and forming the generaToxodon and Nesodon, but whose position is doubtful. Severalspecies have been found in the deposits of the Pampas andPatagonia. They are allied at once to Ungulates, Eodents, Edentates,and the aquatic Sirenia, in so puzzling a manner that itimpossible to determine to what order they belong, or whetherthey require a new order to be formed for their reception. Someare believed to date back to the Miocene period, and theyindicate what strange forms may still be discovered, should anyis

—;148 DISTRIBUTION QF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part 11.productive deposits be found in South America of middle Tertiaryage.Pliocene Mammalia of the Antilles.—These may be noticedhere, as they are of special interest, proving the connection ofthe larger West Indian Islands with the Continent some time inthe later Tertiary period. They consist of remains of two largeanimals belonging to the South American Chinchillidse, found incave deposits in the island of Anguilla, and forming two newgenera, AmUyrhiza and Loxomylus ; and remain allied to Megalonyxfrom Cuba, which have been named Megalocnus andMyomorpkus.Eocene fauna of South America.—The few remains yet discoveredin the Tertiary deposits of the Pampas which are believedto be of Eocene age, are exceedingly interesting, because theyshow us another change in the scenery of the great drama oflife ; there being apparently a considerable resemblance, at thisepoch, between South America and Europe. They consist of alarge extinct feline animal, Eutemnodus ; of Palceotherium andAnoplotherium, the well-known extinct Ungulates of the EuropeanTertiaries, and which have never been found in NorthAmerica; and of three genera of Eodents,Theridromys,alliedto Echimys, and found also in the Eocene and Miocene of FranceMcgamys, allied to the living Capromys of the Antilles, andalso to Palaiomys, an extinct form of the French Miocene ;anda very large animal referred to Arvicola, a genus found also inthe Pliocene deposits of South America, and abundant in thenorthern hemisphere. No Edentates have been found.The resemblances of this fauna to that of Europe rather thanto any part of America, are so strong, that they can hardly beaccidental. We greatly want, however, more information on thispoint, as well as some corresponding evidences as to the conditionof West and South Africa about thesame epoch, before we canventure to speculate on their bearing as regards the early migrationsof organic forms.G 1 "" 1""'' "* "*O lGeneral Remarks on the Extinct Mammalian Fauna of the Old

chap, vii.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 149and New Worlds.—Leaving the more special applications ofpalseontological evidence to be made after discussing the relationsof the existing fauna of the several regions, we propose here toindicate briefly, some of the more general deductions from theevidence which has now been laid before our readers.The first, and perhaps the most startling fact brought out byour systematic review, is the very recent and almost universalchange that has taken place in the character of the fauna,all the areas we have been considering ;overa change which seemsto be altogether unprecedented in the past history of the samecountries as revealed by the geological record. In Europe, inNorth America, and in South America, we have evidence that avery similar change occurred about the same time. In all threewe find, in the most recent deposits—cave-earths, peat-bogs, andgravels—the remains of a whole series of large animals, whichhave since become wholly extinct or only survive in far-distantlands. In Europe, the great Irish elk, the Machairodus andcave-lion, the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and elephant ;—in NorthAmerica, equally large felines, horses and tapirs larger than anynow living, a llama as large as a camel, great mastodons andelephants, and abimdance of huge megatheroid animals of almostequal size ;—in South America these same megatheroids in greatervariety, numerous huge armadillos, a mastodon, large horses andtapirs, large porcupines, two forms of antelope, numerous bears andfelines, including a Machairodus, and a large monkey,—have all becomeextinct since the deposition of the most recent of the fossilbearingstrata. This is certainly not a great while ago, geologically; and it is almost certain that this great organic revolution,implying physical changes of such vast proportions that theymust have been due to causes of adequate intensity and proportionaterange, has taken place since man lived on the earth.This is proved to have been the case in Europe, and is supportedby much evidence both as regards North and South America.It is clear that so complete and sudden a change in the higherforms of life, does not represent the normal state of things.Species and genera have not, at all times, become so rapidlyextinctThe time occupied by the " Eecent period," that is the

150 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.time since these changes took place is, geologically, minute.The time of the whole of the Post-Pliocene period, as measuredby the amount of physical and general organic change known tohave taken place, is exceedingly small when compared with theduration of the Pliocene period, and still smaller, probably, ascompared with the Miocene. Yet during these two periods wemeet with no such break in the continuity of the forms of life, nosuch radical change in the character of the fauna (though thenumber of specific and generic changes may be as great) as wefind in passing from the Post-Pliocene to recent times. Forexample, in Central Europe numerous hysenas, rhinoceroses, andantelopes, with the great Machairodus, continued from Mioceneall through Pliocene into Post-Pliocene times ; while hippopotamiand elephants continued to live through a good part ofthe Pliocene and Post-Pliocene periods,—and then allsuddenlybecame extinct or left the country. In North America there hasbeen more movement of the fauna in all the periods ; but wehave similar great felines, horses, mastodons, and elephants, inthe Pliocene and Post-Pliocene periods, while Rhinoceros is commonto the Miocene and Pliocene, and camels range continuouslyfrom Miocene, through Pliocene, toall alike became extinct. Even in South America the evidence is,as far as it goes, all the same way. We find Machairodus, Equus,Mastodon, Megatherium, Scelidotherium, Megalonyx, and numerousPost-Pliocene times ;—whengigantic armadillos, alike in the caves and in the stratifiedtertiary deposits of the Pampas ;— yet all have since passed away.It is clear, therefore, that we are now in an altogetherexceptional period of the earth's history. We live in a zoologicallyimpoverished world, from which all the hugest, and fiercest,and strangest forms have recently disappeared ;and it is, nodoubt, a much better world for us now they have gone.Yet itis surely a marvellous fact, and one that has hardly been sufficientlydwelt upon, this sudden dying out of so many largemammalia, not in one place only but over half the land surfaceof the globe. We cannot but believe that there must have beensome physical cause for this great change ; and it must havebeen a cause capable of acting almost simultaneously over large

chap, vii.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 151portions of the earth's surface, and one which, as far as theTertiary period at least isconcerned, was of an exceptional character.Such a cause exists in the great and recent physical changeknown as " the Glacial epoch." We have proof in both Europeand North America, that just about the time these large animalswere disappearing, all the northern parts of these continentswere wrapped in a mantle of ice ;believe that the presence of thisand we have every reason tolarge quantity of ice (known tohave been thousands of feet if not some miles in thickness) musthave acted in various ways to have produced alterations oflevel of the ocean as well as vast local floods, which would havecombined with the excessive cold to destroy animal life.Thereis great difference of opinion among geologists and physicists asto the extent, nature, and duration of the Glacial epoch. Somebelieve it to have prevailed alternately in the northern andsouthern hemispheres ;others that it was simultaneous in both.Some think there was a succession of cold periods, each lastingmany thousands of years, but with intercalated warm periods ofequal duration ; others deny that there is any evidence of suchchanges, and maintain that the Glacial epoch was one continuousperiod of arctic conditions in the temperate zones, with somefluctuations perhaps but with no regular alternations of warmperiods. Some believe in a huge ice-cap covering the wholenorthern hemisphere from the pole to near 50° north latitudein the eastern, and 40° in the western hemisphere ;impute the observed effects either to glacierswhile othersfrom local centres,or to floating icebergs of vast size passing over the surface duringa period of submersion.Without venturing to decide which of these various theorieswill be ultimately proved to be correct, we may state, thatthere is an increasing belief among geologists in the long durationof this ice-period, and the vast extent and great thicknessattained by the ice-sheet. One of the most recent, andnot the least able, of the writers on this question (Mr. Belt) showsstrong reasons for adopting the view that the ice-period wassimultaneous in both hemispheres ; and he calculates that thevast amount of water abstracted from the ocean aid locked up

152 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.in mountains of ice around the two poles, would lower the generallevel of the ocean about 2,000 feet. This would be equivalentto a general elevation of the land to the same amount, and wouldthus tend to intensify the cold ; and this elevation may enableus to understand the recent discoveries of signs of glacialaction at moderate elevations in Central America and Brazil, farwithin the tropics. At the same time, the weight of ice piled upin the north would cause the land surface to sink there, perhapsunequally, according to the varying nature of the interior crustof the earth ;and since the weight has been removed land wouldand thus the phenomenarise again, still somewhat irregularly ;of raised beds of arctic shells in temperate latitudes, are explained.Now, it is evident, that the phenomena we have been considering—ofthe recent changes of the mammalian fauna inEurope, North America, South Temperate America, and thehighlands of Brazil—are such as might be explained by the mostextreme views as to the extent and vastness of the ice-sheet,and especially as toand southern hemispheres ;and where two such completely independentsets of facts areits simultaneous occurrence in the northernfound to combine harmoniously, andsupplement each other on a particular hypothesis, the evidencein favour of that hypothesis is greatly strengthened. An objectionthat will occur to zoologists, may here be noticed. Ifthe Glacial epoch extended over so much ofthe temperate andeven parts of the tropical zone, and led to the extinction of somany forms of life even within the tropics, how is it that somuch of the purely tropical fauna of South America has maintaineditself, and that there are still such a vast number offorms, both of mammalia, birds, reptiles, and insects, that seemorganized for an exclusive existence in tropical forests ? NowMr. Belt's theory, of the subsidence of the ocean to the extent ofabout 2,000 feet, supplies an answer to this objection ; for weshould thus have a tract of lowland of an average width ofsome hundreds of miles, added to the whole east coast of Centraland South America.This tract would, no doubt, become coveredwith forests as it was slowly formed, would enjoy a perfectly

chap, vil] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 153tropical climate, and would thus afford an ample area for thecontinued existence and development of the typical SouthAmerican fauna ; even had glaciers descended in places so lowas what is now the level of the sea, which, however, there is noreason to believe they ever did. It is probable too, that tinslow tract, winch all round the Gulf of Mexico would be of considerablewidth, offered that passage for intermigration betweenNorth and South America, which led to the sudden appearancein the former country in Post-Pliocene times, of the huge Megatheroidsfrom the latter ; a migration which took place in oppositedirections as we shall presently show.The birthplaceand migrations of some mammalian familiesand genera.—We have now to consider a few of those casesin which the evidence already at our command, is sufficientlydefinite and complete, to enable us to pronounce with some confidenceas tothe last movements of several important groups ofmammalia.Primates.—The occurrence in North America of numerousforms of Lemuroidea, forming two extinct families, which arebelieved by American paleontologists to present generalizedfeatures of both Lemuridae and Hapalida?, while in Europe onlyLemurine forms allied to those of Africa have occurred indeposits of the same age (Eocene), renders it possible that thePrimates may have originated in America, and sent one branchto South America to form the Hapalida? and Cebidas, andanother to the Old "World, giving rise to the lemurs and trueapes. But the fact that apes of a high degree of organizationoccur in the European Miocene, while in the Eocene, a monkeybelieved to have relations to the Lemuroids and Cebidse has alsobeen discovered, make it more probable that the ancestral formsof this order originated in the Old World at a still earlier period.The absence of any early tertiary remains from the tropical partsof the two hemispheres, renders it impossible to arrive at anydefinite conclusions as to the origin of groups which were, nodoubt, always best developed in tropical regions.Carnivora.—This is a very ancient and wide-spread group, thefamilies and genera of which had an extensive range in veryVol. I.—12

—154 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.early times. The true bears (Ursus) are almost the onlyimportant genus that seems to have recently migrated. InEurope it dates back to the Older Pliocene, while in NorthAmerica it is Post-Pliocene only. Bears, therefore, seem tohave passed into America from the Palaearctic region in the latterpart of the Pliocene period. They probably came in on thenorth-west, and passed down the Andes into South America,where one isolated species still exists.Ungulata.—Horses are very interesting. In Europe they dateback under various forms to the Miocene period, and true Equusto the Older Pliocene. In North America they are chieflyPliocene, true Equus being Post- Pliocene, with perhaps one ortwo species Newer Pliocene ;but numerous ancestral forms dateback to the Miocene and Eocene, giving a more perfect " pedigreeof the horse " than the European forms, and going back to amore primitivetypeOrohippus.In South America, Equus isthe only genus, and is Post-Pliocene or at most Newer Pliocene.While, therefore, the ancient progenitors of the Equidae werecommon to North America and Europe, in Miocene and evenEocene times, true horses appear to have arisen in the Palasarcticregion, to have passed into North America in the latter part ofthe Pliocene period, and thence tohave spread over all suitabledistricts in South America. They w T ere not, however, able tomaintain themselves permanently in their new territory, and allbecame extinct ;while in their birth-place, the Old World, theycontinue to exist under several varied forms.True tapirs are an Old World group. They go back to theLower Miocene in Europe, while in both North and SouthAmerica they are exclusively Post-Pliocene. They occur inFrance down to the Newer Pliocene, and must, about thattime, have entered America. The land connection by whichthis and so many other animals passed between the Old andNew Worlds in late Tertiary times, was almost certainly in theNorth Pacific, south of Behring's Straits, where, as will be seenby our geueral map, there is a large expanse of shallow water,which a moderate elevation would convert into dry land, in asufficiently temperate latitude.

Jchap. vii.MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 155The peccary (Dicotyles), now a characteristic South Americangenus, is a recent immigrant from North America, where itappears to have.been developed from ancestral forms of swinedating back to the Miocene period.Antelopes are an Old World type, but a few of them appear tohave entered North, and reached South America in late Pliocenetimes.Camels, strange to say, are a special North American type,since they abounded in that continent under various ancientforms in the Miocene period. Towards the end of that periodthey appear to have entered eastern Asia, and developed into theSiberian Merycotheriurn and the North Indian Camelus, whilein the Pliocene age the ancestral llamas entered SouthAmerica.Cervidce are a wide-spread northern type in theirgeneralizedform, but true deer (Cervus) are Palsearctic. They abounded inEurope in Miocene times, but only appear inNorth and SouthAmerica in the later Pliocene and Post-Pliocene periods.True oxen (Bovince) seem to be an Oriental type (Miocene),while they appear in Europe only late in the Pliocene period,and in America are confined to the Post-Pliocene.Elephants (Mephantidce) are an Old World type, aboundingin the Miocene period in Europe and India, and first appearingin America in Post-Pliocene or later Pliocene times.Ancestralforms, doubtfully Proboscidean (Dinocerata), existed in NorthAmerica in the Eocene period, but these became extinct withoutleaving any direct descendants, unless the Brontotheridce andrhinoceroses may be so considered.Marsupials are almost certainly a recent introduction intoSouth and North America from Asia. They existed in Europein Eocene and Miocene times,and presumably over a considerablepart of the Old World ; but no trace of them appears inNorth or South America before the Post-Pliocene period.Edentata.— These offer a most curious and difficult problem.In South America they abound, and were so much more numerousand varied in the Post-Pliocene and Pliocene, that wemay be sure they lived also in the preceding Miocene period. Afew living Edentates are scattered over Africa and Asia, and.

156 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part 11.they flourished in Europe during the Miocene age—animals aslarge(in some species) as a rhinoceros, and most allied to livingAfrican forms. In North America no trace of Edentata has beenfound earlier than the Post-Pliocene period, or perhaps the NewerPliocene on the west coast. Neither is there any trace of themin South America in the Eocene formations ;but this may wellbe owing to our very imperfect knowledge of the forms ofthat epoch. Their absence from North America is, however,probably real ; and we have to account for their presence in theOld World and in South America. Their antiquity is no doubtvery great, and the point of divergence of the Old World andSouth American groups, may take us back to early Eocene, oreven to Pre-Eocene times. The distribution of land and sea maythen have been very different from what it is now ; and to thosewho would create a continent to account for the migrations ofa beetle, nothing would seem more probable than that a SouthAtlantic continent, then united parts of what are now Africaand South America. There is, however, so much evidence forthe general permanence of what are now the great continentsand deep oceans, that Professor Huxley's supposition of a considerableextension of land round the borders of the North PacificOcean in Mesozoic times, best indicates the probable area inwhich the Edentate type originated, and thence spread over muchof the Old World and South America. But while in the lattercountry it flourished and increased with little check, in theother great continents it was soon overcome by the competitionof higher forms, only leaving a few small-sized representativesin Africa and Asia.

CHAPTER VIII.VARIOUS EXTINCT ANIMALS;—AND ON THE ANTIQUITYGENEEA OF INSECTS AND LAND MOLLUSCA.OF THEEXTINCT MAMMALIA OF AUSTRALIA.These have all been obtained from caves and late Tertiary orPost-Tertiary deposits, and consist of a large number of extinctforms, some of gigantic size, but all marsupials and allied to theexisting fauna. There are numerous forms of kangaroos, somelarger than any living species ;and among these are two genera,Protemnodon and Sthenurus, which Professor Garrod has latelyshown to have been allied, not to any Australian forms, but tothe Dmdrolagi or tree-kangaroos of New Guinea. We havealso remains of Thylacinus and Dasyurus, which now only existin Tasmania ; and extinct species of Hypsiprymnus and Phasco-Among the more remarkablelomys, the latter as large as a tapir.extinct genera are Diprotodon, a huge thick-limbed animalallied to the kangaroos, but nearly as large as an elephant;Nototherivm, having characters of Macropus and Phascolarctoscombined, and as large as a rhinoceros ; and Thylacoho, a phaianger-likemarsupial nearly as large as a lion, and supposed byProfessor Owen to have been ofopinion isnot held by other naturalists.Here then we find the same phenomena as incarnivorous habits, though thisthe other countrieswe have already discussed,—the very recent disappearanceof a large number of peculiar forms, many of them far surpassingin size any that continue to exist. It hardly seems probablethat in this case their disappearance can have been due to thedirect effects of the Glacial epoch, since no very extensive glacia-

158 EXTINCT ANIMALS OF AUSTRALIA. [part ii.tion could have occurred in a country like Australia ; but if theocean sank 2,000 feet, the great eastern mountain range mighthave given rise to local glaciers. It is, however, almost certainthat during late Tertiary times Australia must have been muchmore extensive than it is now. This is necessary to allow of thedevelopment of its peculiar and extensive fauna, especially as wesee that that fauna comprised animals rivalling in bulk those ofthe great continents. It is further indicated by the relationswith New Guinea, already alluded to, and by the general characterof the various faunas which compose the Australian region, detailsof which will be found in the succeeding part of this work.The lowering of the ocean during the Glacial period would befavourable to the stillfurther development of the fauna of sucha country ; and it is to the unfavourable conditions produced byits subsequent rising—equivalent to a depression of the land tothe amount of two thousand feet—that we must impute theextinction of so many remarkable groups of animals. It is notimprobable, that the disappearance of the ice and the consequent(apparent) subsidence of the land, might have been rapid ascompared with the rate at which large animals can becomemodified to meet new conditions. Extensive tracts of fertileland might have been submerged, and theconsequent crowdingof large numbers of species and individuals on limited areaswould have led to a struggle for existence in which the lessadapted and less easily modifiable, not the physically weaker,would succumb.There is, however, another cause for the extinction of largerather than small animals whenever an important change ofconditions occurs, which has been suggested to me by a correspondent,1 but which has not, I believe, been adduced by Mr.Darwin or by any other writer on the subject. It is dependenton the fact, that large animals as compared with small ones arealmost invariably slow breeders, and as they also necessarilyexist in much smaller numbers in a given area, they offer farless materials forIn such an extreme case as thatfavourable variations than do smaller animals.1Mr. John Hiekman of Desborongh.of the rabbit and elephant, the

chap, viii.] MESOZOIC MAMMALIA. 159young born each year in the world are probably as some millionsto one ; and it is very easily conceivable that in a thousandyears the former might, under pressure of rapidly changing conditions,become modified into a distinct species, while the latter,not offering enough favourable variations to effect a suitableadaptation, would become extinct. We must also rememberthe extreme specialization of many of the large animals thathave become extinct—a specializationwhich would necessarilyrender modification in any new direction difficult, since the inheritedtendency of variation would probably be to increase thespecialization in the same directionswhich had heretofore beenbeneficial. If to these two causes we add the difficulty ofobtaining sufficient food for such large animals, and perhaps theinjurious effects of changes of climate, we shall not find it difficultto understand how such a vast physical revolution as theGlacial epoch, with its attendant phenomena of elevations andsubsidences, icy winds, and sudden floods by the bursting of lakebarriers, might have led to the total extinction of a vast numberof the most bulky forms of mammalia, while the less bulkywere able to survive, eitherby greater hardiness of constitutionor bv becoming more or less modified. The result is apparent intrie comparatively small or moderate size of the species constitutingthe temperate fauna, in all parts of the globe.It is much to be regretted that no mammalian remains of earlierdate have been found in Australia, as we should then see ifit isreally the case that marsupials have always formed its highesttype of mammalian life. At present its fossil fauna is chieflyinteresting to the zoologist, but throws little light on the pastrelations of this isolated country with other parts of the globe.Mammalian remains inthe Secondary Formations.In the oldest Tertiary beds of Europe and North America, wehave (even with our present imperfect record) a rich and variedmammalian fauna. As compared with our living or recent highlyspecialized forms, it may be said to consist of generalised types ;but as compared with any primeval mammalian type, it must bepronounced highly specialized. Not only are such diversified

;160 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.groups as Carnivora, Perrissodactyle and Artiodactyle Ungulates,Primates, Chiroptera, Rodents, and Marsupials already wellmarked, but in many of these there is a differentiation intonumerous families and genera of diverse character.It is impossibletherefore to doubt, that many peculiar forms of mammaliamust have lived long anterior to the Eocene period ;but thereis unfortunately a great gap in the record between the Eoceneand Cretaceous beds, and these latter being for the most partmarine continue the gap as regards mammals over an enormouslapse of time. Yet far beyond both these chasms in the UpperOolitic strata, remains of small mammalia have been foundagain, in the Stonesfield slate, a member of the Lower Oolite,other forms appear. Then comes the marine Lias formationwith another huge gap ; but beyond this again in the UpperTrias, the oldest of the secondary formations, mammalian teethhave been discovered inboth England and Germany, and theseare, as nearly as can be ascertained, of the same age as theDromatlurium already noticed, from North America. Theyhave bee:i named Microlestes, and show some resemblance tothose of the West Australian Myrmecobius. In the Ooliticstrata numerous small jawbones have been found, which haveserved to characterise eight genera, all of which are believed tohave been Marsupials, and in some of them a resemblance can betraced to some of the smaller living Australian species.however, are mere indicationsThese,of the number of mammalia thatmust have lived in the secondary period, so long thought to beexclusively " the age of reptiles ;" and the fact that the few yetfound are at all comparable with such specialised forms as stillexist, must convince us, that we shall have to seek far beyondeven the earliest of these remains, for the first appearance of themammalian type of vertebrata.Extinct Birds.Compared with those of mammalia, the remains of birds areexceedingly scarce in Europe and America ;and from the wanderin"habits of so many of this class, they are of much less value

;chap, viii.] BIRDS. . 161as indications of past changes in physical geography. A largeproportion of the remains belong to aquatic or wading types,and as these have now often a world-wide range, the occurrenceof extinct forms can have little bearing on our present inquiry.There are, however, a few interesting casesof extinct land-birdsbelonging to groups now quite strangers to the country in whichthey are found ; and others scarcely less interesting, in whichgroups now peculiar to certain areas are shown to have beenpreceded by allied species or genera of gigantic size.Palcearctic Region and N. India.—In the caves and otherPost-Pliocene deposits of these countries, the remains of birdsalmost all belong to genera now inhabiting the same districts.Almost the only exceptions are, the great auk and thecapercailzie, already mentioned as being found in the Danishmounds ; the latter bird, with Tetrao albus, in Italian cavernsand a species of pheasant (Phasianus) said to have occurred inthe Post- Pliocene of France, considerably west of the existingrange of the genus in a wild state.In the preceding Pliocene deposits, but few remains havebeen found, and all of existing genera but one, a gallinaceousbird (Gallus bravardi) allied to the domestic fowl and peacock.The Miocene beds of France and Central Europe have producedmany more remains ofbirds, but these, too, are mostly ofexisting European genera, though there are some notable exceptions.Along with forms undistinguishable from crows (Corvus),shrikes (Lanius),wagtails (Motacilla), and woodpeckers (Picus),are found remains allied to the Oriental edible-nest swift (Collocalia)and Trogon ; a parrot resembling the African genusPsittacus ; an extinct form Necrornis, perhaps allied to theplantain-eaters (Musophaga) ;Homalophus, doubtfully allied towoodpeckers, and Limnatornis to the hoopoes. The gallinaceousbirds arerepresented by three species of pheasants, somevery close to the domesticated species ; Palccoperdix allied to thepartridges ; and Palceortyx, small birds allied to the Americangenus Ortyx, but with larger wings. There are also species ofPterocles allied to living birds, and a small pigeon. There arenumerous living genera of Accipitres ; such as eagle {Aquila),

;162 . DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.kite (Milvus), eagle-owl {Bubo), and screech-owl (Stria) ; withthe African secretary-bird (Serpentarius), and some extinct forms,as Palceocercus, Palceohierix and Palceetus.Aquatic and wading birds were abundant, including numerousrails, bustards, herons, sandpipers, gulls, divers, and pelicans.There were also many ducks, some allied to the genus Denclrocygna;the Oriental genus of storks, Lcptoptilus ; lbidipodia, aremarkable form allied to Ibis and Ciconia ; Elornis, nearLimosa; Pelagornis, a large bird allied to gannets and pelicans ;Hydrornis, allied to the ducks and petrels ; DolicJwpterus, alliedto plovers. Perhaps the most interesting of these extinct birdsare, however, the flamingoes, represented by forms hardly distinguishablefrom living species, and by one extinct genus Palcelodus,which had very long toes, and probably walked on aquaticplants like the tropical jacanas.The Miocene beds of North India have furnished few birdsthe only one of geographical interest being an extinct speciesofostrich, not very different from that now inhabiting Arabia.On the whole, the birds of Europe at this period were verylike those now living, with the addition of a few tropicalforms.These latter were, however, perhaps more numerous and importantthan they appear to be, as they belong to inland and foresthauntingtypes, which would not be so frequently preserved asthe marsh and lake-dwelling species. Taking this into consideration,the assemblage of Miocene birds accords well withwhat we know of the mammalian fauna. We have the sameindications of a luxuriant vegetation and subtropical climate,and the same appearance of Oriental and especially of Africantypes. Trogon is perhaps the most interesting of all the formsyet discovered, since itfurnishes us with a central point whencethe living trogons of Asia, Africa, and South America mighthave diverged.In the Eocene we find ourselves almost wholly among extinctforms of birds. The earliest known Passerine bird is heremet with, in Protornis, somewhat similar to a lark, found inthe Lower Eocene of Switzerland ;while another Passerine form,Palwgithalus, and one allied to the nuthatch {Sitta), have been

chap, vm.] BIRDS. 163discovered in the Upper Eocene of Paris.Picariae of equal antiquityare found. Cryptomis, from the Paris Eocene, and Halcyornisfrom the Lower Eocene of the Isle of Sheppey, wereboth allied to kingfishers ; while a form allied to Centropus agenus of cuckoos, or,as Milne -Edwards thinks, to the MadagascarLeptosomus, has been found in the Upper Eocene of.France.Several Accipitrcs of somewhat doubtful affinities have beenfound in the same country; while Lithomis, from the LowerEocene of the Isle of Sheppey, was a small vulturine bird supposedto be allied to the American group, Catliartcs. Amongthe waders, some extinct forms of plovers have been found, and agenus (Agnoptems), allied to the flamingoes ; while there aremany swimming birds, such as pelicans, divers, and severalextinct types of doubtful affinities. Most intersting of all is aportion of a cranium discovered in the Lower Eocene of Sheppey,and lately pronounced by Professor Owen to belong to alarge Struthious bird, allied to the New T Zealand Dinornis andalso perhaps to the ostrich. Another gigantic bird is the Gastornis,from the Lower Eocene of Paris, which was as large as anostrich, but which is believed to have been a generalised type,allied to wading and swimming birds as well as to the Struthiones.Beyond this epoch we have no remains of birds in Europeanstrata till we come to the wonderful Archceoptcryx from theUpper Oolite of Bavaria ; a bird of a totally new type, with abony tail, longer than the body, each vertebra of which carrieda pair of diverging feathers.North America.—A number ofbird-remains have lately beenfound in the rich Tertiary and Cretaceous deposits of the UnitedStates ; but here, too, comparatively few are terrestrial forms.No Passerine bird has yet been found. The Picariae are representedby Uintornis, an extinct form allied to woodpeckers, fromthe Eocene of Wyoming. Species of turkey {Melcagris) occurin the Post-Pliocene and as far back as the Miocene strata,showing that this interesting type isa true denizen of temperateNorth America. The other birds are, Accipitrcs; waders andaquatics of existing genera ;and a number of extinct forms ofthe two latter orders—such as, Alctornis an Eocene wader;

;164 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.Palceotringa, allied to the sandpipers, and Telmatobms to therails, both Cretaceous ;with Graculavus, allied to GraculusLaornis allied to the swans ; Hcspcrornis a gigantic diver ; andIcthyornis a very low form, with biconcave vertebra,such as areonly found in fishes and some reptiles—also from Cretaceousdeposits.South America.—The caverns of Brazil produced thirty-fourspecies of birds, most of them referable to Brazilian genera, andmany to still existing species. The most interesting were twospecies of American ostrich {Rhea), one larger than either ofthe living species ; a large turkey-buzzard (Cathartes) ; a newspecies of the very isolated South American genus Opisthocomus ;and a Cariama, or allied new genus. *Madagascar and theMascarene Islands.—We have here onlyevidence of birds that have become extinct in the historicalperiod or very little earlier.First we have a group of birds incapableof flight, allied to pigeons, but forming a separate family,Dididoz ;and which, so far as we yet know, inhabited Mauritius,Eodriguez, and probably Bourbon. Aphanapteryx, an extinctgenus of rails, inhabited Mauritius ; and another genus, {Erythromachus),Rodriguez. A large parrot, said by Prof. Milne Edwardsto be allied to Ara and Microglossia, also inhabited Mauritiusand another allied to Eclectus, the island of Rodriguez. Noneof these have been found in Madagascar ;but a gigantic Struthiousbird, JEpyomis, forming a peculiar family distinct both fromthe ostriches of Africa and the Dinornis of New Zealandinhabited that island ; and there is reason to believe thatthis may have lived less than 200 years ago.New Zealand,—A number of extinct Struthious birds, formingtwo families, Dinomithidce and Palapterygidoe, have beenfound in New Zealand. Some were of gigantic size. They seemallied both to the living Apteryx of New Zealand and the emuof Australia. They are quite recent, and some of them haveprobably lived within the last few centuries. Remains ofDinornis have also been found in a Post-Pliocene deposit inQueensland, N. E. Australia x—a very important discovery, asit1Trans. Zool. Soc. of London, vol. viii. p. 381.

chap, viii.] TERTIARY REPTILES. 1G5gives support to the theory of a great eastward extension ofAustralia in Tertiary times.Extinct Teetiaey Eepttles.These will not occupy us long, as no very great number areknown, and most of them belong to a few principal forms ofcomparatively little geographical interest.Tortoises are perhaps the most abundant of the Tertiaryreptiles. They are numerous in the Eocene and Mioceneformations both in Europe and North America. The 'generaEmys and Trionyx abound in both countries, as well as in theMiocene of India. Land tortoises occur in the Eocene of NorthAmerica and in the Miocene of Europe and India, where thehuge Colossochelys, twelve feet long, has been found. In thePliocene deposits of Switzerland the living American genusChelydra has been met with. These facts, together with theoccurrence of a living species in the Miocene of India, showthat this order of reptiles is of great antiquity, and that mostof the genera once had a wider range than now.Crocodiles, allied to the three forms now characteristic ofIndia, Africa, and America, have been found in the Eocene ofour own country, and several species of Crocodihis have occurredin beds of the same age in North America.Lizards are very ancient, many small terrestrial formsoccurring in all the Tertiary deposits. A species of the genusChamceleo is recorded from the Eocene of North America, togetherwith several extinct genera.Snakes were well developed in the Eocene period, whereremains of several have been found which must have been fromtwelve to twenty feet long. An extinct species of true viper hasoccurred in the Miocene of France, and one of the Pythonideein the Miocene brown coal of Germany.Batrachia occur but sparingly in a fossil state in the Tertiarydeposits. The most remarkable is the large Salamander{Andreas) from the Upper Miocene of Switzerland, which

1GG DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.is allied to the Menopoma living in North America. Speciesof frog (Bana), and Palceophryus an extinct genus of toads,have been found in the Miocene deposits of Germany andSwitzerland.Fresh water fish are almost unknown in the Tertiarydeposits of Europe, although most of the families and somegenera of living marine fish are represented from the Eocenedownwards.Antiquity of the Geneka of Insects.Fossil insects are far too rarely found, to aid us in our determinationof difficult questions of geographical distribution ; but indiscussing these questions it will be important to know, whetherwe are to look upon the existing generic forms of insects as ofgieat or small antiquity, compared with the higher vertebrates ;and to decide this question the materials at our command areample.The conditions requisite for the preservation of insects in afossil state are no doubt very local and peculiar ;the result being,that it is only at long intervals in the geological record that wemeet with remains of insects in a recognisable condition. Noneappear to have been found in the Pliocene formation ; but in theUpper Miocene of (Eninghen in Switzerland, associated with thewonderfully rich fossil flora, are found immense quantities ofinsects. Prof. Heer examined more than 5,000 specimens belongingto over 800 species, and many have been found in otherlocalities in Switzerland ;so that more than 1,300 species ofMiocene insects have now been determined.Most of the ordersare represented, but the beetles (Coleoptera) are far the mostabundant.Almost all belong to existing genera, and the majorityof these genera now inhabit Europe, only three or four beingexclusively Indian, African, or American.In the Lower Miocene of Croatia there is another rich depositof insects, somewhat more tropical in character, comprisinglarge white-ants and dragon-flies differently marked from any

——;chap, vm.] ANTIQUITY OF INSECTS. 167now inhabiting Europe. A butterfly is also well preserved, withall the markings of the wings ;and it seems to be a Junonia, atropical genus, though it may be a Vanessa, which is European,but the fossil most resembles Indian species of Junonia.The Eocene formations seem to have produced no insectremains ;but they occur again in the Upper Cretaceousat Aix-la-Chapelle, where two butterflies have been found,Cyllo sepulta and Satyrites Reynesii, both belonging to the Satyridse,and the former to a genus now spread over Africa, India,and Australia.A little earlier, in the Wealden formation of our own country,numerous insects have been found, principally dragon flies (Libellula,JEshna) ; aquatic Hemiptera (Velia Hydrometrci) ; cricketscockroaches, and cicadas, of familiar types.Further back in the Upper Oolite of Bavaria—which producedthe wonderful long-tailed bird, Archceopteryx—insects of all ordershave been found, including a moth referred to the existing genusSphinx.In the Lower Oolite of Oxfordshire many fossil beetles havebeen found whose affinities are shown by their names :Buprestidium,Curculionidium, Blapsidium, Mclolonthidium, and Prionidium; a wing of a butterfly has also been found, allied to theBrassolidse now confined to tropical America, and named Palmontinaoolitica.Still more remote are the insects of the Lias of Gloucestershire,yet they too can be referred to well-known family typesCarabidse, Melolonthidse, Telephoridae,Elateridse, and Curculionidse,among beetles;Gryllidse and Blattidae among Orthoptera;with Libelhda, Agrion, JEshna, Ephemera, and some extinctgenera. When we consider that almost the only vertebruta ofthis period were huge Saurian repliles like the Icthyosaurus,Plesiosaurtts, and Dinosaurus, with the flying Pterodactylesand that the great mass of our existing genera,and even families,of fish and reptiles had almost certainly not come into existence,we see at once that types of insect-form are, proportionately,far more ancient. At this remote epoch we find the chief familytypes (the genera of the time of Linnaeus) perfectly differentiated

168 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part II.and recognisable.It is only when we go further back still, intothe Palseozoic formations, that the insect forms begin to show thatgeneralization of type which renders it impossible to classifythem in any existing groups. Yet even in the coal formation ofNova Scotia and Durham, the fossil insects are said by competententomologists to be " allied to Ephemera" " near Blatta,"Phasmidce ; "" nearand in deposits of the same age at Saarbruck nearTreves, a well-preserved wing of a grasshopper or locust has beenfound, as well as a beetle referred to the Scarabeidse. Moreremarkable, however, is the recent discovery in the carboniferousshales of Belgium, of the clearly-defined wing of a large moth(Breyeria borinensis), closely resembling some of the Saturniidae ;so that we have now all the chief orders of Insects—includingthose supposed to be the most highly developed and the mostrecent—well represented at this very remote epoch. Even theoldest insects, from the Devonian rocks of North America, canmostly be classed as Neuroptera or Myriapoda, but appear toform new families.We may consider it, therefore, as proved, that many of thelarger and more important genera of insects date back to thebeginning of the Tertiary period, or perhaps beyond it ;but thefamily types are far older, and must have been differentiated veryearly in the Secondary period, while some of them perhaps goback to Palseozoic times. The great comparative antiquity ofthe genera is however the important fact for us, and we shallhave occasion often to refer to it, in endeavouring to ascertainthe true bearing of the facts of insect distribution, as elucidatingor invalidating the conclusions arrived at from a study of thedistribution of the higher animals.Antiquity of the Genera of Land and Fresh-WaterShells.The remains of land and fresh-water shells are not much morefrequent than those of insects. Like them, too, their forms arevery stable, continuing unchanged through several geological

—chap, viii.] ANTIQUITY OF LAND SHELLS. 169periods. In the Pliocene and Miocene formations, most of theshells are very similar to living species, and some are quite identical.In the Eocene we meet with ordinary forms of the generaHelix, Clausilia, Pupa, Bulimus, Glandina, Cyclostoma, Megalostoma,Planorbis, Paludina and Limncea, some resembling Europeanspecies, others more like tropical forms. A British Eocenespecies of Helix is still living in Texas ;and in the South of Franceare found species of the Brazilian sub-genera Megaspira andAnastoma. In the secondary formation no true land shells havebeen found, but fresh water shells are tolerably abundant, andalmost all are still of living forms. In the Wealden (LowerCretaceous) and Purbeck (Upper Oolite) are found Unio, Melania,Paludina, Planorbis, and Limncea ; while the last named genusoccurs even in the Lias.The notion that land shells were really not in existence duringthe secondary period is, however, proved to be erroneous by thestartling discovery, in the Palaeozoic coal measures of Nova Scotia,of two species of Helicidae, both of living genera Pupa vetusta,and Zonites priscus. They have been found in the hollow trunkof a Sigillaria, and in great quantities in a bed full of Stigmarianrootlets. The most minute examination detects no importantdifferences of form or of microscopic structure, between theseshells and living species of the same genera !These mollusca werethe contemporaries of Labyrinthodonts and strange Ganoid fishes,which formed almost the whole vertebrate fauna. This unexpecteddiscovery renders it almost certain, that numbers of otherexisting genera, of which we have found no traces, lived withthese two through the whole secondary period ; and we are thusobliged to assume as a probability, that any particular genus haslived through a long succession of geological ages. In estimatingthe importance of any peculiarities or anomalies in thegeographical distribution of land shells as compared with thehigher vertebrates, we shall, therefore, have to keep this possible,and even probable high antiquity, constantly in mind.We have now concluded our sketch of Tertiary Palaeontologyas a preparation for the intelligent study of the GeographicalVol. I.—13

170 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.Distribution of Land Animals ; and however imperfectly the taskhas been performed, the reader will at all events have been convincedthat some such preliminary investigation is an essentialand most important part of our work.So much of palaeontologyis at present tentative and conjectural, that in combining theinformation derived from numerous writers, many errors of detailmust have been made. The main conclusions have, however, beendrawn from as large a basis of facts as possible ;and althoughfresh discoveries may show thatour views as to the past historyof some of the less important genera or families are erroneous,they can hardly invalidate our results to any important degree,either as regards the intercommunications between separateregions in the various geological epochs, or as to the centresfrom which some of the more important groups have been dispersed.

PART III.ZOOLOGICALGEOGRAPHY:AREVIEW OF TEE CHIEF FORMS OF ANIMAL LIFE IN TEESEVERAL REGIONS AND SUB-REGIONS, WITH THE INDICA-TIONS THEY AFFORD OF GEOGRAPHICAL MUTATIONS.

CHAPTER IX.THE ORDER OF SUCCESSION OF THE REGIONS.— COSMOPOLITANGROUPS OF ANIMALS.—TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION.Having discussed, in our First Part, such general and preliminarymatters as are necessary to a proper comprehension of oursubject ; and having made ourselves acquainted, in our SecondPart, with the most important results of Palaeontology, we nowcome to our more immediate subject, which we propose to treatfirst under its geographical aspect. Taking each of our sixregions in succession, we shall point out in some detail the chiefzoological features they present, as influenced by climate, vegetation,and other physical features. We shall then treat eachof the sub-regions by itself, as well as such of the islands orother sub-divisions as present features of special interest; endeavouringto ascertain their true relations to each other, and themore important changes of physical geography that seem necessaryto account for their present zoological condition.Order of Succession of the Regions.— We may here explainthe reason for taking the several regions in a different successionfrom that in which they appear in the tabular or diagrammaticheadings to each family, in the Fourth, and concluding part ofthis work. It will have been seen, by our examination of extinctanimals (and it will be made still clearer during our study ofthe several regions) that all the chief types of animal life appearto have originated in the great north temperate or northerncontinents ; while the southern continents—now represented by

—174 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. |>art in.South America, Australia, and South Africa with Madagascarhave been more or less completely isolated, during long periods,both from the northern continent and from each other. Theselatter countries have, however, been subject to more or less immigrationfrom the north during rare epochs of approximationto, or partial union with it. In the northern, more extensive, andprobably more ancient land, the process of development hasbeen more rapid, and has resulted in more varied and highertypes ; while the southern lands, for the most part, seem to haveproduced numerous diverging modifications of the lower gradesof organization, the original types of which they derived eitherfrom the north, or from some of the ancient continents in Mesozoicor Palaeozoic times. Hence those curious resemblances inthe fauna of South America, Australia, and, to a less extent,Madagascar, which have led to a somewhat general belief thatthese distant countries must at one time or other have beenunited ; a belief which, after a careful examination of all thefacts, does not seem to the author of this work to be wellfounded. Oh the other hand, there is the most satisfactoryevidence that each southern region has been more or lessclosely united (during the tertiary or later secondary epoch)with the great northern continents, leading to numerous resemblancesand affinities in their productions.In endeavouring to present at a glance in the most convenientmanner, the distribution of the families in the several regionsand sub-regions, it was necessary to arrange them, so that thosewhose relations to each other were closest should stand side byside ;the first and last being those between which the relationswere least numerous and least important. Influenced by theusual opinions as to the relations between Australia and SouthAmerica, the series was at first begun with the Nearetic, andterminated with the Australian and Neotropical regions ; and itwas not till the whole of the vertebrate families had been gonethrough, and their distribution carefully studied, that these lasttwo regions were seen to be really wider apart than any othersof the series. It was therefore decided to alter the arrangement,beginning with the Neotropical, and ending with the Australian

;chap, ix.] ORDER OF SUCCESSION OF THE REGIONS. 175regions ; and a careful inspection of the diagrams themselves,taken in their entirety, will, it is believed, show that this isthe most natural plan, and most truly exhibits the relations ofthe several regions.In the portion of our work now commencing, we are not,however, by any means bound to begin at either end of thisseries. Each region is studied by itself, but reference will oftenhave to be made to all the other regions ;and wherever webegin, we must occasionally refer to facts which will be givenfurther on. As, however, the great northern continents formthe central mass from which the southern regions, as it were,diverge, and as the Pala?arctic region isboth more extensive andmuch better known than any other, it undoubtedly forms themost convenient starting-point for our proposed survey ofthe zoological history of the earth. We thus pass from thebetter known to the less known—from Europe to Africa andtropical Asia, and thence to Australia, completing the series ofregions of the Eastern Hemisphere.Beginning again with theNeotropical region, we pass to the Nearctic, which has suchstriking relations with the preceding and with the Palsearcticregion, that it can only be properly understood by constantreference to both. We thus keep separate the Eastern and Westernhemispheres, which form, from our point of view, themost radical and most suggestivedivision of terrestrial faunasand as we are able to make this also the dividing point of ourtwo volumes, reference to the work will be thereby facilitated.Cosmopolitan Groups.— Before proceeding to sketch the zoologicalfeatures of the several Begions it will be well to noticethose family groups which belong to the earth as a whole, andwhich are so widely and universally distributed over itthat itwill be unnecessary, in some cases, to do more than refer tothem under the separate geographical divisions.The only absolutely cosmopolitan families of Mammalia arethose which are aerial or marine; and this is one of the strikingproofs that their distribution has been effected by natural causes,and that the permanence of barriers is one of the chief

and176 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.agencies in the limitation of their range. Even among theaerial bats, however, only one family-—the Vespertilionidae— istruly cosmopolitan, the others having a more or less restrictedrange.Neither are the Cetacea necessarily cosmopolitan, most ofthe families being restricted either to warm or to cold seas ; butone family, the dolphins (Delphinidae), is truly so. This orderhowever will not require further notice, as, being exclusivelymarine the groups do not enter into any of our terrestrialregions. The only other family of mammals that may be consideredto be cosmopolitan, is the Muridae (rats .mice) : yetthese are not entirely so, since none are known to be trulyindigenous in any part of the Australian region except Australiaitself.In the class of Birds, a number of families are cosmopolites,if we reckon as such all which are found in each region andsub-region ;but several of these are so abundant in some parts,while they are so sparingly represented in others, that theycannot fairly be considered so. We shall confine that termtherefore, to such as, there is reason to believe, inhabit everyimportant sub-division of each region. Such are, among thePasserine birds the crows (Corvidae), and swallows (Hiruudinidae);.among the Picariae the kingfishers (Alcedinidae) ; amongother Land birds the pigeons (Columbidae), grouse and partridges(Tetraonidae), hawks (Falconidae), and owls (Strigidae) ; amongthe Waders the rails (Kallidae), snipes (Scolopacidae), plovers(Charadriadae), and herons (Ardeidae) ;and among the Swimmersthe ducks (Anatidae), gulls (Laridae), petrels (Procellariidae),pelicans (Pelecanidae), and grebes (Podicipidae).In the class of Reptiles there are few absolutely cosmopolitanfamilies, owing to the scarcity of members of this group in someinsular sub-regions, such as New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.Those which are most nearly so are the Colubridae among snakes,and the Scincidae among lizards.There isno cosmopolitan family of Amphibia, the true frogs(Eanidae) being the most widely distributed.Neither is any family of Freshwater Fishes cosmopolitan,the Siluridae, which have the widest range, being confined

—;chap, ix.] TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION. 177to warm regions, and becoming very scarce in the temperatezones.Among the Diurnal and Crepuscular Lepidoptera(butterfliesand sphinges) the following families are cosmopolitan :—Satyridse,Nymphalidse, Zygaenidse, Pieridse, Papilionidae, Hesperidae,Lycaenidee, and Sphingidse.Of the Coleoptera almost all, except some of the small andobscure families, are cosmopolitan.Of the terrestrial Mollusca, the Helicidae alone are true cosmopolites.Tables of Distribution of Families and Genera.—Having beenobliged to construct numerous tables of the distribution of thevarious groups for the purposes of the descriptive part of thework, I have thought it well to append the most important ofthem, in a convenient form, to the chapter on each region ; asmuch information will thereby be given, which can only beobtained from existing works at the cost of great labour. Allthese tables are drawn up on a uniform plan, the same genericand family names being used in each ; and all are arranged inthe same systematic order, so as to be readily comparablewith each other. This, although it seems a simple and naturalthing to do, has involved a very great amount of labour, becausehardly two authors use the same names or follow the samearrangement. Hence comparison between them is impossible, tillall their work has been picked to pieces, their synonymy unravelled,their differences accounted for, and the materials recastand this has to be done, not for two or three authors only, butfor the majority of those whose works have been consulted onthe zoology of any part of the globe.Except in the two higher orders—Mammalia and Birdsmaterials do not exist for complete tablesof the genera broughtdown to the present time. We have given therefore, first, acomplete table of all the families of Vertebrata and DiurnalLepidoptera found in each region, showing the sub-regions inwhich they occur, and their range beyond the limits of theregion. Families which are wholly peculiar to the region, or

;178 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.very characteristic and almost exclusively confined to it, are initalics. The number prefixed to each family corresponds tothat of the series of families in the Fourth Part of this work,so that if further information is required it can be readilyreferred to without consulting the index. Names inclosed inparentheses—( . . . ) thus—indicate families which only justenter a region from an adjacent one, to which they properlybelong. The eye is thus directed to the more, and the less importantfamilies ;and a considerable amount of information asto the general features of the zoology of the region, isconveyedin the easiest manner.The tables of genera of Mammalia and Birds, are arranged ona somewhat different plan. Each genus is given under itsFamily and Order, and they follow in thesame succession in allthe tables. The number of species of each genus, inhabitingbut in manythe region, is given as nearly as can be ascertained ;cases this can only be a general approximation.of the genera within the region, isThe distributionthen given with some detailand, lastly, the range of the genus beyond the region is givenin general terms, the words " Oriental," " Ethiopian," &c, beingused for brevity, to indicate that the genus occurs over a considerablepart of such regions. Genera which are restricted tothe region (or which are very characteristic of it though justtransgressing its limits) are given in italics ;while those whichonly just enter the region from another to which they reallybelong, are enclosed in parentheses— ( . . . ) thus. The generaare here numbered consecutively, in order that the number ofgenera in each family or each order, in the region, may be readilyascertained (by one process of subtraction), and thus comparisonsmade with other regions or with any other area. As thetables of birds would be swelled to an inconvenient length bythe insertion in each region of all the genera of Waders andAquatics, most of which have a very wide range and wouldhave to be repeated in several or all the regions, these havebeen omitted ; but a list has been given of such of the generaas are peculiar to, or highly characteristic of each region.As this is the first time that any such extensive tables of

chap, ix.] TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION. 179distribution have been constructed for the whole of the Mammaliaand Birds, they must necessarily contain many errors ofdetail ; but with all their imperfections it is believed they willprove very useful to naturalists, to teachers, and to all who takean intelligent interest in the wider problems of geography andnatural history.

;CHAPTER X.THE PALiEAECTICREGION.This region isof immense extent, comprising all the temperateportions of the great eastern continents. It thus extends fromthe Azores and Canary Islands on the west to Japan on theeast, a distance not far short of half the circumference of theglobe. Yet so great is the zoological unity of this vast tract,that the majority of the genera of animals in countries so farremoved as Great Britain and Northern Japan are identical.Throughout its northern half the animal productions of thePalaearctic region are very uniform, except that the vast elevateddesert-regions of Central Asia possess some characteristic formsbut in its southern portion,we find a warm district at each ex-On the west we havetremity with somewhat contrasted features.the rich and luxuriant Mediterranean sub-region, possessing manypeculiar forms of life,characteristic of the Ethiopian region.as well as a few which are more especiallyOn the east we have thefertile plains of Northern China and the rich and varied islandsof Japan, possessing a very distinct set of peculiar forms, withothers belonging to the Oriental region, into which this part ofthe Palaearctic region merges gradually as we approach theTropic of Cancer.Thus, the countries roughly indicated by thenames—Northern Europe, the Mediterranean district, Centraland Northern Asia, and China with Japan—have each wellmarkedminor characteristics which entitle them to the rank ofsub-regions. Their boundaries are often indefinable ; and thosehere adopted have been fixed upon to some extent by considera-

.1000. zsoo. w.000''"< £ V-v.EXPLANATIONCoiiUim-s'I'nrrntria]from Sm Imrlto 1,000 fa* iVlut.fait %t00-.>v20.000 . wmm 20.000 to*wmmThe Kwioe Contour ..i ttn«> ,*«r.. »/.../. Il 'i .(.•'/.-./ /i'-i-Pattiirt lan-1t *l\o%i, f/uu' ""nibttCi GeopnipAual Bitob' LwNew York: Harper ft Bl . ( , tl)e

;chap, x.] THE PALiEARCTIC REGION. 181tions of convenience, dependent on custom and on the more orless perfect knowledge we possess of some of the interveningcountries.Zoological Characteristics of the Palmarctic Region.—The Palaearcticregion has representatives of thirty-five families ofmammalia, fifty-five of birds, twenty-five of reptiles, nine ofamphibia, and thirteen of freshwater fishes. Comparing it withthe only other wholly temperate region, the Nearctic, we findmuch greater variety of types of mammalia and birds. Thismay be due in part to its greater area, but more, probably,to itssouthern boundary being conterminous for an enormousdistance with two tropical regions, theEthiopean and Orientalwhereas the Nearctic has a comparatively short southern boundaryconterminous with the Neotropical region only. This is sovery important a difference, that it is rather a matter of surprisethat the two north temperate regions should not be more unequalin the number of their higher vertebrate forms, than theyactually are.It is also to the interblendingof the Palsearctic with the twoadjacent tropical regions, that we must attribute its possessionof so few peculiar family groups. These are only three ; twoof reptiles, Trogonophidcc and Ophiomoridce, and one of fishes,Comephoridm. The number of peculiar genera is, however, considerable,as the following enumeration will show.Mammalia.—The monkey of Gibraltar and North Africa, andan allied species found in Japan, are now considered to belongto the extensive eastern genus Macacus. The former, however,is peculiar in the entire absence of the tail, and has by manynaturalists, been held to form a distinct genus, Inuus, confinedtothe Palsearctic region.Of bats there are one or two genera (Barbastelhis, Plecotus)which seem to be mainly or wholly Palsearctic, but the classificationof these animals is in such an unsettled state that thedistribution of the genera is of little importance.In the next order, Insectivora, we have almost the entirefamily of the Moles confined to the region. Talpa just entersNorthern India ;and Urotrichus is common to Japan and North-a

182 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Western America, but the remaining genera,six in number, areall exclusively Palaearctic.Among Carnivora we have Nyctereutes, the curious racoon-dogof Japan and North-Eastern Asia ;Lutronectes, an otter peculiarto Japan ; and the badger (Meles), which ranges over the wholeregion, and just enters the Oriental region as far as Hongkong;JEliLropus, a curious form of the Himalayan panda, inhabitingthe high mountains of Eastern Thibet ;and Pclagius, a genus ofseals, ranging from the shores of Madeira to the Black Sea.The Ungulata, or hoofed animals, are stillmore productive offorms peculiar to this region. First we have the Camels, whosenative home is the desert region of Central and Western Asia andNorthern Africa, and which, even in their domesticated condition,are confined almost wholly within the limits of the Palaearcticregion.Of Deer we have six peculiar genera, Dama and Capreolusfound in Europe, with Elaphodus, Lophotragus, Hydropotes, andMoschus, confined to Northern China and Mongolia.The greatfamily Bovidse—comprising the oxen, sheep, goats and antelopes—furnishes no less than seven peculiar Palaearctic genera.These are Poephagus, the yak of Thibet; Addax, a well-knownantelope of Northern Africa and Syria ; Procapra, Pantholopsand Budorcas, antelopine genera peculiar to Thibet andMongolia ; with Rupicapra (the chamois), and the extraordinary•large-nosed antelope Saiga, confined to Europe and Western Asia.Besides these we have Capra (the wild sheep and goats), all thenumerous species of which, except two, are exclusively Pala?arctic.Coming to the Eodents, we have again many peculiar forms.Of Murida3 (the mouse and rat tribe), we have six peculiargenera, the more important being Cricetus, Phombomys Sminthus,and Myospalax. Of Spalacidae (mole-rats) both the Palaearcticgenera, Ellobius and Spalax, are peculiar. Ctenodadylus,a genus of the South American family Octodontidae, is foundonly in North Africa. To these we may add Myoxus (thedormice) and Lagomys (the pikas or tail-less hares) as essentiallyPalaearctic, since but one species of each genus is found beyondthe limits of the region.Birds.—It appears to have been the opinion of many natural-

——chap, x.] THE PAL.EARCTIC REGION. 183ists that the Palsearctic region could not be well characterised byits peculiar genera of birds. In Mr. Sclater's celebrated paperalready referred to, he remarks, " It cannot be denied that theornithology of the Palsearctic region isby what it has not than by what itmore easily characterisedhas," and this has been quiterecently quoted by Mr. Allen, in his essay on the distributionof North American birds, as ifit represented our present know•ledge of the subject. But, thanks to the labours of Dr.Jerdon, Mr. Swinhoe, Pere David and others, we have nowlearnt that a large number of birds included in the Indianlist, are either mere winter emigrants from Central Asia, or onlyinhabit the higher ranges of the Himalayas, and thus reallybelong to the Pakearctic region. The result is, that a host ofgenera are now seen to be either exclusively or characteristicallyPalsearctic, and we have no furtherornithological characters to the region.difficulty in giving positiveIn the tables appendedto this chapter, all these truly Palsearctic genera willbe foundprinted in italics, with an indication of their distribution, whichwill sometimes be found more fully given under the respectivefamilies in the fourth part of this work. Eeferring to this tablefor details we shall here summarise the results.Of the Sylviidse or warblers, no less than fourteen genera areeither exclusively or characteristically Palsearctic, of whichLocustella, Sylvia, Curruca and Erithacus are good examples.Of the oriental family Timaliidse, the genus Pterorhinus isPalsearctic.Of Panuridse, or reedlings, there are four peculiar genera(comprising almost the whole family) ;oneof Certhiidse, or creepers,Tichodroma—which extends southward to the Abyssinianhighlands. Of Paridse, or tits, oneAcredula ;of Corvidse, orcrows, four—Pica (containing our magpie) being a good example; ofFringillidse, or finches and buntings,twelve,amongwhichvl canthis,Pyrrhula and Emberiza are good illustrations ;of Alaudidse, orlarks, there are two peculiar genera.Leaving the Passeres we nextSyrrhaptescome to peculiar forms among the gallinaceous birds :among the Pteroclidse or sand grouse; four genera of Tetraonidse orgrouse and partridges, and five of Phasianidse or pheasants, comprisingsome of the most magnificent birds in the world.Lastly

—;184 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.among the far-wandering aquatic birds we have no less than fivegenera which are more especially Palsearctic,corn-crake, and Otis, the great bustard, being typicalOrtygometra,theexamples.We may add to these, several genera almost confined to thisregion, such as Garrulus (jays), Fringilla (true finches), Yunx(wrynecks) and some others ; so that in proportion to its totalgeneric forms a very large number are found to be peculiar orcharacteristic.This view, of the high degree of speciality of the Palsearcticregion, will no doubt be objected toby some naturalists, on theground that many of the genera reckoned as exclusivelyPalsearctic are not so, but extend more or less into other regions.It is well, therefore, to consider what principles should guide usin a matter of this kind, especially as we shall have to applythe same rules to each of the other regions. We may remarkfirst, that the limits of the regions themselves are, when notformed by the ocean, somewhat arbitrary, depending on theaverage distribution of a number of characteristic forms; andthat slight local peculiarities of soil, elevation, or climate, maycause the species of one region to penetrate more or lessdeeplyinto another. The land boundary between two regions will be,not a defined line but a neutral territory of greater or lesswidth, within which the forms ofboth regions will intermingleand this neutral territory itself will merge imperceptibly intoboth regions. So long therefore as a species or genus does notpermanently reside considerably beyond the possible limits ofthis neutral territory, we should not claim it as an inhabitantof the adjacent region. A consideration of perhaps more importancearises, from the varying extent of the range of a genus,over the area occupied by the region. Some genera are representedby single species existing only in a very limited areaothers by numerous species which occupy, entirely or verynearly, the whole extent of the region ;and there is every intermediategrade between these extremes. Now, the small localisedgenera, are always reckoned as among the best examplesof types peculiar to a region ;while the more wide-spread groupsare often denied that character if they extend a little beyond

;chap. x.J THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 185the supposed regional limits, or send one or two, out of a largenumber of species, into adjacent regions ;yet there is somereason to believe that the latter are really more important ascharacterising a zoological region than the former.In the caseof a single isolated species or genus we have a dying-out groupand we have so many cases of discontinuous species of suchgroups (of which Urotrichus in Japan and British Columbia,Eupetes in Sumatra and New Guinea are examples), that it isquite as probable as not, that any such isolated specieshas onlybecome peculiar to the region by the recent extinction of anallied form or forms in some other region. On the other hand,a genus consisting of numerous speciesranging over an entireregion or the greater part of one, is a dominant group, whichhas most likely been for some time extending its range, andwhose origin dates back to a remote period. The slight extensionof such a group beyond the limits of the region to whichit mainly belongs, isprobably a recent phenomenon, and in thatcase cannot be held in any degree to detract from its value asone of the peculiar forms of that region.The most numerous examples of this class, are those birds ofthe temperate regions which in winter migrate, eitherpartially, into adjacent warmer countries.wholly orThis migration mostlikely began subsequent to the Miocene period, during thatgradual refrigeration of the temperate zones which culminatedin the glacial epoch, and which still continues in a mitigatedform. Most of the genera, and many even of the species ofbirds which migrate southwards in winter, have therefore, mostlikely, always been inhabitants of our present Palsearctic andNearctic regions ;permanent residents during warm epochs, butonly able now to maintain their existence by migration inwinter. Such groups belong truly to the temperate zones, andthe test of this isthe fact of their not having any, or very few,representatives, which are permanent residents in the adjacenttropical regions.When there are such representative species, wedo not claim them as peculiar to the Northern regions.Bearingin mind these various considerations, it will be found that we havebeen very moderate in our estimate of the number of generaYol. I.—14

186 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.that may fairly be considered as exclusively or characteristicallyPalsearctic.Reptiles and Amphibia.—The Palsearctic region possesses,proportion to its limited reptilian fauna, a full proportion ofpeculiar types. We have for instance two genera of snakes,Bhinechic and Halys ; seven of lizards, Trigonophis, Bsammodromus,Hyalosaurus, Scincus, Ophiomorus, Mcgalochilus, andBhrynocephalus ;eight of tailed batrachians, Proteus, Salamandra,Seiranota, Chioglossa, Hynobius, Onychodactylus, Geotriton,and Sieboldia ; and eight of tail-less batrachians, Bombinator,Pelobates, Didocus, Alytes, Pelodytes, Discoglossus, Laprissa, andLatonia.The distribution of these and other Palsearctic generawill be found in our second vol.chap. xix.Freshwater Fish.—About twenty genera of freshwater fishesare wholly confined to this region, and constitute a feature whichought not to be overlooked in estimating its claim to the rankof a separate primary division of the earth. They belong to thefollowing families :—Percidre (three genera), Acerina, Percarina,Aspro ; Comephoridie (one genus), Comephorus, found only inLake Baikal ; Salmonidse (three genera), Brachymystax, Luciotrutta,and Plecoglossus ; Cyprinodontidse (one genus), Tellia,found only in Alpine pools on the Atlas Mountains ;inCyprinidse(thirteen genera), Cyprinus, Carassus, Paraphoxinus, Tinea,Aehilognathus, Bhodeus, Chondrostoma, Pseialoperilampus, Ochetebius,Aspius, Alburnus, Misgurnus, and Nemachilus.Summary of Balccarctic Vertebrata.—Summarising these details,we find that the Palsearctic region possesses thirty-fivepeculiar genera of mammalia, fifty-seven of birds, nine ofreptiles, sixteen of amphibia, and twenty-one of freshwaterfishes; or a total of 138 peculiar generic types of vertebrata.Of these, 87 are mammalia and land-birds out of a totalof 274 genera of these groups ; or rather less than one-thirdpeculiar, a number which will serve usefully to compare withthe results obtained in other regions.In our chapter on Zoological Ptegions we have already pointedout the main features which distinguish the Pakearctic from theOriental and Ethiopian regions. The details now given will

—chap. x.J THE PALiEARCTIC REGION. 187strengthen our view of their radical distinctness, by showing tohow considerable an extent the former is inhabited by peculiar,and often very remarkable generic types.Insects :Lepidoptera.—The Diurnal Lepidoptera, or butterflies,are not very abundant in species, their number being probablysomewhat over 500, and these belong to not more than fifty genera.But no less than fifteen of these genera are wholly confined tothe region. Nine of the families are represented, as follows :1. Danaidce; having only a single species in South Europe.2. Satyridce ; well represented, there being more than 100 speciesin Europe, and three peculiar genera. 3. Nymphalidce ; ratherpoorly represented, Europe having only about sixty species, butthere is one peculiar genus. 4. Libytheidm ; a very small family,represented by a single species occurring in South Europe.5. Nemeobiidce ; a rather small family, also having only onespecies in Europe, but which constitutes a peculiar genera.6. Lyccenidw ; an extensive family, fairly represented, havingabout eighty European species ; there are two peculiar generain the Palasarctic region. 7. Pieridm ; rather poorly representedwith thirty-two European species ;two of the genera are, however,peculiar. 8. Papilionidce ; very poorly represented inEurope with only twelve species, but there are many more inSiberia and Japan. No less than five of the small number ofgenera in this family are wholly confined to the region, afact of much importance, and which to a great extent redeemsthe character of the Palaearctic region as regard this order ofinsects. Their names are Mesapia, Hypermnestra, Doritis,Sericinus, and Thais ; and besides these we have Parnassius—the " Apollo " butterflies—highly characteristic,and only foundelsewhere in the mountains of the Nearctic region. 9. Hesperidcc; poorly represented with about thirty European species,and one peculiar genus.Four families of Sphingina occur in the Palsearctic region,and there are several peculiar genera.In the Zygmnidm there are two exclusively European genera,and the extensive genus Zygoma is itself mainly Palaearctic.The small family Stygiidas has two out of its three genera

188 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.confined to the Palsearctic region. In the JEgeriidce the genus^Egeria is mainly Palsearctic. The Sphingidce have a widergeneral range, and none of the larger genera are peculiar to anyone region.Colecptera.—The Palaearctic region is the richest portion ofthe globe in the great family of Carabidce, or predacious groundbeetles,about 50 of the genera being confined to it, while manyothers, including the magnificent genus Carabus, have here theirhighest development. While several of the smaller genera areconfined to the eastern or western sub-regions, most of the largerones extend over the whole area, and give it an unmistakableaspect ; while in passing from east to west or vice-versa, alliedspecies and genera replace each other with considerable regularity,except in the extreme south-east, where, in China andJapan, some Oriental forms appear, as do a few Ethiopian typesin the south-west.Cicindelida?, or tiger-beetles, are but poorly represented byabout 70 species of the genus Cicindela, and a single Tetrachain South Europe.Lucanidss, or stag-beetles, are also poor, there being representativesof 8 genera. One of these, yEsalus (a single species),is peculiar to South Europe, and two others, Cladognathus andGyclopthalmus, are only represented in Japan, China, and Thibet.Cetoniidse, or rose-chafers, are represented by 13 genera,two of which are peculiar to South Europe (Tropinota andHeterocncmis), while Stalagmosoma, ranging from Persia toNubia, and the fine Dicranocephahis inhabiting North China,Corea, and Nipal, may also be considered to belong to it. Thegenera Trichius, Gnorimus, and Osmoderma are confined to thetwo north temperate regions.Buprestidee, or metallic beetles, are rather abundant in thewarmer parts of the region, 27 genera being represented, nineof which are peculiar. By far the larger portion of these areconfined to the Mediterranean sub-region. A considerablenumber also inhabit Japan and China.The Longicorns, or long-horned beetles, are represented byno less than 196 genera, 51 of which are peculiar. They are

Ghap. x.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 189much more abundant in the southern than the northern halfof the region. Several Oriental genera extend to Japan andNorth China, and a few Ethiopian genera to North Africa.Thirteen genera are confinedto the two north temperate regions.Several large genera, such as Dorcadion (154 species), Phytcecia(85 species), Pogonochmrus (22 species), Agapanthia (22 species),and Vesperus (7 species), are altogether peculiar to the Patearcticregion ; and with a preponderance of Leptura, Grammoptera,Stenocorus, and several others, strongly characterise it asdistinct from the Nearctic and Oriental regions.The other familieswhich are well developed in the Palsearcticregions, are, the Staphylinidre or rove-beetles, Silphidse orburying-beetles, Histeridae or mimic-beetles, Nitidulidse, Aphodiidse,Copridse (especially in South Europe), Geotrupidse ordung-beetles, Melolonthidse or chafers, Elateridee or clickbeetles,the various families of Malacoderms and Heteromera,especially Pimeliida? in the Mediterranean sub-region, Curculionidseor weevils, the Phytophaga or leaf-eaters, and Cocinellidaeor lady-birds.The number of species of Coleoptera in the western part ofthe Palrearctic region is about 15,000, and there are probablynot more than 2,000 to add to this number from Siberia.Japan, and North China; but were these countries as wellexplored as Europe, we may expect that they would add atleast 5,000 to the number above given, raising the PalaearcticColeopterous fauna to 20,000 species. As the total number ofspecies at present known to exist in collections isestimated (andperhaps somewhat over-estimated) at 70,000 species, we maybe sure that were the whole earth as thoroughly investigatedas Europe, the number would be at least doubled, since wecannot suppose that Europe, with the Mediterranean basin, cancontain more than one-fifth of the whole of the Coleoptera ofthe globe.Of the other orders of insects we here say nothing, because intheir case much more than in that of the Coleopteraand Lepidoptera,is the disproportion enormous between our knowledge ofthe European fauna and that of almost all the rest of the globe.

;190 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.They are, therefore, at present of comparatively little use forpurposes of geographical distribution, even were it advisableto enter into the subject in a work which will, perhaps, be toomuch overburdened with details only of interest to specialists.Land Shells.—These are very numerous in the warmer partsof the region, but comparatively scarce towards the North.South Europe alone possesses over 600 species, wmereas there areonly 200 in all Northern Europe and Asia. The total numberof species in the whole region is probably about 1,250, of whichthe great majority are Helicidse;the Operculated families beingvery poorly represented. Several small genera or sub-generaare peculiar to the region, as Testacclla (West Europe andCanaries); Leucochroa (Mediterranean district) ;Acicula (Europe);Craspedopoma (Atlantic Islands) ; Lconia (Algeria and Spain)Pamatias (Europe and Canaries) ; Cecina (Mongolia). The largestgenera are Helix and Clausilia, which together comprise morethan half the species ; Pupa, very numerous ; Bidimus andAchatina in moderate numbers, and all the rest smallHelix is the only genus which contains large and handsomespecies ;Bulimus and Achatina, so magnificent in tropical countries,being here represented by small and obscure forms only.Daudehardia is confined to Central and South Europe and NewZealand ; Glandina is chiefly South American ; Hyalina is onlyAmerican and European ; Buliminus ranges over all the worldexcept America ;and the other European genera of Helicidae arewidely distributed. Of the Operculata, Cyclotus, Cyclophorus,and Pupina extend from the Oriental region into Japan andNorth China ;Tudoria is found in Algeria and the West IndiesHydrocena is widely scattered, and occurs in South Europe andJapan. The genera of freshwater shells are all widely distributed.The Pal^earctic Sub-regions.The four sub-regions which are here adopted, have beenfixed upon as those which are, in the present state of our knowledge,at once the most natural and the only practicable ones.

;chap, x.] THE PAL^IARCTIC REGION. 191No doubt all of them could be advantageously again subdivided,in a detailed study of the geographical distribution ofspecies.But in a general work, which aims at treating all partsof the world with equal fulness, and which therefore is confinedalmost wholly to the distribution of families and genera, suchfurther subdivision would be out of place. It is even difficult,in some of the classes of animals, to find peculiar or evencharacteristic genera for the present sub-regions ; but they allhave well marked climatic and physical differences, and thissuffi-leads to an assemblage of species and of groups which areciently distinctive./. Central and Northern Europe.This sub-region, which may perhaps be termed the " European,"is zoologically and botanically the best known on the globe. Itcan be pretty accurately defined, as bounded on the south bythe Pyrenees, the Alps, the Balkans, the Black Sea, and theCaucasus range ; and by the Ural Mountains, or perhaps morecorrectly the valley of the Irtish and Caspian Sea, on the eastwhile Ireland and Iceland are its furthest outliers in the west.To the north, it merges so gradually into the Arctic zone thatno demarcation is possible. The great extent to which thissub-region is interpenetrated by the sea, and the prevalenceof westerly winds bringing warmth and moisture from an oceaninfluenced by the gulf-stream, give it a climate for the mostpart genial, and free from extremes of heat and cold. Itis thus broadly distinguished from Siberia and NorthernAsia generally, where a more extreme and rigorous climateprevails.The whole of this sub-region is well watered, being penetratedby rivers in every direction ; and it consists mainly ofplains and undulating country of moderate elevation, the chiefmountain ranges being those of Scandinavia in the north-west,and the extensive alpine system of Central Europe.But theseare both of moderate height, and a very small portion of thensurfaceis occupied either by permanent snow-fields, or bybarren uplands inimical to vegetable and animal life. It is, in

192 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.fact, to these, and the numerous lesser mountains and hillswhich everywhere diversify the surface of Europe, that thevariety and abundance of its animal life is greatly due. Theyafford the perennial supplies to rivers, and furnish in theirvalleys and ever varying slopes, stations suited to every formof existence. A considerable area of Central Europe is occupiedby uplands of moderate elevation, a comparativelysmall portion being flat and marshy plains.Most of the northern and much of the central portions ofEurope are covered with vast forests of coniferous trees ;andthese, occupying as they do those tracts where the winter ismost severe, supply food and shelter to many animals who couldnot otherwise maintain their existence. It is probable thatthe original condition of the greater part, if not the whole, oftemperate Europe, except the flat marshes of the river valleysand the sandy downs of the coast, was that of woodland andforest, mostly of deciduous trees, but with a plentiful admixtureof such hardy evergreens as holly, ivy, privet, and yew. Asufficient proportion of these primeval woods, and of artificialplantations which have replaced them, fortunately remain, topreserve for us most of the interesting forms of life, whichwere developed before man had so greatly modified the surfaceof the earth, and so nearly exterminated many of its originaltenants. Almost exactly in proportion to the amount ofwoodland that still remains in any part of Europe, do wefind (other things being equal) the abundance and varietyof wild animals; a pretty clear indication that the originalcondition of the country was essentially that of a forest, acondition which onlyof the north.now exists in the thinly inhabited regionsAlthough the sub-region we are considering is, for its extentand latitude, richly peopled with animal life, the number ofgenera altogether peculiar to it is not great.There are, however,several which are very characteristic, and many species, bothof the smaller mammalia and of birds, are wholly restrictedto it.Mammalia.—The genera wholly confined to this sub-region are

chap, x.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 193only two. Myogalc, the desman, is a curious long-snoutedInsectivorous animal somewhat resembling the water-rat in itshabits. There are two species, one found only on the banks ofstreams in the French Pyrenees, the other on the great rivers ofSouthern Russia. The other peculiar genus, Eupicapra (thechamois of the Alps), is found on all the high mountains ofCentral Europe. Almost peculiar are Spalax (the mole-rat)found only in Eastern Europe and Western Siberia ; and Saiga,an extraordinary large-nosed antelope which has a nearlysimilar distribution.Highly characteristic forms, which inhabitnearly every part of the sub-region, are, Talpa (the mole),Erinaceus, (the hedgehog), Sorex (the shrew), Meles (the badger),Ursus (the bear), Canis (the wolf and fox), Mustela (the weasel),Lutra (the otter), Arvicola (the vole), Myoxus (the dormouse),and Lepits (the hare and rabbit) ; while Bos (the wild bull) was,until exterminated by man, no doubt equally characteristic.Other genera inhabiting the sub-region will be found ingiven at the end of this chapter.the listBirds.—It is difficult to name the birds that are most characteristicof this sub-region, because so many of the most familiarand abundant are emigrants from the south, and belong togroups that have a different range. There is peril aps not asingle genus wholly confined to it, and very few that have notequal claims to be placed elsewhere.Among the more characteristicwe may name Turdus (the thrushes), Sylvia (the warblers),Panurus (the reedling) Parus (the tits), Anthus (thepipits), Motacilla (the wagtails), which are perhaps more abundanthere than in any other part of the world, Emberiza (thebuntings), Plcrtrophanes (the snow buntings), Passer (the housesparrows), Loxia (the crossbills), Linota (the linnets), Pica (themagpies), Tetrao (grouse), Zagopus (ptarmigan) and many others.I am indebted to Mr. H. E. Dresser, who is personally acquaintedwith the ornithology of much of the North of Europe,for some valuable notes on the northern range of many Europeanbirds. Those which are characteristic of the extremeArctic zone, extending beyond 70° north latitude, and tolerablyabundant, are two falcons (Ealco gyrfalco and F. peregrinus) ;

194 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.the rough-legged buzzard (Archibuteo lagopus) ; the snowy owl(Nyctea scandiaca) ; the raven (Corvus corax) ; three buntings(Emberiza schceniculus, Plectrophanes nivalis and P. calcarata) ;lark (Otocorys alpestris) ;several pipits, the most northern beingAnthus cervinus ; a wagtail (Budytes cinereocapilla) ; a dipper(Cinclus melanogaster) ; a warbler (Cyanecula suecica) ;thewheatear (Saxicola cenanthe) ; and two ptarmigans (Lagopusalius and L. salicetus). Most of these birds are, of course, onlysummer visitors to the Arctic regions, the only species noted asa permanent resident in East Finmark (north of latitude 70°)being the snow-bunting (Plectrophanes nivalis).The birds that are characteristic of the zone of pine forests,or from about 61° to 70° north latitude, are very numerous, andit will be sufficient to note the genera and the number ofspecies (where more than one) to give an idea of the ornithologyof this part of Europe.The birds of prey are, Falco (threespecies), Astur (two species), Butco, Pandion, Sicrnia, Bubo,Syrnium, Asio, Nyctala. The chief Passerine birds are, Corvus(two species), Pica, Garrulus (two species), Nucifraga, Bombycilla,Hirundo (two species), Muscicapa (two species), Lanius,Sturnus, Passer (two species), Pyrrhula,Carpodacus, Loxia (twospecies), Pinicola, Fringilla (eight species), Emberiza (fivespecies), Alauda, Anthus, Turdus (fivespecies), Ruticilla, Pratincola,Accentor, Sylvia (four species), Hypolais, Regulus,Phylloscopus(two species), Acrocephalus, Troglodytes, and Parus (six species).Woodpeckers are abundant, Picas (four species), Gecinus, andYunx. The kingfisher (Alcedo), goatsucker (Caprimulgus), andswift (Cypselus) are also common. The wood-pigeon (Columba)is plentiful.The gallinaceous birds are three grouse, Tetrao (twospecies) and Bonasa, and the common quail (Coturnix).The remaining genera and species of temperate or north-European birds, do not usually range beyond the region ofdeciduous trees, roughly indicated by the parallel of 60° northlatitude.Plate I. — Illustrating the Zoology of Central Europe.—Before considering the distribution of the other classes ofvertebrata, it will be convenient to introduce our first illustra-a

-63

chap, x.] THE PALiEARCTIC REGION. 195tion, which represents a scene in the Alps of Central Europe,with figures of some of the most characteristic Mammaliaand Birds of this sub-region. On the left is the badger(Meles Taxus) one of the weasel family, and belonging to agenus which is strictly Palaearctic. It abounds in Central andNorthern Europe and also extends into North Asia, but is representedby another species in Thibet and by a third in Japan.The elegantly-formed creatures on the right are chamois [Rupicapratragus), almost the only European antelopes, and whollyconfined to the higher mountains, from the Pyrenees to theCarpathians and the Caucasus. The chamois is the onlyspecies of the genus, and is thus perhaps the most characteristicEuropean mammal. The bird on the left, above the badgers, isthe Alpine chough, (Fregilus pyrrhocorax). It is found in thehigh mountains from the Alps to the Himalayas, and is alliedto the Cornish chough, which is still found on our southwesterncoasts, and which ranges to Abyssinia and NorthChina. The Alpine chough differs in having a shorter bill ofan orange colour, and vermilion red feet as in the otherspecies. In the foreground are a pair of ruffs {Machetes pugnax)belonging to the Scolopacidae or snipe family, and most nearlyallied to the genus Tringa or sandpiper. This bird is remarkablefor the fine collar of plumes which adorns the males inbreeding season, when they are excessively pugnacious. It isthe only species of its genus, and ranges over all Europe andmuch of Northern Asia, migrating in the winter to the plains ofIndia, and even down the east coast of Africa as far as theCape of Good Hope ; but it only breeds in the Palsearcticregion, over the greater part of which itranges.theReptiles and Amphibia.—There are no genera of reptilespeculiar to this sub-region. Both snakes and lizards are comparativelyscarce, there being about fourteen species of the formerand twelve of the latter. Our common snake {Troyidonotusnatrix) extends into Sweden and North Eussia, but the viper(Viperus berus) goes further north, as far as Archangel (64° N.),and in Scandinavia (67° N.), and isthe most Arctic of all known

—;,196 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.snakes. Of the lizards, Lacerta stirpium (the sand lizard) hasthe most northerly range, extending into Poland and NorthernRussia; and Anguis fragilis (the blind or slow-worm) has almostan equal range.Amphibia, being more adapted to a northern climate, haveacquired a more special development, and thus several formsare peculiar to the North European sub-region. Most remarkableis Proteus, a singular eel -like aquatic creature with small legs,found only in the subterranean lakes in Carniola and CarinthiaAlytes, a curioustoad, the male of which carries about the eggstill they are hatched, found only in Central Europe fromFrance to the east of Hungary ; and Pelodytcs, a frog found onlyin France.Frogs and toads are very abundant all over Europe, thecommon frog {Rana temporaria) extending to the extreme north.The newts {Triton) are also very abundant and widely spread,though not ranging so far north as the frogs. The genera Bombinator(a toad-like frog), and Hyla (the tree frog) are also commonin Central Europe.Freshvjater Fish,—Two genera of the perch family (Percidse) arepeculiar to thissub-region,Percarina, a fishfound only in theriver Dniester, and Aspro, confined to the rivers of CentralEurope. Of the very characteristic forms are, Gastcrosteus(stickle-back), which alone forms a peculiar family—Gasterosteidse; Perca, Acerina and Luciopcrca, genera of the perch family;Silurus, a large fish found in the rivers of Cenrtal Europe, ofthe family Siluridae ; Esox (the pike), of the family EsocidteCyprinus (carp), Gobio (gudgeon), Leuciscus (roach, chub, dace,&c), Tinea (tench), Abramus (bream), Alburnus (bleak), Cobitis(loach), all genera of the family Cyprinidoe.Insects— Lepidoptera, — No genera of butterflies are actuallyconfined to this sub-region, but many are characteristic of it.Parnassius, Aporia, Leucophasia, Colias, Melitcea, Argynnis,Vanessa, Limenitis, and Chionobas, are all very abundant andwidespread, and give a feature tocountries included in it.the entomology of most of theColeoptera.—This sub-region is very rich in Carabidae ; thegenera Elaphrus, Nebria, Carabtis, Cychrus, Pterostichits, Amara,

chap, x.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 197Trechus and Peryphus being especially characteristic. Staphylinidaeabound. Among Lamellicorns the genus Aphodius ismost characteristic. Buprestidse are scarce ; Elateridse moreabundant. Among Malacoderms Telephones and Malachius arecharacteristic. Curculionidse abound : Otiovhyuchus, Omias,Erirhinus, Bagous, Rhynchites and Ceutorhynchus being verycharacteristic genera. Of Longicorns Callidium, Dorcadion,Pogonocficerus, Pachyta and Leptura are perhaps the best representatives.Donacia, Crioceris, Chrysomela, and Attica, aretypical Phytophaga; while Coccinella is the best representativeof theSecuripalpes.Forth European Islands.—The British Islands are known tohave been recently connected with the Continent, and theiranimal productions areso uniformly identical with continentalspecies as to require no special note. The only general fact ofimportance is, that the number of .species in all groups is muchless than in continental districts of equal extent, and that thisnumber is still farther diminished in Ireland. This may beaccounted for by the smaller areaand less varied surface of thelatter island ; and it may also be partly due to the great extentof low land, so that a very small depression would reduce itto the condition of a cluster of small islands capable of supportinga very limited amount of animal life. Yet further, ifafter such a submergence had destroyed much of the higherforms of life in Great Britain and Ireland, both were elevated soas to again form part of the Continent, a migration would commenceby which they would be stocked afresh ; but this migrationwould be a work of time, and it is to be expected thatmany species would never reach Ireland or would find its excessivelymoist climate unsuited to them.Some few British species differ slightly from their continentalallies, and are considered by many naturalists to be distinct.This is the case with the red grouse (Lagopus scoticus) amongbirds ;and a few of the smaller Passeres have also been foundto vary somewhat from the allied forms on the Continent, showingthat the comparatively short interval since the glacial period,and the slightly different physical conditions dependent on

—198 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.insularity, have sufficed to commence the work of specificmodification.There are also a few small land-shells and severalinsects not yet found elsewhere than in Britain ;of the smaller Mammalia—a shrew (Sorcx rusticus).and even oneThese factsare all readily explained by the former union of these islandswith the Continent, and the alternate depressions and elevationswhich are proved by geological evidence to have occurred, bywhich they have been more than once separated and unitedagain in recent times. For the evidence of this elevation anddepression, the reader may consult Sir Charles Lyell's Antiquityof Man.Iceland is the only other island of importance belonging tothis sub-region, and it contrasts strongly with Great Britain,both in its Arctic climate and oceanic position. It is situatedjust south of the Arctic circle and considerably nearer Greenlandthan Europe, yet its productions are almost wholly European.The only indigenous land mammalia are the Arctic fox (Canislagopus), and the polar bear as an occasional visitant, with amouse {Mus islandicus), said to be of a peculiar species. Fourspecies of seals visit its shores. The birds are more interesting.According to Professor Newton, ninety-five species have beenobserved ; but many of these are mere stragglers. There aretwenty-three land, and seventy-two aquatic birds and waders.Four or five are peculiar species, though very closely related toothers inhabiting Scandinavia or Greenland. Only two orthree species are more nearly related to Greenland birds than tothose of Northern Europe, so that the Palrearctic character ofthe fauna is unmistakable. The following lists, compiled froma paper by Professor Newton, may be interesting as showingmore exactly the character of Icelandic ornithology.1. Peculiar species. — Troglodytes borealis (closely alliedto the common wren, found also in the Faroe Islands) ; Falcoislandicus (closely allied to F. gyrfalco) ;Lagopus islandorum(closely allied to L. rupestris of Greenland).2. European species resident in Iceland.Emberiza nivalis,Corvus corax, Haliazctus albicilla, Rallus aquaticus, Hamiatopusostralegus, Cygnus fcrus, Mcrgus (two species), Phalacocorax (two

———chap, x.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 199species), Sula bassana, Lams (two species), Stercorarius catarractes,Pujrfinus anglorum, Mergulus alle, Una (three species),Alca torda.3. American species resident in Iceland. Clangula islandica,Histrionicus torquatus.4. Annual visitants from Europe.titliys,Turdus iliacus, ButicillaSaxicola mnanthe, Motacilla alba, Anthus pratensis, Linotalinaria, Chelidon urbica, Hirundo rustica, Falco msalon, Surnianyctea, Otus brachyotus, Charadrius pluvialis, AZgialites hiaticida,Strepsilas interpres, Phalaropus fulicarius, Totanus calidris,Limosa (species), Tringa (three species), Calidris arenaria,Gallinago media, Numenius plimopus, Ardea cinerea, Anser (twospecies), Bernicla (two species), Anas (four species), Fuligulamarila, Harelda glacialis, Somateria mollissima, (Edemia nigra,Sterna macrura, Bissa tridactyla, Larus luecopterus, Stercorarius(two species), Fratercula artica, Colymbus (two species), Podicepscornutus.5. Annual visitant from Greenland. Falco candicans.6.—Former resident, now extinct. Alca impennis (thegreat auk).II.— Mediterranean Sub-region.This is by far the richest' portion of the Paloearctic region,for although of moderate extent much of it enjoys a climate inwhich the rigours of winter are almost unknown. It includesall the countries south of the Pyrenees, Alps, Balkans, andCaucasus mountains ;all the southern shores of the Mediterraneanto the Atlas range, and even beyond it to include theextra-tropical portion of the Sahara ; and in the Nile valleyas far as the second cataract. Further east it includes thenorthern half of Arabia and the whole of Persia, as well asBeluchistan, and perhaps Afghanistan up to the banks of theIndus. This extensive district is almost wholly a region ofmountains and elevated plateaus. On the west, Spain ismainly a table-land of more than 2000 feet elevation, deeplypenetrated by extensive valleys and rising into lofty mountainchains. Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily, are all very

200 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.mountainous, and much of their surface considerably elevated.Further east we have all European Turkey and Greece, amountain region with a comparatively small extent of levelplain. Id Asia the whole country, from Smyrna throughArmenia and Persia to the further borders of ,Affghanistan, is avast mountainous plateau, almost all above 2000, and extensivedistricts above 5000 feet in elevation. The only large tract oflow-land is the valley of the Euphrates. There is also somelow-land south of the Caucasus, and in Syria the valley of theJordan. In North Africa the valley of the Nile and the coastplains of Tripoli and Algiers are almost the only exceptions tothe more or less mountainous and plateau-like character of thecountry. Much of this extensive area is now bare and arid,and often even of a desert character ; a fact no doubt due, ingreat part, to the destruction of aboriginal forests. This lossis rendered permanent by the absence of irrigation, and, it isalso thought, by the abundance of camels and goats, animalswhich are exceedingly injurious to woody vegetation, and areable to keep down the natural growth of forests. Mr. Marshwhose valuable work Man and Nature gives much informationon this subject) believes that even large portions of the Africanand Asiatic deserts would become covered with woods, and theclimate thereby greatly improved, were they protected fromthese destructive domestic animals, which are probably notindigenous to the country. Spain, in proportion to its extent,is very barren ;Italy and European Turkey are more woody andluxuriant ; but it is perhaps in Asia Minor, on the range of theTaurus, along the shores of the Black Sea, and to the south ofthe Caucasus range, that this sub-region attains its maximum ofluxuriance in vegetation and in animal life. From the Caspianeastward extends a region of arid plains and barren deserts,diversified by a few more fertile valleys, in which the characteristicflora and fauna of this portion of the Palsearctic regionabounds. Further east we come to the forests of the HindooKoosh, which probably form the limit of the sub-region.Beyond these we enter on the Siberian sub-region to the north,and on the outlying portion of the Oriental region on the south.

chai\ x.] THE PAL^IARCTIC REGION. 201In addition to the territories now indicated as forming partof the Mediterranean sub-region, we must add the group ofCanary Islands off the west coast of Africa which seem to bean extension of the Atlas mountains, and the oceanic groups ofMadeira and the Azores ; the latter about 1,000 miles from thecontinent of Europe, yet still unmistakably allied to it both intheir vegetable and animal productions. The peculiarities of thefaunas of these islands will be subsequently referred to.It seems at first sight very extraordinary, that so large andwide a sea as the Mediterranean should not separate distinctfaimas, and this is the more remarkable when we find how verydeep the Mediterranean is, and therefore how ancient we maywell suppose it to be. Its eastern portion reaches a depth of2,100 fathoms or 12,600 feet, while its western basin is about1,600 fathoms or 9,600 feet in greatest depth, and a considerablearea of both basins is more than 1,000 fathoms deep. But afurther examination shows, that a comparatively shallow sea orsubmerged bank incloses Malta and Sicily, and that on theopposite coast a similar bank stretches out from the coast ofTripolileaving a narrow channel the greatest depth of which is240 fathoms. Here therefore is a broad plateau, which anelevation of about 1,500 feetof land connecting Italy with Africa ;would alsowould convert into a wide extentwhile the same elevationconnect Morocco with Spain, leaving two extensivelakes to represent what is now the Mediterranean Sea, and affordingfree communication for laud animals between Europe andNorth Africa. That such a state of things existed at a comparativelyrecent period, is almost certain ; not only because aconsiderable number of identical species of mammalia inhabit theopposite shores of the Mediterranean, but also because numerousremains of three species of elephants have been found in cavesin Malta,—now a small rocky island in which it would be impossiblefor such animals to live even if they could reach it.Remains of hippopotami are also found atGibraltar, and manyother animals of African types in Greece ; all indicating meansof communication between South Europe and North Africa whichno longer exist. (See Chapter VI. pp. 113—115.)Vol. I.—15

202 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Mammalia.—There are a few groups of Paleearctic Mammaliathat are peculiar to this sub-region. Such are, Dama, thefallow deer, which is now found only in South Europe and NorthAfrica ; Psammomys, a peculiar genus of Muridse, found only inEgypt and Palestine ; while Ctenodactylus, a rat-like animalclassed in the South American family Octodontidse, inhabitsTripoli. Among characteristic genera not found in other subregions,are, Dysopes, a bat of the family Noctilionidoe; Macroscelides,the elephant shrew, in North Africa ; Genetta, thecivet, in South Europe ; Herpestes, the ichneumon, in NorthAfrica and (?) Spain ; Hyaena, in South Europe ; Gaizclla, Oryx,Alcephalus, and Addax, genera of antelopes in North Africaand Palestine ; Hyrax, in Syria : and Hystrix, the porcupine,in South Europe. Besides these, the camel and the horsewere perhaps once indigenous in the eastern parts of the subregion; and a wild sheep (Ovis musmon) still inhabits Sardinia,Corsica, and the mountains of the south-east of Spain. Thepresence of the large feline animals—such as the lion, theleopard, the serval, and the hunting leopard—in North Africa,together with several other quadrupeds not found in Europe,have been thought by some naturalists to prove, that this districtshould not form part of the Palrearctic region. No doubtseveral Ethiopian groups and species have entered it from thesouth, but the bulk of its Mammalia still remains Palsearctic,although several of the species have Asiatic rather than Europeanaffinities. The Macacus innuus is allied to an Asiaticrather than an African group of monkeys, and thus denotes anOriental affinity. Ethiopian affinity is apparently shown by thethree genera of antelopes, by Herpestes, and by Macroscelides ; butour examination of the Miocene fauna has shown that these wereprobably derived from Europe originally, and do not form anypart of the truly indigenous or ancient Ethiopian fauna. Againstthese, however, we have the occurrence in North Africa ofsuch purely Palaearctic and non-Ethiopian genera as Vrsus, Males,Putorius, Sus, Cervvs, Dama, Capra, Alactaga ; together withactual European or West Asiatic species of Canis, Genetta, Fclis,Putorius, Lutra, many bats, Sorex, Crocidura, Crossopus, Hystrix,

chap, x.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 203Dipus, Lepus, and Mus. It is admitted that, as regards everyother group of animals, North Africa is Palaearctic, and theabove enumeration shows that even in Mammalia, the intermixtureof what are now true Ethiopian types is altogetherinsignificant. It must be remembered, also, that the lioninhabited Greece even in historic times, while large carnivorawere contemporary with man all over Central Europe.Birds.—So many of the European birds migrate over largeportions of the region, and so many others have a wide permanentrange, that we cannot expect to find more than a fewgenera, consisting of one or two species, each, confined to a subregion;and such appear to be, Lusciniola and Pyrophthalma,genera of Sylviidae. But many are characteristic of this, ascompared with other Palsearctic sub-regions ; such as, Bradyptetus,Aedon, Dromolcea, and Cercomela, among Sylviidae; Crateropusand Malacocercus, among Timaliidse ; Teloplionus amongLaniidse ; Certhilauda and Mirafra among larks ; Pastor amongstarlings ; Upupa, the hoopoe ; Halycon and Ceryle amongkingfishers; Turnix and Caccabis among Gallinae, and thepheasant as an indigenous bird ;together with Gyps, Vultur andNeophron, genera of vultures. In addition to these, almost allour summer migrants spend their winter in some part of thisfavoured land, mostly in North Africa, together with manyspecies of Central Europe that rarely or never visit us. Itfollows, that a large proportion of all the birds of Europe andWestern Asia are to be found in this sub-region, as will be seenby referring to the list of the genera of the region. Palestineis one of the remote portions of this region which has beenwell explored by Canon Tristram, and it may be interesting togive his summary of the range of the birds. We must bearin mind that the great depression of the Dead Sea has a tropicalclimate, which accounts for the presence here only, of such atropical form as the sun- bird (Nectarinea osea).The total number of the birds of Palestine is 322, and ofthese no less than 260 are European, at once settling the questionof the general affinities of the fauna.Of the remainder elevenbelong to North and East Asia, four to the Eed Sea, and thirty-

—;204 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.one to East Africa, while twenty-seven are peculiar to Palestine.It is evident therefore that an unusual number of East Africanbirds have extended their range to this congenial district, butmost of these are desert species and hardly true Ethiopians,and do not much interfere with the general Palsearctic characterof the whole assemblage.As an illustration of how wide-spreadare many of the Palsearctic forms, we may add, that seventyninespecies of land birds and fifty-five of water birds, are commonto Palestine and Britain. The Oriental and Ethiopiangenera Pycnonotus and Ncctarinea are found here, while Bcssornisand Dromolcca are characteristically Ethiopian. Almost all theother genera are Palsearctic.Persia is another remote regiongenerally associated with theidea of Oriental and almost tropical forms, but which yet undoubtedlybelongs to the Palsearctic region. Mr. Blanford's recentcollections in this country, with other interestinginformation, issummarised in Mr. Elwes's paper on the " Geographical Distributionof Asiatic Birds " (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1873, p. 647). No lessthan 127 species are found also in Europe, and thirty-sevenothers belong to European genera ; seven are allied to birds ofCentral Asia or Siberia, and fifteen to those of North-East Africa,while only three are purely of Indian affinities. This shows apreponderance of nearly nine-tenths of Palsearcticforms, whichis fully as much as can be expected in any country near thelimits of a great region.Reptiles and Amphibia.—The climatal conditions being heremore favourable to these groups, and the genera being often oflimited range, we find some peculiar, and several very interestingforms.Fvhinechis, a genus of Colubrine snakes, is found only inSouth Europe ; Trogonophis, one of the Amphisbsenianscurious snake-like lizards—is known only from North AfricaPsammosaurus, belonging to the water lizards (Varanidse) isfound in North Africa and North-West India ;a genus of Lacertidse, is peculiar to South Europe ;Psammodromus,Hyalosaurus,belonging to the family Zonuridre, is a lizard of especial interest,as it inhabits North Africa while its nearest ally is theOpliisawrus or " glass snake " of North America ; the family of

—chap, x.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 205the scinks is represented by Scincus found inArabia.North Africa andBesides these Seps, a genus of sand lizards (Sepidae) andAgarna, a genus of Agamidae, are abundant and characteristic.Of Amphibia we have Seiranota, a genus of salamandersfound only in Italy and Dalmatia ;Chioglossa, in Portugal, andGeotriton, in Italy, belonging to the same family, are equallypeculiar to the sub-region.Freshtvater Fish,—One of the most interesting is Tellia, agenus of Cyprinodontidae found only in alpine pools in theAtlas mountains. Paraphoxinius, found in South-East Europe,and Chondrostoma, in Europe and Western Asia, genera of Cyprimidae,seem almost peculiar to this sub-region.Insects— Lepidoptera.—Two genera of butterflies, Thais andDoritis, are wholly confined to this sub-region, the formerranging over all Southern Europe, thelatter confined to EasternEurope and Asia Minor. Anthocharis and Zegris are very characteristicof it, the latter only extending into South Eussia,while Danais, Charaxes, and Libythca are tropical genera unknownin other parts of Europe.Coleoptera.—This sub-region is very rich in many groups ofColeoptera, of which a few only can be noticed here. AmongCarabidse it possesses Procerus and Procrustes, almost exclusively,while Brachinus,Cymindis, Lcbia, Graphipterus, Scarites, Chlcenius,Calathus, and many others, are abundant and characteristic.Among Lamellicorns—Copridae, G-laphyridae, Melolonthidae, andCetoniidae abound.Buprestidae are plentiful, the genera Julodis,Acmccodera, Buprestis, and Sphenoptera being characteristic.Among Malacoderms—Cebrionidae, Lampyridae, and Malachiidaeabound.The Tenebrioid Heteromera are very varied and abundant,and give a character to the sub-region. The Mylabridse,Cantharidae, and OZdemeridae are also characteristic Of theimmense number of CurculionidseBrachycerus,Lixus, and Acalles may be mentioned asThylacites,among the most prominent.Of Longicorns there are few genera especially characteristic,but perhaps Prinobms, Purpuricenus, Hesperophanes,and Parmena are most so.Of the remaining families, we maymention Clythridae, Hispidae, and Cassididae as being abundant.

206 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.The Mediterranean and Atlantic Islands.—The various islandsof the Mediterranean are interesting to the student of geographicaldistribution as affording a few examples of local speciesof very restricted range, but as a rule they present us withexactly the same forms as those of the adjacent mainland. 1Their peculiarities do not, therefore, properly come within thescope of this work. The islands of the Atlantic Ocean belongingto this sub-region are, from their isolated position and thevarious problems they suggest, of much more interest, and theirnatural history has been carefully studied. We shall thereforegive a short account of their peculiar features.Of the three groups of Atlantic islands belonging to this subregion,the Canaries are nearest to the Continent, some of theislands being only about fifty miles from the coast of Africa.They are, however, separated from the mainland by a very deepchannel (more than 5,000 feet), as shown on our general map.The islands extend over a length of 300 miles ;they are verymountainous and wholly volcanic, and the celebrated peak ofTeneriffe rises to a height of more than 12,000 feet. The smallMadeira group is about 400 miles from the coast of Moroccoand 600 from the southern extremity of Portugal ; and there isa depth of more than 12,000 feet between it and the continent.The Azores are nearly 1,000 miles west of Lisbon. They arequite alone in mid-Atlantic, the most westerly islands beingnearer Newfoundland than Europe, and are surrounded by oceandepths of from 12,000 to 18,000 feet. It will be convenient totake these islands firstin order.Azores.—Considering the remoteness of this group from everyother land, it is surprising to find as many as fifty-three speciesof birds inhabiting or visiting the Azores ; and still more to1Malta is interesting as forming a resting-place for migratory birds, whilecrossing the Mediterranean. It has only eight land and three aquatic birdswhich are permanent residents ;yet no less than 278 species have beenrecorded by Mr. E. A. Wright as visiting or passing over it, comprising alarge proportion of the European migratory birds. The following are thepermanent residents : Cerchneis tinnunculus, Strix flammed, Passer salicicola,Emberiza miliaria, Corvu* monedula, Monticola cyanea, Sylvia conspicillata,Columba livia, Puffinus cinerevs, P. anglorum, Thalassidroma pelagica.

chap, x.] THE PAL^EARCTIC REGION. 207find that they are of Palsearctic genera and, with one exception,all of species found either in Europe, North Africa, Madeira,or the Canaries. The exception is a bullfinch peculiar to theislands, but closely allied to a European species. Of land birdsthere are twenty-two, belonging to twenty-one genera, all European.These genera are Cerchneis, Buteo, Asio, Strix, Turdus,Oriolus, Erithacus, Sylvia, Regulus, Saxicola, Motacilla, Plectrophanes,Fringilla, Pyrrhula, Serinus, Stumus, Picus,Upwpa, Columba, Caccabis, and Coturnix. Besides the bullfinch{Pyrrhula) other species show slight differences from theirEuropean allies, but not such as to render them more thanvarieties. The only truly indigenous mammal is a bat of aEuropean species. Nine butterflies inhabit the Azores ; eightof them are European species, one North American. Of beetles212 have been collected, of which no less than 175 are Europeanspecies; of the remainder, nineteen are found in theCanaries or Madeira, three in South America, while fourteenare peculiar to the islands.Now these facts (for which we are indebted to Mr. Godman'sNatural History of the Azores) are both unexpected and exceedinglyinstructive. In most other cases of remote Oceanicislands, a much larger proportion of the fauna is endemic, orconsists of peculiar species and often of peculiar genera ; as iswell shown by the caseof the Galapagos and Juan Fernandez,both much nearer to a continent and both containing peculiargenera and species of birds. Now we know that the cause andmeaning of this difference is, that in the one case the originalimmigration isvery remote and has never or very rarely beenrepeated, so that under the unchecked influence of new conditionsof life the species have become modified ;in the othercase, either the original immigration has been recent, or if remotehas been so frequently repeated that the new comers have keptup the purity of the stock, and have not allowed time for thenew conditions to produce the effect we are sure they would intime produce if not counteracted. For Mr. Godman tells usthat many of the birds are modified—instancing the gold-crestedwren, blackcap, and rockdove—and he adds, that the modifica-

208 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.tion all tends in one direction—to produce a more sombreand legs, and a more robustplumage, a greater strength of feetbill. We further find, that four of the land- birds, including theoriole, snow-bunting, and hoopoe, are not resident birds, butstraggle accidentally to the islands by stress of weather; andwe are told that every year some fresh birds are seen afterviolent storms. Add to this the fact, that the number ofspecies diminishes in the group as we go from east towest, andthat the islands are subject to fierce and frequent stormsblowing from every point of the compass,—and we have all thefacts requisite to enable us to understand how this remotearchipelago has become stocked with animal lifewithout everprobably being much nearer to Europe than it is now. Forthe islands are all volcanic, the only stratified rock that occursbeing believed to be of Miocene date.Madeira and the Canaries.—Coming next to Madeira, we findthe number of genera of land birds has increased to twenty-eight,of which seventeen are identical with those of the Azores.Someof the commonest European birds—swallows, larks, sparrows,linnets, goldfinches, ravens, and partridges, are among the additions.A gold-crested warbler, Begulus Maderensis, and a pigeon,Columba Trocaz, are peculiar to Madeira.In the Canaries we find thatthe birds have again very muchincreased, there being more than fifty genera of land birds ;butthe additions are wholly European in character, and almost allcommon European species. We find a few more peculiar species(five), while some others, including the wild canary, arecommon to all the Atlantic Islands or to the Canaries andMadeira. Here, too, the only indigenous mammalia are twoEuropean species of bats.Land SMls.-^Ihe land shellsof Madeira offer us an instructivecontrast to the birds of the Atlantic Islands. About fiftysixspecies have been found in Madeira, and forty-two in the smalladjacent islandof Porto Santo, but only twelve are common toboth, and all or almost all are distinct from their nearest alliesin Europe and North Africa. Great numbers of fossil shellsare also found in deposits of the Newer Pliocene period ; and

chap, x.] THE PAL^EARCTIC REGION. 209although these comprise many freshspecies, the two faunas andthat of the continent still remain almost as distinct from eachother as before. It has been already stated (p. 31) that themeans by which landmollusca have been carried across armsof the sea are unknown, although several modes may besuggested ; but it is evidently a rare event, requiring someconcurrence of favourable conditions not always present. Thediversity and specialization of the forms of these animals is,therefore, easily explained by the fact, that, once introducedthey have been left to multiply under the influence of a varietyof local conditions, which inevitably lead, in the course of ages,to the formation of new varieties and new species.Colcoptera.—The beetles of Madeira and the Canaries havebeen so carefully collected and examined by Mr. T. V. Wollaston,and those of the Azores described and compared by Mr. Crotch,and they illustrate so many curious points in geographical distribution,that it is necessary to give some account of them.less than 1,480 species of beetles have been obtained from theCanaries and Madeira, only 360 of which are European, theremainder being peculiar to the islands. The Canaries -areinhabited by a little over 1,000 species, Madeira by about 700,while 240 are common to both ;but it is believed that many olthese have been introduced by man.have been obtained, of which 1 75 are European ;NoIn the Azores, 212 speciesshowing, as inthe birds, a closer resemblance to the European fauna than inthe other islands which, although nearer to the continent, offermore shelter and are situated in a less tempestuous zone. Ofthe non-European species in the Azores, 19 are found also inthe other groups of islands, 14 are peculiar, while 3 are American.Of the European species, 132 are found also in the other Atlanticislands, while 43 have reached the Azores only. This is interestingas showing to how great an extent the same insectsreach all the islands, notwithstanding the difference of latitudeand position ; and it becomes of great theoretical importance,when we find how many extensive families and genera are altogetherabsent.The Madeira group has been more thoroughly explored than

210 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.any other, and its comparatively remote situation, combined withits luxuriant vegetation, have been favourable to the developmentand increase of the peculiar forms which characterize allthe Atlantic islands in a more or less marked degree. A considerationof some of its peculiarities will, therefore, best serveto show the bearing of the facts presented by the insect fauna ofthe Atlantic islands, on the general laws of distribution. The711 species of beetles now known from the Madeira group,belong to 236 genera ; and no less than 44 of these genera arenot European but are peculiar to the Atlantic islands. Most ofthem are, however, closely allied to European genera, of whichthey are evidently modifications. A most curious general featurepresented by the Madeiran beetles, is the total absence of manywhole families and large genera abundant in South Europe.Such are the Cicindelidse, or tiger beetles ;the Melolonthidae, orchafers; the Cetoniidae, or rose-chafers; the Eumolpidse andGalerucidte, large families of Phytophagous, or leaf-eating beetles;and also the extensive groups of Elateridre and Buprestida?,which are each represented by but one minute species. Ofextensive genera abundant in South Europe, but wholly absentin Madeira, are Carabus, Bhizotrogus, Lampyris, and othergenera of Malacoderms; Otiorhynchus, Brachycerus, and 20other genera of Curculionidse, comprising more than 300 SouthEuropean and North African species ;Pimelia, Tentyra, Blaps,and 18 other genera of Heteromera, comprising about 550 speciesin South Europe and North Africa ; and Timarcha, containing44 South European and North African species.Another most remarkable feature of the Madeiran Coleopterais the unusual prevalence of apterous or wingless insects.Thisis especially the case with groups which are confined to theAtlantic islands, many of which consist wholly of winglessspecies ; but it also affects the others, no less than twenty-twogenera which are usually or sometimes winged in Europe, havingonly wingless species in Madeira ; and even the same specieswhich is winged in Europe becomes, in at least three cases,wingless in Madeira, without any other perceptible change havingtaken place. But there is another most curious fact noticed by

'chap, x.] THE PALMARCTIC REGION. 211Mr. Wollaston ; that those species which possess wings inMadeira, often have them rather larger than their allies inEurope. These two facts were connected by Mr. Darwin, whosuggested that flying insects are much more exposed to beblown out to sea and lost, than those which do not fly(and Mr-Wollaston had himself supposed that the " stormy atmosphereof Madeira had something to do with the matter) ; so that themost frequent fliers would be continually weeded out, while themore sluggish individuals, who either could not or would notfly, remained to continue the race ;and this process going on fromgeneration to generation, would, on the well-ascertained principlesof selection and abortion by disuse, in time lead to theentire loss of wings by those insects to whom wings were not anecessity. But those whose wings were essential to their existencewould be acted upon in another way.All these must flyto obtain their food or provide for their offspring, and those thatflew best would be best able to battle with thestorms, and keepthemselves safe, and thus those with the longest and mostpowerful wings would be preserved. If however all the individualsof the species were too weak on the wing to resist thestorms, they would soon become extinct. 1Now this explanation of the facts is not only simple andprobable in itself, but it also serves to explain in a remarkablemanner some of the peculiarities and deficiencies of the Madeiraninsect fauna, in harmony with the view (supported by the distributionof the birds and land shells, and in particular by theimmigrant birds and insects of the Azores) that all the insectshave been derived from thecontinent or from other islands, by1A remarkable confirmation of this theory, is furnished in the Report tothe Royal Society of the naturalist to the Kerguelen Island, " Transit Expedition—the Rev. A. E. Eaton. Insects were assiduously collected, and itwas found that almost all were either completely apterous, or had greatlyabbreviated wings. The only moth found, several flies, and numerous beetles,were alike incapable of flight. As this island is subject to violent, andalmost perpetual gales, even in the finest season, the meaning of the extraordinaryloss of wings in almost all the insects, can, in this case, hardly bemisunderstood.

212 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.immigration across the ocean, in various ways and during a longperiod. These deficiencies are, on the other hand, quite inconsistentwith the theory (still held by some entomologists) thata land communication is absolutely necessary to account forthe origin of the Madeiran fauna.First, then, we can understand how the tiger-beetles (Cicindelidae)are absent ; since they are insects which have a short weakflight, but yet to whom flight is necessary. If a few had beenblown over to Madeira, they would soon have become exterminated.The same thing applies to the Melolonthidse, Cetoniidse,Eumolpidae, and Galerucidse,—all flower and foliagehauntinginsects, yet bulky and of comparatively feeble powersof flight.Again, all the large genera abundant in South Europe,which have been mentioned above as absent from Madeira,wholly apterous (or without wings), and thus their absence is amost significant fact ; for it proves that in the case of all insectsof moderate size, flight was essential to their reaching the island,which could not have been the case had there been a land connection.There are, however, one or two curious exceptions tothe absence of these wholly apterous European genera in Madeira,and as in each case the reason of their being exceptions canbe pointed out, they are eminently exceptions that prove therule. Two of the apterous species common to Europe andMadeira are found always in ants' nests ; and as ants, whenwinged, fly in great swarms and are carried by the wind togreat distances, they may have conveyed the minute eggs ofthese very small beetles. Two European species of Blapsoccur in Madeira, but these are house beetles, and are admittedto have been introduced by man. There are also three speciesof Meloe, of which two are European and one peculiar.These are large, sluggish, wingless insects, but they have amost extraordinary and exceptional metamorphosis, the larvaein the first state being minute active insects parasitic on bees,and thus easily conveyed across the ocean. This case is mostsuggestive, as itareaccounts for what would be otherwise a difficultanomaly. Another case, not quite so easily explained, is thatof thegenus Acalles, which is very abundant in all the Atlantic

chap, x.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 213islands and also occurs in South Europe, but isalways apterous.It is however closely allied to another genus, Cryptorhynchus,which is apterous in some species, winged in others. We maytherefore well suppose that the ancestors of A calks were once inthe same condition, and that some of the winged forms reachedMadeira, the genus having since become wholly apterous.We may look at this curious subject in another way. TheColeoptera of Madeira may be divided into those which arefound also in Europe or the other islands, and those which arepeculiar to it. On the theory of introduction by accidentalimmigration across the sea, the latter must be the more ancient,since they have had time to become modified ;while the formerare comparatively recent, and their introduction may be supposedto be now going on. The peculiar influence of Madeira inaborting the wings should, therefore, have actedon the ancientand changed forms much more powerfully than on the recentand unchanged forms. On carefully comparing the two sets ofinsects (omitting those which have almost certainly beenintroduced by man) we find, that out of 263 species whichhave a wide range, only 14 are apterous ;while the other class,consisting of 393 species, has no less than 178 apterous ; orabout 5 per cent in the one case, and 45 per cent in the other. 1On the theory of a land connection as the main agent in introducingthe fauna, both groups must have been introduced at orabout the same time, and why one set should have lost theirwings and the other not, isquite inexplicable.TakiDg all these singular facts, in connection with the totalabsence of all truly indigenous terrestrial mammalia and reptilesfrom these islands—even from the extensive group of the Canariesso comparatively near to the continent, we are forced toreject the theory of a land connection as quite untenable ;andthis view becomes almost demonstrated by the case of theAzores, which being so much further off, and surrounded bysuch avast expanse of deep ocean, could only have been con-1The facts on which these statements rest, will be found more fullydetailed in the Author's Presidential Address to the Entomological Societyof London for the year 1871.

214 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.nected with Europe at a farremoter epoch, and ought thereforeto exhibit to us. a fauna composed almost entirelyforms both of birds and insects.of peculiarYet, so far from this being thecase, the facts are exactly the reverse. Far more of the birdsand insects are identical with those of Europe than in theother islands, and this difference is clearly traced to the moretempestuous atmosphere, which is shown to be even nowannually bringing fresh immigrants (both birds and insects) toits shores. We here see nature actually at work ; and if thecase of Madeira rendered her mode of action probable, that ofthe Azores may be saidto demonstrate it.Mr. Wollaston has objected to this view that " storms andhurricanes " are somewhat rare in the latitude of Madeira andthe Canaries ; but this little affects the question, since the timeallowed for such operations is so ample. If but one veryviolent storm happened in a century, and ten such stormsrecurred before a single species of insect was introduced intoMadeira, that would be more than sufficient to people it, as wenow find it, with a varied fauna. But he also adds the importantinformation that the ordinary winds blow almost uninterruptedlyfrom the north-east, so that there would be always achance of a little stronger wind than usual bringing insect, orlarva, or egg, attached to leaves or twigs. Neither Mr. Wollaston,Mr. Crotch, Mr. A. Murray, nor any other naturalist whoupholds the land-connection theory, has attempted to accountfor the fact of the absence of so many extensive groups ofinsects that ought to be present, as well as of all smallmammalia and reptiles.Cape Vera 1 Islands.—There is yet another group of Atlanticislands which is very little known, and which is usually consideredto be altogether African—the Cape Verd Islands, situatedbetween 300 and 400 miles west of Senegal, and a little to thesouth of the termination of the Sahara. The evidence that wepossess as to the productions of these islands, shows that, likethe preceding groups, they are truly oceanic, and have probablyderived their fauna from the desert and the Canaries to thenorth-east of them rather than from the fertile and more truly

——chap, x.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 215Ethiopian districts of Senegal and Gambia to the east.a mingling of theThere istwo faunas, but the preponderance seems tobe undoubtedly with the Palasarctic rather than with theEthiopian. I owe to Mr. E. B. Sharpe of the British Museum,a MS. list of the birds of these islands, twenty-three species inall. Of these eight are of wide distribution and may be neglected.Seven are undoubted Palasarctic species, viz. :Milvusictinus, Sylvia atricapilla, S. conspicillata, Corvus corone, Passersalicarius, Certhilauda desertorum, Columba livia. Three arepeculiar species, but of Palasarctic genera and affinities, viz. :Calamoherpe brevipennis, Ammomanes cinctura, and Passer jagoensis.Against this we have to set two West African species,Estrilda cinerea and Namida meleagris, both of which wereprobably introduced by man ; and three which are of Ethiopiangenera and affinities, viz.:—Halcyon erythrorhyncha, closelyallied to H. semAcceruka of Arabia and North-east Africa, andtherefore almost Palasarctic; Accipiter melanoleucus ; an&Pyrrhulaudanigriceps, an Ethiopian form ;but the same species occursin the Canaries.The Coleoptera of these islands have been also collected byMr. Wollaston, and he finds that they have generally the sameEuropean character as those of the Canaries and Madeira, severalof the peculiar Atlantic genera, such as Acalles and Hegdcr,occurring, while others are represented by new but closely alliedgenera.Out of 275 species 91 were found also in the Canariesand 81 in the Madeiran group ; a wonderful amount of similaritywhen we consider the distance and isolation of these islandsand their great diversity of climate and vegetation.This connection of the four groups of Atlantic islands nowreferred to, receives further support from the occurrence of landshellsof the subgenus Leptaxis in all the groups, as well as inMajorca ;and by another subgenus, Hemicycla, being common tothe Canaries and Cape Verd islands. Combining these severalclasses of facts, we seem justified in extending the Mediterraneansub-region to include the Cape Verd Islands.

216 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Ill— The Siberian Sub-region, or Northern Asia.This large and comparatively little-known subdivision of thePalrearctic region, extends from the Caspian Sea to Kamschatkaand Behring's Straits, a distance of about 4,000 miles ; andfrom the shores of the Arctic Ocean tothe high Himalayas ofSikhim in North Latitude 29°, on the same parallel as Delhi.To the east of the Caspian Sea and the Ural Mountains is a greatextent of lowland which is continued round the northern coast,becoming narrower as it approaches the East Cape. Beyondthis, in a general E.KE. direction, rise hills and uplands, soonbecoming lofty mountains, which extend in an unbroken linefrom the Hindu Koosh, through the Thian Shan, Altai andYablonoi Mountains, to theextremity of Asia.Stanovoi range in the north-easternSouth of this region is a great central basin,which is almost wholly desert ; beyond which again is the vastplateau of Thibet, with the Kuenlun, Karakorum, and Himalayansnow-capped ranges, formingdistrict on the globe.the most extensive elevatedThe superficial aspects of this vast territory, as determined byits vegetable covering, are very striking and well contrasted. Abroad tract on the northern coast, varying from 150 to 300 andeven 500 miles wide, is occupied by the Tundras or barrens,where nothing grows but mosses and the dwarfest Arctic plants,and where the ground is permanently frozen to a great depth.This tract has its greatest southern extension between the riversObi and Yenesi, where it reaches the parallel of 60° north latitude.Next to this comes a vast extent of northern forests,mostly of conifers in the more northern and lofty situations,while deciduous trees preponderate in the southern portions andin the more sheltered valleys. The greatest extension of thisforest region is north of Lake Baikal, where it is more than1,200 miles wide. These forests extend along the mountainranges to join those of the Hindu Koosh. South of the foreststhe remainder of the sub-region consists of open pasture-landsand vast intervening deserts, of which the Gobi, and those ofTurkestan between the Aral and Balkash lakes, are the most

chap, x.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 217extensive.The former is nearly 1,000 miles long, with a widthof from 200 to 350 miles, and isalmost as complete a desert asthe Sahara.With very few exceptions, this vast territory is exposed toan extreme climate, inimical to animal life.All the lower partsbeing situated to the north, have an excessively cold winter, sothat the limit of constantly frozen ground descends below theparallel of 60° north latitude. To the south, the land is greatlyelevated, and the climate extremely dry. In summer the heatis excessive, while the winter is almost as severe as furthernorth. The whole country, too, is subject to violent storms, bothin summer and winter ; and the rich vegetation that clothes thesteppes in spring, is soon parched up and replaced by dustyplains. Under these adverse influences we cannot expectanimal life to be so abundant as in those sub-regions subject tomore favourable physical conditions ;yet the country is so extensiveand so varied, that it does actually, as we shall see, possessa very considerable and interesting *auna.Mammalia.—Four genera seem to be absolutely confined tothis sub-region, Nectogak, a peculiar form of the mole family(TalpidaB) ; Poephagus, the yak, or hairy bison of Thibet ;withProcapra and Pantholops, Thibetan antelopes. Some othersmore especially belong here, although they justenter Europe, asSaiga, the Tartarian antelope ;Sminthus, a desert rat ;andEllobius, a burrowing mole-rat ; while Myospalax, a curiousrodent alliedand North China ;to the voles, is found only in the Altai mountainsand Moschus, the musk-deer, is almost confinedto this sub-region. Among the characteristic animals of theextreme north, are Mustela, and Martes, including the ermineand sable; Gulo, the glutton ; Tarandus, the reindeer; Myodcs,the lemming; with the lynx, arctic fox, and polar bear; andhere, in the Post-pliocene epoch, ranged the hairy rhinocerosand Siberian mammoth, whose entire bodies still remain preservedin the ice-cliffs near the mouths of the great rivers. Farthersouth, species of wild cat, bear, wolf, deer, and pika (Lagomys)abound ; while in the mountains we find wild goats and sheepof several species, and in the plains and deserts wild horsesVol. L—16

218 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part m.and asses, gazelles, two species of antelopes, flying squirrels(Pteromys), ground squirrels (Tamias), marmots, of the genusSpermophihis, with camels and dromedaries, probably nativesof the south-western part of this sub-region. The mostabundant and conspicuous of the mammalia are the greatherds of reindeer in the north, the wolves of the steppes, withthe wild horses,goats, sheep, and antelopes of the plateaus andmountains.Among the curiosities of this sub-region we must notice theseal, found in the inland and freshwater lake Baikal, at an elevationof about 2,000 feet above the sea. It is a species of Callocephalus,closely allied to, if not identical with, one inhabitingnorthern seas as well as the Caspian and Lake Aral. Thiswould indicate that almost all northern Asia was depressedbeneath the sea very recently ; and Mr. Belt's view, of the iceduring the glacial epoch having dammed up the rivers and convertedmuch of Siberia into a vast freshwater or brackish lake,perhaps offers the best solution of the difficulty. 1Plate II.— Characteristic Mammalia of Western Tartary.—Several of the most remarkable animals ofinhabit Western Tartary, and arethe Palrearctic regioncommon to the European andSiberian sub-regions. We therefore choose this district for oneof our illustrative plates.The large animals in the centre are theremarkable saiga antelopes (Saiga Tartarica), distinguished fromall others by a large and fleshy proboscis-like nose, which givesthem a singular appearance.They differ so much from all otherantelopes that they have been formed into a distinct family bysome naturalists, but are here referred to the great family Bovidse.They inhabit the open plains from Poland to the Irtish RiverOn the left is the mole-rat, or sand-rat (Spalax murinus). Thisanimal burrows under ground like a mole, feeding on bulbousroots. It inhabits the same country as the saiga, but extendsfarther south in Europe. On the right is a still more curiousanimal, the desman (Myogalc Muscovitica), a long-snoutedwater-mole. This creature is fifteen inches long, including thetail ; it burrows in the banks of streams, feeding on insects,1Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, 1874, p. 494.

chap, x.] THE PAL.EARCTIC REGION. 219worms, and leeches ; it swims well, and remains long underwater, raising the tip of the snout, where the nostrils aresituated, to the surface when it wants to breathe. It is thuswell concealed ; and this may be one use of the developmentof the long snout, as well as serving to follow worms intotheir holes in the soft earth. This species is confined to therivers Volga and Don in Southern Eussia, and the only otherspecies known inhabits some of the valleys on the north sideof the Pyrenees. In the distance are wolves, a characteristicfeature of these wastes.Birds.—But few genera of birds are absolutely restricted tothis sub-region. Podoces, a curious form of starling, is the mostdecidedly so ; Mycerobas and Pyrrhospiza are genera of finchesconfined to Thibet and the snowy Himalayas ;Leucosticte, anothergenus of finches, is confined to the eastern half of the subregionand North America ; Tetraogallus, a large kind ofpartridge, ranges west to the Caucasus; Syrrhaptcs, a form ofsand-grouse, and Leriva (snow-partridge), are almost confinedhere, only extending into the next sub-region ; as do Grandalo,and Calliope, genera of warblers, Uragus, a finch allied to theNorth American cardinals, and Crossoptilon, a remarkable groupof pheasants.Almost all the genera of central and northern Europe arefound here, and give quite a European character to the ornithology,though a considerable number of thespecies are different.There are a few Oriental forms, such as Abrornis and Larvivora(warblers) ; with Ceriornis and Ithaginis, genera of pheasants,which reach the snow-line in the Himalayas and thus just enterthis sub-region, but as they do not penetrate farther north, theyhardly serve to modify the exclusively Palsearctic character ofits ornithology.According to Middendorf, the extreme northern Asiatic birdsare the Alpine ptarmigan [Lagopus mutus); the snow-bunting(Plectrophanes nivalis) ; the raven, the gyrfalcon and the snowyowl.Those which are characteristic of the barren " tundras,"but which do not range so far north as the preceding are,—thewillow-grouse (Lagopus albus); the Lapland-bunting (Plectrophanes

;220 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.lapponica) ; the shore-lark (Gtocorys alpestris) ; the sand-martin(Cotyle riparia), and the sea-eagle {Haliceetus albicilla).Those which are more characteristic of the northern forests,and which do not pass beyond them, are—the linnet ;two crossbills(Loxia Zeucoptera and L. Curvirostra) ; the pine grosbeak[Pinicola enucleator) ; the waxwing ; the common magpie ; thecommon swallow ; the peregrine falcon ; the rough-legged buzzard ;and three species of owls.Fully one-half of the land-birds of Siberia are identical withthose of Europe, the remainder being mostly representativespecies peculiar to Northern Asia, with a few stragglers andimmigrants from China and Japan or the Himalayas.A muchlarger proportion of the wading and aquatic families are Europeanor Arctic, these groups having always aland birds.Reptiles and Amphibia.—From the nature ofwider range thanthe country andclimate these are comparatively few, but in the more temperatedistricts snakes and lizards seem to be not uncommon. Halys,a genus of Crotaline snakes, and Phryotocephalus, lizards of thefamily Agamidse, are characteristic of these parts. Simotes, asnake of the family Oligodontidae, reaches an elevation of 16,000feet in the Himalayas, and therefore enters this sub-region.Insects.— Mesapia and Hypermnestra, genera of Papilionidse,are butterflies peculiar to this sub-region ; and Parnassius is ascharacteristic as it is of our European mountains. Carabidseare also abundant, as will be seen by referring to the Chapteron the Distribution of Insects in the succeeding part of thiswork. The insects, on the whole, have a strictly Europeancharacter, although a large proportion of the species are peculiar,and several new genera appear.IV.— Japan and North China, or the Manchurian Sub-region.Tliis is an interesting and very productive district, correspondingin the east to the Mediterranean sub-region in the west, orrather perhaps to all western temperate Europe. Its limits arenot very well defined, but it probably includes all Japanthe Corea and Manchuria to the Amour river and to the lower

chap x.] THE PAL^AECTIC REGION. 221slopes of the Khingan and Peling mountains ; and China tothe Nanlirt mountains south of the Yang-tse-kiang. On thecoast of China the dividing line between it and the Orientalregion seems to be somewhere about Foo-chow, but as there ishere no natural barrier, a great intermingling of northern andsouthern forms takes place.Japan is volcanic and mountainous, with a fine climate and amost luxuriant and varied vegetation. Manchuria is hilly, witha high range of mountains on the coast, and some desert tractsin the interior, but fairly wooded in many parts. Much ofnorthern China is a vast alluvial plain, backed by hills andmountains with belts of forest, above which are the dry andbarren uplands of Mongolia. We have a tolerable knowledgeof China, of Japan, and of the Amoor valley, but very littleofCorea and Manchuria. The recent researches of Pere David inMoupin, in east Thibet, said to be between 31° and 32° northlatitude, show, that the fauna of the Oriental region here advancesnorthward along the flanks of the Yun-ling mountains (acontinuation of the Himalayas) ; since he found at differentaltitudes representatives of the Indo-Chinese, Manchurian, andSiberian faunas. On the higher slopes of the Himalayas, theremust be a narrow strip from about 8,000 to 11,000 feet elevationintervening between the tropical fauna of the Indo-Chinese subregionand the almost arctic fauna of Thibet ; and the animalsof this zone will for the most part belong to the fauna oftemperate China and Manchuria, except in the extreme westtowards Cashmere, where the Mediterranean fauna will in likemanner intervene. On a map of sufficiently large scale, therefore,it would be necessary to extend our present sub-regionwestward along the Himalayas, in a narrow strip just belowthe upper limits of forests. It is evident that the large numberof Fringillidae, Corvidae, Troglodytidae, and Paridse, often of southPalsearctic forms, that abound in the higher Himalayas, are somewhatout of place as members of the Oriental fauna, and areequally so in that of Thibet and Siberia; but they form anatural portion of that of North China on the one side, or ofSouth Europe on the other.

—;222 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.Mammalia.—This sub-region contains a number of peculiarand very interesting forms, most of which have been recentlydiscovered by Pere David in North and West China and EastThibet. The following are the peculiar genera Rhinopithccus,:a sub-genus of monkeys, here classed under SemnopitheousAnurosorex, Scaptochirus,Uropsilus and Scaptonyx, new forms ofTalpiche or moles ; JEluropus (iEluridte) ; Nyctereutes (Canidae)Lutroncctes (Mustelida?) ; Cricetulus (Muridse) ; Hydropotes, Moschus,and Elaphodus (Cervidse). The Rhinopithecus appears tobe a permanent inhabitant of the highest forests of Moupin,in a cold climate. It has a very thick fur, as has also a newspecies of Macacus found in the same district.East Thibet seem to be very rich in Insectivora.North China andScaptochirus islike a mole ; Uropsilus between the Japanese Urotrichus andSorex ; Scaptonyx between Urotrichus and Talpa. JEluropusseems to be themost remarkable mammal discovered by PereDavid. It is allied to the singular panda {JElurus fulgens) ofNepal, but is as large as a bear, the body wholly white, withthe feet, ears, and tip of the tail black. It inhabits the highestforests, and is therefore a true Palsearctic animal, as most likelyis the JElurus. Nyctereutes, a curious racoon-like dog, rangesfrom Canton to North China, the Amoor and Japan,and thereforeseems to come best in this sub-region ; Hydropotes andLophotragus are small hornless deer confined to North China ;Elaphodus, from East Thibet, isanother peculiar form of deer;while the musk deer (MoscJms) is confined to this sub-region andthe last. Besides the above, the following Palaearctic generawere found by Pere David in this sub-region : Macacus ; fivegenera or sub-genera of bats (Vespertilio, Vcsperus, Vesperugo,Rhinolophus, and Murina) ; Erinaceus, Nectogale, Talpa, Crociduraand Sorcx, among Insectivora; Mustela, Putorius, Martes,Lutra, Viverra, Mcles, JElurus, Ursus, Fclis, and Canis, amongCarnivora ; Hystrix, Arctomys, Myospalax, Spcrmophilus, Gerbillus,Dipus, Lagomys, Lepus, Sciurus, Ptcromys, Arvicola, andMus, among Eodentia; Budorcas, Ncmorhcdus, Antilope, Ovis,Moschus, Cervulus and Cervus among Kuminants ;and the widespreadSus or wild boar.The following Oriental genera are also

—chap, x.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 223included in Pere David's list, but no doubt occur only in thelowlands and warm valleys, and can hardly be considered tobelong to the Paloearctic region : Paguma, Helictis, Arctonyx,Rhizomys, Manis. The Rhizomys from Moupin is a peculiarspecies of this tropical genus, but all the others inhabit SouthernChina.A few additional forms occur in Japan :Urotrichus, a peculiarMole, which is found also in north-west America ; Enhydra, thesea otter of California; and the dormouse (Myoxus). Japan alsopossesses peculiar species of Macacus, Talpa, Meles, Canis, andSciuropterus.It will be seen that this sub-region is remarkably richin Insectivora, of which it possesses ten genera ; and thatit has also several peculiar forms of Carnivora, Ptodentia, andRuminants.Birds.—To give an accurate idea of the ornithology of thissub-region is very difficult,both on account of its extreme richnessand the impossibility of defining the limits between it andthe Oriental region. A considerable number of genera whicharewell developed in the high Himalayas, and some which arepeculiar to that district, have hitherto always been classed asIndian, and therefore Oriental groups ; but they more properlybelong to this sub-region. Many of them frequent the highestforests, or descend into the Himalayan temperate zone only inwinter ; and others are so intimately connected with Paleearcticspecies, that they can only be considered as stragglers into theborder land of the Oriental region. On these principles weconsider the following genera to be confined to this sub-region :Grandala, Nemura (Sylviidee) ; Pterorhinus (Timaliidie) ;Cholomis, Conostoma, Heteromorpha (Panuridre) ; Cyanoptila(Muscicapidae) ; Eophona (Fringillidae) ; Dendrotreron (Columbidae);Lophoylioms, Tetraophasis, Crossoptilon, Pucrasia, Thauinnlea, and Ithaginis (Phasianidse). This may be called thesub-region of Pheasants ; for the above six genera, comprisingsixteen species of the most magnificent birds in the world, areall confined to the temperate or cold mountainous regions ofthe Himalayas, Thibet, and China ; and in addition we have

224 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.most of the species of tragopan (Ceriornis), and some of thetrue pheasants (Phasianus).The most abundant and characteristic of the smaller birds arewarblers, tits, and finches, of Palsearctic types ;but there arealso a considerable number of Oriental forms which penetratefar into the country, and mingling with the northern birdsgive a character to the Ornithology of this sub-region verydifferent from that of the Mediterranean district at the westernend of the region. Leaving out a large number of wide-ranginggivinggroups, this mixture of types may be best exhibited bylists of the more striking Palsearctic and Oriental genera whichare here found intermingled.Pal^earcticGenera.Sylviid^e.Erithacus.Ruticilla.Locustella.Cyanecula.Sylvia.Potamodus.Reguloides.Regulus.Accentor.ClNCLID^E.Cinclus.TROGLODYTIDiE.Troglodytidas.CeRTHIIDjE.Certhia.Sitta.Tichodroma.PaRIDjE.Parus.Lophophanes.Acredula.CoRVID^E.

CHAP. X.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 225Omental Genera— continued.TimaliiDjE— (continued).Pomatorhinus.Suthora.Panurid^:.Paradoxornis.ClNCLID^.Enicurus.Myiophonus.TrOGLODYTID^E.Pnoepyga.Liotrichid^e.Liothrix.Yuhina.Pteruthius.Pycnonotid^e.Microscelis.Pycnonotus.Hypsipetes.Campephagid.e.Pericrocotus.Dicruridje.Dicrurus.Chibia.Buchanga.Muscicapid^e.Xanthopygia.Niltava.Tchitrea.CoRyiD^;.Urocissa.Nectarineid^;.^Ethopyga.MOTACILLID.E.Nemoricola.DicjEID.e.Zosterops.Fringillid^e.Melophus.Pyrgilauda.Ploceid.e.Munia.Sturnid^e.Acridotheres.Sturnia.Pittid.e.Pitta.PlCID^E.Vivia.Yungipicus.Gecinus.CoRACIlDiF.Eurystomus.AlCEDINIDjE.Halcyon.Ceryle.Ufupid^e.Upupa.PsiTTACID^E.Palseornis.CoLUMBID-E.Treron.Ianthsenas.Macropygia.Phasianid^e.Phasianus.Ceriornis.Strigid^e.Scops.In the above lists there are rather more Oriental than Palaearcticgenera ; but it must be remembered that most of theformer are summer migrants only, or stragglers just entering thesub-region; whereas the great majority of the latter are permanentresidents, and a large proportion of them range over thegreater part of the Manchurian district. Many of those in theOriental column should perhaps be omitted, as we have no exactdetermination of their range, and the limits of the regions arevery uncertain.It must be remembered, too, that the Palsearcticgenera of Sylviida?, Paridoe, and Fringillidae, are often representedby numerous species, whereas the corresponding Oriental generahave for the most part only single species ; and we shall thenfind that, except towards the borders of the Oriental region thePalaearctic element is strongly predominant. Four of the moreespecially Oriental groups are confined to Japan, the southern

226 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY [part hi.extremity of which should perhaps come in the Oriental region.The great richness of this sub-region compared with that ofSiberia is well shown by the fact, that a list of all the know nland-birdsof East Siberia, including Dahuria and the comparativelyfertile Amoor Valley, contains only 190 species ; whereasPere David's catalogue of the birds of Northern China withadjacent parts of East Thibet and Mongolia (a very muchsmaller area) contains for the same families 366 species. Of theSiberian birds more than 50 per cent, are European species, whilethose of the Manchurian sub-region comprise about half thatproportion of land-birds which are identical with those ofEurope.Japan is no doubt very imperfectly known, as only 134 landbirdsare recorded from it. Of these twenty- two are peculiarspecies, a number that would probably bediminished were theCorea to be explored. Of the genera, only nine are Indo-Malayan, while forty-three are Palsearctic.Plate III.— Scene on the Borders of North- West China andMongolia with Characteristic Mammalia and Birds. — Themountainous districts of Northern China, with the adjacentportions of Thibet and Mongolia, are the head-quarters of thepheasant tribe, many of the most beautiful and remarkablespecies being found there only.In the north-western provincesof China and the southern parts of Mongolia may be found thespecies figured. That in the foreground is the superb goldenpheasant (Thaumalea picta), a bird that can hardly be surpassedfor splendour of plumage by any denizen of the tropics. Thelarge bird perched above is the eared pheasant {Crossoptilonauriium), a species of comparatively sober plumage but ofremarkable and elegant form.In the middle distance is Pallas'ssand grouse {Syrrhaptes paradoxus), a curious bird, whose nativecountry seems to be the high plains of Northern Asia, but whichoften abounds near Pekin, and in 1863 astonished Europeanornithologists by appearing inconsiderable numbers in Centraland Western Europe, in every part of Great Britain, and evenm Ireland.The quadruped figured is the curious racoon dog (Nyctermtes

PLATE III.CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS OF NORTH CHINA.

;chap, x.] THE PALiEARCTIC REGION. 227procyonoides), an animal confined to North China, Japan, andtheAmoor Valley, and having no close allies in any other partof the globe.In the distance are some deer, a group of animalsvery abundant and varied in this part of the Palaearctic region.Reptiles and Amphibia.—Reptiles are scarce in North China,only four or five species of snakes, a lizard and one of the Geckotidaeoccurring in the country round Pekin. The genus Halysis the most characteristic form of snake, while Callophis, anoriental genus, extends to Japan. Among lizards, Plestiodon,Maybouya, Tachydromus, and Gecko reach Japan, the two latterbeing very characteristic of the Oriental region.Amphibia are more abundant and interesting ; Hynobius,Onychodactylus, and Sieboldtia (Salamandridae) being peculiarto it,while most of the European genera are also represented.Fresh-water Fish.—Of these there are a few peculiar genera;as Plecoglossvs (Salmonidae) from Japan; Achilognathus, Pseudoperilampus,Ochetobius, and Opsariichthys (Cyprinidae) ; andthere are many other Chinese Cyprinidae belonging to the borderland of the Palaearctic and Oriental regions.Insects—The butterflies of this sub-region exhibit the samemixture of tropical and temperate forms as the birds. Most ofthe common European genera are represented, and there arespecies of Parnassius in Japan and the Amoor. Isodema, apeculiar genus of Nymphalidae isfound near Ningpo, just withinour limits ; and Sericinus, one of the most beautiful genera ofPapilionidae is peculiar to North China, where four species occur,thus balancing the Thais and Doritis of Europe. The genusZephyrus (Lycaenidae) is well represented by six species in Japanand the Amoor, against two in Europe. Papilio parts andP. Manor, magnificent insects of wholly tropical appearance,abound near Pekin, and allied forms inhabit Japan and theAmoor, as well as P. demetrius and P. alcinous belonging tothe " Protenor " group of the Himalayas.Other tropical generaoccurring in Japan, the Amoor, or North China are, Debis,Neope, Mycalesis, Ypthimia (Satyridae) ;Thaumantis (Morphidae),at Shanghae ;Euripus, Neptis, Athyma (Nymphalidae)Terias (Pieridae) ;and the above-mentioned Papilionidae.

;228 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Coleoptera.—The beetles of Japan decidedly exhibit a mixtureof tropical forms with others truly Palsearctic, and it has beenwith some naturalists a matter of doubt whether the southern andbest known portion of the islands should not be joined to theOriental region. An important addition to our knowledge ofthe insects of this country has recently been made by Mr. GeorgeLewis, and a portion of his collections have been described byvarious entomologists in the Transactions of the EntomologicalSociety of London. As the question is one of considerable interestwe shall give a summary of the results fairly deduciblefrom what is now known of the entomology of Japan ;and itmust be remembered that almost all our collections come fromthe southern districts, in what is almost a sub-tropical climateso that if we find a considerable proportion of Palsearctic forms,we may be pretty sure that the preponderance will be muchgreater a little further north.Of Carabidae Mr. Bates enumerates 244 speciesbelonging to84 genera, and by comparing these with the Coleoptera of atract of about equal extent in western Europe, he concludes thatthere is little similarity, and that the cases of affinity to the formsof eastern tropical Asia preponderate. By comparing his generawith the distributions as given in Gemminger and Harold'sCatalogue, a somewhat different result is arrived at. Leavingout the generic types altogether peculiar to Japan, and also thoseo-enera of such world-wide distribution that they afford no clearindications for our purpose, it appears that no less than twentytwogenera, containing seventy-four of the Japanese species, areeither exclusively Palsearctic, Palsearctic and Nearctic, or highlycharacteristic of the Palsearctic region ; then come thirteen generacontaining eighty-seven of the species which have a very widedistribution, but are also Palsearctic : we next have seventeen^enera containing twenty-four of the Japanese species which aredecidedly Oriental and tropical. Here then the fair comparisonis between the twenty-two genera and seventy-four species whoseaffinities are clearly Palsearctic or at least north temperate, andseventeen genera with twenty-four species which are Asiaticand tropical; and this seems to prove that, although South

chap, x.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 229Japan (like North China) has a considerable infusion of tropicalforms, there is a preponderating substratum of Palrearctic forms,which clearly indicate the true position of the islandsin zoologicalgeography. There are also a few cases of what may bewhich show that Japan, like manycalled eccentric distribution ;other island-groups, has served as a kind of refuge in whichdying-out forms continue to maintain themselves.These, whichare worthy of notice, are as follows : Orthotrichus (1 sp.) hasthe only other species in Egypt ; Trechichus (1 sp.) has twoother species, of which one inhabits Madeira, the other theSouthern United States ;Perileptus (1 sp.) has two other species,of which one inhabits Bourbon, the other West Europe ; andlastly, Crepidogaster (1 sp.) has the other known species inSouth Africa.These cases diminish the value of the indicationsafforded by some of the Japanese forms, whose only allies aresingle species in various remote parts of the Oriental region.The Staphylinidse have been describedby Dr. Sharp, and hislist exhibits a great preponderance of north temperate, or cosmopolitanforms, with a few which are decidedly tropical. ThePselaphidae and Scydmenidre, also described by Dr. Sharp,exhibit, according to that gentleman, " even a greater resemblanceto those of North America than to those of Europe," but he saysnothing of any tropical affinities. The water-beetles are alleither Paleearctic or of wide distribution.The Lucanidse{Gemm. and Har. Cat, 1868) exhibit an interminglingof Palaearctic and Oriental genera.The Cetoniidse {Gemm. and Har. Gat. 1869) show, for NorthChina and Japan, three Oriental to two Palaearctic genera.The Buprestidse collected by Mr. Lewis have been describedby Mr. Edward Saunders in the Journal of the Linnman Society,vol. xi. p. 509. The collection consisted of thirty-six speciesbelonging to fourteen genera. No less than thirteen of theseare known also from India and the Malay Islands ; nine fromEurope ; seven from Africa ; six from America, and four fromChina.In six of the genera the Japanese species are said to beallied to those of the Oriental region ;while in three they areallied to European forms, and in two to American.Considering

;230 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.the southern latitude and warm climate in which theseinsectswere mostly collected, and the proximity to Formosa and theMalay Islands compared with the enormous distance fromEurope, this shows as much Palaearctic affinity as can beexpected. In the Palaearctic region the group is only plentifulin the southern parts of Europe, which is cutoff by the coldplateau of Thibet from all direct communication with Japan;while in the Oriental region it everywhere abounds and is, infact, one of the most conspicuous and dominant families ofColeoptera.The Longicorns collected by Mr. Lewis have been describedby Mr. Bates in the Annals of Natural History for 1873.number of species now known from Japan isThe107, belonging tosixty-four genera. The most important genera are Lcptura,'Clytanthus, Monohammus, Praonctha, Exoccntrus, Glenea, andOberea. There are twenty-one tropical genera, and sevenpeculiar to Japan, leaving thirty-six either Palaearctic or of verywide range. A number of the genera are Oriental and Malayan,and many characteristic European genera seem to be absentbut it is certaiu that not half the Japanese Longicorns are yetknown, and many of these gaps will doubtless be filled up whenthe more northern islands are explored.The Phytophaga, described by Mr. Baly, appear to have aconsiderable preponderance of tropical Oriental forms.A considerable collection of Hymenoptera formed by Mr.Lewis have been described by Mr. Frederick Smith ;and exhibitthe interesting result, that while the bees and wasps are decidedlyof tropical and Oriental forms, the Tenthredinidae and Ichneumonidaeare as decidedly Pala?arctic, " the generalaspect of thecollection being that of a European one, only a single exoticform being found among them."Remarks on the General Character of the Fauna of Japan —From a general view of the phenomena of distribution we feeljustified in placing Japan in the Palaearctic region ; althoughsome tropical groups, especially of reptiles and insects, havelargely occupied its southern portions ;and these same groupshave in many cases spread into Northern China, beyond the

chap, x.] THE PAL^EARCTIC REGION 231usual dividing line of the Palsearctic and Oriental regions. Thecauses of such a phenomenon are not difficult to conceive. Evennow, that portion of the Palsearctic region between WesternAsia and Japan is, for the most part, a bleak and inhospitableregion, abounding in desert plateaus, and with a rigorous climateeven in its most favoured districts, and can, therefore, supportbut a scanty population of snakes, and of such groups ofinsects as require flowers, forests, or a considerable period ofwarm summer weather ; and it is precisely these which arerepresented in Japan and North China by tropical forms.Wemust also consider, that during the Glacial epoch this wholeregion would have become stillless productive, and that, as thesouthern limit of the ice retired northward, it would be followedup by many tropical forms along with such as had been drivensouth by its advance, and had survived to return to theirnorthern homes.It isalso evident that Japan has a more equable and probablymoister climate than the opposite shores of China, and has alsoa very different geological character, being rocky and broken,often volcanic, and supporting a rich,varied, and peculiar vegetation.It would thus be well adapted to support all the morehardy denizens of the tropics which might at various timesreach it, while it might not be so well adapted for the moreboreal forms from Mongolia or Siberia. The fact that a mixtureof such forms occurs there, is then, little to be wondered at, butwe may rather marvel that they are not more predominant, andthat even in the extreme south, the most abundant forms ofmammal, bird, and insect, are modifications of familiar Palaearctictypes. The fact clearly indicates that the former land connectionsof Japan with the continent have been in a northerlyrather than in a southerly direction, and that the tropical immigrantshave had difficulties to contend with, and have found theland already fairly stocked with northern aborigines inevery class and order of animals.almostGeneral Conclusions as to the Fauna of the Palccarctic Region.—Fromthe account that has now been given of the fauna

232 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.of the Palaearctic region, it is evident that it owes many of itsdeficiencies and some of its peculiarities to the influence of theGlacial epoch, combined with those important changes of physicalgeography which accompanied or preceded it. The elevation ofthe old Sarahan sea and the complete formation of the Mediterranean,are the most important of these changes in the westernportion of the region. In the centre, a wide arm of the ArcticOcean extended southward from the Gulf of Obi to the Aral andthe Caspian, dividing northern Europe and Asia. At this timeour European and Siberian sub-regions were probably moredistinct than they are now, their complete fusion having beeneffected since the Glacial epoch. As we know that the Himalayashave greatly increased in altitude during the Tertiary period, it isnot impossible that during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs thevast plateau of Central Asia was much less elevated and lesscompletely cut off from the influence of rain- bearing winds. Itmight then have been far more fertile, and have supported a richand varied animal population, a few relics of which we see inthe Thibetan antelopes, yaks, and wild horses. The influenceof yet earlier changes of physical geography, and the relations ofthe Palsearctic to the tropical regions immediately south of it,will be better understood when we have examined and discussedthe faunas of the Ethiopian and Oriental regions.

;chap, x.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 233TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION.In constructing these tablesshowing the distribution of variousclasses of animals in the Palaearctic region, the followingsources of information have been chiefly relied on, in additionto the general treatises, monographs, and catalogues used incompiling the fourth part of this work.Mammalia.—Lord Clement's Mammalia and Pieptiles ofEurope ;Siebold's Eauna Japonica ; Pere David's List ofMammalia of North China and Thibet ; Swinhoe's ChineseMammalia ;Eadde's List of Mammalia of South-Eastern SiberiaCanon Tristram's, Lists for Sahara and Palestine ; Papers byProfessor Milne-Edwards, Mr. Blanford, Mr. Sclater, and thelocal lists given by Mr, A. Murray in the Appendix to hisGeographical Distribution of Mammalia.Birds.—Blasius' List of Birds of Europe; Godman, OnBirds of Azores, Madeira, and Canaries ; Middendorf, forSiberia ;Pere David and Mr, Swinhoe, for China and MongoliaHomeyer, for East Siberia; Mr. Blanford, for Persia and thehigh Himalayas ; Mr. Elwes's paper on the Distribution ofAsiatic Birds ; Canon Tristram, for the Sahara and PalestineProfessor Newton, for Iceland and Greenland ; Mr. Dresser,for Scandinavia ; and numerous papers and notes in the IbisJournal fiir Ornithologie ; Annals and Mag. of Nat. History ; andProceedings of the Zoological Society.Reptiles and Amphibia.— Schreiber's European Herpetology.Vol. I.—17

.234 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.TABLE I.FAMILIES OF ANIMALS INHABITING THE PAL^EARCTIC REGION.Explanation.Names in italics show families peculiar to the region.Names inclosed thus ( ) barely enter the region, and are not considered properlyto belong to it.Numbers are not consecutive, but correspond to those in Part IV.(Order aud Family.OSub-regions.is ~ sRange beyond the Region.MAMMALIA.PPvIMATES.3. CynopithecidseChiroptera.9. (Pteropidse^ ...11. Rhinolophidae12. Vespertilionidae13. NoctilionidaB . .Insectivora.15. Macroscelididte17. Erinaceidse ...21. Talpidae22. SoricidseCarnivora.23. Felidfe ...25. Viverridae27. Hyamidse28. Canidte ...29. Mustelidae31. jEluridae32. Ursidse ...33. Otariidae...34. Trichechidse35. PhocidseCetacea.36 to 41.Sirenia.42. ManatidseUngulata43. Equidse ...47. Suidae ...48. Camelidae50. Cervidse...52. Bovidae ...Ethiopian, OrientalTropics of E. HemisphereWarmer parts of E. Hemis.CosmopoliteTropical regionsEthiopianOriental, S. AfricaNearctic, OrientalCosmopolite, excl. Australia and S.All regions but AustralianEthiopian, OrientalEthiopian, OrientalAll regions but AustralianAll regions but AustralianOrientalNearctic, Oriental, AndesN. and S. temperate zonesArctic regionsN. and S. temperate zonesOceanicTropics, from Brazil to N. AustraliaAmericaEthiopianCosmopolite, excl. Nearctic reg. and AustraliaAndesAll regions but Ethiopian and AustralianAll regions but Neotropical and Australian

CHAP. X.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 235Sub-regions.Order and Family.PiO2SS•sS3aP.csRange beyond the Region.Hyracoidae.54. (Hyracidae)Ethiopian familyRODENTIA.55. Muridae ...56. Spalacidse57. Dipodidae58. Myoxidse60. Castoridae61. Sciuridae...64. Octodontidae67. Hystricidae69. Lagomyidse70. LeporidaeAlmost CosmopoliteEthiopian, OrientalEthiopian, NearcticEthiopianNearcticAll regions but AustralianAbyssinia, NeotropicalEthiopian, OrientalNearcticAll regions but AustralianBIRDS.Passeres.1. Turdidag...2. Sylviidae...3. Timaliida?4. Panuridae5. Cinclidae6. Troglodytidae8. Certhiidae9. Sittidae ...10. Paridae ...13. Pycnonotidae14. Oriolidae...17. Muscicapidae19. Laniidae ...20. Corridae...23. (Nectariniidae)24. (Dicseidse)29. Ampelidae30. Hirundinidae33. Fringillidae35. Sturnidae37. Alaudidae38. Motacillidae47. (Pittidae)CosmopoliteCosmopoliteEthiopian, Oriental, AustralianNearctic, OrientalOrientalAmerican, OrientalOriental, NearcticNearctic, Oriental, Australian, MadagascarNearctic, Oriental, Australian [?]Oriental, EthiopianEthiopian, Oriental, AustralianEastern HemisphereEastern Hemisphere and N. AmericaCosmopoliteEthiopian, Oriental, AustralianEthiopian, Oriental, AustralianNearcticCosmopoliteAll regions but AustralianEastern HemisphereAll regions but NeotropicalCosmopoliteOriental, Australian, EthiopianPlCARIiE.51. Picidae ...52. Yungidae58. Cuculidae62. Coraciidae63. Meropidae67. Alcedinidae69. Upupidae73. Caprimulgidae74. CypselidaeAll regions but AustralianN. W. India, N. E. Africa, S. AfricaAlmost CosmopoliteEthiopian, Oriental, AustralianEthiopian, Oriental, AustralianCosmopoliteEthiopian, OrientalCosmopoliteAlmost Cosmopolite

23G ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.Sub-regions.Order and Family.o3s 5T3 a33p.Range beyond the Region.Columb-s:.84. Columbidae ...CosmopoliteGalling.86. Pteroclidse ...87. Tctraonidae ...88. Phasiauidse ...89. Turnicidse ..Ethiopian, IndianNearctic, Ethiopian, OrientalOriental, Ethiopian, NearcticEthiopian, Oriental, AustralianAccipitres.94. Vulturidae ...96. Falconidae ...97. Pandionidse...98. Strigidae ...All regions but AustralianCosmopoliteCosmopoliteCosmopoliteGralije.99. Rallidce100. Scolopacidse...104. Glareolidffi ...105. Charadriidse...106. Otididee107. Gruidse113. Ardeidoe114. Plataleidse ...115. Ciconiidce ...117. PhsenicopteridseCosmopoliteCosmopoliteEthiopian, Oriental, AustralianCosmopoliteEthiopian, Oriental. AustralianEastern Hemisphere, and N. AmericaCosmopoliteAlmost CosmopoliteNearly CosmopoliteNeotropical, Ethiopian, IndianAnseres.118. Anatidse119. Laridse120. Procellariidte121. Pelecanidae ...123. Colymbidse ...124. Podicipidse ..125. AlcidaeCosmopoliteCosmopoliteCosmopoliteCosmopoliteArctic and N. TemperateCosmopoliteN. Temperate zoneREPT1LIA.Ophidia.1. Typhlopidae...5. Calamariidse...6. Oligodontidse7. Colubridse ...8. Homalopsidae9. Psammophidse18. Erycidse20. Elapidae24. Orotalidae ...25. ViperidaeAll regions but NearcticAll other regionsOriental and NeotropicalAlmost CosmopoliteOriental, and all other regionsEthiopian and OrientalOriental and EthiopianAustralian and all other regionsNearctic, Neotropical, OrientalEthiopian, Oriental

CHAP. X.J

238 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.

.CHAP. X.] THE PAL.EARCTIC REGION. 239TABLELIST OF THE GENERA OF TERRESTIAL MAMMALIA AND BIRDSINHABITING THE PAL.EARCTIO REGION.II.Explanation.Names in italics show genera peculiar to the region.Names inclosed thus (...)show genera which just enter the region, hut are not consideredproperly to helong to it.Genera which undoubtedly helong to the region are numbered consecutively.MAMMALIA.Order, Family, audGenus.O o>02Range within the Region.Range beyond the Region.PRIMATES.SEMNOPITHECIDiE.(SemnopithecusEastern Thibet)Oriental genusCynopithecid^;.1. MacacusCHIROPTERA.Gibraltar, N. Africa, E. Thibetto JapanOrientalPteropid^;.(Pteropus(Xantharpyia ...Egypt, Japan)N. Africa, Palestine)Tropics of the E. Hemis.Oriental, Austro-MalayanRhINOLOPHIDjE.2. Rhinolphus(Asellia(Rhinopoma .(Nycteris.Temperate & Southern partsRegionEgypt) „., .Egypt, Palestine)Egypt)ofWarmer parts E. HemisphereEthiopian, Java[?] IndiaNubia, HimalayaVESPERTILIONIDiE.3. Vesperugo4. Otonycteris5. Vespertilio(Kerivoula6. Miniopteris ...7. Plecotus8. Barbastellus ...11351112Siberia, AmoorlandEgyptThe whole regionN. China)S. Europe, N. Africa, JapanS. EuropeMid. and S. Europe, PalestinePI[?]CosmopoliteOriental, S. AfricaS. Afric. Malaya, Austral.HimalayasDarjeeling, TimorNoCTILIONIDiE.9 Molossus(NSECTIVORA.ERINACEID.E.10. ErinaceusS. Europe, N. AfricaThe whole region ;excl. JapanEthiop., Neotrop., AustralianOriental, Africa.

.240 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART 111.Order, Family, andGenus.O

—CHAP. X.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 241Order,Family, andGenus.'Z, p,03Range within theRegion.Range beyond the RegionOTARIID.E.40. Callorhinus41. Zalophus42. Eunietopias .Tkichechid^:.43. TrickechusPhOCIDvE.44. Callocephalus45. Pagomys ..46. Pagophilus47. Phoca48. Halichserus49. Pelagius ...50. CystophoraSIRENIACETACEAUNGULATA.Equid^e.51. EquusKamschatka andBekring's StraitsJapanJapan, Bekring's StraitsPolar SeasNorth Sea, Caspian, Lake BaikalNortli Sea, JapanNorthern SeasNorthern SeasNorth Sea and BalticMadeira to Black SeaN. AtlanticCent. & and W. Asia & N. AfricaCaliforniaCaliforniaArctic AmericaGreenlandN. PacificN. PacificN. PacificGreenlandN. AtlanticTropics &Behnng'sStrts.OceanicEthiopianSuid^;.52. SusThe whole regionOriental, Austro- MalayanCamelid^e.53. Camelus ...Cervid^e.54. Alces55. Tarandus56. Cervus57. Dama58. Elaphodus59. Lophotragus60. Caprcoins61. Moschus ...62. HydropotesDeserts of Cent, and W. Asia andN. AfricaNorth Europe and AsiaArctic Europe and AsiaThe whole regionMediterranean districtN. W. ChinaN. ChinaTemp. Europe and W. Asia andN. ChinaAmoor R., N. China, to HimalayasN. CkinaN. AmericaArctic AmericaAll regions but Austral.Bovim:.63. ( Bos64. < Bison65. ( Pocpliagus66. Addax67. Oryx68. ( Gazella ...69. ( Procapra1111112Europe, (not wild)Poland and CaucasusThibetN. Africa to SyriaN. Africa to SyriaN. Africa to Persia, and BeloochistanW. Thibet and MongoliaOrientalNearcticEthiopian desertsS. Africa, India

242 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.Order, Family, andGenus.

CHAP. X.J THE PALiEARCTIC REGION. 243Order,Family, andGenus.

.244 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.Order, Family, andGenus.27. I Ruticilla28. j Larvivora29. Dromolaea30. Saxicola—31. Cercomela32. Pratincola33. Accentor ...Timaliim;.34. Ptcrorhinus(Malacocercus . .(Crateropus —(Trochalopteron(Ianthocincla —Panueid^;.(Paradoxoruis35. Conostoma36. Suthora37. Pannrus38. Hcteromorpha .39. Cholomis

..)CHAP. X.] THE PAL.EARCTIC REGION. 245Order,Family, andGenus.o £"A ftRange within the Region.Range beyond the Region.PYCNONOTID.fi.49. Microseelis50. Pycnonotus ...JapanPalestine,N. China, JapanOriental genusOriental and EthiopianORIOLID.E.51. OriolusS. Europe, ChinaEthiopian and OrientalMUSCICAFIDfi.52. Muscicapa53. Butalis54. Erythrosterna...(Xanthopygia .(Eumyias— .(Cyanoptila(Siphia55. Tchitrea.."W. and Central Europe"W. Europe to Japan and ChinaCentral Europe to N. China andJapanJapan)E. Thibet)Japan and Arnoor)Moupin, E. Thibet)N. China and JapanEthiopian.E. and S. Africa, MoluccasOriental & MadagascarOriental genusOriental genusOriental genusOriental genusEthiopian and OrientalLANiiD.fi.56. Lanius(Telephouus ..111The whole region (excl. AtlanticIslands)N. Africa)Nearctic, Ethiopian,OrientalEthiopian genusCoitviD.£.57. Garrulus58. Perisoreus(Urocissa59. Nucifraga60. Pica61. Cyanopica62. Corvus63. Frcgilus ...NECTARINIID.E.(Arachnecthra2123"W. Europe, N. Africa, to JapanN. Europe and SiberiaCashmere, Japan)W. Europe to Japan, and HimalayasW. Europe to China and JapanSpain, N. E. Asia and JapanThe whole region\V. Europe to N. China, HimalayasPalestine)Himalayas, FormosaN. AmericaOriental genusHimalayan pine forestsS. China and Formosamigrants [?]Cosmopolite(excl.S. Am.Abyssinian mountainsOriental genusDic.fiiD.fi.(Zosterops1 Amoor and Japan)Ethiop., Orien., Austral.AMPELIDjE.64. Ampelis ...HlRUNDIXID.fi.65. Hirundo66. Cotyle67. ChelidonNorthern half of regionThe whole regionThe whole region (excl. Atlan. Is.The whole regionNorth AmericaCosmopoliteNearctic, Ethiop., Orien.OrientalFRINGILLID.fi.68. FringillaThe whole regionAfrica

246 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Order, Family, andGenus.

CHAP. X.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 247Order,Family, andGenus.

—248 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Order, F amily, andGenus.Range within the Region.Range beyond theRegion.COLUMB^E.COLUMBID^!.125. Columba126. Turtur ... .(Alsascomus .GALLING.Pteroclidjo.127. Pterocles128. Syrrhaptes .The whole regionW. Europe to JapanE. Thibet)S. Europe, N. Africa, to W. IndiaCentral Asia, N. ChinaAfrica, Asia, AmericaEthiopian and OrientalOriental genusEthiopian genusTetraonid^:.129. Francolinus .130. Perdix ...'131. Coturnix132. Lerwa ...133. Caccabis ...134. Tctraogallus .135. Tetrao ...136. Bonasa ...137. Lagopus...Phasianid^e.138. Crossojitilon .139. Lophophorus140. Tetraophasis141. Ceriornis142. Pucrasia143. PJmsianus144. Thaumalea145. Ithaginis431131032Borders of MediterraneanEthiopian, OrientalEurope to MongoliaCentral and S. Europe to Japan Ethiop., Orien., Austral.Snowy Himalayas to E. ThibetCen. Europe and N. Africa to N. Abyssinia, ArabiaW. HimalayasCaucasus to E. Thibet and AltaiMountainsEurope and N. AsiaEurope and N. AsiaIceland, W. Europe to JapanN. AmericaN. AmericaN. America, GreenlandThibet, Mongolia, N. ChinaCashmere to E. Thibet (highestwoods)E. Thibet E. Thibet (?)N. W. Himalayas (high) Himalayas to W. ChinaN. W. Himalayas to N. W. China HimalayasWestern Asia to JapanE. Thibet to Amoor, N. ChinaNepaul to E. Thibet (high)W. Himalayas, FormosaWest ChinaTURNICID.E146. Turnix ...Spain and N. Africa,N. ChinaEthiop., Orien., Austral.ACCIPITRES.VULTURID^!.147. Vultur ...148. Gyps ...149. Otogyps150. NeophronFalconid^e.151. Circus ...152. Astur ...153. Aecipiter154. Buteo ...Spain and N. Africa to N. ChinaS. Europe, Palestine, Cen. AsiaS. Europe, N. AfricaAtlantic Isds. to PalestineEurope to JapanEurope to N. ChinaEurope to JapanEurope to JapanE. Africa, IndiaS. Africa, IndiaAfrica, IndiaAlmost CosmopoliteAlmost CosmopoliteAlmost CosmopoliteCosmopolite (excl. Australia)

CHAP. X.] THE PAL^IARCTIC REGION. 249Order, Family, andGenus.

250 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.Order, Family, andGenus.

5cpqa

CHAPTER XI.THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.This is one of the best defined of the great zoological regions,consisting of tropical and South Africa, to which must be addedtropical Arabia, Madagascar, and a few other islands, all popularlyknown as African. Some naturalists would extend theregion northwards to the Atlas Mountains and include the wholeof the Sahara ; but the animal life of the northern part of thatgreat desert seems more akin to the Palsearctic fauna of NorthAfrica. The Sahara is really a debatable land which has beenpeopled from both regions;and until we know more of the naturalhistory of the great plateaus which rise like islands in the wasteof sand, it will be safer to make the provisional boundary line ator near the tropic, thus giving the northern half to the Palsearctic,the southern to the Ethiopian region. The same line may becontinued across ArabiaWith our present imperfect knowledge of the interior ofAfrica, only three great continental sub-regions can be well defined.The open pasture lands of interior tropical Africa arewonderfully uniform in their productions ; a great number ofspecies ranging from Senegal to Abyssinia and thence to theZambesi, while almost allthe commoner African genera extendover the whole of this area. Almost all this extensive tract ofcountry is a moderately elevated plateau, with a hot and dryclimate, and characterised by a grassy vegetation interspersedwith patches of forest. This forms our first or East Africansub-region. The whole of the west coast from the south side ofthe Gambia Paver to about 10° or 12° south latitude, is a very

252 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.different kind of country ; being almost wholly dense forestswhere not cleared by man, and having the hot moist uniformclimate, and perennial luxuriance of vegetation, which characterisethe great equatorial belt of forest all round the globe.Thisforest country extends to an unknown distance inland, but it wasfound, with its features well marked, by Dr. Schweinfurth directlyhe crossed the south-western watershed of the Nile ; and far tothe south we find itagain unmistakably indicated, in the excessivelymoist forest country about the head waters of the Congo,where the heroic Livingstone met his death. In this forestdistrict many of the more remarkable African types are alonefound, and its productions occasionally present us with curioussimilarities to those of the far removed South American orMalayan forests. This is our second or West African subregion.Extra-tropical South Africa possesses features of its own, quitedistinct from those of both the preceding regions (although it hasalso much in common with the first). Its vegetation is knownto be one of the richest,most peculiar, and most remarkable onthe globe ; and in its zoology it has a speciality, similar in kindbut less in degree, which renders it both natural and convenientto separate it as our third, or South African sub-region. Itslimits are not very clearly ascertained, but it is probably boundedby the Kalahari desert on the north-west, and by the LimpopoValley, or the mountain range beyond, on the north-east, althoughsome of its peculiar forms extend to Mozambique. Thereremains the great Island of Madagascar, one of the most isolatedand most interesting on the globe, asregards its animal productions;and to this must be added, the smaller islands of Bourbon,Mauritius and Rodriguez, the Seychelles and the Comoro Islands,forming together the Mascarene Islands,—the whole constitutingour fourth sub-region.Zoological Characteristics of theEthiopian Region.—We havenow to consider briefly, what are the peculiarities and characteristicsof the Ethiopian Region asit its distinctive features and broadly separate itprimary zoological regions.a whole,—those which givefrom the other

;chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 253Mammalia.—This region has 9 peculiar families of mammalia.Chiromyidae (containing the aye-aye) ; Potamogalidae and Chrysochloridae(Insectivora) ; Cryptoproctidae and Protelidse (Carnivora); Hippopotamidee and Camelopardalidae (Ungulata) ; andOrycteropodidae (Edentata). Besides these it possesses 7 peculiargenera of apes, Troglodytes, Colobus, Myiopitliecus Cercopithecus,Cercocefais, Theropitliecus, and Cynocephalus ; 2 subfamiliesof lemurs containing 6 genera, confined to Madagascar,with 3 genera of two other sub-families confined to the continent; of Insectivora a family, Centetidae, with 5 genera,peculiar to Madagascar, and the genera Petrodromus and Rhynchocyonbelonging to the Macroscelididae, or elephant-shrews,restricted to the continent ; numerous peculiar genera or subgeneraof civets ; Lycaon and Megalotis, remarkable genera ofCanidae ; Ictonyx, the zorilla, a genus allied to the weasels ;13 peculiar genera of Muridae ; Pectinator, a genus of the SouthAmerican family Octodontidae ; and 2 genera of the SouthAmerican Eehimyidse or spiny rats. Of abundant and characteristicgroups it possesses Macroscelides, Felis, Hyaena, Hyrax,Rhinoceros, and Elephas, as well as several species of zebra anda great variety of antelopes.The great speciality indicated by these numerous peculiarfamilies and genera, is still farther increased by the absenceof certain groups dominant in the Old-World continent,an absence which we can only account for by the persistence,through long epochs, of barriers isolating the greater part of Africafrom the rest of the world. These groups are, Ursidas, the bears ;Talpidae the moles ; Camelidae, the camels ; Cervidae, the deerCaprinae, the goats and sheep ; and the genera Bos (wild ox) ; andSus (wild boar). Combining these striking deficiencies, withthe no less striking peculiarities above enumerated, it seemshardly possible to have a region more sharply divided fromthe rest of the globe than this is, by its whole assemblage ofmammalia.Birds.—In birds the Ethiopian region is by no means sostrikingly peculiar, many of these having been able to pass theancient barriers which so long limited the range of mammalia.

—;254 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.It is, however, sufficiently rich, possessing 54 families of landbirds, besides a few genera whose position is not well ascertained,and which may' constitute distinct families. Of these 6 arepeculiar, Musophagidae (the plantain eaters); Coliidse (the colies) ;Leptosomidse, allied to the cuckoos ;Irrisoridee, allied to thehoopoes ; and Serpentaridse, allied to the hawks. Only onePasserine family is peculiar—Paictidee, while most of the othertropical regions possess several ; but Euryceros and Buphaga,here classed with the Sturnidse, ought, perhaps, to form twomore.It has, however, many peculiar genera, especially among thefruit-thrushes, Pycnonotidse ; flycatchers, Muscicapidae ; shrikes,Lanidse ; crows, Corvidse ;starlings, Sturnidse ;and weaver-birds,Ploceidae ; the latter family being very characteristic of the region.It is also rich in barbets, Megalaemidae (7 peculiar genera)cuckoos, Cuculidas ; rollers, Coraciidse ; bee-eaters, Meropidsehornbills, Bucerotidre ; and goat-suckers, Caprimulgidae. It ispoor in parrots and rather so in pigeons ; but it abounds inPterocles and Francolinus, genera of Gallinae, and possesses 4genera of the peculiar group of the guinea-fowls, forming part ofthe pheasant family. It abounds in vultures, eagles, and otherbirds of prey, among which is the anomalous genus Seiyentarius,the secretary-bird, constituting a distinct family. Many of themost remarkable forms are confined to Madagascar and theadjacent islands, and will be noticed in our account of that subregion.Reptiles.—Of the reptiles there are 4 peculiar Ethiopianfamilies ;— 3 of snakes, Rachiodontidse, Dendraspidae, and Atractaspidseand 1 of lizards, Chamsesauridse.Psammophidse (desert snakes) are abuudant, as are Lycodontidse(fanged ground-snakes), and Viperidae (vipers). The followinggenera of snakes are peculiar or highly characteristic :Lcptorhynclms,Bhamnophis, Herpetetliiops and Grayia (Colubridae)Hopsidrophis and Bucephalus (Dendrophidae) ; Langalia (Dryophidie); Pythonodipsas (Dipsadidse) ; Boedon, Lycophidion, Holuropholis,Simocephahis and Lamprophis (Lycodontiche) ;Hortidiaand Sanzinia (Pythonidae) ; Cyrptopliis, Elapsoidea and Pcecilophis(Elapidae) ; and Atheris (Viperidse). The following genera

—chap, xl] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 255of lizards are the most characteristic:Monotrophis(Lepidosternidse);Cordylus, Pseudocordylus, Platysaurus, Cordylosaurus,Pleurostichus, Saurophis and Zonurus (Zormridse) ; Sphamops,Scelotes, Sphcenocephalus and Sepsina (Sepidaj) ; Pachydactylu's(Geckotidas) ;Agama (Agamidae); and Chameleon (Chaineleonidae).Of tortoises, Cynyxis, Pyxis and Chersina (Testudinidse), andCycloderma (Trionychidae) are the most characteristic.Amphibia.—Of the 9 families of amphibia there is only1 peculiar, the Dactylethridae, a group of toads; but theAlytidae, a family of frogs, are abundant.Fresh-water Fish.—Oi the 14 families of fr-^-water fishes3 are peculiar: Mormyridae and Gynmarchidse, small groupsnot far removed from the pikes ; and Polypteridaa, a small groupof ganoid fishes allied to the gar-pikes (Lepidosteidte) of NorthAmerica.Summary of Ethiopian Vertebrates.—Combining the resultshere indicated and set forth in greater detail in the tables ofdistribution, we find that the Ethiopian region possesses examplesof 44 familiesof mammalia, 72 of birds, 35 of reptiles,9 of amphibia, and 15 of fresh-water fishes. It has 23 (orperhaps 25) families of Vertebrata altogether peculiar to it outof a total of 175 families, or almost exactly one-eighth of thewhole. Out of 142 genera of mammalia found within theregion, 90 are peculiar to it ; a proportion not much short oftwo-thirds. Of land birds there are 294 genera, of which179 are peculiar; giving a proportion of a little less thanthree-fifths.Compared with the Oriental region this shows a considerablylarger amount of speciality under all the heads;but the superiority is mainly due to the wonderful and isolatedfauna of Madagascar, to which the Oriental region hasnothing comparable. Without this the regions would be nearlyequal.Insects: Lepidoptera,— 11 out of the 16 families of butterflieshave representatives in Africa, but none are peculiar.Acrseidae is one of the most characteristic families, and there

;256 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.are many interesting forms of Nymphalida?, Lyceenidse, andPapilionidse. The peculiar or characteristic forms are Amauris(Danaidse); Gnophodes, Leptoneura, Bicyclus, Heteropsis andCcenyra (Satyridse) ; Acrcea (Acraeidae) ; LacJmoptcra, Precis,Salamis, Crenis, Godartia, Amphidcma, Pscudacrcea, Catuna,Euryphcnc, Romalceosoma, Hamanumida, Aterica, Harma,Mencris, Charaxes, and Philognoma (Nymphalidae) ; Pentila,Liptena, Durbania, Zcritis, Capys, Phytala, Epitola, Heivitsoniaand Deloneura (Lycamidffi) ;Pscudopontia, Idmais, Tcracolus,Callosune (Pieridse) ; Abantis, Ceratrichia and Caprona (Hesperidse).The total number of species known is about 750which is very poor for an extensive tropical region, but thisis not to be wondered at when the nature of much of thecountry is considered. It is also, no doubt, partly due to ourcomparative ignorance of the great equatorial forest district,which is the only part likely to be very productive in thisorder of insects.Coleoptcra.— In our first representative family, Cicindelidseor tiger-beetles, the Ethiopian region is rather rich, having 13genera, 11 of which are peculiar to it; and among these aresuch remarkable forms as Manticora, Myrmecoptcra and Dromicawith Mcgacephala, a genus only found elsewhere in Australiaand South America.In Carabidae or carnivorous ground beetles, there areabout 75 peculiar genera. Among the most characteristicare Anthia, Polyrhina, Graphipierus and Piczia, which arealmost all peculiar ; while Orthogonius, Hexagonia, Macrochilus,Thyreopterus, Eudcma, and Abacctus are common to this andthe Oriental region ;and Hypolithus to the Neotropical.Out of 27 genera of Buprestidse, or metallic beetles, only 6 arepeculiar to the region, one of the most remarkable being Polybothrus,confined to Madagascar.Sternocera and Chrysochroa arecharacteristic of this region and the Oriental ; it has Julodis incommon with the Mediterranean sub-region, and Bclionotawith the Malayan.The region is not rich in Lucanidae, or stag-beetles, possessingonly 10 genera, 7 of which are peculiar, but most of them con-

chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 257sist of single species. The other three genera, Cladognathus,Nigidius, and Figulus, are the most characteristic, though a]lhave a tolerably wide range in the Old World.In the elegant Cetoniida?, or rose-chafers, this region standspreeminent, possessing 76 genera, 64 of which are peculiar toit. The others are chiefly Oriental, except Oxythrcea which isEuropean, and Stethodesma which is Neotropical. Preeminentin size and beauty is Goliathus, comprising perhaps the mostbulky of all highly-coloured beetles. Other large and characteristicgenera are Ceratorhina, Ischnostoma, Anochilia,Diplognatha, Agenius, and many others of less extent.In the enormous tribe of Longicorns, or long-horned beetles,the Ethiopian is not so rich as the other three tropical regions ;but this may be, in great part, owing to its more productivedistricts having never been explored by any competent entomologists.It nevertheless possesses 262 genera, 216 of which arepeculiar, the others being mostly groups of very wide range.Out of such a large number it is difficult to select a few as mostcharacteristic, but some of the peculiarities of distribution asregards other regions may be named.Among Prionidae, Tithocsis a characteristic Ethiopian genus. A few species of theAmerican genera Parandra and Mallodon occur here, while theNorth Temperate genus Prionus is only found in Madagascar.Among Cerambycidae, Promeces is the most characteristic. TheAmerican genera Oeme and Cyrtomerus occur ; while Homalachnusand Philagathes are Malayan, and Leptocera occurs only inMadagascar, Ceylon, Austro-Malaya, and Australia.The Lamiidaeare very fine; Sternotomis, Tragocephala. Ceroplesis, Phryneta,Volumnia, and Nitocris, being very abundant and characteristic.Most of the non-peculiar genera of this family are Oriental,but Spalacopsis and Acanthoderes are American, while Tetruglenesand Schcenionta have been found only in East and South Africaand in Malaya.Terrestrial Mollusca—In the extensive family of the Helicidaeor snails, 13 genera are represented, only one of which,Columna, is peculiar. This region is however the metropolis ofAchatina, some of the species being the largest land-shells

258 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.known. Buliminus, Stenogyra, and Pupa are characteristicgenera. Bulimus is absent, though one species inhabits St.Helena. The operculated shells are not very well represented,the great family of Cyclostomidse having here only nine genera,With but one peculiar, Zithidion, found inMadagascar, Socotra,and Arabia. None of the genera appear to be well representedthroughout the region, and they are almost or quite absent fromWest Africa.According to Woodward's Manual (1868) West Africa hasabout 200 species of land-shells, South Africa about 100,Madagascar nearly 100, Mauritius about 50. All the islandshave their peculiar species; and are, in proportion to theirextent, much richer than the continent ;as is usually the case.The Ethiopian Sub-eegions.It has been already explained that these are to some extentprovisional ;yet it is believed that they represent generally theprimary natural divisions of the region, however they may besubdivided when our knowledge of their productions becomesmore accurate.I. The East African Sub-region, or Central and East Africa.This division includes all the open country of tropical Africasouth ofthe Sahara, as well as an undefined southern margin ofthat great desert. With the exception of a narrow strip alongthe east coast and the valleys of the Niger and Nile, it is a vastelevated plateau from 1,000 to 4,000 feet high, hilly ratherthanmountainous, except the lofty table land of Abyssinia, withmountains rising to 16,000 feet and extending south to theequator, where it terminates in the peaks of Kenia and Kilimandjaro,18,000 and 20,000 feet high. The northern portionof this sub-region is a belt about 300 miles wide between theSahara on the north and the great equatorial forest on the south,extending from Cape Verd, the extreme western point of Africa,across the northern bend of the Niger and Lake Tchad to themountains of Abyssinia. The greater part of this tract has a

chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 259moderate elevation.The eastern portion reaches from about thesecond cataract of the Nile, or perhaps from about the parallelof 20° N. Latitude, down to about 20° S.Latitude, and from theeast coast to where the great forest region commences, or to LakeTanganyika and about the meridian of 28° to 30° E. Longitude.The greater part of this tract is a lofty plateau.The surface of all this sub-region is generally open, coveredwith a vegetation of high grasses or thorny shrubs, with scatteredtrees and isolated patches of forest in favourable situations.The only parts where extensive continuous forests occur, are onthe eastern and western slopesof the great Abyssiuian plateau,and on the Mozambique coast from Zanzibar to Sofala. Thewhole of this great district has one general zoological character.Many species range from Senegal to Abyssinia, others fromAbyssinia to the Zambesi, and a few, asMungos fasciatus andPhacochcerus cethiopicus, range over the entire sub-region.Fennecus,Ictonyx, and several genera of antelopes, characterise everypart of it, as do many genera of birds. Coracias ncevia, Corytlwrniscyanostigma, Tockus nasutus, T. erythrorhynchus, Parusleucopterus, Buphaga africana, Vidua paradisea, are examplesof species, which are found in the Gambia, Abyssinia and SouthEast Africa, but not in the West African sub-region ; and consideringhow very little is known of the natural historyof the country immediately south of the Sahara, it maywell be supposed that these are only a small portion of thespecies really common to the whole area inprove itsfundamental unity.question, and whichAlthough this sub-region is so extensive and so generallyuniform in physical features, it is by far the least peculiar partof Africa.typesIt possesses, of course, all those wide-spread Ethiopianwhich inhabit every part of the region, but it has hardlyany special features of its own. The few genera which arepeculiar to it have generally a limited range, and for the mostpart belong, either to the isolated mountain-plateau of Abyssiniawhich is almost as much Palaearctic as Ethiopian, or to the woodydistricts of Mozambique where the fauna has more of a Westor South African character.

—;260 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.Mammalia.—The only forms of Mammalia peculiar to thissub-region are Tlieropithccus, one of the Cynopithecidae confinedto Abyssinia ; Petrodromus and Rhynchocyon, belonging to theinsectivorous Macroscelididse, have only been found in Mozambique; the Antelopine genus Neotragus, from Abyssinia southward;Saccostomus and Pclomys genera of Muridas inhabitingMozambique ; Rcteroccphalus from Abyssinia, and Heliophobiusfrom Mozambique, belonging to the Spalacidre ; and Pectinatorfrom Abyssinia, belonging to the Octodontidse. Cynocephalus,Rhinoceros, Camclopardalis, and antelopes of the genera Oryx,Cervicapra, Kobus, Nanotragus, Cephalophus,Hippotragus, Alcephalus,and Catoblepas, are characteristic; as well as Felis,Hyama, and numerous civets and ichneumons.Birds.—Peculiar forms of birds are hardly to be found herewe only meet with two Hypocolius, a genus of shrikes in Abyssinia;and Balmniccps, the great boat-billed heron of the UpperNile.Yet throughout the country birds are abundant, and mostof the typical Ethiopian forms are well represented.Reptiles.—Of reptiles, the only peculiar forms recorded areXenocalamus, a genus of snakes, belonging tothe Calamariid*and Pythonodipsas, one of the Dipsadidae, both from the Zambesiand among lizards, Pisturus, one of the Geckotidse,Amphibia and Fishes.—-There are no peculiar forms of amphibiaor of fresh-water fishes.Insects.—Insects are almost equallyforms.unproductive of peculiarAmong butterflies we have Abantis, one of the Hesperidae,from Mozambique ; and in Coleoptera, 2 genera of Cicindelidre,8 of Carabidaa, 1 or 2 of Cetoniidre, and about half-a-dozen ofLongicorns :a mere nothing, as we shall see, compared with thehosts of peculiar genera that characterise each of the otherfrom Abyssinia.subregions.Neither do land-shells appear to present any peculiarforms.The fact that so very few special types characterise the extensivearea now under consideration is very noteworthy.It justifiesus in uniting this large and widespread tract of country asforming essentially but one sub-division of the great Ethiopian

PLATE IV.CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS OF EAST AFRICA.

chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 261region, and it suggests some curious speculations as to the formerhistory of that region, a subject which must be deferred to thelatter part of this chapter. In none of the other great tropicalregions does it occur, that the largest portion of their area,although swarming with life, yet possesses hardly any distinctivefeatures except the absence of numerous types characteristic ofthe other sub-regions.Plate IV.— Illustrating the Zoology of East Africa.—Althoughthis sub-region has so little speciality, it is that which aboundsmost in large animals, and is, perhaps, the best representative ofAfrica as regards zoology. Some of the most distinctive of Africananimals range over the whole of it, and as, from recent explorations,many parts of this wide area have been made known to thereading public, we devote one of our plates to illustrate theespecially African forms of life that here abound. The antelopesrepresented are the koodoo (Tragclaphus strepsiceros) one of thehandsomest of the family, which ranges over all the highlandsof Africa from Abyssinia to the southern districts. To the leftis the aardvark, or earth pig, of North Eastern Africa {Orycteropuscethiopicus) which, to the north of the equator in East Africa,represents the allied species of the Cape of Good Hope, TheseEdentata are probably remnants of the ancient fauna of Africa,when it was completely isolated from the northern continentsand few of the higher types had been introduced. The largebird in the foreground is the secretary-bird, or serpent-killer(Serpentarius rcptilivorus), which has affinities both for the birdsof-preyand the waders. It is common over almost all the opencountry of Africa, destroying and feeding on the most venomousserpents. The bird on the wing is the red-billed promerops(Irrisor erythrorhynchus), a handsome bird with glossy plumageand coral-red bill. It is allied to the hoopoes, and feeds oninsects which it hunts for among the branches of trees. Thisspecies also ranges over a large part of east and central Africa tonear the Cape of Good Hope. Other species are found in thewest ; and the genus, which forms a distinct family, Irrisoridm, isone of the best marked Ethiopian types of birds. In the distanceisa rhinoceros, now one of the characteristic features of African

262 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.zoology, though there is reason to believe that it is a comparativelyrecent intruder into the country.II.The West-African Sub-region.This may be defined as the equatorial-forest sub-region, since itcomprises all that portion of Africa, from the west coast inland,over which the great equatorial forests prevail more or less uninterruptedly.These commence to the south of the Gambia Eiver,and extend eastwards in a line roughly parallel to the southernmargin of the great desert, as far as the sources of the upperNile and the mountains forming the western boundary of thebasin of the great lakes ;and southward to that high but marshyforest-country in which Livingstone was travelling at the timeof his death. Its southern limits are undetermined, but are probablysomewhere about the parallel of 11° S. Latitude.1This extensive and luxuriant district has only been exploredzoologically in the neighbourhood of the West coast. Much, nodoubt, remains to be done in the interior, yet its main featuresare sufficiently well known, and most of itscharacteristic typesof animal life have, no doubt, been discovered,Mammalia.—Several very important groups of mammals arepeculiar to this sub-region. Most prominent are the greatanthropoid apes—the gorilla and the chimpanzee—forming thegenus Troglodytes ; and monkeys of the genera Myiopithecusand Cercocebus. Two remarkable forms of lemurs, Perodicticusand Arctocebus, are also peculiar to West Africa. Among theInsectivora is Potamogale, a semi-aquatic animal, forming adistinct family ; and three peculiar genera of civets ( Viverridaa)have been described. Hyomoschus, a small, deer-like animal,belongs to the Tragulidse, or chevrotains, a family otherwise1Dr. Schweinfurth has accurately determined the limits of the suh-regionat the point where he crossed the watershed between the Nile tributaries andthose of the Shari, in 4^° N. Lat. and 28£° E. Long. He describes a suddenchange in the character of the vegetation, which to the southward of thispoint assumes a West-African character. Here also the chimpanzee andgrey parrot first appear, and certain species of plants only known elsewherein Western Africa.

;CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 2G3confined to the Oriental region ; and in the squirrel family is acurious genus, Anomalurus, which resembles the flying squirrelsof other parts of the world, without be.ing directly allied to them.Birds.—In this class we find a larger proportionate numberof peculiar forms. Hypergerus and Alethe, belonging to theTimaliidse, or babblers, are perhaps allied to Malayan groupsParinia, a peculiar form of tit, is found only in Prince's IslandIxonotus is an abundant and characteristic form of Pycnonotidse;Frascria, Hypodes, Cuphopterus, and Chaunonutus, are peculiargenera of shrikes ;Picathartes is one of the many strange formsof the crow family ; Cinnyricinclus is a peculiar genus of sunbirds;Pholidornis is supposed to belong to the Oriental Dicseidse,or flower-peckers ; Waldenia is a recently-described new formof swallow ; Ligumus, a finch, Spermospiga, a weaver bird, andOnychognathus a starling, are also peculiar West African genera.Coming to the Picarire we have Verreauxia, a peculiar woodpecker; three peculiar genera of barbets (Megala?midse) ;the typical plantain-eaters (Musophaga) ; Myioceyx, a peculiargenus of kingfishers ; while Berenicornis is a genus of crestedhornbills, only found elsewhere in Malaya. The grey parrots,of the genus Psittacus, are confined to this sub-region, as aretwo peculiar genera of partridges, and three of guineafowl.We have also here a species of Pitta, one of the Orientalfamily of ground-thrushes ; and the Oriental paroquets,Palceornis, are found here as well as in Abyssinia and theMascarene Islands.We thus find, both in the Mammalia and birds of West Africa,a special Oriental oreven Malayan element not present in theother parts of tropical Africa, although appearing again inMadagascar.In the Mammalia it is represented by the anthropoidapes ; by Colobus allied to Semncpithecus, and by Cercocelmsallied to Macacus ; and especially by a form of the Malayanfamily of chevrotains (Tragulidae).The Malayan genus of otters,Aonyx, is also said to occur in West and South Africa. Inbirds we have special Oriental and Malayan affinities inAlethe,Pholidornis, Berenicornis, Pitta, and Palmornis ; while theOriental genus Treron has a wide range in Africa. We shall

;264 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.endeavour to ascertain the meaning of this special relation ata subsequent stage of our inquiries.Plate V.— River Scene in West Africa, with CharacteristicAnimals.—Our artist has here well represented the luxurianceand beauty of a tropical forest; and the whole scene issuch as might be witnessed on the banks of one of therivers of equatorial West Africa. On the right we see ared river-hog (Potamochcerus penicillatus), one of the handsomestof the swine family, and highly characteristic of theWest African sub-region. In a tree overhead is the potto{Perodicticus potto), one of the curious forms of lemur confinedto West Africa. On the left is the remarkable Potamogalevelox, firstdiscovered by Du Chaillu,—an Insectivorousanimal, with the form and habits of an otter. On the otherside of the river are seen a pair of gorillas {Troglodytes gorilla),the largest of the anthropoid apes.The bird on the wing isthe Whyclah finch (Vidua paradisea),remarkable for the enormous plumes with which the tailof themale bird is decorated during the breeding season. The crestedbird overhead is one of the beautiful green touracos (TuracusmacrorhyncJius), belonging to the Musophagida?, or plantain-eaters,a family wholly African, and most abundant in the westernsub-region.Reptiles.—In this class we find a large number of peculiarforms ;13 genera of snakes, 3 of lizards, and 2 of tortoises beingconfined to the sub-region. The snakes are Pariaspis, Elapops,and Prosymna (Calamariidas), Rhamnophis, Herpetcthiops, andGrayia (Colubrida?,), Neusterophis and Limnophis (Homalopsidse),Simocephalus and Holurophis (Lycodontidae) ; Pclophilus (Pythonidie); Plapsoidea (Elapidae) ;and Atheris (Viperidae). Thelizards are Balophia (Lepidosternidae) ; Otosaurus (Scincidse)Psilodactylus (Geckotidas). The tortoises, Cinyxis (Testudinidaa)and Tetrathyra (Trionichidse).Amphibia.—Of Amphibia, there are 2 peculiar genera of treefrogs,Hylambatis and Hcmimantis, belonging to the Polypedatidse.

chap. xi.J THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 265Here, too, we find some interesting relations with the Orientalregion on the one side, and the Neotropical on the other. Thesnakes of the family Homalopsidse have a wide range, in America,Europe, and all over the Oriental region, but are confined toWest Africa in the Ethiopian region. Dryiophis (Dryiophidoe)and Dipsadoboa (Dipsadidse) on the other hand, are genera oftropical America which occur also in West Africa. The familyof lizards, Acontiadae, are found in West and. South Africa,Ceylon, and the Moluccas. The family of toads, Engystomidse,in West and South Africa and the whole Oriental region ;whilethe Phryniscidse inhabit tropical Africa and Java.Insects.—We have here a large number of peculiar genera.There are 10 of butterflies, Lachnoptera, Amphidema, and Catunabelonging to the Nymphalidse, while four others are Lycsenidae.The genus Euxanthe is common to West Africa and Madagascar.Of Coleoptera there are 53 peculiar genera ; 20 are Carabidse,2 Lucanidse, 12 Cetoniidse, 3 Prionidae, 16 Cerambycidse, and34 Lamiidse. Besides these there are 4 or 5 genera confined toWest Africa and Madagascar.Land Shells.—West Africa is very rich in land shells, but itdoes not appear to possess any well-marked genera, althoughseveral of the smaller groups or sub-genera are confined to it.Helicidse of the genera Nanina, Bulimimis and Achatina areabundant and characteristic.Islands of the West African Sub-region.—The islands in theGulf of Guinea are, Fernando Po, very near the main land, withPrince's Island and St. Thomas, considerably further away to thesouth-west.Fernando Po was once thought to be a remarkableinstance of an island possessing a very peculiar fauna, althoughclose to the main land and not divided from it by a deep sea.This, however, was due to our having obtained considerablecollections from Fernando Po, while the opposite coast wasalmost unknown. One after another the species supposed to bepeculiar have been found on the continent, tillit becomes probable,that, as in the case of other islands similarly situated, itcontains no peculiar species whatever. The presence of numerousmammalia, among which are baboons, lemurs, Hyrax, andVol. L—19

266 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Anomalurus, shows that this island has probably once been unitedto the continent.Prince's Island, situated about 100 miles from the coast, hasno mammals, but between 30 and 40 species of birds. Of- these7 are peculiar species ,\iz., Zostcrojjs Jiccdulina, Cupliopterus dohmi(a peculiar genus of Sylviidse), Sympledes princeps, Crithagrarvfilata, Columba chlorophosa, Peristera principalis, and Strixthomensis.In the Island of St. Thomas, situated on the equator about 150miles from the coast, there are 6 peculiar species out of 30 knownbirds, viz., Scops leucopsis, Zosterops lugubris, Turdus olivaceofuscus,Oriolus crassirostris, Sympledes sandi-thomce and Aplopcliasimplex ; also Strix thomensis in common with Prince's Island.The remainder are all found on the adjacent coasts. It is remarkablethat in Prince'sIsland there are no birds of prey, anythat appear being driven off by the parrots (Psittams erithacus)that abound there ; whereas in St. Thomas and Fernando Pothey are plentiful.III.South-African Sub-region.This is the most peculiar and interesting part of Africa, butowing to the absence of existing barriers its limits cannot bewell defined. The typical portion of it hardly contains morethan the narrow strip of territory limited by the mountain rangewhich forms the boundary of the Cape Colony and Natal, whilein a wider sense it may be extended to include Mozambique. Itmay perhaps be best characterised as bounded by the Kalaharidesert and the Limpopo river. It is in the more limited districtof the extreme south, that the wonderful Cape flora alone exists.Here are more genera and species, and more peculiar types ofplants congregated together, than in any other part of the globeof equal extent. There are indications of a somewhat similarrichness and specialization in the zoology of this country; butanimals are so much less closely dependent on soil and climate,that much of the original peculiarity has been obliterated, bylong continued interchange of species with so vast an area as

——chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 267that of Africa south of the equator. The extreme peculiarityaud isolation of the flora must not, however, be lost sight of, ifwe would correctly interpret the phenomena afforded by the distributionof animal life on the African continent.Mammalia.—A much larger number of peculiar forms of mammalsare found here than in any of the other sub-regions,although it is far less in extent than either of the three divisionsof the continent. Among Insectivora we have theChrysochloridae, or golden moles, consisting of two genera confinedto South Africa ; while the Macroscelididae, or elephant shrews,are also characteristically South African, although ranging as far asMozambique and the Zambezi, with one outlying species in NorthAfrica. The Viverridse are represented by three peculiar genera,Ariela, Cynictis, and Suricata. The Carnivora present someremarkable forms : Proteles, forming a distinct family allied tothe hyaenas and weasels ; and two curious forms of CanidasMegalotis (the long-eared fox) and Lycaon (the hyaena-dog), thelatter found also in parts of East Africa. Hydrogale is apeculiar form of Mustelidae ;Pelea one of the antelopes ; Dendromys,Malacothrix, and Mystromys are peculiar genera of themouse family (Muridae) ; Bathyerges one of the mole-rats (Spalacidae); Pedetes, the Cape-hare, a remarkable form of jerboa ; andPetromys, one of the spiny-rats (Echimyidae). The remarkableOryderopus, or earth-pig, has one species in South and one inNorth East Africa. We have thus eighteen genera of mammaliaalmost or quite peculiar to South Africa.Birds.—These do not present so many peculiar forms, yetsome are very remarkable. Chcctops is an isolated genus ofthrushes (Turdidre). Lioptilus, one of the fruit-thrushes (Pycnonotidae).Pogonocichla, one of the fly-catchers; Urolestes, ashrike ; Promcrops, a sun-bird ; Philetwrns and Chera, weaverbirds;and three peculiar genera of larks Spizocorys, Heterocorys,and Tephrocorys, complete the list of peculiar types of Passeres.A wood-pecker, Geocolaptes, is nearly allied to a South Americangenus. The Cape-dove, (Ena, is confined to South and East Africaand Madagascar ; and Thalassornis is a peculiar form of duck.Several genera are also confined to West and South Africa ;

;268 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.as Phyllastrephus (Pycnonotidse), Smithomis (Muscicapidse),Corvinella (Laniidse) ;Barbatula and Xyldbucco (Megalsemidse)Ceuthmochares, also in Madagascar, (Cuculidae) ;Typanistria(ColumbidEe). Other remarkable forms, though widely spreadover Africa, appear to have their metropolis here, as Colius andIndicator. Others seem to be confined to South Africa andAbyssinia, as the curious Bwphaga (Sturnidse) ; and Apaloderma(Trogonidse). Machcerhamphus (Falconidse) is found onlyin South-West Africa, Madagascar, and the Malay Peninsula.Reptiles.—There are 4 peculiar genera of smikes,—Typhline,belonging to the blind burrowing snakes, Typhlopidse ;Lamprophis(Lycodontidse) ; Cyrtophis and Pcecilophis (Elapidae), afamily which is chiefly Oriental and Australian. Of Lizardsthere are 10 peculiar genera ; Monotrophis (Lepidosternidse), butwith an allied form in Angola ; Cordylus, Pseudocordylus, Platysaurus,Cordylosaurus, Pleurostichus, and Saurophis, allgenera of Zonuridse ;Chamsesauridse ;peculiarGhamcesaura, forming the peculiar familyColopus and Rhopitropus (Geckotidae).Amphibia— Of Amphibia there are 4 peculiar genera:Schismaderma (Bufonidae) ;Brachymerus (Engystomidse) ;Phrynobatrackusand Stenorhynchus (Kanidee). These last are alliedto Oriental genera, and the only other Engystomidse are Orientaland Neotropical.Fresh-water Fish—Of fresh-water fishes there is1 genus—Abrostomus—belongingto the carp family, peculiar to South Africa.Insects.—South Africa is excessively rich in insects, and thenumber of peculiar types surpasses that of any other part of theWe can only here summarize the results.Lcpidoptera.—Of butterflies there are 7 peculiar genera ;2region.belonging to the Satyridse, 1 to Acrseidas, 3 to Lycsenidae,and 1 to Hesperidee. Zeritis (Lycaanidse) is also characteristicof this sub-region, although 1 species occurs in West Africa.Coleoptera.— These are very remarkable. In the family ofCicindelidaB, or tiger-beetles, we have the extraordinary Manticoraand Platychile, forming a sub-family, whose nearest allies are inNorth America ;as well as Ophryodera and Dromica, the latteran extensive genus, which ranges as far north as Mozambique

—chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 269and Lake Ngami. Another genus of tHis family, Jansenia, iscommon to South Africa and South India.In the large family of Carabidae,or ground-beetles, there are17 peculiar South African genera, the most important beingCrcpidogaster, ffytrichopus, Arsinoe, and Piezia.Three othersEunostus, Glyphodactyla, and Megalonychus—are common toSouth Africa and Madagascar only. There is also a genus iacommon with Java, and one with Australia.Of Lucanidae, or stag-beetles, there are 3 peculiar genera ; ofCetoniidse, or rose-chafers, 14 ; and of Buprestidee, 2.In the great family of Longicorns there are no less than 67peculiar genera—an immense number when we consider that thegenerally open character of the country, is such as is not usuallywell suited to this group of insects. They consist of 5 peculiargenera of Prionidse, 25 of Cerambycidae, and 37 of Lamiidae.Summary of South-African Zoology.—Summarizing these results,we find that South Africa possesses 18 peculiar genera ofMammalia, 12 of Birds, 18 of Eeptiles, 1of Fishes, 7 of Butterflies,and 107 of the six typical families of Coleoptera.Besidesthis large amount of speciality it contains many other groups,which extend either to West Africa, to Abyssinia, or to Madagascaronly, a number of which are no doubt to be referred asoriginating here.We also find many cases of direct affinity withthe Oriental region, and especially with the Malay districts, andothers with Australia ; and there are also less marked indicationsof a relation toAmerica.Atlantic Islands of the Ethiopian Region. St. Hehna.—Theposition of St. Helena, about 1,000 miles west of Africa and 16°south of the equator, renders it difficult to place it in either ofthe sub-regions ; and its scanty fauna has a general rather thanany special resemblance to that of Africa. The entire destructionof its luxuriant native forests by the introduction of goatswhich killed all the young trees (a destruction which was nearlycompleted two centuries ago) must have led to the exterminationof most of the indigenous birds and insects. At present there isno land bird that is believed to be really indigenous, and but one

;270 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [pakt in.wader, a small plover {JEgialitis sandce-helence) which is peculiarto the island, but closely allied to African species. Numerousimported birds, such as canaries, Java sparrows, some Africanfinches, guinea-fowls, and partridges, are now wild. There areno native butterflies, but a few introduced species of almostworld-wide range. The only important remnant of the originalfauna consists of beetles and land shells. The beetles are themore numerous and have been critically examined and describedby Mr. T. V. Wollaston, whose researchesislands are so well known.in the other AtlanticColeoptera of St. Helena.— Omitting those beetles which getintroduced everywhere through man's agency, there are 59 speciesof Coleoptera known from St. Helena ;and even of these thereare a few widely distributed speciesthat may have been introducedby man. It will be well, therefore, to confine ourselvesalmost wholly to the species peculiar to the island, and, therefore,almost certainly forming part of the endemic or original fauna.Of these we find that 10 belong to genera which have a verywide range, and thus afford no indication of geographical affinity2 belong to genera which are characteristic of the Palamrcticfauna {Bembidium, Longitarsus) ;3 to African genera (Adoretus,Sciobius, Aspidomorpha) ; and two species of Calosoma are mostallied to African species. There are also 4 African species,which may be indigenous in St. Helena. The peculiar genera,7 in number, are, however, the most interesting. We have firstHaplothorax, a large beetle allied to Carabus and Calosoma, thoughof a peculiar type. This may be held to indicate a remotePaloearctic affinity.Melissius, one of the Dynastidse, is allied toSouth African forms. .Microxylobius, one of the Cossonides (asub-family of Curculionidas) is the most important genus, comprisingas it does 13 species. It is, according to Mr. Wollaston,an altogether peculiar type, most allied to Pentarthrurn,, a genusfound in St. Helena, Ascension, and the south of England, anditself very isolated. Nesiotes, another genus of Curculionidse,belongs to a small group, the allied genera forming which inhabitEurope, Madeira, and Australia. A third peculiar and isolatedgenus is Trachyphlwosoma. The Anthribidie are represented by

;chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 2712 genera, Notioxerms and Homceodera, which are altogetherpeculiar and isolated, and contain 9 species.Thus no less than27 species, or more than half of the undoubtedly indigenousbeetles, belong to 5 peculiar and very remarkable genera ofEhyncophora.It appears from this enumeration, thatthe peculiar species asa whole, exhibit most affinity to the Ethiopian fauna ; next tothe South European fauna ;and lastly to that of the islands ofthe North Atlantic ;while there is such a large amount of peculiarityin the most characteristic forms, that no special geographicalaffinity can be pointed out.Land Shells.—These consist of about a dozen living species, andabout as many extinct found in the surface soil, and probablyexterminated by the destruction of the forests. The genera areSuccinea, Zonites, Helix, Bidimus, Pupa, and Achatina. TheBidimi (all now extinct but one) comprise one large, andseveral small species, of a peculiar type, most resembling formsnow inhabiting South America and the islands of the Pacific.Zonites is chiefly South European, but the other genera are ofwide range, and none are peculiar to the island.The marine shells aremostly Mediterranean, or West Indianspecies, with some found in the Indian Ocean ;being peculiar to the island.Tristan d'Acunha.—This small island issituated nearly midwaybetween the Cape of Good Hope and theonly 4 or 5 speciesmouth of the LaPlata, but it is rather nearer Africa than America, and a littlenearer still to St. Helena. An island so truly oceanic and of whoseproductions so little is known, cannot be placed in any region,and is only noticed here because it comes naturally after St. Helena.It is known to possess three peculiar land birds. One is a thrush(Ncsocichla eremita) whose exact affinities are not determinedthe other a small water-hen (Gallinula nesiotis) allied to ournative species, but with shorter and softer wings, which the birddoes not use for flight. A finch of the genus Crithagra showsAfrican affinities ;while another recently described as Nesospizaaeunlim (Journ. fur Orn. 1873, p. 154) forms a new genus said toresemble more nearly some American forms.

272 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.The only known land-shells are 2 peculiar species of Balea, agenus only found elsewhere in Europe and Brazil.IV. Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands, or the MalagasySub-region.This insular sub-region is one of the most remarkable zoologicaldistricts on the globe, bearing a similar relation to Africaas the Antilles to tropical America, or New Zealand to Australia,but possessing a much richer fauna than either of these, and insome respects a more remarkable one even than New Zealand.It comprises, besides Madagascar, the islands of Mauritius,Bourbon, and Bodriguez, the Seychelles and Comoro islands.Madagascar itself is an island of the first class, being a thousandmiles long and about 250 miles in average width. It liesparallel to the coast of Africa, near the southern tropic, and isseparated by 230 miles of sea from the nearest part of the continent,although a bank of soundings projecting from its westerncoast reduces this distance to about 160 miles. Madagascar isa mountainous island, and the greater part of the interior consistsof open elevated plateaus ;but between these and the coast thereintervene broad belts of luxuriant tropical forests. It is thisforest-district which has yielded most of those remarkable typesof animal life which we shall have to enumerate ; and it isprobable that many more remain to be discovered. As all themain features of this sub-region are developed in Madagascar,we shall first endeavour to give a complete outline of the faunaof that country, and afterwards show how far the surroundingislands partake of its peculiarities.Mammalia.—The fauna of Madagascar is tolerably rich ingenera and species of mammalia, although these belong to a verylimited number of families and orders. It is especially characterizedby its abundance of Lemuridaa and Insectivora ;it alsopossesses a few peculiar Carnivora of small size ; but most ofthe other groups in which Africa is especially rich—apes andmonkeys, lions, leopards and hyaenas, zebras, giraffes, antelopes,elephants and rhinoceroses, and even porcupines and squirrels,are wholly wanting. No less than 40 distinct families of land

—CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 273mammals are represented on the continent of Africa, only 11 ofwhich occur in Madagascar, which also possesses 3 familiespeculiar to itself. The following is a list of all the genera ofMammalia as yet known to inhabit the island :PRIMATES.

274 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hisented by a single group in Africa, with two peculiar forms onthe West coast.They also re-appear under peculiar and isolatedforms in Southern India and Malaya, and are evidently but theremains of a once wide-spread group, since in Eocene times theyinhabited North America and Europe, and very probably thewhole northern hemisphere.The Insectivora are another groupof high antiquity, widely scattered over the globe under anumber of peculiar forms ;but in no equally limited area representedby so many peculiar types as in Madagascar.South andWest Africa are also rich in this order.The Carnivora of Madagascar are mostly peculiar forms ofViverridas, or civets, a family now almost confined to theEthiopian and Oriental regions, but which was abundant inEurope during the Miocene period.The Potamochcerus is a peculiar species only, which may beperhaps explained by the unusual swimming powers of swine,and the semi-aquatic habits of this genus, leading to an immi-of the other Mammalia.gration at a later period than in the caseThe same remark will apply to the small Hippopotamus, whichwas coeval with the great Struthious bird iEpiornis.Rodents are only represented by three peculiar forms ofMuridse, but it isprobable that others remain to be discovered.Birds.—Madagascar is exceedingly rich in birds, and especiallyin remarkable forms of Passeres. No less than 88 generaand 111 species of land-birds have been discovered, and everyyear some additions are being made to the list. The Africanfamilies of Passeres are almost all represented, only two beingabsent—Parid*and Fringillidse, both very poorly represented inAfrica itself. Among the Picarhe, however, the case is verydifferent, no less than 7 families being absent, viz.—Picidse,or woodpeckers ; Indieatoridre, or honey-guides ;Megaleemidae,or barbets ;Musophagidse, or plantain-eaters ; Coliidse, or colies;Bucerotidse, or hornbills ; and Irrisorida?, or mockers. Three ofthese arepeculiar to Africa, and all are well represented there,so that their absence from Madagascar isa very remarkable fact.The number of peculiar genera in Madagascar constitutes one ofthe main features of its ornithology, and many of these are so

;CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 275isolated that it is very difficult to classify them, and theyremain to this day a puzzle to ornithologists. In order toexhibit clearly the striking characteristics of the bird-fauna ofthis island, we shall first give a list of all the peculiar generaanother, of the genera of which the species only are peculiarand, lastly, a list of the species which Madagascar possessesin common with the Africancontinent.Genera op Birds peculiar to Madagascar, or found elsewhereonly in the mascarene islands.Sylviid^e.1. Bernieria2. Ellisia3. Mystacornis ...4. Eroessa5. Gervasia

276 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.Ethiopian or Oriental Genera which are represented inMadagascar by peculiar species.Turdid^e.Species.ALCEDINIDiE.Species.1. Bessonornis ...21. Corythorais ..22. Ispidina11SyLVIID.E.2. Acrocephalus ...3. Copsychus (Or.)4. Pratincola111Upupid^e.23. Upupa (?) ..PYCNONOTID.E.5. Hijpsipetes (Or.)Caprimulgid^:.24. Caprimulgus6. Andropadus ...Campephagid^:.7. Campephaga ...CYPSELIDiE.25. Cypselus26. Chaetura21DlCRURIDiE.Psittacid^e.8. Dicrurus27. Poliopsitta ..Muscicapid^:.9. TchitreaLa.niid^e.CoLUMBID^E.28. Treron29. Columba30. Turtur10. LaniariusPteroclid^e.Nectariniid^e.31. Pterocles11. Nectarinia ...PLOCEIID.E.12. Foudia13. Hypargos14. Spermestes ...211Tetraonid^e.32. Francolinus .,Phasianid^e.33. NumidaAlaudid^e.15. MirafraTURNICIDiE.34. TurnixMotacillid^e.16. MotacillaCuculid.e.17. Ceuthrnochares18. Centropus ...19. CuculusC0RACIID.E.20. Eurystomus ...111FALCONID.E.35. Polyboroides36. Circus37. Astur...38. Accipiter39. Buteo...40. Haliaeetus .41. Pernis42. Baza ...43. Cerchneis113111111

—CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN KEGION. 277Strigid-e.44. Athene45. ScopsSpecies.11PLATALEID.E.49. Ibis ...Species.Rallid-j:.46. Rallus47. Porzana31Podicipid^;.50. PodicepsScOLOPACID.dE.48. GallinagoTotal peculiar species of Eth. \ ,1 or Or. genera ... ... /fiSpecies of Birds common to Madagascar and Africa or Asia.1. Cisticola cursitans.2. Corvus scapulatus.3. Crithagra canicollis.4. Merops superciliosus.5. Collocalia fuciphaga.6. OSna capensis.7. Aplopelia tympanistria.8. Falco minor.9. Falco concolor.10. Milvus segyptius.11. Milvus migrans.12. Strix flammea.These three tables show us an amount of speciality hardly tobe found in the birds of any other part of the globe. Out of111 land-birds in Madagascar, only 12 are identical with speciesinhabiting the adjacent continents, and most of these belong topowerful-winged, or wide-ranging forms, which probably nowoften pass from one country to the other. The peculiar species—49 land-birds and 7 waders, or aquatics—are mostly wellmarkedforms of African genera. There are, however, severalgenera (marked by italics) which have Oriental or Palsearctioaffinities, but not African, viz. Copsychus, Hypsipetes, Hypherpes,Alcrtrcenas, and Margaroperdix. These indicate a closer approximationto the Malay countries than now exists.The table of 33 peculiar genera is of great interest. Most ofthese are well-marked forms, belonging to families which arefully developed in Africa; though it is singular that notone of the exclusively African families is represented inany way in Madagascar. Others, however, are of remote oraltogether doubtful affinities. Sittidce is Oriental and Palaearctic,but not Ethiopian. Oxylabes and Mystacornis are of doubtfulaffinities. Artainia and Cyanolanius still more so, and it isquite undecided what family they belong to. Calicalicus isalmost equally obscure. Neodrcpanis, one of the most recentdiscoveries, seems to connect the Nectariniidse with the Pacific

278 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Depanidida?. Euryceros is a complete puzzle, having beenplaced with the hornbills, the starlings, or as a distinctfamily.Falculia is an exceedingly aberrant form of starling, long thoughtto be allied to Irrisor. Philepitta, forming a distinct family,(Paictidse), is most remarkable and isolated, perhaps with remoteSouth American affinities. Leptosoma is another extraordinaryform, connecting the cuckoos with the rollers. Atelornis,Brachypteracias, and Geobiastes, are terrestrial rollers, with theform and colouring of Pitta. So many perfectly isolated andremarkable groups are certainly nowhere else to be found ; andthey fitly associate with the wonderful aye -aye (Chiromys),the insectivorous Centetidee, and carnivorous Cryptoproctaamong the Mammalia. They speak to us plainly of enormousantiquity, of long-continued isolation ;and not less plainly ofa lost continent or continental island, in which so many, andvarious, and peculiarly organized creatures, could have beengradually developed in a connected fauna, of which we havehere but the fragmentary remains.Plate VI— Illustrating the characteristic features of theZoology of Madagascar.—The lemurs, which form the mostprominent feature in the zoology of Madagascar, being comparativelywell-known from the numerous specimens in ourzoological gardens ;and good figures of the Insectivorous generanot being available, we have represented the nocturnal andextraordinary aye-aye (Chiromys madagascariensis) to illustrateits peculiar and probably very ancient mammalian fauna ;whilethe river-hogs in the distance (Potamochcerus edwardsii) allied toAfrican species, indicate a later immigration from the mainlandthan in the case of most of the other Mammalia. Thepeculiar birds being far less generally known, we have figuredthree of them. The largest is the Euryceros prevosti, here classedwith the starlings, although itsremarkable bill and other peculiaritiesrender it probable that itshould form a distinct family.Its colours are velvety black and rich brown with the billpearly grey.of aThe bird beneath (Vanga curvirostris) is one of thepeculiar Madagascar shrikes whose plumage, variegated withgreen-black and pure white is very conspicuous ; while that in

PLATE VI.SCENE IN MADAGASCAR, WITH CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS.

—chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 279the right hand corner is the Lcptosoma discolor, a bird whichappears to be intermediate between such very distinct familiesas the cuckoos and the rollers, and is therefore considered toform a family by itself. It is a coppery-green above and nearlywhite beneath, with a black bill and red feet. The fan-shapedplant on the left is the traveller's tree (Urania speciosa), one ofthe peculiar forms of vegetation in this marvellous island.Reptiles.—These present some very curious features,comparativelyfew of the African groups being represented, while thereare a considerable number of Eastern and even of Americanforms. Beginning with the snakes, we find, in the enormousfamily of Colubridse, none of the African types ; but instead ofthem three genera Herpetodryas, PMlodryas, and Heterodon—only found elsewhere in South and North America. ThePsammophidse, which are both African and Indian, are representedby a peculiar genus, Mimophis. The Dendrophidse arerepresented by Ahcetvlla, a genus which is both African andAmerican. The Dryiophidse, which inhabit all the tropics butare most developed in the Oriental region, are represented bya peculiar genus, Langaha. The tropical Pythonidse are representedby another peculiar genus, Sanzinia. The Lycodontidaeand Viperidse, so well developed in Africa, are entirely absent.The lizards are no less remarkable. The Zonuridse, abundantlydeveloped in Africa, are represented by one peculiargenus, Cicigna. The wide-spread Scincidae by another peculiarThe African Sepsidse, are represented by threegenus, Pygomeles.genera, two of which are African, and one, Amphiglossus, peculiar.The Acontiadse are represented by a species of the African genusAcontias. Of Scincidae there is the wide-spread Euprepes. TheSepidse are represented by the African genera Seps and Scelotes.The Geckotidse are not represented by any purely Africangenera, but by Phyllodactylus, which is American and Australian;Hemidactyhis, which is spread over all the tropics ; bytwo peculiar genera ;and by Uroplatis, GecJcolepis, and Phelsuma,confined to Madagascar, Bourbon, and the Andaman Islands.The Agamidae, which are mostly Oriental and are represented in

—;280 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Africa by the single genus Agama, have here three peculiargenera, Trachcloptychus, Chalarodon, and Hoplurus. Lastly, theAmerican Iguanidse are said to be represented by a species of theSouth American genus Opiums. The classification of Reptilesis in such an unsettled state that some of these determinationsof affinities are probably erroneous ; but it is not likely thatany corrections which may be required will materially affect thegeneral bearing of the evidence, as indicating a remarkableamount of Oriental and American relationship.The other groups are of less interest. Tortoises are representedby two African or wide-spread genera of Testudinidee,Teshido and Chersina, and by one peculiar genus, Pyxis ; andthere are also two African genera of Chelydidae.The Amphibia are not very well known. They appear to beconfined to species of the wide-spread Ethiopian and Orientalgenera Hylarana, Polypedates, and Rappia (Polypedatidse)and Pyxicephahcs (Ranidse).Frcsh-ivater Fishes.—These appear to be at present almostunknown. When carefully collected they will no doubt furnishsome important facts.TJie Mascarene Islands.The various islands which surround Madagascar—Bourbon,Mauritius, Rodriguez, the Seychelles, and the Comoro Islands—all partake in a considerable degree of its peculiar fauna,while having some special features of their own.Indigenous Mammalia (except bats) are probably absent fromall these islands (except the Comoros), although Lemur and Centetesare given as natives of Bourbon and Mauritius. They have,however, perhaps been introduced from Madagascar. Lemurmayottensis, a peculiar species, is found in the Comoro Islands,where a Madagascar species of Viverra also occurs.Bourbon and Mauritius may be taken together, as they muchresemble each other. They each possess species of a peculiargenus of Campephagidse, or caterpillar shrikes, Oxynotus; whilethe remarkable Fregilupus, belonging to the starling family,inhabits Bourbon, if it is not now extinct. They also have

chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION." 281peculiar species of Pratincola, Hypsipetcs, Phedina, Tchitrea,Zosteraps, Foudia, Collocalia, and Coracopsis ;while Mauritius hasa very peculiar form of dove of the sub-genus Trocaza ;an Alectrainas,extinct within the last thirty years ;Oriental genus of parroquets, Palceornis.and a species of theThe small and remoteisland of Rodriguez has another Palceornis, as well asa peculiarFoudia, and a Drymceca of apparently Indian affinity.Coming to the Seychelle Islands, far to the north, we find theonly mammal an Indian species of bat (Pteropus edivardsii).the twelve land-birds all but one are peculiar species, but all belongto genera found also in Madagascar, except one—a peculiar speciesof Palmomis. This is an Oriental genus, but found also in severalMascarene Islands and on the African continent. A species ofblack parrot {Coracopsistype {Foudia seychellarum)with Madagascar.There are also two peculiar pigeons—a shortwingedTurtur and an Alcctrwnas.Most ofOfbarklayi) and a weaver bird of peculiarshow, however, a decided connectionthe birds of the Comoro Islands are Madagascar species,only two being African.Five are peculiar, belonging to thegenera Nectarinia, Zosterops, Dicrurus, Foudia, and Alectrosnas.Reptiles are scarce. There appear to be no snakes in Mauritiusand Bourbon, though some African species are said to befound in the Seychelle Islands. Lizards are fairly represented.Mauritiushas CryptoMepharus, an Australian genus of Gymnopthalmidse; Hemidactylus (a wide- spread genus) ; Percpus(Oriental and Australian)—both belonging to the Geckotidae.Bourbon has Heteropus, a Moluccan and Australian genus ofScincidae; Phelsuma (Geckotidae), and Chameleo, both found alsoin Madagascar ; as well as Pyxis, one of the tortoises. TheSeychelles have Theconyx, a peculiar genus of Geckotidae, andChameleo. Gigantic land-tortoises, which formerly inhabitedmost of the Mascarene Islands, now only survive inAldabra, asmall island north of the Seychelles. These will be noticedagain further on. Amphibia seem only to be recorded from theSeychelles, where two genera of tree-frogs of the family Polypedatidaeare found ; one {Megalixalus) peculiar, the other{Bappia) found also in Madagascar and Africa.Yol. I.—20

282 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.The few insect groups peculiar to these islands will be notedwhen we deal with the entomology of Madagascar.Extinct fauna of the Mascarene Islands and Madagascar.—Beforequitting the vertebrate groups, we must notice the remarkablebirds which have become extinct in these islands little morethan a century ago. The most celebrated is the dodo of theMauritius (Didus ineptus), but an allied genus, Pezophaps, inhabitedRodriguez, and of both of these almost perfect skeletonshave been recovered. Other species probably existed in Bourbon.Remains of two genera of flightless rails have also been found,Aphanapteryx and Erythromachus ; and even a heron (Ardeamegacephala) which was short -winged and seldom flew ; whilein Madagascar there lived a gigantic Struthious bird, theJEpyornis. Some further details as to these extinct forms willbe found under the respective families, Dididee, Rallidse, andiEpyornithidae, in the fourth part of this work ; and their bearingon the past history of the region will be adverted to in thelatter part of this chapter. Dr. Gunther has recently distinguishedfive species of fossil tortoises from Mauritius andRodriguez,—all of them quite different from the living speciesof Aldabra.Insects.—The butterflies of Madagascar are not soremarkableas some other orders of insects. There seems to be only onepeculiar genus, Heteropsis (Satyridse). The other genera areAfrican, leptoneura being confined to Madagascar and SouthAfrica. There are some fine Papilios of uncommon forms. Themost interesting lepidopterous insect, however, is the fine diurnalmoth {Urania), as all the other species of the genus inhabittropical America and the West Indian Islands.The Coleoptera have been better collected, and exhibit somevery remarkable affinities. There is but one peculiar genus ofCicindelidse, Pogonostoma, which is allied to the South Americangenus, Ctenostoma. Another genus, Peridexia, is common toMadagascar and South America. None of the important Africangenera are represented, except Eurymorpha ; while Meglaommais common to Madagascar and the Oriental region.In theCarabidre we have somewhat similar phenomena on a

chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 283wider scale. Such large and important African genera asPolyhirma and Anthia, are absent ; but there are four generain common with South Africa, and two with West Africa ;whilethree others are as much Oriental as African. One genus,Disirigus, is wholly Oriental ; and another, Homalosoma, Australian.Colpodes, well developed in Bourbon and Mauritius, isOriental and South American.Of the peculiar genera, Sphccrostylishas South American affinities ; Microchila, Oriental ; theothers being related to widely distributed genera.The Lucanidse are few in number, and all haye African affinities.Madagascar is very rich in Cetoniidce, and possesses 20peculiar genera. Bothrorhina, and three other genera belongingto the Ichnostoma group, have wholly African relations. Doryscelisand Chromoptila are no less clearly allied to Orientalgenera. A series of eight peculiar genera belong to the Schizorhinidse,a family the bulk of which are Australian, while there areonly a few African forms. The remaining genera appear to haveAfrican affinities, but few of the peculiarly African genera arerepresented.Glyciphana is characteristic of the Oriental region.The Buprestidse of Madagascar consist mainly of one largeand peculiar genus, Polybothris, alliedto the almost cosmopolitePsiloptera. Most of the other genera are both Ethiopian andOriental ; but Polycesta is mainly South American, and theremarkable and isolated genus Sponsor is confined to theMauritius with a species in Celebes and New Guinea.The Longicorns are numerous and interesting, there being noless than 24 peculiar genera. Two of the genera of Prionidseare very isolated, while a third, Closterus, belongs to a groupwhich is Malayan and American.Of the Cerambycidee, Philematium ranges to Africa and theWest Indies ; Leptocera is only found eastward in Ceylon andthe New Hebrides ;while Euporus is African. Of the peculiargenera, 2 are of African type ; 3 belong to the Leptura group,which are mostly Palaearctic and Oriental, with a few inSouth Africa ;while Philocalocera is allied to a South Americangenus.Among the Lamiidae there are several wide-ranging and 7

:284 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.African genera ; but Coptops is Oriental, and the OrientalPraonetha occurs in the Comoro Islands. Among the peculiargenera several have African affinities, but Tropidema belongs toa group which is Oriental and Australian ;Oopsis is found alsoin the Pacific Islands ;allied to Malayan and American genera.Mythergates, Sulemus, and Coedomcea, areGeneral Remarks on the Insect-fauna of Madagascar.—Takingthe insects as a whole, we find the remarkable result that theiraffinities are largely Oriental, Australian, and South Americanwhile the African element is represented chiefly by specialSouth African or West African forms, rather than by such asare widely spread over the Ethiopian region. 1 In somefamilies—as Cetoniidse and Lamiidre—the African elementappears to preponderate ; in others—as Cicindelidce—the SouthAmerican affinity seems strongest ; in Carabidse, perhaps theOriental ; while in Buprestida3 and Cerambycidae the Africanand foreign elements seem nearly balanced. We must not imputetoo much importance to these foreign alliances amonginsects, because we find examples of them inevery country onthe globe. The reason they are so much more pronounced inMadagascar may be,that during long periods of time this islandhas served as a refuge for groups that have been dying out onthe great continents ; and that, owing to the numerous deficienciesof a somewhat similar kind in the seriesof vertebratain Australia and South America, the same groups have oftenbeen able to maintain themselves in all these countries as wellas in Madagascar.It must be remembered too, that these peculiaritiesin the Malagasy and Mascarene insect-fauna are but exaggerationsof a like phenomenon on the mainland. Africa alsohas numerous affinities with South America, with the Malaycountries, and with Australia ;but they do not bear anything likeso large a proportion to the whole fauna, and do not, therefore,attract so much attention. The special conditions of existenceand the long-continued isolation of Madagascar, will account formuch of this difference ;and it will evidently not be necessary1There are also some special resemblances between the plants of Madagascarand South Africa, according to Dr. Kirk.

;chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 285to introduce, as some writers are disposed to do, a special landconnection or near approach between Madagascar and all thesecountries, independently of Africa ; except perhaps in the caseof the Malay Islands, as will be discussed further on.Land-shells.-^ Madagascar and the adjacent islands are allrich in land-shells. The genera of Helicidas are Vitrina, Helix,Achatina, Columna (peculiar to Madagascar and West Africa),Buliminus, Cionella (chiefly Oriental and South American, butnot African), Pupa, Streptaxis, and Suecinea. Among the Operculatawe have Truncatella (widely scattered, but not African)Cyclotus (South American, Oriental, and South African) ;Cycloplwrus(mostly Oriental, with a few South African) ;Leptopoma(Oriental) ; Megalomastoma (Malayan and South American);Lithidion (peculiar to Madagascar, Socotra, and South-WestArabia) ; Otopoma (with the same range, but extending to WestIndia and New Ireland) ;Cyclostomus (widely spread but notAfrican) ;and Omphalotropis (wholly Oriental and Australian).We thus find the same general features reproduced in the landshellsas in the insects, and the same remarks will to a greatextent apply to both. The classification of the former is, however,by no means so satisfactory, and we have no extensiveand accurate general catalogues of shells, like those of Lepidopteraand Coleoptera, which have furnished us with suchvaluable materials for the comparison of the several faunas.On the probable Past History of theEthiopian Region.Perhaps none of the great zoological regions of the earthpresent us with problems of greater difficulty or higherinterest than the Ethiopian. We find in it the evidence ofseveral distinct and successive faunas, now intermingled ; and itis very difficult, with our present imperfect knowledge, to forman adequate conception of how and when the several changesoccurred. There are, however, a few points which seem sufficientlyclear, and these afford us a secure foundation in ourendeavour to comprehend the rest.Let us then consider what are the main facts we have toaccount for.— 1. In Continental Africa, more especially in the south

286 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part. hi.and west, we find, along with much that is peculiar, a number ofgenerashowing a decided Oriental, and others with an equallystrong South American affinity ; this latter more particularly showingitself among reptiles and insects. 2. All over Africa, but moreespecially in the east, we have abundance of large ungulates andfelines—antelopes, giraffes, buffaloes, elephants, and rhinoceroses,with lions, leopards, and hysenas, all of types now or recentlyfound in India and "Western Asia. 3. But we also have to notethe absence of a number of groups which abound in the abovenamedcountries, such as deer, bears, moles, and true pigs ; whilecamels and goats—characteristic of the desert regions just tothe north of the Ethiopian—are equally wanting. 4. There isa wonderful unity of type and want of speciality in the vastarea ofour first sub-region extending from Senegal across to theeast coast, and southward to the Zambezi; while West Africa andSouth Africa each abound in peculiar types. 5. We have theextraordinary fauna of Madagascar to account for, with itsevidentmain derivation from Africa, yet wanting all the largerand higher African forms ; its resemblances to Malaya and toSouth America ; and its wonderful assemblage of altogetherpeculiar types.Here we find a secure starting-point, for we are sure thatMadagascar must have been separated from Africa before theassemblage of large animals enumerated above, had enteredit. Now, it is a suggestive fact, that all these belong to typeswhich abounded in Europe and India about the Miocene period.It is also known, from the prevalence of Tertiary deposits overthe Sahara and much of Arabia, Persia, and Northern India,that during early Tertiary times a continuous sea from the Bayof Bengal to the British Isles completely cut off all land communicationbetween Central and Southern Africa on the oneside, and the great continent of the Eastern hemisphere on theother.When Africa was thus isolated, its fauna probably had acharacter somewhat analogous to that of South America at thesame period.Most of the higher types of mammalian life wereabsent, while lemurs, Edentates, and Insectivora took their place.At this period Madagascar was no doubt united with Africa,

chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 287and helped to form a great southern continent which must at onetime have extended eastward as far as Southern India andCeylon ; and over the whole of this the lemurine type no doubtprevailed.During some portion of this period, South Temperate Africamust have had a much greater extension, perhaps indicated bythe numerous shoals and rocks to the south and east of theCape of Good Hope, and by the Crozets and Kerguelen Islandsfurther to the south-east.This would have afforded means forthat intercommunion with Western Australia which is so clearlymarked in the flora, and to some extent also in the insects of thetwo countries ; and some such extension is absolutely requiredfor the development of that wonderfully rich and peculiartemperate flora and fauna, which, now crowded into a narrowterritory, is one of the greatest marvels of the organic world.During this early period, when the great southern continents—South America, Africa, and Australia—were equally free fromthe incursions of the destructive felines of the north, theStruthious or ostrich type of birds was probably developed intoits existing forms. It is not at all necessary to suppose thatthese three continents were at any time united, in order toaccount for the distribution of these great terrestrial birds ; asthis may have arisen by at least two other easily conceivablemodes. The ancestral Struthious type may, like theMarsupial, have once spread over the larger portion of the globe ;but as higher forms,especially of Carnivora, became developed,it would be exterminated everywhere but in those regionswdiere it was free from their attacks.In each of these it woulddevelope into special forms adapted to surrounding conditions; andthe large size, great strength, and excessive speed of the ostrich,may have been a comparatively late development caused by itsexposure to the attacks of enemies which rendered such modificationnecessary. This seems the most probable explanationof the distribution of Struthious birds, and itis rendered almostcertain by the discovery of remains of this order in Europe inEocene deposits, and by the occurrence of an ostrich among thefossils of the Siwalik hills ;but it is just possible, also, that the

288 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part m.ancestral type may have been a bird capable of flight, and thatit spread from one of* the three southern continents to the othersat the period of their near approach, and more or less completelylost the power of flight owing to the long continued absenceof enemies.During the period we have been considering, the ancestors ofexisting apes and monkeys flourished (as we have seen inChapter VI.) along the whole southern shores of the old Palaearcticcontinent ; and it seems likely that they first enteredAfrica by means of a land connection indicated by the extensiveand lofty plateaus of the Sahara, situated to the south-east of Tunisand reaching to a little north-west of Lake Tchad ;and at the sametime the elephant and rhinoceros type may have entered. Thiswill account for the curious similarity between the higher faimasof West Africa and the Indo-Malay sub-region, forowing to thepresent distribution of land and sea and the narrowing of thetropical zone since Miocene times, these are now the onlylowland, equatorial, forest-clad countries, which were inconnectionwith the southern shores of the old Palsearcticcontinent atthe time of its greatest luxuriance and development. Thiswestern connection did not probably last long, the junction thatled to the greatest incursion of new forms, and the completechange in the character of the Africanbeen effected by way offauna, having apparentlySyria and the shores of the Red Sea ata somewhat later date. By this route the old South-Palsearcticfauna, indicated by the fossils of Pikermi and the Siwalik Hills,poured into Africa; and finding there a new and favourablecountry, almost wholly unoccupied by large Mammalia, increasedto an enormous extent, developed into new forms, and finallyoverran the whole continent.Before this occurred, however, a great change had taken placein the geography of Africa.It had gradually diminished on thesouth and east ; Madagascar had been left isolated ; while anumber of small islands, banks, and coral reefs in the IndianOcean alone remained to indicate the position of a once extensiveequatorial land. The Mascarene Islands appear to representthe portion which separated earliest, before any carnivora had

chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 289reached the country ; and it was in consequence of this totalexemption from danger, that severalgroups of birds altogetherincapable of flight became developed here, culminating in thehuge and unwieldy Dodo, and the more active Aphanapteryx.To the same cause may be attributed the development, in theseislands, of gigantic land-tortoises, far surpassing any others nowliving on the globe. They appear to have formerly inhabitedMauritius, Bourbon, and Bodriguez, and perhaps all theother Mascarene islands, but having been recklessly destroyed,now only survive in the small uninhabited Aldabra islandsnorth of the Seychelle group. The largest living specimen(5^ feet long) is now in our Zoological Gardens. The onlyother place where equally large tortoises (of an allied species)are found, is the Galapagos islands, where they were equally freefrom enemies till civilized man came upon the scene ;who, partlyby using them for food, partly by the introduction of pigs, whichdestroy the eggs, has greatly diminished their numbers andsize, and will probably soon wholly exterminate them. It is acurious fact, ascertained by Dr. Giinther, that the tortoises ofthe Galapagos are morenearly related to the extinct tortoises ofMauritius than is the living tortoise of Aldabra. This wouldimply that several distinct groups or sub-genera ofhad a wide range over the globe, and that some ofTestudo haveeach havesurvived in very distant localities. This is rendered quite conceivableby the known antiquity of the genus Testudo, whichdates back to at least the Eocene formation (in North America)with very little change of form. These sluggish reptiles, solong-lived and so tenacious of life, may have remained unchanged,while every higher animal type around them hasbecome extinct and been replaced by very different forms ; asin the case of the living Emys tectum, which is the sole survivorof the strange Siwalik fauna of the Miocene epoch. The ascertainedhistory of the genus and the group, thus affords a satisfactoryexplanation of the close affinity of the gigantic tortoisesof Mauritius and the Galapagos.The great island of Madagascar seems to have remained longerunited with Africa, till some of the smaller and more active

290 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.carnivora had reached it; and we consequently find there, nowholly terrestrial form of bird but the gigantic and powerfulJEpijomis, well able to defend itself against such enemies. Asalready intimated, we refer the South American element inMadagascar, not to any special connection of the two countriesindependently of Africa, but to the preservation there of anumber of forms, some derived from America through Africa,others of once almost cosmopolitan range, but which, owing to theseverer competition, have become extinct on the African continent,while they have continued to exist under modifiedformsin the two other countries.The depths of all the great oceans are now known to be soprofound, that we cannot conceive the elevation of their bedsabove the surfacewithout some corresponding depression elsewhere.And if, as is probable, these opposite motions of theearth's crust usually take place in parallel bands, and are tosome extent dependent on each other, an elevation of the seabed could hardly fail to lead to thesubmergence of large tractsof existing continents ; and this is the more likely to occur onaccount of the great disproportion that we have seen existsbetween the mean height of the land and the mean depth of theocean. Keeping this principle in view, we may, with someprobability, suggest the successive stages by which the Ethiopianregion assumed its present form, and acquired the strikingpeculiarities that characterise its several sub-regions. Duringthe early period, when the rich and varied temperate flora of theCape, and its hardly less peculiar forms of insects and of low typemammalia, were in process of development in an extensivesouth temperate land, we may be pretty sure thatthe east and much of the north of Africa was deep sea.the whole ofAt alater period, when this continent sank towards the south andeast, the elevation may have occurred which connected Madagascarwith Ceylon ; and only at a still later epoch, when theIndian Ocean had again been formed, did central, eastern, andnorthern Africa gradually rise above the ocean, and effect aconnection with the great northern continent by way of Abyssiniaand Arabia. And if this last change took place with

chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 291tolerable rapidity, or ifthe elevatory force acted from the northtowards the south, there would be a new and unoccupiedterritory to be taken possession of by immigrants from thenorth, together with a few from the south and west. The morehighly -organized types from the great northern continent, however,would inevitably prevail ; and we should thus haveexplained the curious uniformity in the fauna of so large anarea, together with the absence from it of those peculiarEthiopian types which so abundantly characterise the otherthree sub-regions.We may now perhaps see the reason of the singular absence fromtropical Africa of deer and bears ; for these are both groupswhich live in fertile orwell-wooded countries, whereas the lineof immigration from Europe to Africa was probably always, asnow, to a great extent a dry and desert tract, suited to antelopesand large felines, but almost impassable to deer and bears.find, too, that whereas remains of antelopes and giraffesWeaboundin the Miocene deposits of Greece, there were no deer (whichare perhaps a somewhat later development) ; neither were thereany bears, but numerous forms of Eelidse, Viverridge, Mustelidse,and ancestral forms of Hycona, exactly suited to be theprogenitors of the most prevalent types of modern AfricanZoology.There appears to have been one other change in the geographyof Africa and the Atlantic Ocean that requires notice.The rather numerous cases of close similarity in the insectforms of tropical Africa and America, seem to indicate somebetter means of transmission, at a not very remote epoch, thannow exists. The vast depth of the Atlantic, and the absence ofany corresponding likeness in the vertebrate fauna, entirelynegative the idea of any union between the two countries ;but a moderate extension of theirshores towards each other isnot improbable, and this, with large islands in the place of theCape Verd group, St. Paul's Eocks, and Fernando Noronha, toafford resting places in the Atlantic, wrould probably suffice toexplain the amount of similarity that actually exists.Our knowledge of the geology and palaeontology of Africa

292 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.being so scanty, it would be imprudent to attempt any moredetailed explanation of the peculiarities of its existing fauna.The sketch now given is, it is believed, founded on a sufficientbasis of facts to render it not only a possible but a probableaccount of what took place ;and it is something gained to beable to show, that a large portion of the peculiarities andanomalies of so remarkable a fauna as that of the Ethiopianregion, can be accounted for by a series of changes of physicalgeography during the tertiary epoch, which can hardly be consideredextreme, or in any way unlikely to have occurred.

—;chap, xi.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 293TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION.In drawing up these tables showing the distribution of variousclasses of animals in the Ethiopian Region, the following sourcesof information have been chiefly relied on, in addition to thegeneral treatises, monographs, and catalogues, used for the FourthPart of this work:Mammalia.—Blanford's Abyssinia ;Peters's Mozambique;Heuglin and Schweinfurth for North East Africa ; GrandidierSchlegel, &c, for Madagascar; the local lists given by Mr.Andrew Murray ; numerous papers by Fraser, Gray, Kirk,Mivart, Peters, Sclater, and Speke; and a MS. list of Bovida?from Sir Victor Brooke.Birds.—Finsch and Hartlaub for East Africa; Heuglin forNorth-East Africa ; Blanford for Abyssinia ; Layard for SouthAfrica ; Hartlaub for West Africa ; Dohrn for Princes IslandAndersson for Damaraland;and papers by Gurney, Hartlaub,Kirk, Newton, Peters, Sharpe, Sclater, Schlegel, and Pollen ;and a MS. list of Madagascar Birds from Mr. Sharpe.

.294 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART I'TABLE I.FAMILIES OF ANIMALS INHABITING THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.Explanation.Names in italics show families peculiar to the region.Names inclosed thus ( ) barely enter the region, and are not considered properlyto belong to it.Numbers are not consecutive, but correspond to those in Part IV.Sub-regions.Order and Family.Hi:Kange beyond the Region.MAMMALIA.Primates.1. Simiidae2. Semnopithecidse3. Cynopithecidae6. Lemuridae8. Chiromyidce ...Cheiroptera.9. Pteropidae11. Rhinolophidae12. Vespertilionidae13. Noctilionidae . .Insectivora.15. Macroscelididae17. Erinaceidae ...18. Centetidce19. Potairwgalidce20. Chrysochloridce22. SoricidaeCarnivora.23. Felidae24. Cryptoproclidce25. Viverridae26. Protelidce27. Hyamidae28. Canida? ...29. Mustelidae33. Otariidae...Cetacea.36 to 41.SlRENIA.42. ManatidaeUngulata.43. Equidae ...,OrientalOrientalOriental,OrientalPalaearcticOriental, AustralianThe Eastern HemisphereCosmopoliteAll Tropical regionsSouth PalaearcticPalaearctic, OrientalGreater AntillesAll regions but Australian and NeotropicalAll regions but AustralianOriental, S. PalaearcticS. Palaearctic, IndiaAlmost cosmopoliteAll regions but AustralianAll temperate regionsOceanicNeotropical, Oriental, AustralianPalaearctic

CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN EEGION. 295

.296 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART IIISub-regions.Order and Family.38. Motacillidse ...47. Pittidse48. PaictidceH« (1CO —< *5 «3

CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 297

,298 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART 111.Sub-regions.Order and Family.S-g

CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 299

300 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.TABLELIST OF GENERA OF TERRESTRIAL MAMMALIA AND BIRDSINHABITING TEE ETHIOPIAN REGION.II.Explanation.Names in italics show genera peculiar to the region.Names inclosed thus (...)show genera which just enter the region, but are not consideredproperly to belong to it.Genera which undoubtedly belong to the region are numbered consecutively.MAMMALIA.Order, Family, andGenus.

CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 301Order, Family, andGenus.

1302 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part III.jOrder, Family, andGenus.*•hr

CHAP. XI.j THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 303Order, Family, andGenus.

304 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART 111.Order, Family, andGenus.

CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN KEGION. 305Order, Family, andGenus.

306 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part III.Order, Family, andGenus.© a>Range within the Region.Range beyond the Region.Timaliid^:.33. Chatarrhsea34. Crateropus35. Hypergerus36. Cichlctdusa37. Alcthe38. Oxylabcs1171342AbyssiniaAll AfricaW. AfricaW. and E. AfricaW. AfricaMadagascarOriental, PalestineN. Africa, PersiaClNCLID.®. [?]39. MesitesMadagascarT ROGLODYTID.E . ['.

CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN KEGION. 307

308 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part III.

CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 309Order, Family, andGenus.Range within the Region.Range beyond the Region.154. Falculia155. Fregilupus ...MadagascarBourbonAlaudid>e.156. Alauda157. Spizocorys158. Galerida159. Calendula(Melanocorypha160. Certhilauda ...161. Alaemon162. Heterocorys ...163. Mirafra164. Ammomanes ..165. Mcgalophonus166. Tephrocorys ...167. Pyrrhulauda ..31421331104526Abyssinia and S. W. AfricaSouth AfricaNorth of tropical AfricaAbyssinia, S. AfricaAbyssinia)South AfricaSouth AfricaSouth AfricaSouth Africa, MadagascarAfrican desertsTropical and S. AfricaS. AfricaTropical and S. AfricaPalaearctic,Palaearctic,IndianIndianPalaearctic genusS. EuropeS. PalaearcticOriental, AustralianS. Palaearctic, IndianOriental, Canary IslandsMotacillim:.168. Budytes169. Anthus170. Macronyx104The whole regionTropical and S. AfricaTropical and S. AfricaPalaearctic, Oriental,AustralianAll regions, exc. AustraliaPITTIDjE.171. PittaW. AfricaOriental, AustralianPAICTID.E.172. Philepitta ...MadagascarPICARIJE.PICID.E.173. Verreauxia ...174. Dendropicus ...175. Campethera ...176. Geocolaptes ...114141W. AfricaTropical and S. AfricaTropical and S. AfricaSouth AfricaYxtngid^:.177. YunxN. E. Africa, S. AfricaPalaearcticiNDICATORICffi.178. IndicatorTropical and S. AfricaOrientalMEGAL.EMID.E.179. Pogonorhynchus180. Buccanodon ...181. Stadolwma ...182. Barbatula183. Xylobucco ...184. Gymnobitcco ...185. Trachyphonus14119336Tropical and S. AfricaWest AfricaWest AfricaWest and South AfricaWest and South AfricaWest AfricaTropical and South AfricaMusophagid,*:.186. Musophaga ...West Africa

.310 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART 111.Order, Family, andGenus.Range within the Region.Range beyond the Region.187. Turacus188. Schizorhis ...106Tropical and S. AfricaTropical and S. AfricaCoLIIDjE.189. ColiusTropical and S.AfricaCuCULIDiE.190. Ceuthmochares191. Coua192. Cochlothraustes193. Centropus194. Cuculus195. Chrysococcyx196. Coccystes29181076Africa and MadagascarMadagascarMadagascarAfrica and MadagascarAfrica and MadagascarTropical and S. AfricaTropical and S. AfricaOriental, AustralianPalsearc, Orien., Austral.Oriental, AustralianS. Palsearctic, OrientalLEPTOSOMIDiE.197. Leptosomus ..MadagascarCORACIIDJE.198. Coracias199. Eurystomus ...200. Atelomis201. Brachypteracias202. GeobiastesAfrica and MadagascarAfrica and MadagascarMadagascarMadagascarMadagascarS. Palsearctic, OrientalOriental, AustralianMeropid^;.203. Merops204. Melittophagus115Africa and MadagascarTropical and S. AfricaS.Palaear., Orien., Austral.TROGONID.E.205. Apaloderma ...Tropical and S.AfricaALCEDINID.E.206. Alcedo207. Corythornis ...208. Ceryle209. Myioceyx210. Ispidina. . ...211. Halcyon2 W. Africa, Abyssinia, Natal3 Africa and Madagascar1 W. Africa, Abyssinia, Natal2 West Africa4 Africa and Madagascarin Africa,Prince's Is., St. ThomePalsear., Orien., Austral.American, PalsearcticS.Palsear., Orien. Austral.Bucerotiixe.212. Berenicornis . .213. Tockus214. Bycanistes215. Bucorvus112West AfricaTropical and S.Tropical and S.Tropical and S.AfricaAfricaAfricaMalayaUpupid^!.216. UpupaAfrica and MadagascarS. Palsearctic, OrientalIrrisorid^e.217. lrrisor12Africa and Madagascar

CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 311Order, Family, andGenus.

312 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [PART III.Order, Family, andGenus.

CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 313Order, Family, andGenus.6 9 Range within the Region.Range beyond the Region.PANDIONIDiE.287. Pandion...Strigid-e.All AfricaCosmopolite288. Athene ...289. Bubo ...290. Scotopelia291. Scops ...292. Syrnium293. Asio294. Strix ...Africa and Madagascar, Rodriquez(extinct)Africa and MadagascarWest and S. Africa to ZambesiW. and S. Africa, Madagascar,Comoro IslandsAfricaN. E. and S. AfricaAfrica and MadagascarPalsearctic,AustralianCosmopoliteAlmost CosmopolitePalcearctic,AmericanCosmopoliteCosmopoliteOriental,Oriental,Peculiar or very Characteristic Genera of Wading or Swimming Birds.GRALL^E.

CHAPTEE XII.THE ORIENTAL REGION.This region isof comparatively small extent, but it has a verydiversified surface, and is proportionately very rich. The desertson the north-west of India are the debatable land thatseparates it from the Palsearctic and Ethiopian regions. Thegreat triangular plateau which formsthe peninsula of India isthe poorest portion of the region, owing in part to its arid climateand in part to its isolated position ;for there can be little doubtthat in the later Tertiary period it was an island, separated by anarm of the sea (now forming the valleys of the Ganges andIndus) from the luxuriantHimalayan and Burmese countries.Its southern extremity, with Ceylon, has a moister climate andmore luxuriant vegetation, and exhibits indications of a formerextension southwards, with a richer and more peculiar fauna,partly Malayan and partly Mascarene in its character. Thewhole southern slopes of the Himalayas, with Burmah, Siam andWestern China, as well as the Malay peninsula and the Indo-Malay islands, are almost everywhere covered with tropicalforests of the most luxuriant character, which abound in variedand peculiar forms of vegetable and animal life.The flora andfauna of this extensive district are essentially of one typethroughout; yet it may be usefully divided into the Indo-Chinese and the Malayan sub-regions, as each possesses anumber of peculiar or characteristic animals. The former subregion,besides having many tropical and sub-tropical typesof its own, also possesses a large number of peculiarly modifiedtemperate forms on the mountain ranges of its northern

10-«8JOMiS

;chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 315boundary, which are wholly wanting in the Malayan subregion.The Philippine islands are best classed with the Indo-Malay group, although they are strikingly deficient in manyMalayan types, and exhibit an approach to the Celebesian divisionof the Austro-Malay sub-region.Zoological Characteristics of the Oriental Region.—The OrientalEegion possesses examples of 35 families of Mammalia, 71 ofBirds, 35 of Eep tiles, 9 of Amphibia, and 13 of Fresh-waterFishes. Of these 163 families, 12 are peculiar to the region;namely, Tarsiidae, Galeopithecidse, and Tupaiidse among Mammalia,while iEluridse, though confined to the higher Himalayas,may perhaps with more justice be claimed by the Palaearctic region;Liotrichidse, Phyllornithidae, and Eurylaemidae among birdsXenopeltidse (extending, however, to Celebes), Uropeltidae, andAcrochordidse among reptiles ;Luciocephalidse, Ophiocephalidseand Mastacembelidae among fresh-water fishes.A number ofandother families are abundant, and characteristic of the region ;it possesses many peculiar and characteristic genera, which mustbe referred to somewhat more in detail.Mammalia.—The Oriental region is richin quadrumana, andis especially remarkable for its orang-utans and long-armed apes(Simia, Hylohates, and Siamanga) ; its abundance of monkeysof the genera Presbytes and Macacus ; its extraordinary long-nosedmonkey (Presbytes nasalis) ;its Lemuridse {Nycticebus and Loris);and its curious genus Tarsius, forming a distinct family oflemurs. All these quadrumanous genera are confined to it,except Tarsius which extends as far as Celebes. It possessesmore than 30 genera of bats, which are enumerated inthe lists given at the end of this chapter. In Insectivora it isvery rich, and possesses several remarkable forms, such as theflying lemur (Galcopithecus) ; the squirrel-like TupaiidsB consistingof three genera ; and the curious Gymnura allied to the hedgehogs.In Carnivora, it is especially rich in many forms of civets(Viverridse), possessing 10 peculiar genera, among which Prionodonand Cynogale are remarkable; numerous Mustelidae, ofwhich Gymnopus, Mydaus, Aonyx and Helictis are the most conspicuous;JElurus, a curious animal, cat-like in appearance but

316 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.more allied to the bears, forming a distinctfamily of Carnivora,and confined to the high forest-districts of the Eastern Himalayasand East Thibet ;Melursus and Helardos, peculiar forms ofbears ;,Platanista, a dolphin peculiar to the Ganges and Indus.Among Euminants it has the beautiful chevrotain, formingthe genus Tragulus in the family Tragulidse ; with one peculiargenus and three peculiar sub-genera of true deer. The Antilopinreand Caprine are few, confined to limited districts and notcharacteristic of the region ;but there are everywhere wild cattleof the genera Bihos and Bubalus, which, with species of Rhinocerosand Blephas, form a prominent feature in the fauna. The Eodentsare less developed than in the Ethiopian region, but several formsof squirrels everywhere abound, together with some species ofporcupine ; and the Edentata are represented by the scaly manis.Birds.—The families and genera of birds which give a characterto Oriental lands, are so numerous and varied, that wecan here only notice the more prominent and more remarkable.The Timaliida?, represented by the babblers (Garrulax, Pomatorhinus,Timalia, &c), are almost everywhere to be met with, andno less than 21 genera are peculiar to the region ; the elegantfork-tailed Enicurus and rich blue Myiophonus, though comparativelyscarce, are characteristic of the Malayan and Indo-Chinese faunas ; the elegant little " hill-tits " (Liotrichidse)abound in the same part of the region ;the green bulbuls {Phyllornis)are found everywhere ;as are various forms of Pycnonotidse,the black and crimson " minivets " (Pericrocohis), and theglossy " king-crows " (Dicrurus) ;Urocissa, Platylophus and Dendrocittaare some of the interesting and characteristic formsof the crow family ; sun-birds (Netariniida?) of at least threegenera are found throughout the region, as are the beautiful littleflower-peckers (Dicreidse), and some peculiar forms of weaverbirds(Ploceus and Mania). Of the starling family, the mostconspicuous are the glossy mynahs (Eulabes). The swallowshrikes(Artamus) are very peculiar, as are the exquisitelycoloured pittas (Pittidse), and the gaudy broad-bills (Eurylsemidse).Leaving the true Passeres, we find woodpeckers,barbets, and cuckoos everywhere, often of peculiar and re-

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 317markable forms; among the bee-eaters we have the exquisiteNyctiornis with its pendent neck-plumes of blue or scarlet;brilliant kingfishers and strangely formed hornbills aboundeverywhere ; while brown-backed trogons with red and orangebreasts, though far less frequent, are equally a feature of theOrnithology. Next we have the frog-mouthed goatsuckers {Battrachostomus),and the whiskered swifts {Devdrochelidon), bothwide-spread, remarkable, and characteristic groups of the Orientalregion. Coming to the parrot tribe, we have only the long-tailedPalceornis and the exquisite little Zoriculus, as characteristicgenera. We now come to the pigeons, among which the fruiteatinggenera Treron and Carpophaga are the most conspicuous.The gallinaceous birds offer us some grand forms, such asthe peacocks (Pavo) ; the argus pheasants (Argusianus) ; the firebackedpheasants {Euplocanuis) ;and the jungle-fowl (Gallus), allstrikingly characteristic ;and with these we may close our sketch,since the birds of prey and the two Orders comprising thewaders and swimmers offer nothing sufficiently remarkable tobe worthy of enumeration here.Reptiles.—Only the more abundant and characteristic groupswill here be noticed. In the serpent tribe, the Oligodontidse,a small family of ground-snakes; the Homalopsidae, or freshwatersnakes ; the Dendrophidse, or tree-snakes ; the Dryiophidse,or whip-snakes ; the Dipsadidse, or nocturnal tree-snakes ; theLycodontidse or fanged ground-snakes ; the Pythonidre, or rocksnakes;the Elapidye, or venomous colubrine snakes (includingthe " cobras ") ; and the Crotalidse, or pit-vipers, are all abundantand characteristic, ranging over nearly the whole region, and presentinga great variety of genera and species.Among lizards, theVaranidaj or water-lizards ; the Scincidse or " scinks ; " the Geckotidre,or geckoes ; and the Agamidae, or eastern iguanas ; are themost universal and characteristic groups.Among crocodiles thegenus Crocodilus is widely spread, Oavialis being characteristicof the Ganges. Among Chelonia, or shielded reptiles, forms offresh-water Testudinidse and Trionychidse (soft tortoises) aretolerably abundant.Amphibia.—The only abundant and characteristic groups of

318 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.this class are toads of the family Engystornidse ;tree-frogs ofthe family Polypedatidse ; and several genera of true frogs,Ranida?.Fresh-water Fishes.—The more remarkable and characteristicfishes inhabiting thefresh waters of the Oriental region belongto the following families: Nandidee, Labyrinthici, Ophiocephalidse,SiluridEe, and Cyprinid* ;the last being specially abundant.The sketch here very briefly given, must be supplemented byan examination of the tables of distribution of the genera of allthe Mammalia and Birds inhabiting the region. We will nowbriefly summarize the results.Summary of the Oriental Vertebrata.—-The Oriental regionpossesses examples of 163 families of Vertebrata of which 12are peculiar, a proportion of a little more than one-fourteenthof the whole.Out of 118 genera of Mammalia 54 seem to be peculiar tothe region, equal to a proportion of ^Vor a little less than half.Of Land-Birds there are 342 genera of which 165 are peculiar,bringing the proportion very close to a half.In the Ethiopian region the proportion of peculiar formsboth of Mammalia and Birds is greater ; a fact which is notsurprising when we consider the long continued isolation of thelatter region—an isolation which is even now very complete,owing to the vast extent of deserts intervening between it andthe Palsearctic region ; while the Oriental and Palsearctic were,during much of the Tertiary epoch, hardly separable.Insects.Lcpidoptcra.—We can only glance hastily at the more prominentfeatures of the wonderfully rich and varied butterflyfaunaof the Oriental region. In the first family Danaidse, thegenera Danais and Euplcea are everywhere abundant, and thelatter especially forms a conspicuous feature in the entomologicalaspect of the country; the large "spectre-butterflies"(Rcstia) are equally characteristic of the Malayan sub-region.Satyridse, though abundant are not very remarkable, Debts,Melanitis, Mycalesis, and Ypthima being the most characteristic

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 319genera. Morphidae are well represented by the genera Amathusia,Zeuxidia, Discophora, and Thaumantis, some of thespecies of which almost equal the grand South AmericanMorphos. The Nymphalidse furnish us with a host of characteristicgenera, among the most remarkable of which are,Terinos, Adolias, Cethosia, Cyrestis, Limenitis, and Nymphalis,all abounding in beautiful species. Among the LycsenidsB area number of fine groups, among which we may mention Ilerda,Myrina, Deudoryx, Aphneus, lolaics, and AmUypodia, ascharacteristicexamples. The Pieridse furnish many fine forms, suchas Thyca, Iphias, Thestias, Eronia, Prioneris, and Dercas, the lasttwo being peculiar. The Papilionidae are unsurpassed in theworld, presenting such grand genera as Teinopalpus and Bhutanitis;the yellow-marked Omithoptercc ; the superb "Brookiana;"the elegant Leptocercus; and Papilios of the "Coon," "Philoxenus,"" Menmon," " Protenor," and especially the ' green-andgold-dusted' " Paris " groups.The Moths call for no special observations, except to noticethe existence in Northern India of a number of forms whichresemble in a striking manner some of the most remarkableof the above mentioned groups of the genus Papilio, especiallythe "Protenor" group, which there is reason to believe isprotected by a peculiar smell or taste like the Eeliconias andDanaidse.Coleoptera.—The most characteristic Oriental form of theCicindelidse or tiger beetles, is undoubtedly the elegant genusCollyris, which is found over the whole region and is almostconfined to it. Less abundant, but equally characteristic, is thewingless ant-like Tricondyla. Two small genera Apteroessa andDromicidia are confined to the Indian Peninsula, while Theratesonly occurs in the Malayan sub-region.The Carabidas, or ground carnivorous beetles, are so numerousthat we can only notice a few of the more remarkable andcharacteristic forms. The wonderful Mormolyce of the Indo-Malay sub-region, stands pre-eminent for singularity in theentire family. Thyreopterus, Orthogonius, Gatascopus, and Pericallusare very characteristic forms, as well as Planetes and

320 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGKAPHY. [part hi.Distrigus, the latter having a single species in Madagascar.There are 80 genera of this family peculiar to the region, 10of which have only been found in Ceylon.Among the Lucanidae, or stag-beetles, Lucanus, Odontolabris,and Cladognathus are the most characteristic forms. Sixteengenera inhabit the region, of which 7 are altogether peculiar,while three others only extend eastward to the Austro-Malayansub-region.The beautiful CetoniidaB, or rose-chafers, are well representedby Rhomborhina, Heterorhina, Clinteria, Macronota, Agestrata,Chalcothea and maDy fine species of Cetonia. There are 17peculiar genera, of which Mycteristes, Phcedimus, Plectrone, andRhagopteryx, are Malayan ; while Narycius, Clerota, Bombodes,and Chiloldba are Indian.In Buprestidse—those elongate metallic-coloured beetles whoseelytra are used as ornaments in many parts of the world—thisregion stands pre-eminent, in its gigantic Catoxantha, its fineChrysochroa, its Indian Sternocera, its Malayan Chalcophoraand Belionota, as well as many other beautiful forms. Itpossesses 41 genera, of which 14 are peculiar to it, the restbeing generally of wide range or common to the Ethiopian andAustralian regions.In the extensive and elegant group of Longicorns, the Orientalregion is only inferior to the Neotropical. It possesses 360genera, 25 of which are Prionidse, 117 Cerambicidse, and 218Lamiidse;—about 70 per cent, of the whole being peculiar.The most characteristic genera are RhapMdopodus and JEgosomaamong Prionidse ; Neocerambyx, Euryarthrum, Pachyteria, Acrocyrta,Tetraommatus, Chloridolum, and Polyzonus among Cerambycidse;and Ccelosterna, Rhytidophora, Batocera, Agelasta, andAstathes among Lamiidse.Of remarkable forms in other families,we may mention thegigantic horned Chalcosoma among Scaraba?ida3 ; the metallicCampsosternus amoDg Elateridae ;the handsome but anomalousTrictenotoma forming a distinct family; the gorgeous Pachyrhynchiof the Philippine Islands among Curculionidse ;Diurus

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 321among Brenthidre ; with an immense number and variety ofAnthotribidse, Heteromera, Malacoderma, and Phytophaga.The Oriental Sub-regions.The four sub-regions into which we have divided the Orientalregion, are very unequal in extent, and perhaps more so inproductiveness, but they each have well-marked special features,and serve well to exhibit the main zoological characteristics ofthe region. As they are all tolerably well defined and theirfaunas comparatively well-known, their characteristics will begiven with rather more than usual detail.7". Hindostan, or Indian Sub-region.This includes the whole peninsula of India from the foot of theHimalayas on the north to somewhere near Seringapatam on thesouth, the boundary of the Ceylonese sub-region being unsettled.The deltas of the Ganges and Brahmaputra mark its easternlimits, and it probably reaches to about Cashmere in the northwest,and perhaps to the valley of the Indus further south ; butthe great desert tract to the east of the Indus forms a transitionto the south Palaearctic sub-region. Perhaps on the whole theIndus may be taken as a convenient boundary. Many Indiannaturalists, especially Mr. Blyth and Mr. Blanford, are impressedwith the relations of the greater part of this sub-region to theEthiopian region, and have proposed to divide it into severalzoological districts dependent on differences of climate and vegetation,and characterized by possessing faunas more or less alliedeither to the Himalayan or the Ethiopian type. But these subdivisionsappear far too complex to be useful to the general student,and even were they proved to be natural, would be beyondthe scope of this work. I agree, however, with Mr. Elwes inthinking that they really belong to local rather than to geographicaldistribution, and confound " station " with " habitat."Wherever there is a marked diversity of surface and vegetationthe productions of a country will correspondingly differ; thegroups peculiar to forests,for example, will be absent from open

.322 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.plains or arid deserts. It happens that the three great OldWorld regions are separated from each other by a debatable landwhich is chiefly of a desert character ; hence we must expect tofind a resemblance between the inhabitants of such districts ineach region. We also find a great resemblance between the aquaticbirds of the three regions ; and as we generally give little weightto these in our estimate of the degree of affinity of the faunas ofdifferent countries, so we should not count the desert fauna as ofequal weight with the more restricted and peculiar types whichare found in the fertile tracts,—in the mountains and valleys, andespecially in the primeval forests. The supposed preponderanceof exclusively Ethiopian groups of Mammalia and Birds in thissub-region, deserves however a close examination, in order toascertain how far the facts really warrant such an opinion.Mammalia.—The following listof the more important generaof Mammalia which range over the larger part of this sub-regionwill enable naturalists to form an independent judgment as tothe preponderance of Ethiopian, or of Oriental and Palsearctictypes, in this, the most important of all the classes of animalsfor geographical distribution.Range of the Genera of Mammalia which Inhabit the Sub-regionOF HlNDOSTAN.1. Presbytes ... Oriental only.2. Macacus ... Oriental only.3. Erinaceus ... Palsearctic genus.4. Sorex Widely distributed.5. Felis ... ... Almost Cosmopolitan.6. Cynselurus ... Ethiopian and S. Palsearctic.7. Viverra . . Ethiopian and Oriental to China and Malaya.8. Viverricula ... Oriental only.9. Paradoxurus ... Oriental only.10. Herpestes ... Ethiopian, S. Palsearctic, and Oriental to Malaya.11. Calogale ... Ethiopian, Oriental to Cambodja.12. Tseniogale ... Oriental.13. Hysena ... Palsearctic and Ethiopian (a Palsearctic species.)14. Canis ... ... Palsearctic and Oriental to Malaya.15. Cuon Oriental to Malaya.16. Vulpes ... Very wide range.17. Lutra ... ... Oriental and Palsearctic.18. Mellivora ... Ethiopian.19. Melursus ... Oriental only ; family not Ethiopian.20. Sus ... ... Palsearctic and Oriental, not Ethiopian.21. Tragulus ... Oriental.

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 32322. Cervus

;;324 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.open to observation; and that these are often of wide-spreadtypes, and some few almost exclusively African. The facts headduced do not, however, seem to have satisfied the objectorsand as the subject is an important one, I will here give listsof all the genera of Passeres, Picariae, Psittaci, Columbee, andGalling, which inhabit the sub-region, leaving out those whichonly just enter within its boundaries from adjacent sub-regions.These are arranged under four heads:— 1. Oriental genera; whichare either wholly confined to, or strikingly prevalent in, theOriental region beyond the limits of the Indian peninsula. 2.Genera of Wide Ptange ; which are fully as much entitled to beconsidered Oriental or Paleearctic as Ethiopian, and cannot beheld to prove any Ethiopian affinity. 3. Palsearctic genera;which are altogether or almost absent from the Ethiopian region.4. Ethiopian genera ; which are confined to, or very prevalentin, the Ethiopian region, whence they extend into the Indianpeninsula but not over the whole Oriental region. The last arethe only ones which, can be fairly balanced against those of thefirst list, in order to determine the character of the fauna.1. Oriental Genera in Central India.Geocichla, Orthotomtcs, Prinia, Megalums, Abrornis, Larvivora,Copsychus, Kittacincla, PomatorJiinus, Malacocercus, Chatarrhcea,Layardia, Garrulax, Trochalopteron, Pellorneum, Dumetia,Pyctoris, Alcippe, Myiophonus, Sitta, Dendropliila, Phyllornis,lora, Hypsipetcs, Pericrocotus, Graucalus, Volvocivora, Chibia,Chaptia, Irena, Erythrosterna, Hewipus, Hemichelidon, Niltava,Cyomis, Eumyias, Hypothymis, Myicdestcs, Tephrodornis, Dendrocitta,Arachnechthra, Nectarophila, Arachnothera, Dicocum, Piprisoma,Mania, Eulabes, Pastor, Acridotheres, Sturnia, Stumopastor,Artamus, Nemoricola, Pitta, Yungipicus, Clirysocolaptes, Hemicircus,Oecinus, Mtdleripicus, Bracliypternus, Tiga, Micropternus,Megala?ma, Xantliolccma, Rhopodytes, Taccocoua, Sumiculus,Hierococcyx, Eudynamnis, Nyctiomis, Harpactes, Pelargopsis,Ceyx, Hydrocissa, Meniceros, Batrachostomus, Dendrochelidon,Collocalia, Palceornis, Treron, Carpophaga, Chalcophaps, Ortygornis,Perdix, Pavo, Gallus, Gallopcrdix — 87 genera; and

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 325one peculiar genus, Salpornis, whose affinities are Palrearctic orOriental.2. Genera of Wide Eange occurring in Central India.Tardus, Monticola, Drymceca, Cisticola, Acrocephalus, Phylloscopus,Pratincola, Parus, Pycnonotus, Criniger, Oriolus, Dicrurus,Tchitrea, Zanitis, Corvus, Zosterops, Hirundo, Cotyle, Passer,Ploceus, Estrilda, Alauda, Galandrella, Mirafra, Ammomanes,Motacilla, Anthus, Picus,Yunx, Centropus, Cuculus, Chrysoccocyx,Cqccystes, Coracias, Eurystomus, Merop>s, Alcedo, Ceryle, Halcyon,Upupa, Caprimtdgus, Cypselus, Chcetura, Columba,Turtur, Pterocles,Coturnix, Turnix;—48 genera.3. Pal^earctic Genera occurring in Central India.Hypolais, Sylvia, Ourruca, Cyanecula, Calliope, Chelidon, Euspiza,Emhcriza, Galerita, Calobates, Corydalla;— 11 genera.4. Ethiopian Genera occurring in Central India.Tliamnobia, Pyrrhulauda, Pterocles, Francolinus ;— 4 genera.A consideration of the above lists shows us, that the Hindostansub-region is by no means so poor in forms of bird-life as isgenerally supposed (and as I had myself anticipated, it wouldprove to be), possessing, as it does, 151 genera of land-birds,without counting the Accipitres. It must also set at rest thequestion of the zoological affinities of the district, since a preponderanceof 88 genera, against 4, cannot be held to be insufficient,and cannot be materially altered by any corrections indetails that may be proposed or substantiated. Even of thesefour, only the first two are exclusively Ethiopian, Pterocles andFrancolinus both being Palsearctic also. It is a question, indeed,whether anywhere in the world an outlying sub-region canbe found, exhibiting less zoological affinity for the adjacentregions ;and we have here a striking illustration of the necessityof deciding all such cases, not by examples, which may be sochosen as to support any view, but by carefully weighing andcontrasting the whole of the facts on which the solution of the

;326 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.problem admittedly depends. It will, perhaps, be said that agreat many of the 88 genera above given are very scarce and verybut this is certainly not the case with the majority of themlocal ;and even where it is so, that does not in any degree affect theirvalue as indicating zoo-geographical affinities. It is the presenceof a type in a region, not its abundance orscarcity, that isthe important fact ; and when we have to do, as we have here,with many groups whose habits and mode of life necessarilyseclude them from observation, theireven be a fact.supposed scarcity may notReptiles and Amphibia.—Pieptiles entirely agree with Mammaliaand Birds in the main features of their distribution.Out of 17 families of snakes inhabiting Hindostan, 16 rangeover the greater part of the entire region, and only two canbe supposed to show any Ethiopian affinity. These are thePsammophidre and Erycidee, both desert-haunting groups, andalmost as much South Palsearctic as African. The genus Tropidococcyxis peculiar to the sub-region, and Aspidura, Passeritaand Cynopliis to the peninsula and Ceylon ; while a large numberof the most characteristic genera, as Dipsas, Simotes, Bungarus,Naja, Trimeresurus, Lycodon and Python, are characteristicallyOriental.Of the six families of lizards all have a wide range Thegenera Eumeces, Pentadactylus, Gecko, Eublepharis, and Draco, arecharacteristically or wholly Oriental ; Ophiops and Uromastixare Palrearctic ; while Cliammlcon is the solitary case of decidedEthiopian affinity.Of the Amphibia not a single family exhibits special Ethiopianaffinities.II.Sub-region of Ceylon and South-India.The Island of Ceylon is characterised by such striking peculiaritiesin its animal productions, as to render necessary itsseparation from the peninsula of India as a sub-region ;but itis found that most of these special features extend to the Neilgherriesand the whole southern mountainous portion of India,and that the two must be united inany zoo-geographical pro-

—chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 327vince. The main features of this division are,—the appearanceof numerous animals allied to forms only found again in theHimalayas or in the Malayan sub-region, the possession ofseveral peculiar generic types, and an unusual number ofpeculiar species.Mammalia.—Among Mammalia the most remarkable formis Loris, a genus of Lemurs altogether peculiar to the subregion;several peculiar monkeys of the genus Presbytes ; theMalayan genus Tupaia ; and Platacanthomys, a peculiar genusof Muridse.Birds.—Among birds it has Ochromela, a peculiar genus offlycatchers ;Phomicopliaes (Cuculidae) and Drymocataphus (Timaliidae),both Malayan forms ; a species of Myiophonus whosenearest ally is in Java; Trochalopteron, Brachypteryx, Bucerosand Loriculus, which are only found elsewhere in the Himalayasand Malayana. It also possesses about 80 peculiar species ofbirds, including a large jungle fowl, one owl and two hornbills.Reptiles.—It is however by its Eeptiles, even more than by itshigher vertebrates, that this sub-region is clearly characterised.Among snakes it possesses an entire family, Uropeltidae, consistingof 5 genera and 18 species altogether confined to it,Rhinophisand Uropeltis in Ceylon, Silybura, Plecturus and Melanophidiumin Southern India. Four other genera of snakes, Haplocercus,Cercaspis, Peltopelor, and Hypnale are also peculiar; Chersydrusis only found elsewhere in Malaya ; while Aspidura, Passerita,and Cyjiophis, only extend to Hindostan ; and species of Eryx,PJchis, and Psammophis show an affinity with Ethiopian andPalasarctic forms. Among lizards several genera of Agamidceare peculiar, such as Otocryptis, Lyricoephalus, Ceratophora, Cophotis,Salea, Sitana and Charasia. In the family Acontiadae,Nessia is peculiar to Ceylon, while a species of the Africangenus Acontias shows an affinity for the Ethiopian region.Amphibia.—The genera of Amphibians that occur here aregenerally of wide range, but Nannophrys, Haphbatrachus,and Cacopus are confined to the sub-region ; while Megalophrysis Malayan, and the species found in Ceylon also inhabitJava.

328 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Insects.—The insects of Ceylon also furnish some curiousexamples of its distinctness from Hindostan, and its affinity withMalaya. Among its butterflies we find Papilio jophon, closelyallied to P. antiphus of Malaya. The remarkable genus Hestia, socharacteristic of the Malay archipelago, only occurs elsewhere onthe mountains of Ceylon ; while its Cynthia and Parthcnos areAmongclosely allied to, if not identical with, Malayan species.Coleoptera we have yet more strikiDg examples. The highly characteristicMalayan genus Tricondyla is represented in Ceylon byno less than 10 species ;and among Longicorns we find the generaTetraommatus, Thranius, Cacia, Praonetha, Ropica, and Serixia,allexclusively Malayan or only just entering the Indo-Chinesepeninsula, yet all represented in Ceylon, while not a singlespecies occurs in any part of India or the Himalayas.The Past History of Ceylon and South-India as indicated by itsFauna.—In our account of the Ethiopian region we have alreadyhad occasion to refer to an ancient connection between this subregionand Madagascar, in order to explain the distribution ofthe Lemurine type, and some other curious affinities between thetwo countries. This view is supported by the geology of India,which shows us Ceylon and South India consisting mainly ofgranitic and old metamorphic rocks, while the greater part of thepeninsula, forming our first sub-region, is of tertiary formation,with a few isolated patches of secondary rocks. It is evidenttherefore, that during much of the tertiary period, Ceylon andSouth India were bounded on the north by a considerable extentof sea, and probably formed part of an extensive southern continentor great island. The very numerous and remarkable casesof affinity with Malaya, require however some closer approximationto these islands, which probably occurred at a later period.When, stilllater, the great plains and table-lands of Hindostanwere formed, and a permanent land communication effected withthe rich and highly developed Himalo-Chinese fauna, a rapid immigrationof new types took place, and many of the less specialisedforms of mammalia and birds (particularly those of ancientAmong reptiles and insects theEthiopian type) became extinct.competition was less severe, or the older forms were too well

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 329adapted to local conditions to be expelled ; so that it is amongthese groups alone that we find any considerable number, of whatare probably the remains of the ancient fauna of a now submergedsouthern continent.777. Himalayan or Indo-Chinese Suh-region.This, which is probably the richest of allthe sub-regions, andperhaps one of the richest of all tracts of equal extent on theface of the globe, is essentially a forest-covered, mountainouscountry, mostly within the tropics, but on its northern marginextending some degrees beyond it, and rising in a continuousmountain range till it meets and intercalates with the Manchuriansub-division of the Palsearetic region. The peculiarmammalia, birds and insects of this sub-region begin to appearat the very foot of the Himalayas, but Dr. Gunther has shownthat many of the reptiles characteristic of the plains of Indiaare found to a height of from 2,000 to 4,000 feet.In Sikhim, which may be taken as a typical example of theHimalayan portion of the sub-region, it seems to extend to analtitude of little less than 10,000 feet, that being the limit of thecharacteristic Timaliidse or babbling thrushes ;while the equallycharacteristic Pycnonotidse, or bulbuls, and Treronidse, or thickbilledfruit-pigeons, do not, according to Mr. Blanford, reachquite so high. We may perhaps take 9,000 feet as a goodapproximation over a large part of the Himalayan range; butit is evidently not possible to define the line with any greatprecision. Westward, the sub-region extends in diminishingbreadth, till it terminates in or near Cashmere, where the faunaof the plains of India almost meets that of the Palaearcticregion, at a moderate elevation. Eastward, it reaches into EastThibet and North-westChina, where Pere David has found alarge number of the peculiar types of the Eastern Himalayas.fauna, in general features identical, extends over Burmah andSiam to South China; mingling with the Palaearctic fauna inthe mountains south of the Yang-tse-kiang river, and withthat of Indo-Malaya in Tenasserim, and to a lesser extent inSouthern Siam and Cochin China.Yol. I.—23A

—;330 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.Zoological Characteristics of the Himalayan Sub-region.—Taking this sub-region as a whole, we find it to be characterisedby 3 genera of mammalia (without counting bats), and44 genera of land-birds, which are altogether peculiar to itand by 13 genera of mammalia and 36 of birds, which itpossesses in common with the Malayan sub-region; andbesides these it has almost all the genera before enumeratedas " Oriental," and several others of wide range, more especiallya number of Palrearetic genera which appear in the higherHimalayas. The names of the more characteristic genera areas follows :Peculiar Himalo-Chinese Genera.Mammalia.— Urva, Arctonyx, JElurus.Birds. — Suya, Sorites, Chaimarrhornis, Tarsiger, Oreicola,Acanthoptila, Grammatoptila, Trochaloptcron,Actinodura, Sibia,Suthora, Paradoxomis, Chlenasicus, Tesia, Rimator, sEgithaliscus,Cephalopyrus, Liothrix, Siva, Minla, Proparus, Cutia, Yuhina,Ixtdus, Myzornis, Erpornis, Hemixus, Chibia, Niltava, Anthipes,Chelidorhynx, Urocissa, Pachyglossa, Hctcrura, Hosmatospiza,Ampeliceps, Saroglossa, Psarisomus, Serilophus, Vivia, Hyopicus,Gicinulus, Aceros,Ceriomis.Genera common to the Himalo-Chinese and MalayanSub-regions.Mammalia. — Hylobates, Nycticebus, Viverricula, Prionodon,Arctitis, Pagama, Arctogale, Cuon, Gymnopus, Aonyx, Helictis,Rhinoceros, Nemorhedus, Rhizomys.Birds.— Oreocincla, Notodela, Janthocincla, Timalia, Stachyris,Mixornis, Trichastoma, JEnicurus, Pncepyga, Melanochlora, Allotrius,Microscelis, Iole, Analcipus, Cochoa, Rhringa, Xanthopygia,Hylocharis, Cissa, Temnurus, Cryjjsirhina, Chalcosletha, Anthreptes,Chalcoparia, Cymbirhynchus, Hydrornis, Sasia, Venilia,Indicator, Carcincutes, Lyncornis, Macropygia, Argusianus Polyplectron,Ruplocamus, Phodilus.Plate VII. Scene in Nepal, with Characteristic HimalayanAnimals.— Our illustration contains figures of two mammals

Tm:aa #liFf;**!.'' liF* -H

—;chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 331and two birds, characteristic of the higher woody region of theHimalayas. The lower figure on the left is the Helictis nepalensis,confined to the Eastern Himalayas, and belonging to a genus ofthe weasel family which is exclusively Oriental. It is markedwith white on a grey-brown ground. Above it is the remarkablePanda (sElurus fulgent) , a beautiful animal with a glossy furof a reddish colour, darker feet, and a white somewhat cat-likeface. It is distantly allied to the bears, and more nearly to theAmerican racoons, yet with sufficient differences to constitutea distinct family. The large bird on the tree, is the hornedTragopan (Ceriomis satyra), one of the fine Himalayan pheasants,magnificently spotted with red and white, and ornamented withfleshy erectile wattles and horns, of vivid blue and red colours.The bird in the foreground is the Ibidorhynchus struthersii, arare and curious wader, allied to the curlews and sandpipers buthaving the bill and feet red. It frequents the river-beds in thehigher Himalayas, but has also been found in Thibet.itReptiles.—Very few genera of reptiles are peculiar to thissub-region, all the more important ranging into the Malayislands. Of snakes the following are the more characteristicgenera :Typhline, Cylindrophis, Xenopeltis,Calamaria, Xenelaphis,Hypsirhina, Fordonia, several small genera of Homalopsidse{Herpeton and Hipistes being characteristic of Burmah andSiam) Psammodynastes, Oonyosoma, Chrysopelea, Tragops, Dipsas,Pareas, Python, Bungarus, Naja, Callophis, and Trimeresurus.Naja reaches 8,000 feet elevation in the Himalayas, Tropidonotus9,000 feet, Ablabes 10,000 feet, and Simotes 15,000 feet.Of lizards, Pseudopus has one species in the Khasya hillswhile the other inhabits South-east Europe ; and there are twosmall genera of Agamidaa peculiar to the Himalayas, whileDraco and Calotes have a wide range and Acanthosaurd, Dilophyrus,Physignathiis, and Liolepis are found chiefly in theIndo-Chinese peninsula.There are several genera of Scincidaeand the extensive genus of wall-lizards, Gecko, ranges over thewhole region.Of Amphibia, the peculiar forms are not numerous.Ichthyophis

—;;332 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.a genus of Ceciliadse, is peculiar to the Khasya Hills ; Tylotritron(Salamandridae) to Yunan in Western China, and perhapsbelongs to the Paleearctie region.Of the tail-less Batrachians, Glyphoglossus is found in PeguXenoplvys in the Eastern Himalayas; while Gallula, Ixalus,Rhacophorus, Hylurana, Oxyglossus, and Phrynoglossus, are commonto the Himalo-Chinese and Malayan sub-regions.Of the lizards, Colotes, Barycephalus, and Hinulia,—and ofthe Batrachia, Bufo,—are found at above 11,000 feet elevation inthe Himalayas.Insects.— So little has been done in working out the insectfaunas of the separatesub-regions, that they cannot be treatedin detail, and the reader is referred to the chapter on the distributionof insects in the part of this work devoted to GeographicalZoology. A few particulars may, however, be given as tothe butterflies, which have been more systematically collected intropical countries than any other order of insects. The Himalayanbutterflies, especially in the eastern portions of the rangein Assam and the Khasya Hills—are remarkably fineand veryabundant; yet all the larger groups extend into the Malayansub-region, many to Ceylon, and a considerable proportion evento Africa and Austro-Malaya. There are a large number ofpeculiar types, but most of them consist of few or singlespecies.Such are Neope, Orenoma, and Rhaphicera, gener a of SatyridseEnispe (Morphidse) ; Hestina, Penthcma, and Abrota (Nymphalidse); Dodona (Erycinidse) ; Ilerda (Lycsenidse) ; Calinaga, Teinopalpus,and Bhutanitis (Papilionidse). Its more prominent featuresare, however, derived from what may be termed Malayan,or even Old. World types, such as Euplcca, among Danaidse;Amatliusia, Chrome, and Thaumantis, among Morphidse ; Euripus,Diadema, Athyma, Limenitis, and Adolias, among Nymphalidse,Zemeros and Taxila among Erycinidse; Amblypodia, Miletus,Ilerda, and Myrina, among Lycasnidte ;Thyca, Prioneris, Dercas,Iphias, and Thestias among Pieridse ; and Papilios of the" Amphrisius," " Coon," " Philoxenus," " Protenor" " Paris," and" Sarpedon " groups. In the Himalayas there is an unusualabundance of large and gorgeous species of the genus Papilio,

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 333and of large and showy Nymphalidae, Morphidae, and Danaidae,which render it, in favoured localities, only second to SouthAmerica for a display of this form of beauty and variety ininsect life.Among the other orders of insects in which the Himalayasare remarkably rich, we may mention large and brilliant Cetoniidae,cliiefly of the genus Rhomborhima ;a magnificent Lamellicorn,Uuchirus macleayii, allied to the gigantic long-armedbeetle (E. longimanus) of Amboyna ; superb moths of thefamilies Agaristidas and Sesiidae ; elegant and remarkable Fulgoridae,and strange forms of the gigantic Phasmidae ;most ofwhich appear to be of larger size or of more brilliant coloursthan their Malayan allies.Islands of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region.—A few importantislands belong to this sub-region, the Andamans, Formosa, andHainan being themost interesting.Andamans.—The only mammalia are a few rats and mice, aParadoxurus, and a pig supposed to be a hybrid race,— all ofwhich may have been introduced by man's agency. Thebirds of the Andaman Islands have been largely collected, noless than 155 species having been obtained ; and of these 17,(all land-birds) are peculiar. The genera are all found on thecontinent, and are mostly characteristic of the Indo-Chinesefauna, to which most of the species belong. Eeptiles are alsotolerably abundant ; about 20 species are known, the majoritybeing found also on the continent, while a few are peculiar.There are also a few Batrachia, and some fresh-water fishes, closelyresembling those of Burmah. The absence of such mammaliaas monkeys and squirrels, which abound on the mainland, andwhich are easily carried over straits or narrow seas by floatingtrees, is sufficient proof that these islands have not recentlyformed part of the continent. The birds are mostly such asmay have reached the islands while in their present geographicalposition ;and the occurrence of reptiles and fresh-water fishes,said to be identical in species with those of Burmah, must bedue to the facilities, which some of these animals undoubtedly

'334 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.possess, for passing over a considerable width of sea.We mustconclude, therefore, that these islands do not owe their existingfauna to an actual union with the mainland ; but it is probablethat they may have been formerly more extensive, andhave then been less distant from the continent than at thepresent time.The Nicobar Islands, usually associated with the Andamans,are less known, but present somewhat similar phenomena. Theyare, however, more Malayan in their fauna, and seem properlyto belong to the Indo-Malay sub-region.Formosa.—This island has been carefully examined by Mr.Swinhoe, who found 144 species of birds, of which 34 are peculiar.There is one peculiar genus, but the rest are all Indo-Chinese,though some of the species are more allied to Malayan than toChinese or Himalayan forms. About 30 species of mammaliawere found in Formosa, of which 11 are peculiar species, the restbeing either Chinese or Himalayan. The peculiar species belongto the genera Taipei, Helictis, Sciuropterus, Pteromys, Mus, Sus,Cervus, and Capricornis. A few lizards and snakes of continentalspecies have also been found.These facts clearly indicatethe former connection of Formosa with China and Malaya, aconnection which is rendered the more probable by the shallowsea which still connects all these countries.Hainan.—The island of Hainan, on the south coast of China,is not so well known in proportion, though Mr. Swinhoe collected172 species of birds, of which 130 were land-birds. Ofthese about 20 were peculiar species ;the remainder being eitherChinese, Himalayan, or Indo-Malayan. Mr. Swinhoe also obtained24 species of mammalia, all being Chinese, Himalayan,or Indo-Malayan species except a hare, which is peculiar. Thisassemblage of animals would imply that Hainan, as might beanticipated from its position,has been more recently separatedfrom the continent than the more distant island of Formosa.IV. Indo-Malaya, or the Malayan Sub-region.This sub-region, which is almost wholly insular (includingonly the Malayan peninsula on the continent of Asia), is equal, if

chap, xil.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 335not superior, in the variety and beauty of its productions, to thatwhich we have just been considering. Like Indo-China, it is a regionof forests, but it is more exclusively tropical ; and it is thereforedeficient in many of those curious forms of the temperatezone of the Himalayas, which seem to have been developed fromPalsearctic rather than from Oriental types.Here alone, in theOriental region, are found the most typical equatorial forms oflifeorganisms adapted to a climate characterised by uniform butnot excessive heat, abundant moisture, and no marked departurefrom the average meteorological state, throughout the year. Thesefavourable conditions of life only occur in three widely separateddistricts of the globe—the Malay archipelago, Western Africa,and equatorial South America. Hence perhaps it is, that thetapir and the trogons of Malacca should so closely resemble thoseof South America ;and that the great anthropoid apes and crestedhornbills of Western Africa, should find their nearest allies inBorneo and Sumatra.Although the islands which go to form this sub -regionare often separated from each other by a considerable expanseof sea, yet their productions in general offer no greaterdifferences than those of portions of the Indo-Chinese subregionseparated by an equal extent of dry land. The explanationis easy, however, when we find that the sea whichseparates them is a very shallow one, so shallow that an elevationof only 300 feet would unite Sumatra, Java, and Borneo intoone great South-eastern prolongation of the Asiatic continent-As we know that our own country has been elevated and depressedto a greater amount than this, at least twice in recentgeological times, we can have no difficulty inadmitting similarchanges of level in the Malay archipelago, where the subterraneanforces which bring about such changes are still atwork, as manifested by the great chain of active volcanoes inSumatra and Java.Proofs of somewhat earlier changes of levelare to be seen in the Tertiary coal formations of Borneo, whichdemonstrate a succession of elevations and subsidences, with asmuch certainty as if we had historical record of them.It is not necessary to suppose, nor is it probable, that all these

336 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. l^rt hi.great islands were recently united to the continent, and thattheir separation took place by one general subsidence of thewhole. It is more consonant with what we know of such matters,that the elevations and depressions were partial, varyingin their points of action and often recurring ; sometimes extendingone part of an island, sometimes another ; now joiningan island to the main land, now bringing two islands intocloserproximity. There is reason to believe that sometimes an interveningisland has sunk or receded and allowed others which itbefore separated to effect a partial union independently of it. Ifwe recognise the probability that such varied and often-renewedchanges of level have occurred, we shall be better able to understandhow certain anomalies of distribution in these islands mayhave been brought about. We will now endeavour to sketch thegeneral features of the zoology of this interesting district, andthen proceed to discuss some of the relations of the islands toeach other.Mammalia.—We have seen that the Indo-Chinese sub-regionpossesses 13 species of mammalia in common with the Indo-Malay sub-region, and 4 others peculiar to itself, besides oneEthiopian and several Oriental and Palsearctic forms of widerange. Of this latter class the Malay islands have comparativelyfew, but they possess no less than 14 peculiar genera, viz.Simia, Siamanga, Tarsius, Galcopithecus, Hylomys, Ptilocerns,Gymnura, Cynogale, Hemigalea, Arctogale, Barangia, Mydans,Hdarctos, and Tapirus. The islands also possess tigers, deer,wild pigs, wild cattle, elephants, the scaly ant-eater, and mostof the usual Oriental genera ; so that they are on the wholefully as rich as, if not richer than, any part of Asia ;a fact veryunusual in island faunas, and very suggestive of their reallycontinental nature.Plate VIII. Scene in Borneo with Characteristic MalayanQuadrupeds.—The Malayan fauna is so rich and peculiar thatwe devote two plates to illustrate it. We have here a group ofmammalia, such as might be seen together in the vast forests ofBorneo. In the foreground we have the beautiful deer-likeChevrotain [Tragulus javanicus). These are delicate little

PLATE VIII.A FOREST IN BORNEO, WITH CHARACTERISTIC MAMMALIA.

;chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 337animals whose body is not larger than a rabbit's, thence oftencalled " mouse-deer." They were formerly classed with the" musk-deer," owing to their similar tusk-like upper caninesbut their anatomy shows them to form quite a distinct family,having more resemblance to the camels. On the branch aboveis the curious feather-tailed Tree-Shrew (Ptilocerus lowii), a smallinsectivorous animal altogether peculiar to Borneo.Above thisis the strange little Tarsier {Tarsius spectrum), one of the lemursconfined to the Malay islands, but so distinct from all others asto constitute a separate family. The other small animals aretheFlying Lemurs (Galceopithecus volans) formerly classed withthe lemurs, but now considered to belong to the Insectivora.They have a very large expansion of the skin connecting thefore and hind limbs and tail, and are able to take long flightsfrom one tree to another, and even to rise over obstacles in theircourse by the elevatory power of the tail-membrane. Theyfeed chiefly on leaves, and have a very soft and beautifullymarbled fur.In the distance is the Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus), arepresentative of a group of animals now confined to the largerMalay islands and tropical America, but which once rangedover the greater part of temperate Europe.Birds.—Owing to several of the families consisting of veryobscure and closeby alliedspecies, which have never been criticallyexamined and compared by a competent ornithologist,the number of birds inhabiting this sub-region is uncertain.From the best available materials there appear to be somewhatless than 650 species of land-birds actually known, or excludingthe Philippine Islands somewhat less than 600. Thelarger part of these are peculiar species, but mostly allied tothose of Indo-China ; 36 of the genera, as already stated, beingcommon to these two sub-regions. There are, however, no lessthan 46 genera which are peculiarly or wholly Indo Malayanand, in many cases, have no close affinity with other Orientalgroups. These peculiar genera are as follows :— Timalia, Malacopteron,Macronus, Napoilwra,Turdinus, and Trichixos—genera

—;;338 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.of Timaliidse ;Eupetes, a most remarkable form, perhaps alliedto Enicurus, and Cinclus ;Rhabclomis (Certhiidae) found only inthe Philippines; Psaltria, a diminutive bird of doubtful affinities,provisionally classed among the tits(Paridae); form's (Pycnonotidse);Lalagc (Campephagidse) extending eastward to the PacificIslands ;Pycnosphrys, Philcntoma (Muscicapidae) ;Lanicllus,a beautiful bird doubtfully classed with thePlatylophus and Pityriasis, theshrikes (Laniidse)latter a most anomalous formperhaps a distinct family, at present classed with the jays, inCorvidse ; Prionochihis, a curious form classed with Dicseidse ;Eryihrura (Ploceidse), extending eastwards to the Fiji Islands;Oymnops, Calornis, (Sturnidse); Eurylcemus, Corydon, and Calyptomena(Eurylcemidse) ;Eucichla, the longest tailed and mostelegantly marked of the Pittidee ;Rdnwardtipicus and Miglyptes(Picidse) ;Psilopogon and Calorhamphus, (Megalaemida?) ; Rhinococcyx,Dasylophus, Lepidogrammus, Cdrpococcyx, Zanclostomus,Poliococcyx, Phinortha, (Cuculidse) ;Berenicornis, Caldo, Cranorhinas,Pcnclopidcs, Rhinopldx, (Bucerotidre) ; Psittinus, (Psittacidae); Ptilopus, Phapitreron, (Columbidae) ; Rollulus, (Treronidre); Machccrhamphus, (Falconida?). Many of these genera areabundant and wide-spread, while some of the most characteristicHimalayan genera, such as Larvivora, Garrulax, Hypsipetes,Pomatorhinus, and Dcndrocitta, are here represented by onlya few species.Among the groups that are characteristic of the Malayansub-region, the Timaliidse and Pycnonotida? stand pre-eminent; theformer represented chiefly by the genera Timalia, Malacopteron,Macronus, and Trichastoma, the latter by Criniger, Microscelis,and many forms of Pycnonotus. The Muscicapidse, Dicruridse,Campephagidffi, Ploceidse, and Nectariniidse are also welldeveloped ; as well as the Pittidse, and the Euryleemidae, thelimited number of species of the latter being compensated bya tolerable abundance of individuals. Among the Picarioe aremany conspicuous groups ; as, woodpeckers (Picidae) ; barbets(Megalaemidse) ; trogons (Trogonidse) ; kingfishers (Alcedinida3)and hornbills (Bucerotidpe) ; five families which are perhaps themost conspicuous in the whole fauna.Lastly come the pigeons

chap, xii.] THE OEIENTAL REGION. 339(Colunibida?), and the pheasants (Phasianidae), which are fairlyrepresented by such fine genera as Treron, Ptilopus, Euplocamus,and Argusianus. A few forms whose affinities are Australianrather than Oriental, help to give a character to the ornithology,though none of them are numerous. The swallow-shrikes(Artamus); the wag-tail fly-catchers (Rhipidura); the green fruitdoves(Ptilopus) ;and the mound-makers (Mcgapodius), are thechief of these.There are a few curious examples of remote geographicalalliances that may be noted. First, we have a direct Africanconnection in Machairhamphus, a genus of hawks, and Berenicornis,a genus of hornbills ; the only close allies being, in the formercase in South, and in the latter in West Africa. Then we havea curious Neotropical affinity, indicated by Garpococcyx, a largeBornean ground-cuckoo, whose nearest ally is the genus Neomorphusof South America; and by the lovely green-colouredCalyptomena which seems unmistakably allied to the orano-ecolouredRupicola, or " Cock of the rock," in general structureand in the remarkable form of crest, a resemblance which hasbeen noticed by many writers.In the preceding enumeration of Malayan genera severalare included which extend intothe Austro-Malay Islands, ourobject, at present, being to show the differences and relations ofthe two chief Oriental sub-regions.Plate IX, A Malayan Forest with some of its peculiar Birds.—Our second illustration of the Malayan fauna is devoted to itsbird-life ;and for this purpose we place our scene in the Malaypeninsula, where birds are perhaps more abundant and moreinteresting, than in any other part of the sub-region. Conspicuousin the foreground is the huge Ehinoceros Hornbill(Buceros rhinoceros), one of the most characteristic birds of theMalayan forests, the flapping of whose wings, as it violentlybeats the air to support its heavy body, may be heard a mileoff. On the ground behind, is the Argus pheasant (Argusianusgiganteus) whose beautifully ocellated wings have beenthe subject of a most interesting description in Mr. Darwin'sDescent of Man. The wing-feathers are here so enormously

340 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [pabt hi.developed for display (as shown in our figure) that theybecome almost, if not quite, useless for their original purpose offlight ;yet the colours are so sober, harmonizing completelywith the surrounding vegetation, and the bird is so wary, thatin the forests where it abounds an old hunter assured me he hadnever been able to see a specimen till it was caught in hissnares. It is interesting to note, that during the display of theplumage the bird's head is concealed by the wings from aspectator in front, and, contrary to what usually obtains amongpheasants, the head is entirely unadorned, having neither crestnor a particle of vivid colour,—a remarkable confirmation ofMr. Darwin's views, that gayly coloured plumes are developedin the male bird for the purpose of attractive display inthe breeding season. The long-tailed bird on the right isone of the Drongo-shrikes (Bhringa remifer), whose long baretail-feathers, with an oar-like web at the end, and blueblaekglossy plumage, render it a very attractive object as itflies after its insect prey. On the left is another singular birdthe great Broad-bill (Corydon sumatranus), with dull and sombreplumage, but with a beak more like that of a boat-bill than of afruit-eating passerine bird. Over all, the white-handed Gibbon(Hylobates lar) swings and gambols among the topmost branchesof the forest.Reptiles and Amphibia.—These are notsufficiently known tobe of much use for our present purpose. Most of the generabelong to the continental parts of the Oriental region, or have awide range. Of snakes Bhabdosoma, Typhlocalamus, Tetragonosoma,Acrochordus, and Atropos, are the most peculiar, and thereare several peculiar genera of Homalopsidse. Of Oriental genera,Gylindrophis, Xenopeltes, Calamaria, Hypsirhina, Psammodynastcs,Gonyosoma, Tragops, Dipsas, Pareas, Python, Bungarus,Naja, and Callophis are abundant; as well as Simotcs, Ablabes.Tropidonotus, and Dendrophis, which are widely distributed.Among lizards Hydrosaurus and Gecko are common; there aremany isolated groups of Scincidse; while Draco, Calotes, andmany forms of Agamidse, some of which are peculiar, abound.Among the Amphibia, toads and frogs of the genera Micrhyla,

PLATE IX.A MALAYAN FOREST, WITH SOME OF ITS PECULIAR BIRDS.

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 341Kalophrynus, Ansonia, and Pscudobufo, are peculiar :while theOriental Mcgalophrys, Ixalus, Ehac&phorus, and Hylorana areabundant and characteristic.Fishes.—The fresh-water fishes of the Malay archipelagohave been so well collected and examined by the Dutchnaturalists, that they offer valuable indications of zoo-geographicalaffinity ; and they particularly well exhibit thesharply defined limits of the region, a large number of Orientaland even Ethiopian genera extending eastward as far as Javaand Borneo, but very rarely indeed sending a single speciesfurther east, to Celebes or the Moluccas. Thirteen families offresh-water fishes are found in the Indo-Malay sub-region. Ofthese the Scienidse and Symbranchidae have mostly a widerange in the tropics. Ophiocephalidse are exclusively Oriental,reaching Borneo and the Philippine islands. The Mastacembelidseare also Oriental, but one species is found as far as Ceram.Of the ISTandidse, 3 genera range over the whole region. TheLabyrinthici extend from Africa through the Oriental region toAmboyna. The single species constituting the family Luciocephalidaeisconfined to Borneo and the small islands of Bilitonand Banca. Of the extensive family Siluridse 17 genera areOriental and Malayan, and 11 are Malayan exclusively; andnot one of these appears to pass beyond the limits of the subregion.The Cyprinidse offer an equally striking example, 23genera ranging eastward to Java and Borneo and not onebeyond; 14 of these being exclusively Malayan. It must beremembered that this is not from any want of knowledge of thecountries farther east, as extensive collections have also beenmade in Celebes, the Moluccas, and Timor ; so that the facts ofdistribution of fresh-water fishes come, most unexpectedly, tofortify that division of the archipelago into two primaryregions, which was founded on a consideration of mammaliaand birds only.Insects.—Few countries in the world can present a richer andmore varied series of insects than the Indo-Malay islands, andwe can only here notice a few of their more striking peculiaritiesand more salient features.

;342 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.The butterflies of this sub-region, according to the best estimatethat can be formed, amount to about 650 described species,a number that will yet, no doubt, be very considerably increased.The genera which appear to be peculiar to it are Erites (Satyridse); Zeuxidia (Morphida?) ; Amnosia, Xanthotcenia, andTancccia (Nymphalidre). The groups which are most characteristicof the region, either from their abundance in individualsor species, or from their size and beauty, are—the rich darkcolouredEuplcea ; the large semi-transparent Hcstia; the plaincolouredMycalesis, which replace our meadow-brown butterflies{Hipparchia) ;the curious Elymnias, which often closely resembleEupla?as ; the large and handsome Thamantis and Zeuxidia,which take the place of the giant Morphos of South Americathe Cethosia, of the brightest red, and marked with a curiouszigzag pattern ; the velvety and blue-glossed Terinos ; the paleand delicately-streaked Cyrcstis; the thick-bodied and boldlycoloured Adolias ; the small wine-coloured Taxila ; the fine blueAmblypodia ; the beautiful Thyca, elegantly marked underneathwith red and yellow, which representour common whitebutterflies and are almost equally abundant ; the pale blueEronia, and the large red-tipped Iphias. The genus Papiliois represented by a variety of fine groups ; the large Ornithoptera,with satiny yellow under -wings ; the superb green-marked" brookeana ; " the " paradoxa" group, often closely resemblingthe Euplfleas that abound in the same district ; the " paris "group richly dusted with golden-green specks ; the " helenus "group with wide-spreading black and white wings ; the blackand crimson " polydorus " group ; the " memnon " group, of thelargest size and richly-varied colours ;and the " eurypilus "group, elegantly banded or spotted with blue or green :all theseare so abundant that some of them are met with in every walk,and are a constant delight to the naturalist who has the privilegeof observing them in their native haunts.The Coleoptera are far lessprominent and require to be carefullysought after ; but they then well repay the collector. Asaffording some measure of the productiveness of the tropics ininsect life it will not be out of place togive a few notes of the

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 343number of species collected by myself in some of the bestlocalities. At Singapore 300 species of Coleoptera were collectedin 15 days, and in a month the number had increased to520 ; of which 100 were Longicorns and 140 Ehyncophora. AtSarawak in Borneo I obtained 400 species in 15 days, and600 in a month. In two months this number had increased toabout 850, and in three months to 1,000 species.This was themost prolific spot I ever collected in, especially for Longicornswhich formed about one-fifth of all the species of beetles. Inthe Aru Islands in one month, I obtained only 235 species ofColeoptera, and about 600 species of insects of all orders ; andthis may be taken as a fair average, in localities where nospecially favourable conditions existed. On the average 40 to60 species of Coleoptera would be a good day's collecting ; 70exceptionally good ; while the largest number ever obtained inone day was 95, and the majority of these would be veryminute insects. It must be remembered, however, that manyvery common species were passed over, yet had every species metwith been collected, not much more than 100 species would everhave been obtained in one day'scollecting of four or five hours.These details may afford an interesting standard of comparisonfor collectors in other parts of the world.Of Cicindelidse the most peculiarly Malayan form isTherates,found always on leaves in the forests in the same localities asthe more widely spread Collyris.Indo-Malayan.Five genera of this family areThe Carabidse, though sufficiently plentiful, are mostly of smallsize, and not conspicuous in any way.But there is one strikingexceptionin the purely Malayan genus Mormolyce, the largestand most remarkable of the whole family. It is nocturnal,resting during the days on the under side of large boleti in thevirgin forest. Pericallus and Catascopus are among the fewgenera which are at all brillantly coloured.Buprestidse are abundant, and very gay ; the genus Belionotabeing perhaps one of the most conspicuousand characteristic.The giant Catoxantha is, however, the most peculiar, thoughcomparatively scarce. Chrysochroa and Chalcophora are also

344 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.abundant and characteristic. Out of the 41 Oriental genera 21are Malayan, and 10 of these are not found in the other subregions.In Lucanidae the Malay islands are rich, 14 out of the 16Oriental genera occurring there, and 3 being peculiar. Thereare many fine species of Odontolabris, which may be consideredthe characteristic genus of the sub-region.The Cetoniidae are well represented by 16 genera and about 120species. The genera Mycteristes, Phccdimus, Plectrone, Euremina,Rhagopteryx and Ccntrognathus are peculiar, while Agestrata,Ghalcothca, and Macronota are abundant and characteristic.The Longicorns, as in all continental forest regions near theequator, are very abundant and in endlessly varied forms. Noless than 55 genera containing about 200 species are peculiar tothis sub-region, the Cerarnbycidse being much the most numerous.Euryarthrum, Coelosterna, Ayelasta,and Astathes may be consideredas most characteristic ; but to name the curious and interestingforms would be to give a list of half the genera.Forthe relations of the Longicorns of the Indo-Malay, and those ofthe Austro-Malay region, the reader is referred to the chaptef onthe distribution of insects in the succeeding part of this work.Terrestrial Mollusca.—The Philippine islands are celebratedas being one of the richest parts of the world for land shells,about 400 species being known. The other islands of the subregionare far less rich, not more than about 100 species havingyet been described from the whole of them. Helix and Bulimusboth abound in species in the Philippines, whereas thelatter genus is very scarce in Borneo and Java.Ten genera ofHelicidse inhabit the sub-region ; Pfeifferia is found in thePhilippines and Moluccas, while the large genus Cochlostyla isalmost peculiar to the Philippines.Of the Operculata there arerepresentatives of 20 genera, of which Dermatoma and Pupinellaare peculiar, while Registoma and Callia extend to theAustralian region. Cycloplwrus, Leptopoma, and Pupina areperhaps the most characteristic genera.

—chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION.. 345The Zoological Relations of the Several Islands of the Inch-MalaySub -region.Although we have grouped the Philippine islands with theIndo-Malay sub-region, to which, as we shall see, they undoubtedlybelong, yet most of the zoological characteristics wehave just sketched out, apply more especially to the other groupsof islands and the Malay peninsula. The Philippine islandsstand, to Malaya proper, in the same relation that Madagascardoes to Africa or the Antilles to South America ; that is, theyare remarkable for the absence of whole families and generawhich everywhere characterise the remainder of the district.They are, in fact, truly insular, while the other islands are reallycontinental in all the essential features of theirnatural history.Before, therefore, we can conveniently compare the separateislands of Malaya 1with each other, we must first deal with thePhilippine group, showing in what its speciality consists, andwhy it must be considered apart from the sub-region to whichit belongs.Mammals of the Philippine Islands.—The only mammalia recordedas inhabiting the Philippine Islands are the following :Quadrumana. 1. Macacus cynomolgus.2. Cynopithecus niger. Dr. Semper doubts this beinga Philippine species.Lemuroidea. 3. Tarsius spectrum.Insectivora. 4. Galeopithecus philippinensis.5. Tupaia (species). On Dr. Semper's authority.Carnivora. 6. Viverra tangalunga.7. Paradoxurus philippensis.Ungulata. 8. Sus (species). On Dr. Semper's authority.9. Cervus mariannus.10. Cervus philippensis.11. Cervus alfredi.12. Bos (species). "Wild cattle ;perhaps introduced.Rodentia. 13. Phlseonrys cummingii.14. Scuirus philippinensis.Also 24 species, belonging to 17 genera, of bats.1As so many typical Malay groups are absent only from the Philippines, Ihave adopted the term " Malaya," to show the distribution of these, usingthe term " Indo-Malaya" when the range of the group includes thePhilippines.This must be remembered when consulting the tables of distributionat the end of this chapter.Vol. I.—24.

346 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.The foregoing list, although small, contains an assemblage ofspecies which are wholly Oriental in character, and several ofwhich {Tardus, Galeopithecus, Tupaia) are characteristic andhighly peculiar Malayan forms. At the same time these islandsare completely separated from the rest of Malaya by the totalabsence of Semnopithecus, Hylobates, Fclis,Hclarctos, Rhinoceros,Manis, and other groups constantly found in the great Indo-Malay islands and peninsula of Malacca. We find apparentlytwo sets of animals : a more ancient series, represented by thedeer, Galeopithecus, and squirrel, in which the species are distinctfrom any others ; and a more recent series, represented byMacacus cynomolgus, and Viverra tangalunga, identical withcommon Malayan animals. The former indicate the earliestperiod when these volcanic islands were connected with somepart of the Malayan sub-region, and they show that this wasnot geologically remote, since no peculiar generic types havebeen preserved or differentiated. The latter may indicate eitherthe termination of the period of union, or merely the effects ofintroduction by man. The reason why a larger number ofmammalian forms were not introduced and established, wasprobably because the union was effectedonly with some smallislands, and from these communicated to other parts of thearchipelago ; or it may well be that later subsidences extinguishedsome of the forms that had established themselves.Birds of the Philippine Islands.— These have been carefullyinvestigated by Viscount Walden, in a paper read before theZoological Society of London in 1873, and we are thus furnishedwith ample information on the relations of this importantportion of the fauna.The total number of birds known to inhabit the Philippinesis 219, of which 106 are peculiar. If, however, following ourusual plan, we take only the land-birds, we find the numbersto be 159 species, of which 100 are peculiar ;an unusually largeproportion for a group of islands so comparatively near tovarious parts of the Oriental and Australian regions. Thefamilies of birds which are more especially characteristic of theIndo-Malay sub-region are about 28 in number, and examples

—chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 347of all these are found in the Philippines except four, viz., Cinclidse,Phyllornithidse, Eurylsemidae, and Podargidse. The onlyMalayan are, Cacatuidse and Megapodiidae. Yet although thebirds are unmistakably Malayan, as a whole, there are, as inthe mammalia (though in a less degree), marked deficiencies ofmost characteristic Malayan forms. Lord Walden gives a listof no less than 69 genera thus absent ; but it will be sufficienthere to mention such wide-spread and specially Indo-Malaygroupsas,Malacopteron,Eurylcemus, Nydiornis, Arachnotliera, Geocichla,Timalia, Pomatorhinus, Phyllornis, lora, CrinigerEnicurus, Chaptia, Tchitrea, Dendrocitta, Eulahes, Palceornis,Miglyptes, Tiga, and Euplocamus. These deficiencies plainlyshow the isolated character of thethat it has never formed a part of thatPhilippine group, and implyIndo-Malayan extensionof the continent which almost certainly existed when theyPhilippine families which are, otherwise, exclusively Austro-peculiarMalayan fauna was developed ; or that, if it has been sounited, it has been subsequently submerged and broken up tosuch an extent, as to cause the extinction of many of the absenttypes.It appears from Lord "Walden's careful analysis, that 31 of thePhilippine species occur in the Papuan sub-region, and 47 inCelebes ;69 occur also in India, and 75 in Java. This last factiscurious, since Java is the most remote of the Malayan islands,but it is found to arise almost wholly from the birds of thatisland being better known, since only one species, Xantholcemarosea, is confined to the Philippine Islands and Java.The wading and swimming birds are mostly of wide-spreadforms, only 6 out of the 60 species being peculiar to the Philippinearchipelago. Confining ourselves to the land-birds, and combiningseveral of the minutely subdivided genera of Lord Walden'spaper so as to agree with the arrangement adopted in thiswork, we find that there are 112 genera of land-birds representedin the islands. Of these, 50 are eithsr cosmopolitan, ofwide range, or common to the Oriental and Australian regions,and may be put aside as affording few indications of geographicalaffinity. Of the remaining 62 no less than 40 are exclusively

——348 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.or mainly Oriental, and most of them are genera which rangewidely over the region, only two (Philentoma and Rolhdus) beingexclusively Malayan, and two others {Megalurus and Malacocircus)more especially Indian or continental. Five other genera, thoughhaving a wide range, are typically Palrearctic, and have reachedthe islands through North China. They are, Monticola, Acrocephalus,Phylloscopus, Calliope, and Passer ; the two first havingextended their range southward into the Moluccas. The peculiarlyAustralian genera are only 12, the majority being characteristicPapuan and Moluccan forms ; such as Gampephaga,Alcyone, Cacatua, Tanygnathus, Ptilopus, Janthcenas, Phlogamas,and Megapodius. One is peculiar to Celebes (Prioniturus) ; oneto the Papuan group (Cyclopsitta) ; and one is chiefly Australian(Gerygone). The beautiful little parroquets forming the genusLoriculus, are characteristic of the Philippines, which possess 5species, a larger number than occurs in any other group ofislands, though they range from India to New Guinea. There remainsix peculiar genera Bhabdornis, an isolated form of creepers(Certhiida?) : Gymnops, a remarkable bareheaded bird belongingto the starlings (Stumidae); Dasylophus, and Lepidogrammus,remarkable genera of cuckoos (Cuculidse) ; Penelopides, a peculiarhornbill, and Phapitreron, a genus ofpigeons. Besides thesethere are four other types (here classed as sub-genera, but consideredto be distinct by Lord Walden) which are peculiar tothe Philippines. These are Pseudoptynx, an owl of the genusAthene; Pseudolcdage, a sub-genus oiLalage; Zeocephus, a subgenusoiTchiirea;and Ptilocolpa, included under Garpophaga.When we look at the position of the Philippine group, connectedby the Bashee islands with Formosa, by Palawan and theSooloo archipelago with Borneo, and by the Tulour and otherislets with the Moluccas and Celebes, we have little difficulty inaccounting for the peculiarities of its bird fauna. The absenceof a large number of Malayan groups would indicate that theactual connection with Borneo, which seems necessary for theintroduction of the Malay types of mammalia, was not of longduration ; while the large proportion of wide-spread continentalgenera of birds would seem to imply that greater facilities had

chap, xii.1 THE ORIENTAL REGION. 349once existed for immigrationfrom Southern China, perhaps bya land connection through Formosa, at which time the ancestorsof the peculiar forms of deer entered the country. It may indeedbe objected that our knowledge of these islands is fartoo imperfect to arrive at any satisfactory conclusions as to theirformer history ; but although many more species no doubtremain to be discovered, experience shows that the broad charactersof a fauna are always determined by a series of collectionsmade by different persons, at various localities, and at differenttimes, even when more imperfect than those of thePhilippinebirds really are. The isolated position, and the volcanic structureof the group, would lead us to expect them to be somewhatless productive than the Moluccas, close to the rich and variedPapuan district,—or than Celebes, with its numerous indicationsof an extensive area and great antiquity; and taking into accountthe excessive poverty of its mammalian fauna, which is certainto be pretty well known, I am inclined to believe that no futurediscoveries will materially alter the character of Philippineornithology, as determined from the materials already at ourcommand.Java.—Following the same plan as we have adopted infirstdiscussing the Philippine islands, and separating them from thebody of the sub-region on account of special peculiarities, wemust next take Java, as possessing marked individuality, and asbeing to some extent more isolated in its productions than theremaining great islands.Java is well supplied with indigenousmammalia, possessingas nearly as can be ascertained 55 genera and 90 species.Noneof these genera are peculiar, and only about 5 of the species,—3 quadrumana, a deer and a wild pig. So far then there isnothing remarkable in itsfauna, but on comparing it with that ofthe other great islands, viz., Borneo and Sumatra, and the Malaypeninsula, we find an unmistakable deficiency of characteristicforms, the same in kind asthat we have just commented on inthe case of the Philippines, though much less in degree. First,taking genera which are found in all three of the above-named

;350 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.localities and which must therefore be held to be typical Malayangroups, the following are absent from Java : Viverra,Gyrmiopus, Lutra, Helarctos, Tapirus, Elephas, and Gymnura;while of those known to occur in two, and which, owing to ourimperfect knowledge, may very probably one day be discovered inthe third, the following are equally wanting : Simia, Siamanga,Hemigalea, Paguma, Rhinoscinrus, and Rhizomys. It may besaid this is only negative evidence, but in the case of Java it ismuch more, because this island is not only the best known ofany in the archipelago, but there is perhaps no portion ofBritish India of equal extent so well known. It is one of theoldest of the Dutch possessions and the seat of their colonialgovernment ;good roads traverse it in every direction, and experiencednaturalists have been resident in various parts ofitfor years together, and have visited every mountain and everyforest, aided by bands of diligent native collectors. Weshould be almost as likely to find new species of mammaliain Central Europe as in Java ; and therefore the absence ofsuch animals as the Malay bear, the elephant, tapir, gymnura,and even less conspicuous forms, must be accepted as apositive fact.In the other islands there are still vast tracts of forest in thehands of natives and utterly unexplored, and any similar absencein their case will prove little;yet on making the same comparisonin the case of Borneo, the most peculiar and the leastknown of the other portions of the sub-region, we find only2 genera absent which 'are found in the three other divisions,and only 3 which are found in two others. A fact to be notedalso is, that the only genus found in Java but not in other partsof the sub-region (Helirtis) occurs again in North India; andthat some Javan species, as Rhinoceros javanicus, and Lepus kurgosaoccur again in the Indo-Chinese sub-region, but not in theMalayan.Among the birds we meet with facts of a similar importand though the absence of certain types from Java isnot quiteso certain as among the mammalia, this is more than balancedby the increased number of such deficiencies, so that if a few

—;chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 351shouid be proved to be erroneous, the main result will remainunaltered.Java possesses about 270 species of land birds, of which about40 are peculiar to it. There are, however, very few peculiargenera, Laniellus, a beautiful spotted shrike, being the mostdistinct, while Cochoa and Psaltria are perhaps not different fromtheir Indian allies. The island has however a marked individualityin two ways—in the absence of characteristic Malayantypes, and in the presence of a number of forms not yet foundin any of the other Malay islands, but having their nearest alliesin various parts of the Indo-Chinese sub-region.The following16 genera are all found in Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo,but are absent from Java: Setomis, Temnurus, Dendrocitta,Corydon, Calyptomena, Venilia, Beinwardtipicus, Coloramplms,Bhinortha, Nydiomis, Cranorhinus, Psittinus, Polyplectron, Argusianus,Euplocamus, and Rolhdus. The following 9 are knownfrom two of the above localities, and will very probably befound in the third, but are absent from, and not likely tooccur in, Java : Trichixos, Eupetes, Melanochlora, Chaptia, Pityriasis,Lyncornis, Carpococcyx, Poliococcyx, and Ehinoplax. Wehave thus 25 typically Malayan genera which are not knownto occur in Java.The following genera, on the other hand, do not occur inanyof the Malayan sub-divisions except Java, and they all occuragain, or under closely allied forms, in the Indo-Chinese subregion: Brachypteryx (allied species in Himalayas) ; Zootheraallied species in Aracan) ; Notodela (allied species in Pegu)Pnoepyga (allied species in Himalayas) ;Allotrius (allied speciesin the Himalayas) ; Cochoa (allied species in the Himalayas)Crypsirhina (allied species in Burmah) ; Estrilda (allied speciesin India) ;Psaltria (allied genusJZgithaliscus—in Himalayas)Pavo muticus and Harpactes oreskios (same species in Siamand Burmah) ; Cecropis striolata (same species in Java andFormosa, and allied species in India).Here we have 12 instances of very remarkable distribution,and considering that there are nearly as many birds known fromSumatra and Borneo as from Java,and considerably more from

——352 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.the Malay peninsula, it is not likely that many of these wellmarked forms will be discovered in these countries.There are also a considerable number of species of birdscommon to Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo, but represented inJava by distinct though closely allied species. Such are,Venilia malaccensis (represented in Java by) V. miniata.Drymocataphus nigrocapitatus „ „ D. capistratusMalacopteron coronatum „M. rujifrons.Irena cyanea „Ploceus baya „Loriculus galgulus „Ptilopus jambu „I. turcosa.P. hypoxantha.L. pusillus.P. porphyreus.Now if we look at our map of the region, and consider theposition of Java with regard to Borneo, Sumatra, and the Indo-Chinese peninsula, the facts just pointed out appear mostanomalous and perplexing. First, we have Java and Sumatraforming one continuous line of volcanoes, separated by a verynarrow strait, and with all the appearance of having formed onecontinuous land ;yet their productions differ considerably, andthose of Sumatra show the closest resemblance to those ofBorneo, an island ten times further off than Java and differingwidely in the absence of volcanoes or any continuous range oflofty mountains. Then again, not only does Java differ fromthese two, but it agrees with a country beyond them botha country from which they seem to have a much better chanceto have been supplied by immigration than Java has, and tohave (almost necessarily)participated, even more largely, in thebenefits of any means of transmission capable of reaching thelatter island. Yet more; whatever changes have occurred tobring about the anomalous state of things that exists must havebeen, zoologically and geologically, recent ; for the strange crossaffinitiesbetween Java and the Indo-Chinese continent (inwhich Sumatra and Borneo have not participated), as well asthat between Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo (in which Java hasnot participated) areexhibited, in many cases by community ofspecies, in others by the presence of very closely allied formsof the same genera, of mammalia and birds.Now we know that

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 353these higher animals become replaced by allied species muchmore rapidly than the mollusca; and it is also pretty certainthat the modification by which this replacement is effectedtakes place more rapidly when the two sets of individuals areisolated from each other, and especially when they are restrictedto islands, where they are necessarily subject to distinct andpretty constant conditions, both physical and organic. Itbecomes therefore almost a certainty, that Siam and Java onthe one hand, and Sumatra, Borneo, and Malacca on the othermust have been brought into some close connexion, not earlierthan the newer Pliocene period ; but while the one set ofcountries were having their meeting, the other must have beenby some means got out of the way. Before attempting toindicate the mode by which this might have been effected inaccordance with what we know of the physical geography,geology, and vegetation of the several islands, it will be as wellto complete our sketch of their zoological relations to eachother, so as ascertain with some precision, what are the factsof distribution which we have to explain.Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo.—After having set apart thePhilippine Islands and Java, we have remaining two greatislands and a peninsula, which, though separated by considerablearms of the sea, possess a fauna of wonderful uniformityhaving all the typical Malayan features in their fulldevelopment. , Their unity is indeed so complete, that we canfind hardly any groups of sufficient importance by which todifferentiate them from each other ; and we feel no confidencethat future discoveries may not takeaway what speciality theypossess. One after another, species or genera once peculiar toBorneo or Sumatra have been found elsewhere; and this hasgone to such an extent in birds, that hardly a peculiar genusand very few peculiar species are left in either island. Borneohowever is undoubtedly the most peculiar. It possesses threegenera of Mammalia not found elsewhere : Cynogale, a curiouscarnivore allied to the otters ; with Dendrogale and Ptilocerus,small insectivora allied to Tupaia. It has Simla, the Orang-

—354 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part iit.utan, and Paguma, one of the Viverridge, in common withSumatra ;as well as Bhinosciurus, a peculiar form of squirrel, andHemigalea, one of the Viverridge, in common with Malacca.Sumatra has only one genus not found in any other Malayandistrictin North India.Nemorhedus, a form of antelope which occurs againIt also has Siamanga in common with Malacca,Mydaus with Java, and Rhizomys with India.The Malay Peninsulaseems to have no peculiar forms of Mammalia, thoughit is rich in all the characteristic Malay types.The hats of the various islands have been very unequallycollected, 36 species being recorded from Java, 23 from Sumatra,but only 16 each from Borneo and Malacca.Leaving these outof consideration, and taking into account the terrestrial mammalsonly, we find that Java is the poorest in species, whileBorneo, Sumatra, and Malacca are tolerably equal ;the numbersbeing 55, 62, 66, and 65 respectively. Of these we find thatthe species confined to each island or district are (in the sameorder) 6, 16, 5, and 6. It thus appears that Borneo is, in itsmammalia, the most isolated and peculiar ;next comes Sumatra,and then Malacca and Java, as shown by the following table.PeculiarSpecies.16566This result differs from that which we have arrived atmore detailed consideration of the fauna of Java; and itby theservesto show that the estimate of a country by the number of itspeculiar genera and species alone, may not always represent itstrue zoological importance or its most marked features. Java,as we have seen, is differentiated from the other three districtsand byby the absence of numerous types common to them all,its independent continental relations. Borneo is also well distinguishedby its peculiar genera and specific types, yet it is atthe same time more closely related to Sumatra and Malaccathan is Java. The two islands have evidently had a verydifferent history, which a detailed knowledge of their geology

;chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 355would alone enable us to trace. Should we ever arrive at afair knowledge of the physical changes that have resulted inthe present condition, we shall almost certainly find that manyof the differences and anomalies of their existing fauna andflora will be accounted for.In Birds we hardly find anything to differentiate Borneo andSumatra in any clear manner.Pityriasis and Carpococcyx, oncethought peculiar to the former, are now found also in the latterand we have not a single genus left to characterize Borneo exceptScluvaneria a peculiar fly-catcher, and Indicator, an African andIndian group not known to occur elsewhere in the Malaysub-region.Sumatra as yet alone possesses Psil&pogon, a remarkableform of barbet, but we may well expect that itwill be soonfound in the interior of Borneo or Malacca ; it also has Berenicornis,an African form of hornbill. The Malay Peninsulaappears to have no genus peculiar to it, but it possessessome Chinese and Indian forms which do not pass into theislands.As to the species, our knowledge of them is at presentvery imperfect. The Malay Peninsula is perhaps the bestknown, but it is probable that both Sumatra and Borneo arequite as rich in species. With the exception of the generanoted above, and two or three others as yet found in two islandsonly, the three districts we arenow considering may be said tohave an almost identical bird-fauna, consisting largely of thesame species and almost wholly of these together withcloselyallied species of the same genera. There are no well-markedgroups which especially characterise one of these islands ratherthan the other, so that even the amount of speciality whichBorneo undoubtedly exhibits as regards mammalia, is onlyfaintly shown by its birds. The Pittidae may perhaps be namedas the most characteristic Bornean group, that island possessingmost beautiful birds of an unusually beautiful family.six species, three of which are peculiar to it and are among theYet Sumatrapossesses two peculiar, and hardly less remarkable species.In other classes of vertebrates, in insects, and in land-shells,our knowledge is far too imperfect touseful comparison between the faunas.allow of our making any

356 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part Hi,Banca.—We must, however note the fact of peculiar speciesoccurring in Banca, a small island close to Sumatra, and thusoffering another problem in distribution. A squirrel (Sciurusbangkanus) is allied to three species found in Malacca, Sumatra,and Borneo respectively, but quite as distinct from them allthey are from each other. More curious are the two species ofPitta peculiar to Banca ; one, Pitta megarhynchus, is allied tothe P. brachyurus, which inhabitsasthe whole sub-region and extendsto Siam and China, but differs from it in its very large billand differently coloured head ; the other, P. bangkanus, is alliedto P. cucullatus, which extends from Nepal to Malacca, and toP. sordidus, which inhabits both Borneo and Sumatra as well asthe Philippines.We have here, on a small scale, asomewhat similar problemto that of Java, and as this is comparatively easy ofsolution wewill consider it first. Although, on the map, Banca is so veryclose to Sumatra, the observer on the spot at once sees that theproximity has been recently brought about. The whole southeastcoast of Sumatra isa great alluvial plain, hardly yet raisedabove the sea level, and half flooded in the wet season. It isplainly a recent formation, caused bythe washing down into ashallow sea of the debris from the grand range of volcanicmountains 150 miles distant. Banca, on the other hand is,though low, a rugged and hilly island, formedalmost wholly ofancient rocks of apparently volcanic origin, and closely resemblingparts of the Malay Peninsula and the intervening chain ofsmall islands. There is every appearance that Banca onceformed the extremity of the Peninsula, at which time it wouldprobably have been separated from Sumatra by 50 or 100 milesof sea.Its productions should, therefore, most resemble those ofSingapore and Malacca, and the few peculiar speciesit possesseswill be due to their isolation in a small tract of country, surroundedby a limited number of animal and vegetable forms, andsubject to the influence of a peculiar soil and climate. Theparent species existing in such large tracts as Borneo or Sumatra,subjected to more varied conditions of soil, climate,vegetation, food, and enemies, would preserve, almost or quite

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 357unchanged, the characteristics which had been developed undernearly identical conditions when the great island formed partof the continent. Geology teaches us that similar changes inthe forms of the higher vertebrates have taken place during thePost-Tertiary epoch ; and there are other reasons for believingthat, under such conditions of isolation as in Banca, thechange may have required but a very moderate period, evenreckoned in years. We will now return to the more difficultproblem presented by the peculiar continental relations of Java,as already detailed.Probable Recent Geographical Changes in the Indo-MalayIslands.—Although Borneo is by far the largest of the Indo-Malay islands, yet its physical conformation is such that, werea depression to occur of one or two thousand feet, it would bereduced to a smaller continuous area than either Sumatra orJava. Except in its northern portion it possesses no loftymountains, while alluvial valleys of great extent penetrate faiinto its interior. A very moderate depression, of perhaps 500feet, would convert it into an island shaped something like Celebes;and its mountains are of so small an average elevation, andconsist so much of isolated hills and detached ranges, that adepression of 2,000 feet would almost certainly break it up intoa group of small islands, with a somewhat larger one to thenorth.Sumatra (and to a less extent Java) consists of an almostcontinuous range of lofty mountains, connected by plateaus from3,000 to 4,000 feet high ; so that although a depression of 2,000feet would greatly diminish their size, it would probably leavethe former a single island, while the latter would be separatedinto two principal islands of still considerable extent. The enormousamount of volcanic actionin these two islands, and thegreat number of conical mountains which must have been slowlyraised, chiefly by ejected matter, to the height of 10,000 and12,000 feet, and whose shape indicates that they have been formedabove water, renders it almost certain that for long periodsthey have not undergone submersion to any considerable extent.In Borneo, however, we have no such evidences. No volcano,

358 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.active or extinct, is known in its entire area ; while extensivebeds of coal of tertiary age, in every part of it, prove that it hasbeen subject to repeated submersions, at no distant date geologically.An indication, if not a proof, of still more recent submersionis to be found in the great alluvial valleys which onthe south and south-west extend fully 200 miles inland, whilethey are to a less degree a characteristic feature all round theisland. These swampy plains have been formed by the combinedaction of rivers and tides ; and they point clearly to an immediatelypreceding state of things, when that which is even nowbarely raised above the ocean, was more or less sunk below it.These various indications enable us toclaim, as an admissibleand even probable supposition, that at some epoch during thePliocene period! of geology, Borneo, as we now know it, did notexist ;but was represented by a mountainous island at its presentnorthern extremity, with perhaps a few smaller islets to thesouth. We thus have a clear opening from Java to the SiamesePeninsula ;and as the whole of that sea is less than 100 fathomsdeepj there is no difficulty in supposing an elevation of landconnecting the two together, quite independent of Borneo on theone hand and Sumatra on the other.This union did not probablylast long ; but it was sufficient to allow of the introductioninto Java of the Rhinoceros javanicus, and that group of Indo-Chinese and Himalayan species of mammalia and birds whichit alone possesses. When this ridge had disappeared by subsidence,the next elevation occurred a little more to the east,and produced the union of many islets which, aided by subaerialdenudation, formed the present island of Borneo. It isprobable that this elevation was sufficiently extensive to uniteBorneo for a time with the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, thushelping to produce that close resemblance of genera and even ofspecies, which these countries exhibit, and obliterating muchot their former speciality, of which, however, we have stillsome traces in the long-nosed monkey and Ptilocerus ofBorneo, and the considerable number of genera both of mammaliaand birds confined to two only out of thethree divisionsof typical Malaya. The subsidence which again divided these

;chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 359countries by arms of the sea rather wider than at present,might have left Banca isolated, as already referred to, with itsproportion of the common fauna to be, in a few instancessubsequently modified.Thus we are enabled to understand how the special relationsof the species of these islands to each other may have beenbrought about To account for their more deep-seated andgeneral zoological features, we must go farther back.Probable Origin of the Malayan Fauna.—The typical Malayanfauna is essentially an equatorial one, and must have beenelaborated in an extensive equatorial area. This ancient landalmost certainly extended northward over the shallow sea as farasthe island of Palawan, the Paracels shoals and even Hainan.To the east, it may at one time have included the Philippinesand Celebes, but not the Moluccas. To the south it was limitedby the deep sea beyond Java. It included all Sumatra and theNicobar islands, and there is every reason to believe that itstretched out also to the west so as to include the central peakof Ceylon, the Maldive isles, and the Cocos islands west ofSumatra. We should then have an area as extensive as SouthAmerica to 15° south latitude, and well calculated to developthat luxuriant fauna and flora which has since spread to theHimalayas. The submergence of the western half of this area(leaving only a fragment in Ceylon) would greatly diminish thenumber of animals and perhaps extinguish some peculiar typesbut the remaining portion would still form a compact and extensivedistrict, twice as large as the peninsula of India, over thewhole of which a uniform Malayan fauna would prevail.Thefirst important change would be the separation of Celebes ;and':his was probably effected by a great subsidence, forming the deepstrait that now divides that island from Borneo. During theprocess Celebesitself was no doubt greatly submerged, leavingonly a few islands in which were preserved that remnant of theancient Malayan fauna that now constitutes one of its moststriking and anomalous features. The Philippine area wouldnext be separated, and perhaps be almost wholly submerged ;or

;360 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [past hi.broken up into many small volcanic islets in which a limitednumber of Malayan types alone survived. Such a condition ofthings will account for the very small variety of mammalia comparedwith the tolerably numerous genera of birds, that nowcharacterise its fauna ; while both here and in Celebes we findsome of the old Malayan types preserved, which, in the extendedarea of the Sunda Isleshave been replaced by more dominantforms.The next important change would be the separation of Javaand here also no doubt a considerable submergence occurred,rendering the island an unsuitable habitation for the variousMalay types whose absence forms one of its conspicuous features.It has since remained permanently separated from the otherislands, and has no doubt developed some peculiar species, whileit may have preserved some ancient forms which in the largerarea have become changed. From the fact that a number of itsspecies are confined either to the western or the eastern half ofthe island, it is probable that it long continued as two islands,which have become united at a comparatively recent period.It has also been subjected to the immigration of Indo-Chineseforms, as already referred to in the earlier part of this sketch.We have thus shown how the main zoological features of theseveral sub-divisions of the Malayan sub-region may beaccounted for, by means of a series of suppositions as to pastchanges which, though for the most part purely hypothetical,are always in accordance with what we know both of thephysical geography and the zoology of the districts in questionand those which surround them.It may also be remarked, thatwe know, with a degree of certainty which may be called absolute,that alternate elevation and subsidence is the normal state ofthings all over the globe ; that it was the rule in the earliestgeological epochs, and that it has continued down to thehistorical era. We know too, that the amount of elevation andsubsidence that can be proved to have occurred again and againin the same area, is often much greater than is required for thechanges here speculated on,—while the time, required for suchchanges is certainly less than that necessitated by the changes

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 361of specific and generic forms which have coincided with, and beento a large extent dependent on them. We have, therefore, truecauses at work, and our only suppositions have been as to howthose causes could have brought about the results which wesee ; and however complex and unlikely some of the supposedchanges may seem to the reader, the geologist who has made astudy of such changes, as recorded in the crust of the earth,will not only admit them to be probable, but will be inclinedto believe that they have really been far more complex andmore unexpected than any supposition we can make aboutthem.There is one other external relation of the Malayan faunaabout which it may be necessary to say a few words. I havesupposed the greatestwestward extension of the Malayan areato be indicated by the Maldive islands, but some naturalistswould extend it to include Madagascar in order to account forthe range of the Lemuridse.Such an extension would, however,render it difficult to explain the very small amount of correspondencewith a pervading diversity, between the Malayan andMalagasy faunas. It seems more reasonable to suppose anapproximation of the two areas, without actual union havingever occurred. This approximation would have allowed theinterchange of certain genera of birds, which are common tothe Oriental Eegion and the Mascarene islands, but it wouldhave been too recent to account for the diffusionof the lemurswhich belong to distinct genera and even distinct families.Thisprobably dates back to a much earlier period, when the lemurinetype had a wide range over the northern hemisphere. Subjectedto the competition of higher forms, these imperfectlydeveloped groups have mostly died out, except a few isolatedexamples, chiefly found in islands, and a few groups in Africa.In our discussion of the origin of the Ethiopian fauna, wehave supposed that a close connection once existed betweenMadagascar and Ceylon.This was during a very early tertiaryepoch ; and if, long after it had ceased and the fauna of Ceylonand South India had assumed somewhat more of their presentcharacter, we suppose the approximation or union of CeylonYol. I.—25

—302 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.and Malaya to have taken place, we shall perhaps be able toaccount for most of the special affinities they present, with theleast amount of simultaneous elevation of the ocean bed ; whichit must always be remembered, requires a corresponding depressionelsewhere to balance it.Concluding Remarks on the Oriental Region.—We have alreadyso fully discussed the internal and external relations of theseveral sub-regions, that little more need be said. The rich andvaried fauna which inhabited Europe at the dawn of the tertiaryperiod,—as shown by the abundant remains of mammaliawherever suitable deposits of Eocene age have been discovered,proves, that an extensive Palsearctic continent then existed;and the character of the floraisand fauna of the Eocene depositsso completely tropical, that we may be sure there was then nobarrier of climate between it and the Oriental region. At thatearly period the northern plains of Asia were probably underwater, while the great Thibetan plateau and the Himalayan range,had not risen to more than a moderate height, and would havesupported a luxuriant sub*-tropical flora and fauna.The UpperMiocene deposits of northern and central India, and Burmah,agree in their mammalian remains with those of central andsouthern Europe, whileclosely allied forms of elephant, hysena,tapir, rhinoceros, and Chalicotherium have occurred in NorthChina; leading us to conclude that one great fauna thenextended over much of the Oriental and Palsearctic regions.Perim island at the mouth of the Eed Sea, where similarremains are found, probably shows the southern boundary ofthis part of the old Palsearctic region in the Miocene period.Towards the equator there would, of course, be some peculiargroups ; but we can hardly doubt, that, in that wonderful timewhen even the lands that stretched out furthest towards thepole, supported a luxuriant forest vegetation, substantially onefauna ranged over the whole of the great eastern continent of thenorthern hemisphere. During the Pliocene period, however, aprogressive change went on which resulted in the completedifferentiation of the Oriental and Palsearctic faunas. The

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL EEGION. 363causes of this change were of two kinds. There was a greatgeographical and physical revolution effected by the elevationof the Himalayas and the Thibetan plateau, and, probably atthe same time, the northward extension of the great Siberianplains. This alone would produce an enormous change ofclimate in all the extra-tropical part of Asia, and inevitablylead to a segregation of the old fauna into tropical and temperate,and a modification of the latter so as to enable it tosupport a climate far more severe than it had previously known.But it is almost certain that, concurrently with this, there wasa change going on of acosmical nature, leading to an alterationof the climate of the northern hemisphere from equable toextreme, and culminating in that period of excessive cold whichdrove the last remnants of the old sub-tropical fauna beyondthe limits of the Palaearctic region. From that time, the Orientaland the Ethiopian regions alone contained the descendants of manyof the most remarkable types which had previously flourishedover all Europe and Asia ; but the early history of these tworegions, and the peculiar equatorial types developed in each,sufficiently separate them, as we have already shown. TheMalayan sub-region is tLat in which characteristic Orientaltypes are now best developed, and where the fundamental contrastof the Oriental, as compared with the Ethiopian andPaleearctic regions, is most distinctly visible.

364 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [part in.TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION.In constructing these tables, showing the distribution ofvarious classes of animals in the Oriental region, the followingsources of information have been chiefly relied on, in additionto the general treatises, monographs, catalogues, &c, used forthe compilation of the Fourth Part of this work.Mammalia.—Jerdon's Indian Mammalia ;Kelaart's Fauna ofCeylon; Horsfield and Moore's Catalogue of the East IndiaMuseum ; Swinhoe's Catalogue of Chinese Mammalia ; S.Miiller's Zoology of the Indian Archipelago ;Dr. J. E. Gray'slist of Mammalia of the Malay Archipelago (Voyage of Samarang); and papers by Anderson, Blyth, Cantor, Gray, Peters,Swinhoe, &c.Birds.—Jerdon's Birds of India ; Horsfield and Moore's Catalogue;Holdsworth's list of Ceylon Birds ; Schlegel's Catalogueof the Leyden Museum ; Swinhoe on the Birds of China, Formosa,and Hainan ; Salvadori on the Birds of Borneo ; LordWalden on the Birds of the Philippine Islands ; and papersby Blyth, Blanford, Elwes, Elliot, Stoliczka, Sclater, Sharpe,Swinhoe, Verreaux,and Lord Walden.Reptiles.—Giinther's Eeptiles of British India; papers bysame author,and by Dr. Stoliczka.

chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL EEGION. 365TABLE I.FAMILIES OF ANIMALS INHABITING THE ORIENTAL REGION.Explanation.Names in italics show families peculiar to the region.Numbers correspond with those in Part I V".Names enclosed thus ( ) barely enter the region, and are not considered really tobelong to it.Sub-regions.Order and Family.o .•a c.5-3•c.sE? Range beyond the Region.MAMMALIA.Primates.1. Simiidae2. Semnopithecida?3. Cynopithecidae6. Lemuridae7. TarsiidceW. AfricaTropical AfricaAll Africa, S. PalaearcticEthiopianCelebesChiroptera.9. Pteropidae11. Rhinolophidae12. Vespertilionidse13. Noctilionidae ...Ethiopian, AustralianThe Eastern HemisphereCosmopoliteTropical regionsInsectivora.14. Galeopithecidce16. Tupaiidce17. Erinaceidse21. Talpidae22. SoricidaePalaearctic, S. AfricaPalaearctic, NearcticPalaearctic,Ethiopian, N. AmericaCarnivora.23. Felidae ...25. Viverridae27. HyaenidaeAll regions but AustralianEthiopian, S. PalaearcticEthiopian, S. Palaearctic28. Canidpe ...29. Mustelidse31. iEluridae ...32. Ursidae ...All regions but Australian [?]All regions but AustralianPalaearcticPalaearctic, Nearctic, ChiliCetacea.OceanicSlRENIA.42. ManatidaeEthiopian, N. PacificUngulata.43. (Equidae)...Palaearctic, Ethiopian

.i366 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [PART III.Sub-regions.Order and Family.aoo =3•o.S'OeSO >-.S3Range beyond the Region.44. Tapiridae...45. Rinocerotidae47. Suidae ...49. Tragulidse50. Cervidae ...52. Bovidae53. ElephantidaeNeotropicalEthiopianPalaearctic, Ethiopian, NeotropicalW. AfricaAll regions but Ethiopian and AustralianAll regions but Australian and NeotropicalEthiopianRodentia.55. Muridae ...56. Spalacidae61. Sciuridse ...67. Hystricidse70. LeporidaeCosmopolite, excl. OceaniaPalaearctic, EthiopianAll regions but AustralianS. Palaearctic, EthiopianAll regions but AustralianEdentata.72. ManididseEthiopianBIRDS.Passeres.1. Turdidse2. Sylviidae3. Timaliidse4. Panuridae5. Cinclidae6. Troglodytidse .8. Certhiidae9. Sittidae ...10. Paridse.Almost CosmopoliteAlmost CosmopoliteEthiopian, AustralianPalaearcticNot Ethiopian or AustralianAmerican and PalaearcticPalaearctic, Nearctic, AustralianPalaearctic, Nearctic, Australian, MadagascarThe Eastern Hemisphere and North America11. Liotrichidos ..12. Fhyllomithidce13. Pycnonotidse ..14. Oriolidae15. Campephagidae16. Dicruridae17. Muscicapida? ...18. Pachycephalidae19. Laniidae20. Corvidae23. Nectariniidae ...24. Dicaeidae30. Hirundinidae ...33. Fringillidae ...34. Ploceidae35. Sturnidse36. Artaniidae37. Alaudidae38. Motacillidae ...Ethiopian, MoluccasThe Eastern HemisphereEthiopian, AustralianEthiopian, AustralianThe Eastern HemisphereAustralianThe Eastern Hemisphere and North AmericaCosmopoliteEthiopian, AustralianEthiopian, Australian]CosmopoliteAll regions but AustralianEthiopian, AustralianThe Eastern HemisphereAustralianAll regions but NeotropicalCosmopolite43. Eurylannidce ...47. PittidaeEthiopian, Australian

CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 367Sub-regions.Order and Family.o .ri ad =3 1 *aw 75Range beyond the Region.PlCARiai.51. Picidae52. Yungidas53. Indicatoridae54. Megalaemidae58. Cuculidae62. Coraciidae63. Meropidae66. Trogonidae67. Alcedinidae68. Bucerotidae69. Upupidae71. Podargidae73. Caprimulgidae74. Cypselidae ...Psittaci.76. (Cacatuidffi) ...78. PalaeornithidaeColumba;.84. Columbidse ...Galling.86. Pteroclidae ...87. Tetraonidae ...88. Phasianidae89. Turnicidaj90. MegapodiidaeAll regions but AustralianPalaearcticEthiopianEthiopian, NeotropicalCosmopoliteEthiopian, AustralianEthiopian, AustralianNeotropical, EthiopianCosmopoliteEthiopian, Austro-MalayanEthiopian, S. PalaearcticAustralianCosmopoliteCosmopoliteAustralianEthiopian, Austro-MalayanCosmopoliteEthiopian, PalaearcticEastern Hemisphere and North AmericaEthiopian, Palaearctic, North AmericaEthiopian, Australian, S. PalaearcticAustralianAccipitres.94. Vulturidae ..96. Falconidae ...97. Pandionidae ...98. StrigidaeAll regions but AustralianCosmopoliteCosmopoliteCosmopoliteGrall.5:.99. Rallidae100. Scolopacidae103. Parridae...104. Glareolidae105. Charadriidae106. Otididae...107. Gruidae ..113. Ardeidaj114. Plataleidae115. Ciconiidae117. PhaenicopteridaeCosmopoliteCosmopoliteTropical regionsEastern HemisphereCosmopoliteEastern HemisphereAll regions but NeotropicaCosmopoliteAlmost CosmopoliteAlmost CosmopoliteEthiopian, Neotropical, S. Palaearctic

368 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [PART III.

jCHAP. XII.THE ORIENTAL REGION. 369

370 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.

,CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 371TABLEGENERA OF TERRESTRIAL MAMMALIA AND BIRDS INHABITINGTHE ORIENTAL REGION.II.Explanation.Names in italics show genera peculiar to the region.Names inclosed thus (...)show genera which just enter the region, but are not consideredproperly to belong to it.Genera truly belonging to the region are numbered consecutively.MAMMALIA.Order, Family, audGenus.3 °Range within the Region.Range beyond theRegion.PRIMATES.SlMIID^E.1. Simia2. Hylobates3. SiamangaBorneo and SumatraSylhet to Java and S. GhinaMalacca and SumatraSemnopithecid.®.4. PresbytesCYNOPITHECID.E.5. Macacus6. Cynopithecus .28221Simla to Aracan and E. Thibet,Ceylon, and JavaThe whole regionPhilippinesMoupin, Palsearctic [?]S. PalsearcticCelebes(Sub-Order)LEMUROIDEA.Lemtjkid^!.7. Nycticebus8. Loris ... .E. Bengal to Java, and S. ChinaCeylon and S. IndiaTAKSIID.E.9. TarsiusCHIROPTERA.Pteropim:.Sumatra, Borneo and PhilippinesN. Celebes10. Pteropus11. Xantharpyia .12. Cynopterus13. Megcerops ... .14. Macroglossus .15. Harpyia ... .The whole regionThe whole regionThe whole regionSumatraJava, Borneo, PhilippinesPhilippinesTropics of E. Hemisp.Austro-Malaya, Ethiop.S. PalsarcticTropical AfricaAustro-MalayaAustro-MalayaRhinolophid-s;.16. Aquias ... .2 Nepal to Java

372 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.Order, Family, andGenus..'3o &"A ^Range within the Region.Range beyond the Region.17. Phyllotis18. Rhinoloplius ...19. Hipposideros ...20. Phyllorhina ...21. Asellia22. Petalia23. Coslops24. Rhinovoma25. Megadernia26. Nycteris110PhilippinesThe whole regionThe whole regionIndo-Malay subregionJava, SumatraJavaIndia (Bengal)All IndiaThe whole regionJavaWanner parts of E. Hem.Austro-MalayaAustro-Malaya, TropicalAfricaAmboyna, EgyptEgypt, PalestineTernate, N. EthiopianEthiopianVESPERTILIONIDiE.27. Scotophilus28. "Vespertilio29. Keriovula30. TrilatUus31. Noctulina32. Miniopteris33. Murina34. Nycticejus35. Harpiocephalus36. Taphozous37. Myotis38. Plecotus ..-. ...39. Barbastellus ..40. Nyctophilus ..10128233The whole regionThe whole regionThe whole regionIndo-MalayaNepal to PhilippinesJava, Philippines, and ChinaHimalayas to JavaAll IndiaJava and PhilippinesThe whole regionHimalayasOarjeelingHimalayasMussoorieAustral., Nearc, Neotrop.CosmopoliteS. Africa, N. China??S. Africa, S. Palsearctic,Australian?Trop. Africa, Temp. Amer.Ethiop. , Austro-Malayan,NeotropicalTimor, S. PaleearcticEuropeAustralianNoctilionid^!.41. Chiromcles42. Nyctinomus ..Indo-Malaya, SiamThe whole regionMadagascar, AmericaINSECTIVORA.GaLEOPITHECIDjE.43. Galeopithecus ..TUPAIID.E.14. Tupaia45. Hylomys46. PtilocerusIndo-Malay and Philippines,excl. JavaS. and E. of India to BorneoTenasserim to Java and BorneoBorneoErinaceid^e.47. Erinaceus48. GymnuraHindostan and FormosaMalacca, Sumatra, BorneoPalsearctic, S. AfricaTALPID.E.49. TalpaHimalayas to Assam, & FormosaPalaearcticSoricid^:.50. Sorex20The whole regionAll regions but Austral,and S. America

CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 37^1Order, Family, andGenus.

374 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PAET III.Order, Family, andGenus.

CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 375Order, Family, andGenus.

376 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.

CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 377Order, Family, andGenus.

:378 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGKAPHY. [PART III,Order, Family, andGenus.81. Siva82. Minla83. Proparus84. Allotrius85. Cutia86. Yuhina87. Ixulus88. Myzornis34Himalayas -.—3,000—7,000 ftNepal to E. Thibet ; moderateheightsN. W. Himalayas to E. Thibethi §hN. W. Himalayas to TenassenmE. Thibet and JavaNepal and SikhimHimalayas to E. Thibet, highDarjeeling to TenasserimNepal and SikhimPerhaps also PalsearcticPerhaps Palse arcticPhyllornithid^;.89. Phyllomis ...90. Iora91. Erpomis1052The whole region ; excludingChina and PhilippinesThe whole reg. , excl. PhilippinesNepal and HainanPycnonotid^i.92. Microscelis93. Pycnonotus ..94. Hemixxis95. Hypsipetes ...96. Criniger97. Setomis98. MeOriolid^;.99. Oriolus100. AnalcipusCaMPEPHAGIDjE.101. Pcricrocotus ...102. Graucalus103. Campephaga ...104. Volvocivora ...105. Lalage106. Cochoa54021511341232271723Burmah, China, MalayaThe whole regionHimalayas and HainanThe whole regionIndia, Ceylon, Malaya, HainanMalacca, Sumatra, BorneoAracan and MalayaThe whole regionHimalayas, Malaya, Formosa,HainanJapanEthiopianMadagascarAfrica, MoluccasPahearc. Ethiopian, Celebes,FloresThe whole regionLombock ;migrantthe Amoor,India, Ceylon, Malaya, Philippines,AustralianHainan and FormosaPhilippine IslandsCelebes to N. GuineaThe whole reg., excl. PhilippinesMalaya and PhilippinesCelebes to Pacific Is.Himalayas and JavaDicrurid^;.107. Dicrurus108. Bhringa109. Chibia110.. Chaptia111. IrenaMuscicapice.112. Muscicapula ..113. Erythrostema172133The whole regionHimalayas to Burmah and JavaIndia to ChinaIndia to Borneo and FormosaS. India and Ceylon, Assam toMalaya and PhilippinesCashmere to "W. China, S. IndiaThe whole region, excludingPhilippinesEthiop. and AustralianPekin in summerPalsearctic and Mada-gascar

—?nAP. xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 379Order, Family, andGenus.114. Xanthpygia ...115. Hemipus116. Pycnophrys ...117. Heniiehelidon118. Niltava119. Cyornis120. Cyanoptila ...121. Eumyias122. Siphia123. Anthipes124. Schwaneria ...125. Hypothymis ...126. Rhipidura ..127. Chelidorkynx128. Cryptolopha ...21133141Malacca to ChinaIndia and CeylonJavaN. India to Ceylon, and China ;? PhilippinesHimalayas to W. ChinaThe whole regionHainan to JapanThe whole reg. , excl. PhilippinesN. W. India, Ceylon, Formosa,E. ThibetNepalBorneoThe whole regionAll India and Ceylon, Malaya,PhilippinesN. IndiaThe whole regionN. China and JapanEastern AsiaCelebes and TimorJapan and N. ChinaCelebesAustralianCelebes129. Tchitrea130. Philentoma ...PACHYCEPHALID.E.131. Hylocharis ...The whole regionMalaya and PhilippinesAracan to Malaya & PhilippinesN. China, and Japan,Flores, EthiopianCelebes, TimorLANIID.E.132. Lanius133. Lanielhcs . .134. Tephrodorms...CORVID-E.135. Pityriasis136. Platylophus ..137. Garrulus138. Cissa139. Urocissa140. Temnurus ...141. Dendrocitta ...142. Crypsirhina ...143. Nucifraga144. Pica145. Corvus(Fregilus1615The whole regionJavaIndia, Ceylon, andHanianMalaya ;Borneo, SumatraMalayaHimalayas, S. China, FormosaHimalayas and Aracan to JavaN. "VV. Himalayas, Ceylon, Burmah,China, FormosaMalaya and Cochin ChinaAll India to S. China, Formosa,and SumatraJava and BurmahHimalayas and E. Thibet ;8,000—10,000 feetChina and Himalayas of BcetanThe whole regionHimalayas, high)Nearc, Palsearc, Ethiop.PalsearcticN. China and JapanPalaearctic genusPalaearctic and NearcticCosmop., excl. S. Am.Palaearctic genusNECTARIXIID-ffil.146. ^Ethopaga147. Chalcostetha...148. Arachnothera149. Arachnecthera13112Himalayas to "W. China & Java,Central IndiaMalaya and SiamThe whole reg., excl. PhilippinesThe whole region, excl.ChinaCelebesCelebes to New GuineaCelebes, Lombock, NewGuineaCelebes to New Iceland

380 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.Order, Family, andGenus.

.CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 381Order,Family, andGenus.c ^Range within the Region.Range beyond the Region.ARTAMIDjE.180. ArtamusThe whole regionAustralianAlaudid^e.(Otocorys181. Alauda182. Galerita183. Calandrella ...(Melanocorypha184. Mirafra185. Ammomanes...186. Pyrrhulauda...N. India, in winter)India and ChinaCentral IndiaIndia and BurinahN. W. India)India, Ceylon, and JavaCentral IndiaIndia and CeylonPalaearctic and NearcticPalaearctic and EthiopianPalaearcticPalaearctic and EthiopianPalaearcticEthiopianPalaearctic and EthiopianEthiopianMOTACILLID^!.187. Motacilla188. Budytes189. Calobates190. Nemoricola ...191. Authus192. Corydalla193. Heterura62113India and Ceylon to China andPhilippinesChina and PhilippinesThe whole regionIndia, Ceylon, and MalayaIndia and ChinaThe whole regionHimalayasPalaearctic and EthiopianPalaearctic & Ethiopian,MoluccasPalaearcticCosmopolitePalaearctic, AustralianEURYLEMID-E.194. Eurylocmm ...195. Serilophus196. Psarisomus ..197. Corydon198. Cymbirhynchus199. Calyptomcna . .MalayaHimalayasHimalayasMalacca, Sumatra, BorneoAracan, Siam, and MalayaMalacca, Sumatra, BorneoPlTTIDiE200. Pitta ...201. Eucichla202. Hydrornis1133The whole regionMalayaHimalayas and MalayaAustralian,EthiopianPICAKI.E.PlCIDiE.203. Vivia204. Sasia205. Picus206. Hyopicus207. Yungipicus ...208. Reinwardtipicus209. Vcnilia210. Chrysocolaptes211. Hcmicercus ...212. Gecinus21411212512N. W. Himalayas to E. Thibet,3,000-5.000 ft.Nepal to Malaya and BorneoThe whole region, excl. PhilippinesHimalayasThe whole regionPenang to Sumatra and BorneoNepal to Sumatra and BorneoIndia, Ceylon, Malaya, PhilippinesMalabar, Pegu to MalayaAll India and Ceylon to Peguand MalayaPalaearctic, AmericanN. ChinaN. China, Japan, CelebesPalaearctic

.The382 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.Order, Family, andGenus.© QJ! olRange within the Region.Rang? beyond the Region.213. Mulleripicus . .214.215.216.217.218.BrachyplernusTigaGecinulusMiglyptesMicropternus...Yttngid^.219. YunxMalabar, Aracan to Malaya and CelebesPhilippinesIndia, Ceylon, and ChinaIndia to MalayaS. Himalayas to BurmahMalayaIndia and Ceylon, to Borneo andS. ChinaCentral and S.ChinaPalpearctic, SAfricaINDICATORID.E.220. IndicatorHimalayas and BorneoEthiopianMEGAL.EMID.aS.221. Megalcema ...222. Xantholccma ...223. Psilopogon224. Coloramphus...27412The whole region, exel. PhilippinesAll India and Ceylon to Peguand MalayaSumatraMalacca, Sumatra and BorneoCuCTJLIDiE.225. Phcenicopliaes226. Rhinococcyx ...227. Dasylophus ...228. Lepidogrammus219. Carpococcyx ...230. Zanclostomus ..231. Rlwpodytes ...232. Taccocoua233. Poliococcyx ...234. Rhinortha235. Centropus236. Cuculus237. Cacomantis ...238. Chrysococcyx239. Surniculus ...240. Hierococcyx ...241. Coccystes242. Eudynamis ...1111117411141095262 ICeylonJavaPhilippine IslandsPhilippine IslandsBorneo, SumatraMalayaNepal to Ceylon, Hainan andMalayaAll India, Ceylon, MalaccaMalacca, Sumatra, BorneoMalacca, Sumatra, BorneoThe whole regionThe whole regionThe whole regionThe whole regionIndia, Ceylon and MalayaThe whole regionThe whole region, excl. Philippineswhole regionEthiopian, AustralianPalsearc, Ethiop., Aust.AustralianEthiopian, AustralianCelebes, N. China andAmoorlandEthiopianAustralianCoraciim:.243. Coracias244. Eurystomus ...MEROPID.E.245. Nyctiomis2 India, Ceylon and BurmahThe whole regionS. India to Himalayas, Burmah,Sumatra, and BorneoEthiopian, S. PalaearcticCelebesEthiopian, Australian

JCHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 383Order, Family,Genus.and°.2O eoRange within the Region.Range beyond the Region.GO246. MeropsTrogonuxe.The whole regionS. Palsearctic, Ethiopian,Australian247. Harpactes10The whole region, excl.ChinaALCEDINID.E.248. Halcyon249. Pelargopsis ...250. Carcineutes ...251. Ceyx252. Alcedo253. Alcyone254. CeryleBUCEROTID.E.255. Buceros256. Hydrocissa ...257. Berenicornis ...258. Calao259. Aceros260. Cranorrhinus261. Penclopides ...262. Rhinoplax263. Meniceros10726The whole regionThe whole region, excl. ChinaBurmah, Siam, and MalayaIndia and Ceylon, Malaya andPhilippinesThe whole regionPhilippinesIndia to S. ChinaS. Palcearctic, Ethopian,AustralianCelebes and TimorMoluccas & New Guin.Palaearctic, Ethiopian,Austro-MalayanAustralian genusEthiopian, S. Palsearctic,AmericanNepal to Malaya, S. India,PhilippinesIndia, Ceylon and MalayaSumatraTenasserim, MalayaW. AfricaAustro-MalayaS. E. HimalayasMalacca to Borneo and PhilippinesCelebesPhilippinesSumatra, BorneoIndia and Ceylon to TenasserimUpUPIDjE.264. UpupaIndia,Ceylon and BurmahEthiopian, S. PalsearcticPoDARGIDiE.265. BatraehostomusIndia,Ceylon and MalayaMoluccasCaprimulgid^e.266. Caprimulgus ...267. Lyncornis134The whole regionBurmah, Malaya, & PhilippinesThe Eastern HemisphereCelebesCypselid^e.268. Cypselus269. Dendrochelidon270. Collocalia ...271. ChseturaThe region, excl. Philippines The 01dWorld& S.Am er.Ceylon, India, Malaya, Philipp. Austro-MalayaThe whole regionMadagascar, Moluccas,Ceylon, India, Malaya, HainanPacific IslandsAmerica, AfricaPSITTACI.CACATTTID2E.(CacatuaPhilippines)Australian genusPAL.EORNITHID.E.272. Palaeornis14N. "W. India to Ceylon, Siam &MalayaEthiopian

N.384 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part nr.Order,Family, andGenus.273. Prioniturus274. Cyclopsitta275. Psittimos276. Tanygnathus277. LoriculusCOLUMB.E.COLUMBID.E.278. Treron .... .279. Ptilopus... .280. Carpophaga .281. Columba282. Janthsenas283. Macropygia284. Turtur ...285. Chalcophaps286. Phapitreron287. Caloenas...288. Phlegoenas289. GeopeliaGALLING.Pteroclim:.290. Pterocles21310736822121Philippine IslandsPhilippine IslandsMalaya, excl. JavaPhilippine IslandsCeylon, India, Malaya,pinesPhilip-The whole regionMalaya and PhilippinesIndia and Ceylon to Hainan andPhilippinesCeylon and India to TenasserimPhilippine, Andaman & NicobarIslandsNepal, Java, Hainan, PhilippinesThe whole regionIndia, Ceylon, Malaya, Hainan,Philippines, FormosaPhilippine IslandsNicobar and Philippine IslandsPhilippine and Sooloo IslandsPhilippine Islands, JavaCentral and S.IndiaCelebesPapuan IslandsAustro-MalayaCelebes and Moluccas,FloresEthiopian, MoluccasAustralianAustralianPalsearc, Ethiop., Amer.Japan, Moluccas to SauioanIslandsAustro-Malaya, AustraliaOldWorld, Austro-Malay.Austro-Malaya, AustraliaAustro-MalayaAustro-Mal. & PolynesiaAustro-Malaya &Austral.S. Palsearctic. Ethiopian.TetraonipjE.291. Francolinus292. Ortygornis293. Perdix ...294. Coturnix295. Rollulus...(Caccabis3312921Ceylon and India to S. ChinaCeylon to Himalayas, Sumatra &BorneoIndia, Malaya, Philippines, ChinaThe whole regionMalacca, Siam, Borneo, Philipp.W. Himalayas)S. Palsearctic, EthiopianPalaearctieThe Eastern HemispherePalsearctic genusPhasianid*.296. Pavo297. Argiisianus ...298. Polypledron ...(Lophophorus(Tetraophasis299. Ceriornis(Pucrasia300. Phasianus301. Emplocamus ..302. Gallus303. Galloperdix ..Ceylon to Himalayas, S.W. Chinaand Java4 Siam, Malacca, Borneo5 Upper Assam to S. W. China &Sumatra3 Cashmere and E. Thibet)1 E. Thibet)'5 W. Himalayas to W. China3 N. W. Himalayas to N. Chinaand Mongolia)3 W. Himalayas, S. China, Formosa13 N. W. Himalayas to ChinaSumatra and Borneo4 The region, excl. China3 Central India to CeylonPalsearctic genusPalsearctic genusS. E. PalsearcticPala?arctic genusS. PalsearcticCelebes and Timor

CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 385Order,Family,Genus.andC O)Range within thtTURNICID.E.304. TurnixMegapodiid^!.305. Megapodius ..ACCIPITRES.VULTURID^I.306. Vultur307. Gyps308. Pscud-ogyps ...309. Neophron ...Falconid^;.310. Circus311. Astur312. Accipiter313. Buteo314. Aquila315. Nisaetus316. Lophotriorchis317. Neopus318. Spizaetus319. Circaetus320. Spilornis321. Butastur322. Haliseetus ...323. Haliastur324. Milvus325. Elanus326. Machserhamphus327. Pernis328. Baza329. Hicrax330. Poliohierax ...331. Falco332. CerchneisPandionid^e.333. Pandion334. PolioaetusStrigid^.335. Athene ...336. Ninox337. Bubo ...338. Ketupa ...339. Scops

386 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.Order, Family, andGenus.

. tmiftxttozsoo . i1A V ST RAlVi N K EC 1 () NScale lm . b.-1.000 miles \ut«-/M&rqui-sas orWraJmOM Is.^ArchiprfagoEXPLANATIONTeir*stmd ContoaMifrom Sea tarl (.. 100(> fat. Z500 . . -.*«•.UIMi'»tX>l>ioooo saooo .HTuMiummuo 100 soStnnf.rdi rinyin^inil fiVnM L.wAv,Sp «Y..rk !'*, *B.«fk. . 1 Bi

CHAPTER XIII.THE AUSTRALIAN EEGION.The Australian is the great insular region of the earth. As awhole it is one of the best marked, and has even been consideredto be equal in zoological value to all the rest of the globe ; butits separate portions are very heterogeneous, and their limitssometimes ill-defined. Its central and most important massesconsist of Australia and New Guinea, in which the main featuresof the region are fully developed. To the north-west it extends toCelebes, in which a large proportion of the Australian charactershave disappeared, while Oriental types are mingled with themto such an extent that it is rather difficult to determine where tolocate it. To the south-east it includes New Zealand, which isin some respects so peculiar, that it has even been proposed toconstitute it a distinct region. On the east it embraces thewhole of Oceania to the Marquesas and Sandwich Islands, whosevery scanty and often peculiar fauna, must be affiliated to thegeneral Australian type.Australia is the largest tract of land in the region, beingseveral times more extensive than all the other islands combined,and it is here that the greatest variety of peculiar types havebeen developed. This island-continent, being situated in thetrack of the southern desert zone, and having no central mountainsto condense the vapours from the surrounding ocean, has alarge portion of its interior so parched up and barren as to bealmost destitute of animal life. The most extensive tract offertile and well-watered country is on the east and south east,

388 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.where a fine range of mountains reaches, in the Colony of Victoria,the limits of perpetual snow. The west coast also possessesmountains of moderate height, but the climate is very dry andhot. The northern portion is entirely tropical, yet it nowherepresents the luxuriance of vegetation characteristic of the greatisland of New Guinea immediately to the north of it. Taken asa whole, Australia is characterized by an arid climate and a deficiencyof water; conditions which have probably long prevailed,and under which its very peculiar fauna and flora have been developed.This fact will account for some of the marked differencesbetween it and the adjacent sub-regions of New Guineaand the Moluccas, where the climate is moist, and the vegetationluxuriant ;of,and these divergent features must never be lost sightin comparing the different portions of the Australian region.In Tasmania alone, which is however, essentially a detachedportion of Australia, a more uniform and moister climate prevails;but it is too small a tract of land, and has been toorecently severed from its parent mass to have developed aspecial fauna.The Austro-Malay sub-region (of which New Guinea is thecentral and typical mass) is strikingly contrasted with Australia,being subjected to purely equatorial conditions,—a high, butuniform temperature, excessive moisture, and a luxuriant forestvegetation, exactly similar in general features to that whichclothes the Indo-Malay Islands, and the other portions of thegreat equatorial forest zone.Such a climate and vegetation, beingthe necessary result of its geographical position, must haveexisted from remote geological epochs with but little change, andmust therefore have profoundly affected all the forms of lifewhich have been developed under their influence. Around NewGuinea as a centre are grouped a number of important islands,more or less closely agreeing with it in physical features, climate,vegetation, and forms of life. In most immediate connection weplace the Aru Islands, Mysol and Waigiou, with Jobie and theother Islands in Geelvinck Bay, all of which are connected withit by shallow seas ; they possess one of its most characteristicgroups, the Birds of Paradise, and have no doubt only recently (in

;chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 389a geological sense) been separated from it.In the next rank comethe large islands of the Moluccas on the west, and the rangeterminating in the Solomon Islands on the east, both of whichgroups possess a clearly Papuan fauna, although deficient inmany of the most remarkable Papuan types.All these islands agree closely with New Guinea itself inbeing very mountainous, and covered with a luxuriant forestvegetation ; but to the south-west we find a set of islands extendingfrom Timor to Lombock, which agreemore nearly withAustralia, both in climate and vegetation; being arid andabounding in eucalypti, acacias, and thickets of thorny shrubs.These, like the Moluccas, are surrounded by deep sea, and it isdoubtful whether they have either of them been actuallyconnectedwith New Guinea or Australia in recent geological timesbut the general features of their zoology oblige us to unite allthese islands with New Guinea as forming the Austro-Malaysub-division of the Australian region. Still further west however,we have the large island of Celebes, whose position is verydifficult to determine. It is mountainous, but has also extensiveplains and low lands. Its climate is somewhat arid in the south,where the woods are often scattered and thorny, while in thenorth it is moister, and the forests are luxuriant.It is surroundedby deep seas, but also by coralline and volcanic islets, indicatingformer elevations and subsidences.Its fauna presents the mostpuzzling relations, showing affinities to Java, to the Philippines,to the Moluccas, to New Guinea, to continental India, and even toAfrica;so that it is almost impossible to decide whether to placeit in the Oriental or the Australian region. On the whole thepreponderance of its relations appears to be with the latter,though itis undoubtedly very anomalous, and may, with almostas much propriety, be classed with the former. This will bebetterunderstood when we come to discuss its zoological peculiarities.The next sub-region consists of the extensive series of islandsscatteredover the Pacific, the principal groups being the SandwichIslands, the Marquesas and Society Islands, the Navigators',Friendly, and Fiji Islands. New Caledonia and the New

—;390 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Hebrides have rather an uncertain position, and it is difficulttodecide whether to class them with the Austro-Malay Islands,the Pacific Islands,"or Australia.The. islands of the west Pacific,north of the equator, also probably come into this region,although the Ladrone Islands may belong tothe Philippinesbut as the fauna of all these small islets is very scanty, andvery little known, they are not at present of much importance.There remains the islands of New Zealand, with the surroundingsmall islands, as far as the Auckland, Chatham, and NorfolkIslands. These are situated in the south temperateforest-zone. They are mountainous, and have a moist, equable,and temperate climate. They are true oceanic islands, and thetotalabsence of mammalia intimates that they have not beenconnected with Australia or any other continent in recent geologicaltimes. The general character of their zoology, no lessthan their botany, affiliates them however, to Australia as portionsof the same zoological region.General Zoological Characteristics of the Australian Region.—For the purpose of giving an idea of the very peculiar andstriking features which characterise the Australian region, itwill be as well at first to confine ourselves to the great centralland masses of Australia and New Guinea, where those featuresare manifested in their greatest force and purity, leaving thevarious peculiarities and anomalies of the outlying islands to bedealt with subsequently.Mammalia.—The Australian region is broadly distinguishedfroni all the rest of the globe by the entire absence of all theorders of non-aquatic mammalia that abound in the OldWorld, except two—the winged bats (Chiroptera), and the equallycosmopolite roderijts (Ptodentia). Of these latter however, onlyone family is represented—the Muridse — (comprising the ratsand mice), and the Australian representatives of these are all ofsmall or moderate size—a suggestive fact in appreciating the truecharacter of the Australian fauna.In place of the Quadrumana,Carnivora, and Ungulates, which abound in endless varietyin all the other regions under equally favourable conditions,Australia possesses two new orders (or perhaps sub-classes)

;chap, xiii.] THE AUSTKALIAN REGION. 391Marsupialia and Monotremata, found nowhere else on the globeexcept a single family of the former in America. The Marsupialsare wonderfully developed in Australia, where they existin the most diversified forms, adapted to different modes of life.Some are carnivorous, some herbivorous ; some arboreal, othersterrestrial. There are insect-eaters, root-gnawers, fruit-eaters,honey-featers, leaf or grass-feeders. Some resemble wolves,others nVarmots, weasels, squirrels, flying squirrels, dormice orjerboas. They are classed in six distinct families, comprisingabout thirty genera, and subserve most of the purposes ineconomy of nature, fulfilledthein other parts of the world by verydifferent groups ;yet they all possess common peculiarities ofstructure and habits which show that they are members ofone stock, and have no real affinity with the Old-World formswhich they often outwardly resemble.The other order, Monotremata, is only represented by two rareand very remarkable forms, Ornitlwrhynchus and Echidna, probablythe descendants of some of those earlier developments ofmammalian life which in every other part of the globe have longbeen extinct.The bats of Australia all belong to Old-World genera andpossess no features of special interest, a result of the wanderinghabits of these aerial mammals.The Eodents are more interesting.They are all more or less modified forms of mice or rats.Some belong to the widely distributed genus Mus, others to fourallied genera, which may be all modifications of some commonOld-World form. They spread all over Australia, and alliedspecies occur in Celebes and the Papuan Islands; so that althoughnot yet known from the Moluccas, thereetettfeMhat some of them exist there.can be littleBirds.—The typical Australian region, as above defined, isalmost as well characterized by its birds, as by its mammaliabut in this case the deficiencies are less conspicuous, while thepeculiar and characteristic families are numerous and important.The most marked deficiency as regards wide-spread families, isthe total absence of Fringillidse (true finches), Picidse (woodpeckers),Vulturidse (vultures), and Phasianidee (pheasants)

392 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.and among prevalent Oriental groups, Pycnonotidse (bulbuls),Phyllornithidse (green bulbuls), and Megalsemidse (barbets) arefamilies whose absence is significant. Nine families are peculiarto the region, or only just pass its limits in the case of singlespecies. These are Paridiseidse (paradise-birds), Meliphagidse(honey-suckers),Menuridse (lyre-birds), Atrichidae (scrub-birds),Cacatuidas (cockatoos), Platycercidse (broad-tailed and grassparoquets),Trichoglossidse (brush-tongued paroquets, Megapodiidae(mound-makers), and Casuariidae (cassowaries).There arealso eight very characteristic families, of which four,—Pachycephalias(thick-headed shrikes), Campephagidse (caterpillarshrikes), Dicseidae (flower-peckers), and Artamidae (swallowshrikes)—arefeebly represented elsewhere, while the other four—Ploceidae (weaver-finches), Alcsedinidse (kingfishers), Poclargidae(frog-mouths), and Columbidse(pigeons)—although widely distributed,are here unusually abundant and varied, and (exceptin the case of the Ploceidse) better represented in the Australianthan in any other region.Of all these the Meliphagidse (honeysuckers)are the most peculiarly and characteristically Australian.This family abounds in genera and species ;it extends into everypart of the region from Celebes and Lombock on the west, tothe Sandwich Islands, Marquesas, and New Zealand on the east,while not a single species overpasses its limits, with the exceptionof one {Ptilotis lirribata) which abounds in all the islands ofthe Timorese group, and has crossed the narrow strait fromLombock to Baly ; but this can hardly be considered to impugnthe otherwise striking fact of wide diffusion combined withstrict limitation, which characterizes it.This family is the moreimportant, because, like the Trichoglossida3 or brush-tonguedparoquets, it seems to have been developed in co-ordination withthat wealth of nectariferousflowering shrubs and trees which isone of the marked features of Australian vegetation.It probablyoriginated in the extensive land-area of Australia itself, andthence spread into all the tributary islands, where it has becomevariously modified, yet always in such close adaptation to theother great features of the Australian fauna, that it seems unableto maintain itself when subject to the competition of the more

chap, xin.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 393varied forms of life in the Oriental region ;to which, possessinggreat powers of flight, some species must occasionally have emigrated.Its presence or absence serves therefore to define andlimit the Australian region with a precision hardly to beequalled in thebirds.case of any other region or any other family ofThe Trichoglossidse, as already intimated, are another of thesepeculiarly organized Australian families,— parrots with an extensilebrush-tipped tongue, adapted to extract the nectar andpollen from flowers. These are also rigidly confined to thisregion, but they do not range so completely over the whole of it,being absent from New Zealand (where however they are representedby a closely allied form Nestor),and from the SandwichIslands. The Paradiseidse (birds of paradise and allies) areanother remarkable family, confined to the Papuan group ofIslands, and the tropical parts of Australia. The Megapodiidse(or mound-builders) are another most remarkable and anomalousgroup of birds, no doubt specially adapted to Australian conditionsof existence. Their peculiarity consists in their layingenormous eggs (at considerable intervals of time) and buryingthem either in the loose hot sand of the beach above high-watermark, or in enormous mounds of leaves, sticks, earth, and refuseof all kinds, gathered together by the birds, whose feet andclaws are enlarged and strengthened for the work. The warmthof this slightly fermenting mass hatches the eggs ; when theyoung birds work their way out, and thenceforth take care ofthemselves, as they are able to run quickly, and even to fly shortdistances, as soon as they are hatched.This may perhaps be anadaptation to the peculiar condition of so large a portion ofAustralia, in respect to prolonged droughts and scanty watersupply,entailing a periodical scarcity of all kinds of food.In sucha country the confinement of the parents to one spot during thelong period of incubation would often lead to starvation, and theconsequent death of the offspring.But the same birds with freepower to roam about, might readily maintain themselves.Thispeculiar constitution and habit, which enabled the Megapodii tomaintain an existence under the unfavourable conditions of theirVol. I.—27

394 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.original habitat gives them a great advantage in the luxuriantislands of the Moluccas, to which they have spread. Therethey abound to a remarkable extent, and their eggs furnish aluxurious repast to the natives. They have also reached manyof the smallest islets, and have spread beyond the limitsof theregion to the Philippines, and North-Western Borneo, as wellas to the remote Nicobar Islands.The Platycercidse, or broad-tailed paroquets, are anotherwide-spread Australian group, of weak structure but gorgeouslycoloured, ranging from the Moluccas to New Zealand and theSociety Islands, and very characteristic of the region, to whichthey are strictly confined. The Cockatoos have not quite sowide a range, being confined to the Austro-Malayan and Australiansub-regions, while one species extends into the PhilippineIslands. The other two peculiar families are more restricted intheir range, and will be noticed under the sub-regions to whichthey respectively belong.Of the characteristic families, the Pachycephalidae, or thickheadedshrikes, are especially Australian, ranging over all theregion, except New Zealand ; while only a single species hasspread into the Oriental, and one of doubtful affinity to theEthiopian region. The Artamidae, or swallow-shrikes, are alsoalmost wholly confined to the region, one species only extendingto India. They range to the Fiji Islands on the east, but onlyto Tasmania on the south. These two families must be consideredas really peculiar to Australia. The Podargidae, or frogmouths—large,thick-billed goat- suckers—are strange birds veiycharacteristic of the Australian region, although they haverepresentatives in the Oriental and Neotropical regions. Campephagidae(caterpillar-shrikes) also abound, but they are fairlylepresented both in India and Africa.The Ploceidae, or weaverbirds,are the finches of Australia, and present a variety ofinteresting and beautiful forms.We now come to the kingfishers, a cosmopolitan family ofbirds, yet so largely developed in the Australian region as todeserve special notice. Two-thirds of all the genera are foundhere, and no less than 10 out of the 19 genera in the family are

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 395peculiar to the Australian region.Another of the universally distributedfamilies which have their metropolis here, is that of theColumbidse or pigeons.Three-fourths of the genera have representativesin the Australian region, while two-fifths of the whole areconfined to it ;other two regions combined.and it possesses as many species of pigeons as anyIt also possesses the most remarkableforms, as exemplified in the great crowned pigeons(Goura)and the hook-billed Didunculus, while the green fruit-pigeons(Ptilopus) are sometimes adorned with colours vying with thoseof the gayest parrots or chatterers.This enormous developmentof a family of birds so defenceless as the pigeons, whose rudenests expose their eggs and helpless young to continual danger,may perhaps be correlated, as I have suggested elsewhere (Ibis,1865, p. 366), with the entire absence of monkeys, cats, lemurs,weasels, civets and other arboreal mammals, which prey on eggsand young birds. The very prevalent green colour of the upperpart of their plumage, may be due tothe need of concealmentfrom their only enemies,—birds of prey ; and this is renderedmore probable by the fact that it is among the pigeons of thesmall islands of the Pacific (where hawks and their allies are exceedinglyscarce) that we alone meet with specieswhose entireplumage is a rich and conspicuous yellow. Where the need ofconcealment is least, the brilliancy of colour has attained itsmaximum. We may therefore look upon the genus Ptilopus,with its fifty species whose typical coloration is green, withpatches of bright blue, red, or yellow on the head and breast,as a special development suited to the tropical portion of theAustralian region, to which it is almost wholly confined.It will be seen from the sketch just given, that the ornithologicalfeatures of the Australian region are almost as remarkableas those presented by its Mammalian fauna ; and from thefuller development attained by the aerial class of birds, muchmore varied and interesting. None of the other regions of theearth can offer us so many families with special points ofinterest in structure, or habits, or general relations. Theparadise-birds, the honeysuckers, the brush-tongued paroquets,the mound-builders, and the cassowaries—all strictly peculiar

396 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.to the region—with such remarkable developments as we haveindicated in the kingfishers and pigeons, place the Australianregion in the first rank for the variety, singularity, and interestof its birds, and only second to South America as regardsnumbers and beauty.Reptiles.—In Eeptiles thepeculiarity of the main Australianregion is less marked, although the fauna is sufficiently distinct.There is no family of snakes confined to the region, but manyAboutpeculiar genera of the families Pythonidse and Elapidse.two-thirds of the Australian snakes belong to the latter family,and are poisonous ;so that although the Crotalidse and Viperidseare absent, there are perhaps a larger proportion of poisonousto harmless snakes than in any other part of the world.Accordingto Mr. Gerard Krefft the proportion varies considerably in thedifferent colonies.In Victoria, New South Wales, and Queenslandthe proportion is about two to one ; in West Australiathree to one ; and in South Australia six to one. In Tasmaniathere are only 3 species and all are poisonous. The numberof species, as in other parts of the world, seems to increase*with temperature. The 3 in Tasmania have increased to 12in Victoria, 15 in South Australia and the same in WestAustralia ; 31 in New South Wales, and 42 in sub-tropicalQueensland.The lizards of Australia have lately been catalogued by Dr.Gtinther in the concluding part of the " Voyage of the Erebusand Terror," issued in 1875. They belong to 8 families, 3 ofwhich are peculiar ; 57 genera of which 36 are peculiar ; andabout 140 species, all but 2 or 3 of which are peculiar. Thescinks and geckoes form the great bulk of the Australianlizards, with a few Agamidae,The three peculiar families are theGymnopthalmidfe, and Varanidse.Pygopodidse, Aprasiidse andLialidae; comprising only 4 genera and 7 species. The aboveall belong to Australia proper. Those of the other sub-regionsare few in number and will be noticed under their, respectivelocalities.They will perhaps bring up the number of genera to70. West and South Australia seem to offer much peculiarityin their lizards; these districts possessing 12 peculiar genera,

——chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 397while a much smaller number are confined to the East andSouth-East, or to the North.Among the fresh-water turtles of the family Chelydida?there are three peculiar generaChelodina, Chelemys, and Elseya,all from Australia.Amphibia.—No tailed amphibians are known from the wholeregion, but no less than eleven of the families of tail-lessBatrachians(toads and frogs) are known to inhabit some part orother of it. A peculiar family (Xenorhinidse), consisting ofa single species, is found in New Guinea; the true toads(Bufonidae) are only represented by a single speciesof a peculiargenus in Australia, and by a Bufo in Celebes. Nine of thefamilies are represented in Australia itself, and the followinggenera are peculiar to it :Pseudophryne (Phryniscidse),Pachybatrachus,and Chelydobatrachus (Engystomydee) ; Helioporus(Alytidse) ; Pelodyras and Chirodyras (Pelodryadse) ; Notaden(Bufonidse).Fresh-water Fish.—There is only one peculiar family of freshwaterfishes in this region—the Gadopsidse—represented by asingle genus and species. The other species of Australia belongto the families Trachinidse, Atherinidse, Mugillidae, Siluridse,Homalopterse, Haplochitonidse, Galaxidae, Osteoglossidse, Symbranchidee,and Sirenoidei ; most of the genera being peculiar.The large and widely-distributed families, Cyprinodontidae andCyprinidse, are absent. The most remarkable fish is the recentlydiscovered Ceratodus, allied to the Lepidosiren of TropicalAmerica, and Protopterus of Tropical Africa, the three speciesconstituting the Sub-class Dipnoi, remains of which have beenfound fossil in the Triassic formation.Summary of Australian Vertebrata.—In order to completeour general sketch of Australian zoology, and to afford materialsfor comparison with other regions, we will here summarize thedistribution of Vertebrata in the entire Australian region, asgiven in detail in the tables at the end of this chapter. Whenan undoubted Oriental family or genus extends to Celebes onlywe do not count it as belonging to the Australian region, thatisland being so very anomalous and intermediate in character.

398 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.The Australian region, then, possesses examples of18 familiesof Mammalia, 8 of which are peculiar ; 71 of Birds, 16 beingpeculiar; 31 of Eeptiles, 4 being peculiar ;11 of Amphibia, with1 peculiar; and 11 of Fresh-water fish, with 1 peculiar. In all,142 families of Vertebrates, 30 of which are almost or quiteconfined to it, or between one-fourth and one-fifth of the wholenumber.The genera of Mammalia, occurring within the limits of thisregion are 70, of which 45 are almost, or quite, confined to it.Of Land-Birds there are 296 genera, 196 of which are equallylimited. The proportion is in both cases very nearly fiveeighths.This shows a considerable deficiency both in families of Vertebratesand genera of Mammalia, as compared with the Orientaland Ethiopian regions ; while in genera of Birds it is a littlesuperior to the latter in total numbers, and considerably so inthe proportion of peculiar types.Supposed Land Connection between Australia and South America.We may now consider how far the different classes and ordersof vertebrates afford indications that during past ages therehas been some closer connection between Australia and SouthAmerica than that which now exists.Among Mammalia we have the remarkable fact of a groupof marsupials inhabiting South America, and extending eveninto the temperate regions of North America, while they arefound in no other part of the globe beyond the limits of theAustralian region ; and this has often been held to be evidenceof a former connection between the two countries. A preliminaryobjection to this view is, that the opossums seem to berather a tropical group, only one species reaching as far as 42°south latitude on the west coast of South America ; but whateverevidence we have which seems to require a former unionof these countries shows that it took place, if at all, towards theircold southern limits, the tropical faunas on the whole showingno similarity.This is not a very strong objection, since climatesmay have changed in the south to as great an extent as we

;chap, xni.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 39$know they have in the north. Perhaps a more important considerationis, that Didelphys is a family type unknown in Australia; and this implies that the point of common origin is veryremote in geological time. But the most conclusive fact is thatin the Eocene and Miocene periods this very family, Didelphyidse,existed in Europe, while it only appeared in Americain the Post-pliocene or perhaps the Pliocene period ; so that itis really an Old-World group, which, though long since extinctin its birthplace, has survived in America, to which country itis a comparatively recent emigrant. Primeval forms of marsupialswe know abounded in Europe during much of the Secondaryepoch, and no doubt supplied Australia with the ancestors ofthe present fauna. It is clear, therefore, that in this ease thereis not a particle of evidence for any former union betweenAustralia and South America ; while it is almost demonstratedthat both derived their marsupials from a common source in thenorthern hemisphere.Birds offer us more numerous but less clearly defined cases ofthis kind. Among Passeres, the wonderful lyre bird (Menura)is believed by some ornithologists to be decidedly allied to theSouth American Pteroptochidae, while others maintain thatit is altogether peculiar, and has no such affinity. The AustralianPachycephalia? have also been supposed to find theirnearest allies in the American Vireonida?, but this is, perhaps,equally problematical. That the mound-makers (Megapodiidse)of the Australian region are more nearly allied to the SouthAmerican curassows ^Cracidse) than to any other family, is perhapsbetter established ; but if proved, it is probably due, as inthe case of the marsupials, to the survival of an ancient andonce wide-spread type, and thus lends no support to the theoryof a land connection between the two regions. A recent author,Professor Garrod, classes Phaps and other Australian genera ofpigeons along with Zenaida and allied South American formsbut here again the affinity, if it exists, is so remote that the explanationalready given will suffice to account for it. Thereremain only the penguins of the genus Eudyptes ; and thesehave almost certainly passed from one region to the other, but

;400 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [part hi.no actual land connection is required for birds which can crossconsiderable arms of the sea.Eeptiles again seem to offer no more support to the view thando mammalia or birds. Among snakes there are no families incommon that have not a very wide distribution. Among lizardsthe Gymnopthalmidae are the only family that favour thenotion, since they are found in Australia and South America,but not in the Oriental region. Yet they occur in both thePalaBarctic and Ethiopian regions, and their distribution is altogethertoo erratic to be of any value in a case of this kindand the same remarks apply to the tortoises of the familyChelydidse.The Amphibia, however, furnishus with some more decidedfacts. We have first the family of tree-frogs, Pelodryade, confinedto the two regions ,Litoria, a genus of the family Hylidsepeculiar to Australia, but with one species in Paraguay ;and inthe family Discoglossidse, the Australian genus Chiroleptes hasits nearest ally in the Chilian genus Calyptocephalus.Fresh-water fishes give yet clearer evidence.Three groups areexclusively found in these two regions ;Aphritis, a fresh-watergenus of Trachinidse, has one species in Tasmania and twoothers in Patagonia ;the Haplochitonidre inhabit only Terra delFuego, the Falkland Islands and South Australia; while thegenus Galaxias (forming the family Galaxidse) is confined toSouth Temperate America, Australia, and New Zealand. Wehave also the genus Osteoglossum confined to the tropicalrivers of Eastern South America, the Indo-Malay Islands andAustralia.It is important here to notice that the heat-loving Eeptiliaafford hardly any indications of close affinity between the tworegions, while the cold-enduring amphibia and fresh-waterfish, offer them in abundance. Taking this fact in connectionwith the absence of all indications of close affinityamong the mammalia and terrestrial birds, the conclusion seemsinevitable that there has been no land-connection between thetwo regions within the period of existing species, genera, orfamilies. Yet some interchange of amphibia and fresh-water

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 401fishes, as of plants and insects, has undoubtedly occurred, butthis has been effected by other means. If we look at a globewe see at once how this interchange may have taken place.Immediately south of Cape Horn we have the South ShetlandIslands and Graham's land, which is not improbably continuous,or nearly so, with South Victoria land immediately to the southof New Zealand. The intervening space is partly occupiedby the Auckland, Campbell, and Macquaries' Islands, which,there is reason to believe are the relics of a great southern extensionof New Zealand. At all events they form points whichwould aid the transmission of many organisms ;of the Macquaries' group, Emerald Island, isthe outlying islets of Victoria land.a considerable time in the air,and the farthestonly 600 miles fromThe ova of fish will surviveand the successful transmission ofsalmon ova to New Zealand packed in ice, shows how far theymight travel on icebergs. Now there is evidently some meansby which ova or young fishes are carried moderate distances, fromthe fact that remote alpine lakes and distinct river systems oftenhave the same species.of fresh water on their surfaces ;Glaciers and icebergs generally have poolsand whatever cause transmits fishto an isolated pond might occasionally stock these pools, and bythis means introduce the fishes of one southern island intoanother. Batrachians, which are equally patient of cold, mightbe transported by similar means ; while, as Mr. Darwin has sowell shown, {Origin of Species, 6th Ed. p. 345) there are variousknown modes by which plants might be transmitted, and weneed not therefore be surprised that botanists find a muchgreater similarity between the production of the several Southernlands and islands, than do zoologists. It is important to noticethat, however this intercommunication was effected, ithas continueddown to the epoch of existing species ; for Dr. Giintherfinds the same species of fresh-water fish (Galaxias attenuatus)inhabiting Tasmania, New Zealand, the Falkland Islands, andTemperate South America ; while another species is common toNew Zealand and the Auckland Islands. We cannot believethat a land connection has existed between all these remotelands within the period of existence of this one species of fish,

402 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.not only on account of what we know of the permanence ofcontinents and deep oceans, hut because such a connection musthave led to much more numerous and important casesof similarityof natural productions than we actually find. And ifwithin the life of species such interchange may have takenplace across seas of greater or less extent, still more easy is itto understand, how, within the life of genera and families, a numberof such interchanges may have occurred ;yet always limitedto those groups whose conditions of life render transmissionpossible. Had an actual land connection existed within thetemperate zone, or during a period of warmth in the Antarcticregions, there would have been no such strict limitations to theinter-migration of animals.that floating ice has had some share in theIt may be held to support the viewtransmission of fishand amphibia, when -we find that in the case of the narrowtropical sea dividing Borneo from Celebes and the Moluccas, noproportionate amount of transmission has taken place, butnumerous species, genera, and whole families, terminate abruptlyat what we have other reasons for believing to be the furthestlimits of an ancient continent. We can hardly suppose, however,that this mode of transmission would have sufficed forsuch groups as tree-frogs, which are inhabitants of the moretemperate or even warm portions of the two southern lands.Some of these cases may perhaps be explained by the suppositionof a considerable extent of land in the South-Temperate andAntarctic regions now submerged, and by a warm or temperateclimate analogous to that which prevailed in the Arctic regionsduring some part of the Miocene epoch ; while others may bedue to cases of survival in the two areas of once wide-spreadgroups, a view supported in the case of the Amphibia by theerratic manner in which many of the groups are spread overthe globe.From an examination of the facts presented by the variousclasses of vertebrates, we are, then, led to the conclusion,that there is no evidence of a former land-connection be,tween the Australian and Neotropical regions ;but that thevarious scattered resemblances in their natural productions

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTKALIAN REGION. 403that undoubtedly occur, are probably due to three distinctcauses.First, we have the American Didelphyida?, among Mammals,and the Cracidse, among birds, allied respectively to the Marsupialsand the Megapodiidsp, of Australia. This is probably morea coincidence than an affinity,due to the preservation of ancientwide-spread types in two remote areas, each cut off from thegreat northern continental masses, inwhich higher forms wereevolved leading to the extinction of the lower types. In eachof these southern isolated lands the original type would undergoa special development ; in the one case suited to an arborealexistence, in the other to a life among arid plains.The second case is that of the tree-frogs, and the genus Osteorjlossumamong fishes ; and is most likely due to the extensionand approximation of the two southern continents, and the existenceof some intermediate lands, during a warm period whenfacilities would be afforded for the transmission of a few organismsby the causes which have led to the exceptional diffusionof fresh-water productions in all parts of the world. As howeverOsteoglossum occurs also in the Sunda Islands, this may be a caseof survival of a once wide-spread group.The third case is that of the same genera and even species offish, and perhaps of frogs, in the two countries ; which maybe due to transmission from island to island by the aid of floatingice, with or without the assistance of more interveninglands than now exist.Having arrived at these conclusions from a consideration ofthe vertebrata, we shall be in a position to examine how farthe same causes will explain, or agree with, the distribution of theinvertebrate groups, or elucidate any special difficulties we maymeet with in the relations of the sub-regions.Insects.The insects of the Australian region are as varied, and insome respects as peculiar as its higher forms of life. As wehave already indicated in our sketch of the Oriental region, avast number of forms inhabit the Austro-Malay sub-region

—404 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.which are absent from Australia proper. Such of these as arecommon to the Malay archipelago as a whole, have been alreadynoted;we shall here confine ourselves more especially to thegroups peculiar to the region, which are almost all eitherAustralian or Austro-Malayan, the Pacific Islands and NewZealand being very poor in insect life.Lepidoptera.—Australia itselfis poor in butterflies, except inits northern and more tropical parts, where green Ornithopterceand several other Malayan forms occur. In South Australiathere are less than thirty-five species, whereas in Queensland thereare probably over a hundred. The peculiar Australian formsare few. In the family Satyridae, Xenica and Heteronympha,with Hypocista extending to New Guinea ; among the Lycaenidae,Ogyris and Utica are confined to Australia proper, andRypochrysops to the region ; and in Papilionidae, the remarkableEiirycus is confined to Australia, but is allied to Euryades,a genus found in Temperate South America (La Plata), and tothe Pamassius of the North-Temperate zone.The Austro-Malay sub-region has more peculiar forms. Hamadryas,a genus of Danaidae, approximates to some South Americanforms ; Hyades and Hyantis are remarkable groups of Morphidae;Mynes and Prothoe are fine Nymphalidae, the former extending toQueensland ;Dicallaneura, a genus of Erycinidae, and Elodina,of Pieridae, are also peculiar forms. The fine ^Egeus group ofPapilio, and Priamus group of Ornithoptera, also belong exclusivelyto this region.Xois is confined to the Fiji Islands, Bletogona to Celebes, andAcropthalmia to New Zealand, all genera of Satyridae. Seventeengenera in all are confined to the Australian region.Among the Sphingina, Pollanisus, a genus of Zygaenidae, isAustralian ;also four genera of Castniidae Synemon, Euschemon,Damias, and Cocytia, the latter being confined to the Papuanislands. The occurrence of this otherwise purely South Americanfamily in the Australian region, as well as the affinity of Eurycusand Euryades noticed above, is interesting ; but as we have seenthat the genera and families of insects are more permanent thanthose of the higher animals, and as the groups in question are

;chap, xin.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 405confined to the warmer parts of both countries, they may be bestexplained as cases of survival of a once wide-spread type, andmay probably date back to the period when the ancestors of theMarsupials and Megapodii were cut off from the rest of the world.Goleoptera.—The same remark applies here as in the Lepidoptera,respecting the affinity of the Austro-Malay fauna to that ofIndo-Malay Islands; but Australia proper is much richer inbeetles than in butterflies, and exhibits much more speciality.Although the other two parts of the Australian region (Polynesiaand New Zealand) are very poor in beetles, it will, nevertheless,on the whole compare favourably w T ith any of the regions exceptthe very richest.Cicindelidce are not very abundant.Therates and Tricondylaare the characteristic genera in Austro-Malaya, but are absentfrom Australia, where we have Tctracha as the most characteristicgenus, with one species of Megacephala and two of Distypsidera,a genus which is found also in New Zealand and someof the Pacific Islands. The occurrence of the South Americangenus, Tetracha, may perhaps be due to a direct transfer bymeans of intervening lands during the warm southern periodbut considering the permanence of coleopterous forms (as shownby the Miocene species belonging almost wholly to existinggenera), it seems more probable that it is a case of the survivalof a once wide -spread group.Carabidse are well represented, there being no less than 94peculiar genera, of which 19 are confined to New Zealand.TheAustralian genera of most importance are Carenum (68 species),Promecoderus (27 species), Silphomorpha (32 species), Adelotopus(27 species), Scaraphites (25 species), Notonomus (18 species),Gnathoxys (12 species), Eutoma (9 species), JEnigma (15 species),Lacordairea (8 species), Pamborus (8 species), Catadromm (4 species),—thelatter found in Australia and Celebes. Common toAustralia and New Zealand are Mecodema (14 species), Hornalosoma(32 species), Bicrochile (12 species), and Scopodes(5 species).The larger genera, confined to New Zealand only, are Metaglymma(8 species), and Demetrida (3 species). The curious genusPseudomorpha (10 species), is divided between California, Brazil,

—406 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.and Australia ; and the Australian genera, Addotopus, Silphomorpha,and Sphallomorpha, form with ita distinct tribe of Coleoptera.These being all confined to the warmer regions, and havingso scattered a distribution, are no doubt the relics of a widespreadgroup. The Australian genus, Promecoderus, has, however,closely allied genera (Cascelius and its allies), inChili andPatagonia; while two small genera confined to the AucklandIslands (Heterodactylus and Pristancydus) are allied to a groupfound only in Terra- del-Fuego and the Falkland Islands,(Migadops) ;and in these cases we may well believe that a directtransmission has taken place by some of the various meansalready indicated.In Lucanidaa, Australia is only moderately rich, having 7peculiar genera. The most important are Ceratognathus and Bhyssonotus,confined to Australia ; Lissotes to Australia and NewZealand ; Lamprima to Australia and Papua. Mitopliyllus andDendroblax inhabit New Zealand only ;while Syndesus is foundin Australia, New Caledonia, and tropical South America.The beautiful Cetoniidse are poorly represented, there beingonly 3 peculiar genera ;Schizorhina, mainly Australian, butextending to Papua and the Moluccas ; Anacamptorhina, confinedto New Guinea, and Sternoplus to Celebes.Lomaptera isvery characteristic of the Austro-Malay Islands. This almosttropical family shows no approximations between the Australianand Neotropical faunas.In Buprestidae, the Australian region is the richest, possessingno less than 47 genera, of which 20 are peculiar to it. Of these, 15are peculiar to Australia itself, the most important being Stigw,odera(212 species), Ethon (13 species), and Nascio (3 species) ;Cisseis (17 species), and the magnificent Galodema (3 species),are common to Australia and Austro-Malaya ; while Sambus(10 species) and Anthaxomorpha (4 species), with some smallergroups, are peculiarly Austro-Malayan. In this family occurseveral points of contact with the Neotropical region. Stigmoderais said to have a species in Chili, while there areundoubtedlyseveral allied genera in Chili and South Temperate America.The genus Curis has 5 Australian and 3 Chilian species, and

—chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 407Acherusia has 2 species in Brazil, 1 in Australia. These resemblancesmay probably have arisen from intercommunicationduring the warm southern period, when floating timber wouldoccasionally transmit a few larvae of this family from island toisland across the antarctic seas. When the cold period returned,they would spread northward, and become more or less modifiedunder the new physical conditions and organic competition, towhich they were subjected.We now come to the very important group of Longicorns, inwhich the Australian region as a whole, is very rich, possessing360 genera, of which 263 are peculiar to it. Of these about 50are confined to the Austro-Malay Islands, 12 to New Zealand,and the remainder to Australia proper with Tasmania. Of thegenera confined to, or highly characteristic of Australia, thefollowing are the most important :Cnemoplites,belonging tothe Prionidae ; Phoracantha, to the Cerambycidse ; Zygocera,Hebecerus, Symphyletes, and Rhytidophora, to the Lamiida?.Confined to the Austro-Malay Islands are Tethionea (Cerambycidse): 1 mesisternus, Arrhenotus, Micracantha, and Sybra(Lamiidae) ;but there are also such Malayan genera as BatoceraGnoma, Praonetha, and Sphenura, which are very abundant inthe Austro-Malay sub-region. A species of each of the Australiangenera, Zygocera, Syllitus, and Pseudocephalus, is said tooccur in Chili, and one of the tropical American genus, Hammatochccrus,in tropical Australia ; an amount of resemblancewhich, as in the case of the Buprestidae, may be imputedto trans-oceanic migration during the Southern warm period.This concludes our illustrations of the distribution of some ofthe more important groups of Australian insects ; and it will beadmitted that we have not met with any such an amount ofidentity with the fauna of Temperate South America, as torequire us to modify the conclusions we arrived at from a considerationof the vertebrategroups.Land-Shells.—The distribution of many of the larger generaof land-shells is very erratic, while others are exceedingly restricted,so that it requires an experienced conchologist toinvestigate the affinities of the several groups, and thus work

;408 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.out the important facts of distribution. All that can be donehere is to note the characteristic and peculiar genera, and anyothers presenting features of special interest.In the great family of the snails (Helicidse), the only generastrictly confined to the region are, Partula, now containing above100 species, and ranging over the Pacific from the Solomon Isleson the west, to the Sandwich Islands and Tahiti on the eastand Achatinella, now containing nearly 300 species, and whollyconfined to the Sandwich Islands. Pfeiffcria is confined to thePhilippine Islands and Moluccas ;Cochlostyla to the Indo-MalayIslands and Australia ;Bulimus occurs in most of the insulargroups, including New Zealand, but is absent from Australia.Among the Aciculidse, the widely-scattered Truncatella is theonly genus represented.Among DiplommatinidaB, Diplommatinais the characteristic genus, ranging over the whole region,and found elsewhere as far as India, with one species inTrinidad. The extensive family Cyclostomidse, is not wellrepresented. Seven genera reach the Austro-Malay Islands,one of which, Eegistoma, is confined to the Philippines, Moluccas,New Caledonia, and the Marshall Islands. Omphalotropisis the most characteristic genus, ranging over the whole regionGallia is confined to the Philippines, Ceram, and Australia;Bealia to New Zealand and the Marquesas. The genus Helicinaalone represents the Helicinidse, and is found in the whole regionexcept New Zealand. The number of species known fromAustralia is perhaps about 300; while the Polynesian sub-region,according to Mr. Harper Pease, contains over 600 ;the Austro-Malay Islands will furnish probably 200; and New Zealandabout 100 ; making a total of about 1,200 species for the wholeregion.AUSTEALIAN SUR-EEGIONS.Few of the great zoological regions comprise four divisions sostrongly contrasted as these, or which present so many interestingproblems. We have first the Austro-Malay Islands, an equatorialforest-region teeming with varied and beautiful forms of lifenext we have Australia itself, an island-continent with its satellite

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 409Tasmania, both tropical and temperate, but for the most partarid, yet abounding in peculiar forms in all the classes of animals;then come the Polynesian Islands, another luxuriant region oftropical vegetation, yet excessively poor in most of the highergroups of animals as well as in some of the lower ; and lastly,we have New Zealand, a pair of temperate forest-clad islandsfar in the southern ocean, with a very limited yet strange andalmost wholly peculiar fauna. We have now to consider thegeneral features and internal relationsof the faunas of each ofthese sub-regions, together with any external relations whichhave not been discussed while treating the region asI. Austro-Malayan Sub-region.a whole.The central mass on which almost every part of this subregionis clearly dependent, is the great island of New Guinea,inhabited by the Papuan race of mankind ; and this, with thesurrounding islands, which are separated from it by shallow seasand possess its most marked zoological features, are termed Papua,A little further away lie the important groups of the Moluccason one side and the Eastern Papuan Islands on the other, whichpossess a fauna mainly derivative from New Guinea, yet wantingmany of its distinctive types ; and, in the case of the Moluccaspossessing many groups which are not Australian, but derivedfrom the adjacent Oriental region. To the south of these wehave the Timor group, whose fauna is clearly derivative, fromAustralia, from Java, and from the Moluccas. Lastly comesCelebes, whose fauna is most complex and puzzling, and, so faras we can judge, not fundamentally derivative from any of thesurrounding islands.Papua, or the Neiv &uinea Group.—New Guinea is verydeficient in Mammalia as compared with Australia, though thisapparent poverty may, in part, depend on our very scanty knowledge.As yet only four of the Australian families of Marsupialsare known to inhabit it, with nine genera, several of whichare peculiar. It also possesses a peculiar form of wild pig;but as yetno other non-marsupial terrestrial mammal has beendiscovered, except a rat, described by Dr. Gray as UromysVol. L—28

—410 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.aruensis, but about the locality of which there seems somedoubt. 1 Omittiug bats, of which our knowledge is very imperfect,the Papuan Mammals are as follows :Family.

..CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 411This Papuan fauna is so interesting and remarkable, that itseems advisable to give lists of these several classes of generictypes.I. Genera occurring in the Papuan Islands which are characteristicof the Australian region (89). Those marked with anasterisk are exclusively Papuan.Sylviidae...CerthiidaeSittidse ...Oriolidae . .CampephagidaeDicruridaeMudcicapidsePachycephalidae.Laniidae ...Corvidae ...ParadiseidaeMeliphagidseNectariniidaeArtamidaePittidae ...CuculidaeAlcedinidaePodargidaeCaprimulgidaeCacatuidaePlatycercidaePalseornithidaeTrichoglossidaeNestoridaeColumbidaeMegapodiidaeFalconidaeCasuariidaeMalurus, Gerygone, Petroica, Orthonyx.Climactcris.Sittella.Mimeta.Graucalus, Lalage.*Chcvtorhyuchus.*Peltops, Monarcha, *Leucophantes, Micrmca,Sisura, Myiagra, *Mach(erirhynchus, Bhipidura,*Todopsis.Pachycephala.*Rectes.Cracticus, *Gymnocorvtis.*Paradisea, *Manucodia, *Astrapia, *Parotia,*Lophorina, *Diphyllodes, *Xanthomelus,*Cicinnurus, *Paradigalla, *Epimachus,*l)repanomis, *Seleucides, Ptilorlds,JElurozdus,*Amblyornis.Myzomela, Entomophila. Glicyphila, Ptilotis,*Melidectes, *Melipotes, *Melirrhophetes,Anthochcera, Philemon, *Euthyrhynchus,Melithreptes.Chalcostetha, *Cosmetira.Artamus.*Mclampitta.*Caliechthrus.Alcyone, *Syma, Dacelo, *Tanysiptera,*Melidora.Podargus, ^Egotheles.Eurostopodus.Cacatua, *Microglossus, Licmetis, *Nasiterna.AprosmictusTanygnathus, Eclectus, Geoffroyus, *Cyclopsitta.Trichoglossus, *Charmosyna, Eos, Lorius.*Dasyptilus.Ptilopus, Carpophaga, Ianthoenas, Reinwardtcenas,*Trugon, *Henicophaps, Phlogoenas,*Otidiphaps, *Goura.Talegallus, Megapodius.* Henicopernis.Casuarius.The chief points of interest here are the richness and specializationof the parrots, pigeons, and kingfishers; the wonderful paradise-birds; the honeysuckers ; and some remarkable flycatchers.

——412 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.The most prominent deficiencies, as compared with Australia,are in Sylviidse, Timaliidse, Ploceidse, Platycercidse,and Falconidse.II. The genera which are characteristic of the whole MalayArchipelago are the following (10) :1. Erythrura ... (Ploceida?) 6. Loriculus ... (Psittacidee)2. Pitta (Pittidse) 7. Macropygia ... (Columbidse)3. Ceyx ... ... (Alcedinidse) 8. Chalcophaps ... „4. Calao ... (Bucerotidse) 9. Calcenas ... „5. Dendrochelidon (Cypselidee) 10. Baza ... ... (Falconidae)III. The curious set of genera apparently of Indo-Malayanorigin, but unknown in the Moluccas, are as follows :1. Eupetes ... (Cinclidse) 4. Arachnothera (Nectariniidse)2. Alcippe ... (Timaliida?) 5. Prionochilus... (Dicseidse)3. Pomatorhinus „ 6. EulaLes ... (Sturnidse)The above six birds are very important as indicating pastchanges in the Austro-Malay Islands,and we must say a fewwords about each. (1) Eupetes is very remarkable, since theNew Guinea birds resemble in all important characters thatwhich is confined to Malacca and Sumatra. They are probablythe survivors of a once wide-spread Malayan group.(2) Alcippe or Drymocataphus (for in which genus the birdsshould be placed is doubtful) seems another clear case ofa typical Indo-Malayan form occurring in New Guinea andJava, but in no intervening island.(3) Pomatorhinus is a mostcharacteristic Himalayan and Indo-Malayan genus, occurringagain in New Guinea and alsoin Australia, but in no intermediateisland. The New Guinea bird seems as nearly related toOriental as Australian species. (4) Arachnothera is exactlyparallel to Alcippe, occurring nowhere east of Borneo except inNew Guinea. (5) Prionochilus, a small black bird, sometimesclassed as a distinct genus, but evidently allied to the Prionochili ofthe Indo-Malay Islands.(6) Eulahes, the genus which containsthe well known Mynahs of India, extends east of Java as far asThe two NewPlores, but is not found in Celebes or the Moluccas.Guinea species are sometimes classed in different genera, but theyare undoubtedly allied to the Mynahs of India and Malaya.We find then, that while the ornithology of New Guinea is

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 413preeminently Australian in character and possesses many peculiardevelopments of Australian types, it has also—as might be expectedfrom its geographical position, its climate, and its vegetation—receivedan infusion of Malayan forms. But while onegroup of these isspread over the whole Archipelago, and occasionallybeyond it, there is another group which presents theunusual and interesting feature of discontinuous distribution,jumping over a thousand miles of island-studded sea from Javaand Borneo to New Guinea itself. It is a parallel case to thatof Java in the Oriental region, which we have already discussed,but the suggested explanation in that case is more difficult toapply here. The recent soundings by the Challenger show us,that although the several islands of the Moluccas are surroundedby water from 1,200 to 2,800 fathoms deep, yet these seas forminclosed basins with rims not more than from 400 to 900fathoms deep, suggesting the idea of great lakes or inland seaswhich have sunk down bodily with the surrounding land, or thatenormous local and restricted elevations and subsidences havehere occurred. We have also the numerous small islands and coralbanks south of Celebes and eastward towards Timor-Laut and theAru Islands, indicating great subsidence ; and it is possible thatthere was an extension of Papua tothe west, approaching sufficientlynear to Java to receive occasional straggling birds of Indo-Malay type, altogether independent of the Moluccas to the north.Bright Colours and Ornamental Plumage of New Guinea Birds.—One of the most striking features of Papuan ornithology is thelarge proportion which the handsome and bright-coloured birdsbear to the more obscure species. That this is really the casehas been ascertained by going over my own collections, made atAru and New Guinea, and comparing them with my collectionmade at Malacca—a district remarkable for the number of handsomebirds it produces. Using, as nearly as possible, the samestandard of beauty, about one-third of the Malacca birds may beclassed as handsome, 1 while in Papua the proportion comes outexactly one-half.This is due, in part to the great abundance of1 I also find about this proportion in my Amazonian collections, evencounting all the humming-birds, parrots, and toucans as handsome birds.

;414 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.parrots, cockatoos, and lories,almost all of which are beautifuland of pigeons, more than half of which are very beautiful ; aswell as to the numerous kingfishers, most of which are excessivelybrilliant. Then we have the absence of thrushes, and the verysmall numbers of the warblers, shrikes, and Timaliidse, which aredull-coloured groups ;and, lastly, the presence of numerous gaypittas, flycatchers, and the unequalled family of paradise-birds.A large number of birds adorned with metallic plumage is also amarked feature of this fauna, more than a dozen genera being sodistinguished. Among the remarkable forms are Peltops, a flycatcher,long classed asone of the Indo-Malayan Eurylsemidae,which it resembles both in bill and coloration; Machcerirhynchus,curious little boat-billed flycatchers ;and Toclopsis, a group of terrestrialflycatchers with the brilliant colours of Pitta or Malurus.The paradise-birds present the most wonderful developments ofplumage and the most gorgeous varieties of colour, to be foundamong passerine birds. The great whiskered-swift, the handsomestbird in the entire family, has its head-quarters here. Among kingfishersthe elegant long-tailed Tanysvpterm are preeminent, whetherfor singularity or beauty.Among parrots, New Guinea possessesthe great black cockatoo, one of the largest and most singular birdsin the order ; Nasiterna, the smallest of known parrots ; andCharmosyna, perhaps the most elegant. Lastly, among thepigeons we have the fine crowned- pigeons, the largest and mostremarkable group of the order.Plate X. Illustrating the Ornithology of New G'ttinea.—Thewonderful ornithological fauna we have just sketched, couldonly be properly represented in a series of elaborate colouredplates. We are obliged here to confine ourselves to representinga few of the more remarkable types of form, as samples of thegreat number that adorn this teeming bird-land. The largecentral figure is the fine twelve-wired paradise-bird {Seleucidesalbus), one of themost beautiful and remarkable of the family.Its general plumage appears, at first sight, to be velvety blackbut on closer examination, and by holding the bird in variouslights, it is found that every part of it glows with the most exquisitemetallic tints—rich bronze, intense violet, and, on the

-^PLATE X.z^f-^

—chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 415edges of the breast-feathers, brilliant green.An immense tuft ofdense plumes of a fine orange-buff colour, springs from each sideof the body, and six of these on each side terminate in a blackcurled rachis orshaft, which form a perfectly unique adornmentto this lovely bird. To appreciate this wonderful family (ofwhich no good mounted collection exists) the reader shouldexamine the series of plates in Mr. Elliot's great work on theParadiseidse, where every species is figured of the size of life,andwith a perfection of colouring that leaves little to be desired.Below the Seleucides is one of the elegant racquet-tailedking-hunters (Tanysiptera galatea) whose plumage of vivid blueand white, and coral-red bill,combined with the long spatulatetail, renders this bird one of the most attractive of the interestingfamily of kingfishers. On a high branch is seated the littlePapuan parroquet (Charmosyna papiiensis), one of the Trichoglossidse,or brush-tongued parrots,—richly adorned in red andyellow plumage, and with an unusually long and slender tail.the ground is the well-known crowned pigeon (Goura coronata,)a genus which is wholly confined to New Guinea and a few ofthe adjacent islands. One of the very few Papuan mammals, atree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus inustus), is seated on a high branch.It is interesting, as an arboreal modification of a family which inAustralia is purely terrestrial ; and as showing how very littlealteration of form or structure is needed to adapt an animal tosuch a different mode of life.OnReptiles and Amphibia.—Of these classes comparatively littleis at present known, but there is evidence that the same intermixtureof Oriental and Australian forms that occurs in birds andinsects, is also found here. Dr. A. B. Meyer, the translator of thiswork into German, and well known for his valuable discoveries inNew Guinea, has kindly furnished me with a manuscript list ofPapuan reptiles, from which most of the information I am ableto give is derived.Of Snakes, 24 genera are known, belonging to 11 families. Sixof the genera are Oriental, Calamaria, Cerberus, Clirysopelea,Lycodon, Chersydrus, and Ophiophagus. Four are Australian,

———416 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.— Morelia, Liasis, Diemenia, and Acanthophis ; while four othersare more especially Papuan, Dibamus (Typhlopidse), Brachyorros—asub-genus of the wide-spread Rhabdosoma (Calamariidae),found also in Timor ; Nardoa and Enygrus (Pythonidse), rangingfrom the Moluccas to the Fiji Islands. The rest are either commonto the Oriental and Australian regions or of wide range.Of Lizards also, 24 genera are recorded, belonging to 5 families.Three only are peculiarly Oriental,Eumeces, Tiaris, and Nycteridium; but another, Oonyocephalus, is Malayan, ranging fromJava and Borneo to the Pelew Islands. Three are Australian,Gyclodus, Heteropus, and Gehyra ; while six are especially Papuan,— Kcneuxia (extending to the Philippines), Mania, Garlia (toNorth Australia), Lipinia (to the Philippine Islands), and Tribolonotus,—all belonging to the Scincidae ;and Arua belongingto the Agamidee. We must add Cryptobhpliarus, which is confinedto the Australian region, except a species in Mauritius.The other genera have a wider distribution.The preponderant Oriental element in the snakes as comparedwith the lizards, issuggestive of the dispersal of the former beingdependent on floating trees, or even on native canoes, which foran unknown period have traversed these seas, and in whichvarious species of snakes often secrete themselves. Tins seemsthe more probable, as snakes are usually more restricted in theirrange than lizards, and exhibit less numerous examples of widespreadgenera and species. The other orders of reptiles presentno features of interest.Of Amphibia only 8 genera are known, belonging to 6 families.Eana, Hylarana, and Hyla are wide-spread genera, the formerbeing, however, absent from Australia. Hyperolius, Pclodryas,Litoria, and Aderophrys are Australian; while Platymantis isPolynesian, with a species in the Philippine Islands. Henceit appears that the amphibia, so far as yet known, exhibitno Oriental affinity; and this is a very suggestive fact. Wehave seen (p. 29) that salt water is almost a complete barrierto the dispersal of these creatures ; so that the wholly Australiancharacter of the Papuan batrachia is what we mightexpect, if, as here advocated, no actualland connection between

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 417the Oriental and Australian regions, has probably occurred duringthe entire Tertiary and Post-tertiary periods.Insects.—The general character of the Papuan insects hasbeen sufficiently indicated in our sketch of the Entomology ofthe region. We will here only add, that the metallic lustre soprevalent among the birds, is also apparent in such insects asSphingnotus mirabilis,a, most brilliant metallic Longicorn ; Lomapteraivallacei and Anacamptorhina fidgicla, Cetonii of intenselustre ; Calodema ivallacei among the Buprestidae ;and the elegantblue Eaplioli among the weevils. Even among mothswe have Cocytia durvillii, remarkable for its brilliant metalliccolours.The Moluccas.—The islands of Gilolo, Bouru, and Ceram, withseveral smaller islands adjacent, together with Sanguir, andperhaps Tulour or Salibaboo to the north-west, and the islandsfrom Ke to Timor-Laut to the south-east, form the group of theMoluccas or Spice- Islands, remarkable for the luxuriance oftheir vegetation and the extreme beauty of their birds andinsects. Their Mammalia are of Papuan character, with someforeign intermixture. Two genera of the New Guinea marsupials,Belideus and Cuscus, abound ; and we have also the widespreadSus. But besides these, we find no less than five generaof placental Mammals quite foreign to the Papuan or Australianfaunas. These are 1. Cynopithecus nigrescens, found only in thesmall island of Batchian, and probably introduced from Celebes,where the same ape occurs. 2. Viverra tangalunga, a commonIndo-Malayan species of civet, probably introduced. 3. Cervushippelaphus, var.Moluccensis, a deer abundant in all the islands,very close to a Javan species and almost certainly introducedby man, perhaps very long ago. 4. Babirusa alfurus, thebabirusa, found only in the island of Bouru, and perhaps originallyintroduced from Celebes. 5. Sorex sp., small shrews.With the exception of the last, all these species are animalshabitually domesticated and kept in confinement by the Malays ;and when we consider that none of the smaller Mammalia of Javaand Borneo, numbering at least fifty different species, are found

——418 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part. hi.in any of the Moluccas, we can hardly suppose that such largeanimals as the deer and ape, could have reached them bynatural means. There is every reason to believe, therefore, thatthe indigenous Mammalia of the Moluccas are wholly of Papuanstock, and very limited in number.The birds are much more varied and interesting. About 200species of land-birds are now known, belonging to 85 genera. Ofthe species about 15 are Indo-Malayan, 32 Papuan, and about140 peculiar. Of the genera only two are peculiar, Semioptera,a paradise bird, and Lycocorax, a singular form of Corvidse ;butthere is also a peculiar rail-like wader, Habroptila. One genus,Basilornis, is found only in Ceram and Celebes ;another, Scythrops,is Australian, and perhaps a migrant. About 30 genera arecharacteristic Papuan types, and 37 others, of more or lesswiderange, are found in New Guinea and were therefore probablyderived thence. There remains a group of birds which are notfound in New Guinea, and are either Palasarctic or Oriental.These are 13 in number as follows :1. Monticola. 8. Corydalla.2. Acrocephalus. 9. Hydrornis.3. Cisticola. 10. Batrachostomus.4 Hypolais. 11. Loriculus.5. Criniger. 12. Treron.6. Butalis. 13. Neopus.7. Budytes.Of these the Monticola, found only in Gilolo, appears tobe astraggler or migrant from the Philippine islands. Acrocephalus,of which four species occur, is a wide-spread group ; one ofthe Moluccan birds is an Australian and another a North-Asianspecies, which perhaps indicates that there has long been somemigration southward from island to island, across the Moluccas.Cisticola is a genus of very wide range, extending to Australia.Hypolais is probably a modified form of a Chinese or Javanesespecies. Criniger is a pure Indo-Malay form, representedhere by three fine species. Butalis is a Chinese species, nodoubt straggling southward. Budytes and Corydalla are widespreadOriental and Palsearctic species or slight modifications ofthem. Hydrornis is a Malayan form of Pittidse. Batrachostomusis a distinct representative of a purely Indo-Malay genus. Lori-

—;CHAP. xaii.J THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 419cuius is Malayan, and especially Philippine, but itreaches as faras Mysol. Treron is here at its eastern limit, and is representedin Bouru and Ceram by one of the most beautiful species.Ncopus, a Malayan eagle, is said to occur in the Moluccas. Wefind then only three characteristic Indo-Malay • types in theMoluccas,Griniger, Batrachostomus, and Treron.All are representedby distinct and well marked species, indicating a somewhatremote period since their ancestors entered the districtbut allare birds of considerable powers of flight, so that a verylittle extension of the islands in a south-westerly directionwould afford the means of transmission, but this could not wellhave been by way of Celebes, because the two former genera areunknown in that island.It is evident, therefore, that the Moluccas are wholly Papuanin their zoology;yet they are no less clearly derivative, and musthave obtained their original immigrants under conditions thatrendered a full representation of the fauna impossible. Suchremarkable and dominant types asthe eleven genera of Paradiseidse,with Cracticus, Rectcs,Todopsis, Machccrirhynchus, Ge?ygone,Dacelo, Podargus, Cyclopsitta, Microglossum., Nasiterna, Chalcopsitta,and Goura,—all characteristic Papuan groups, found inalmost all the islands and most of them very abundant, aretotally absent from the Moluccas. Taking this, in conjunctionwith theyetabsence of the two genera of Papuan kangaroos andthe other smaller groups of marsupials, and we must beconvinced that the Moluccas cannot be mere fragments of theold Papuan land, or they would certainly, in some one orotherof their large and fertile islands, have preserved a more completerepresentation of the parent fauna. Most of the Mol^canbirds are very distinct from the allied species of New Guineaand this would imply that the entrance of the original formstook place at a remote period. The two peculiar genera withclearly Papuan affinities, show the same thing.The cassowary,found only in the large island of Ceram and distinct from anyPapuan species, would however seem to have required a landconnection for its introduction, almost as much as any of thelarger mammalia.

420 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Taking all the facts into consideration, I would suggest as themost probable explanation, that if the Moluccas ever formed partof the main Papuan land, they were separated at an early date,and subsequently so greatly submerged as to destroy a largeproportion of their fauna. They have since risen, and haveprobably been larger than at present, and rather more closelyapproximated to the parent land, whence they received a considerableimmigration of such animals as were adapted to crossnarrow seas. This gave them several Papuan forms, but stillleft them without a number of the types more especially confinedto the forest depths, or powerful enough to combat thegales which often blow weaker flyers out to sea. Most of thebirds whose absence from the Moluccas is so conspicuous belongto one or other of these classes.Among the most characteristic birds of the Moluccas are thehandsome crimson lories of the genera Lorius and Eos. Theseare found in every island (but not in Celebes or the Timorgroup) ;and a fine species of Eos, peculiar to the small islands ofSiau and Sanguir, just north of Celebes, obliges us to placethese with the Moluccas instead of with the former island, towhich they seem most naturally to belong.The crimson parrotsof the genus Eclectus are almost equally characteristic of theMoluccas, and add greatly to the brilliancy of the ornithology ofthese favoured islands.Reptiles.—The Reptiles, so far as known, appear to agree intheir distribution with the other vertebrates. In some smallcollections from Ceram there were no less than six of the generapeculiar to the Australian region, and which were before onlyknofn from Australia itself. These are, of snakes, Liasis andEnygrus, genera of Pythonidae ;with Diemenia and Acanthophis(Elapidae) ; of lizards, Cyclodus, a genus of Scincidae ; and ofAmphibia, a tree-frog of the genus Pelodryas.Insects— Peculiarities of the Moluccan Fauna.—In insects theMoluccas are hardly, if at all, inferior to New Guinea itself.Theislands abound in grand Papilios of the largest size and extremebeauty ;and it is a very remarkable fact, that when the closelyalliedspecies of the Moluccas and New Guinea arecompared,

;chap. xiii. J• THEAUSTRALIAN REGION. 421the former are almost always the largest.As examples may bementioned, Ornithoptera priamus and 0. helena of the Moluccas,both larger than the varieties (or species) of Papua ; Papilioulysses and deiplwbus of Amboyna, usually larger than theirallies in New Guinea ; Hestia idea, the largest species of thegenus ; Diadema pandarus and Charaxes euryalus, both largerthan any other species of the same genera in the whole archipelago.It is to be noted also, that in the Moluccas, the verylargest specimens or races seem always toisland of Amboyna ;come from the smalleven those of Ceram, the much larger islandto which it is a satellite, being almost always of less dimensions.Among Coleoptera, the Moluccas produce Euchirus longimanus,one of the largest and most remarkable of the LamellicornesSphingnotus dunningi, the largest of the Austro-Malayan Tmesisterninas;a Sphemira, the largest and handsomest of an extensivegenus ; an unusually large Schizorhina (Cetoniidse) ; andsome of the most remarkable and longest-horned Anthotribidoe.Even in birds the same law may be seen at work,—in the Tanysipteranais of Ceram, which has a larger tailthan any other inthe genus ;in Centropus goliath of Gilolo, being the largest andlongest-tailed species ; in Hydrornis maximus of Gilolo, thelargest and perhaps the most elegantly and conspicuouslycoloured of all the Pittidse ; in Platycercus amboinensis, beingpre-eminent in its ample blue tail ; in the two Moluccan loriesand Eos rubra, being more conspicuously red than the allied NewGuinea species ;and in Mcgapodius wallacei of Bouru, being theonly species of the genus conspicuously marked and banded.All these examples, of larger size, of longer tails or otherappendages, and of more conspicuous colouring, are probablyindications of a less severe struggle for existence in these islandsthan in the larger tract of New Guinea, with a more abundantand more varied fauna ; and this may apply even to the smallerislands, as compared with the larger in the immediate vicinity.The limited number of forms in the small islands comparedwith a similar area in the parent land, implies, perhaps, lesscompetition and less danger ; and thus allows, where all otherconditions are favourable, an unchecked and continuous de-

422 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [part hi.velopment in size, form, and colour, until they become positivelyinjurious. This law may not improbably apply to the NewGuinea fauna itself, as compared with that of Borneo or anyother similar country ; and some of its peculiarities (such as itswonderful paradise-birds) may be due to long isolation, and consequentfreedom from the influence of any competing forms.The difference between the very sober colours of the Coleoptera,and in a less degree of the birds, of Borneo, as compared withtheir brilliancy in New Guinea, always struck me most forcibly,and was long without any, even conjectural, explanation.It isnot the place here to go further into this most curious andinteresting subject. The reader who wishes for additional factsto aid him in forming an opinion, should consult Mr. Darwin'sDescent of Man, chapters x. to xv. ; and my own Contributionsto the Theory of Natural Selection, chapters iii.and iv.Timor Group.— Mammalia.—In the group of islandsJava and Australia, from Lombok tobetweenTimor inclusive, we find aset of mammals similar to those of the Moluccas, but some ofthem different species. A wide-spread species of Cuscus representsthe Papuan element. A Sorex and a peculiar species ofwild pig, we may also accept as indigenous. Three others havealmost certainly been introduced. These are, (1.) Macacus cynomolgus,the very commonest Malay monkey, which may havecrossed the narrow straits from island to island between Javaand Timor, though it seems much more probable that itwas introducedby Malays, who constantly capture and rear the youngof this species. (2.) Cervus timoriensis, a deer, said to be a distinctspecies, inhabits Timor, but it is probably only a variety ofthe Cervus hippelaphus of Java. This animal is, however, muchmore likely to have crossed the sea than the monkey. (3.) Paradoxurusfasciatus, takes the place of Viverra tangalunga in theMoluccas, both common and wide-spread civets which are oftenkept in confinement by the Malays. The Feli-s megalotis, longsupposed to be a native of Timor, has been ascertained by Mr.Elliot to belong to a different country altogether.Birds.—The birds are much more interesting, since they are

:chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 423sufficiently numerous to allow us to determine their relations,and trace their origin, with unusual precision. There are 96genera and 160 species ot land-birds known to inhabit this groupof islands ;and on a careful analysis, they are found to be almostequally related to the Australian and Oriental regions, 30 generabeing distinctly traceable to the former, and the same number tothe latter. Their connection with the Moluccas is shown by thepresence of the genera Mimeta, Gcoffroyus, Cacatua, Ptilopus, andlanthcenas, together with Megapodius and Cerchneis representedby Moluccan species. Turaccena shows a connection withCelebes, and Scops is represented by a Celebesian species. Theconnection with Australia is shown by the genera Sphcecothera,Gerygone, Myiagra, Pardalotus, Gliciphila, Amadina, and Aprosmictus; while Milvus, Hypotriorchis, Eudynamis, and Eurystomus,are represented by Australian species. Other genera confinedto or characteristic of the Australian region, are Rhipidura,Monarcha, Artamus, Campcpkaga, Pachycephalia, Philemon, Ptilotis,and Myzomela.We now come to the Indo-Malay or Javan element representedby the following genera1. Turdus (T.) 11. Oriolus. 21. Yungipicus.2. Geocichla (T.) 12. Pericrocotus. 22. Merops.3. Zoothera. 13. Cyornis (T.) 23. Pelargopsis.4. Megalurus (T.) 14. Hypothyinis. 24. Ceyx.5. Orthotomus. 15. Tchitrea. 25. Loriculus.6. Pratincola (T.) 16. Lanius (T.) 26. Treron (T.)7. Oreicola (T.) 17. Anthreptes. 27. lotreron (s.g. of Ptilopus).8. Drymocataphus (T.) 18. Eulabes. 28. Chalcophaps (T.)9. Parus. 19. Estrilda (T.) 29. Gallus (T.)10. Pycnonotus. 20. Erythrura (T.) 30. Strix.Such genera as Merops and Strix, which are as much Australianas Oriental, are inserted here because they are represented byJavan species.The list is considerably swelled by genera whichhave reached Lombok across the narrow strait from Baly, buthave passed no further. Such are Zoothera, Orthotomus, Pycnonotus,Pericrocotus and Strix. A much larger number (12) stopshort at Flores, leaving only 13, indicated in the list by (T) aftertheir names, which reach Timor. It is evident, therefore, thatthese islandshave been stocked from three chief sources,—the

:424 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.Moluccas (with New Guinea and Celebes,) Australia, and Java.The Moluccan forms may well have arrived as stragglers fromisland to island, aided by whatever facilitiesby lands now submerged.have been affordedMost of the remainder have been derivedeither from Australia or from Java ; and as their relationsto these islands are very interesting, they must be discussedwith some detail.Origin of the Timorese Fauna. — We must first note, that 80species, or exactly one-half of the land-birdsof the islands, arepeculiar and mostly very distinct, intimating that the immigrationcommenced long enough back to allow of much specificmodification. There is also one peculiar genus of kingfishers,Cariclonax, found only in Lombok and Flores, and more alliedto Australian than to Oriental types. The fine white-bandedpigeons (s. g. Leucotreron) are also almost peculiar ;one otherless typical species only being known, a native of N. Celebes.In order to compare thespecies with regard to their origin, wemust first take away those of wide distributionspecial indications can be obtained.from which noIn this case 49 of the landbirdsmust be deducted, leaving 111 species which affordgoodmaterials for comparison. These, when traced to their origin,show that 62 came from some part of the Australian region, 49from Java or the Oriental region. But if we divide them intotwo groups, the one containing the species identical with thoseof the Australian or Oriental regions, the other containing alliedor representative species peculiar to the islands, we have the followingresultSpecies common to the Timorese Islands and the Oriental Region 30Peculiar Timorese species allied to those of the. Oriental Region 19Total 49Species common to the Timorese Islands and the AustralianEegion 18Peculiar Timorese species allied to those of the Australian Region 44Total , 62This table is very important, as indicating that the connection

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 425with Australia was probably earlier than that with Java ; sincethe majority of the Australian species have become modified,while the majority of the Oriental species have remained unchanged.This is due, no doubt, in part to the continued immigrationof fresh individuals from Java, after that from Australia,the Moluccas and New Guinea had almost wholly ceased.must also notice the very small proportion of the genera,Weeitherof Australia or Java, that have found their way into these islands,many of the largest and most wide-spread groups in both countriesbeing altogether absent.Taking these facts into consideration,it is pretty clear that there has been no close and longcontinuedapproximation of these islands to any part of theAustralian region ; and it is also probable that they were fairlystocked with such Australian groups as they possess before theimmigration from Java commenced, or a largernumber of characteristicOriental forms would have been able to have establishedthemselves.On looking at our map, we find that a shallow submerged bankextends from Australia to within about twenty miles of the coastof Timor; and this is probably an indication that the twocountries were once only so far apart.This would have allowedthe purely Australian types to enter, as they are not numerous;there being about 6 Australian species,and 10 or 12 representativesof Australian species, in Timor.All the rest may have beenderived from the Moluccas or New Guinea, being mostly widespreadgenera of the Australian region; and the extension ofPapua in a south-west direction towards Java (which was suggestedas a means of providing New Guinea with peculiar Indo-Malay types not found in any other part of the region) mayhave probably served to supply Timor and Flores with the massof theirthe sea.Austro-Malayan genera across a narrow strait or arm ofLombok, Baly, and Sumbawa were probably not thenin existence, or nothing more than small \olcanic cones risingout of the sea, thus leaving a distance of 300 miles betweenFlores and Java. Subsequently they grew into islands, whichoffered an easy passage for a number of Indo-Malay generainto such scantily stocked territories as Flores and Timor. TheVol. I.—29

—426 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.north coast of Australia then sank, cutting off the supply fromthat country ;and this left the Timorese group in the position itnow occupies.The reptiles and fishes of this group are too little known toenable us to make any useful comparison.Insects.—The insects, though not numerous, present many finespecies, some quite unlike any others in the Archipelago.arePapilio liris, Pieris lecta,Cirrochroa lamarckii and C. leschenaultiiamong butterflies.SuchThe Coleoptera are comparatively littleknown, but in the insects generally the Indo-Malay element predominates.This may have arisen from the peculiar vegetationand arid climate not being suitable to the Papuan insects.WhyAustralian forms did not establish themselves we cannot conjecture;but the field appears to have been open to immigrants fromJava, the climate and vegetation of which island at itseastern extremityapproximates to that of the Timorese group.The insectsare, however, so peculiarly modified as to imply a very great antiquity,and this is also indicated by a group of Sylviine birds hereclassedunder Oreicola, but some of which probably form disfinctgenera. There may, perhaps, have been an earlier and a laterapproximation to Java, which, with the other changes indicated,would account for most of the factspresented by the fauna ofthese islands. One deduction is, at all events, clear :the extremepaucity of indigenous mammals along with the absence ofso many groups of birds, renders it certain that the Timoreseislands did not derive their animal life by means of an actualunion with any of the large islands either of the Australian orthe Oriental regions.Celebes Group.—We now come to the Island of Celebes, inmany respects the most remarkable and interesting in the wholeregion, or perhaps on the globe, since no other island seems topresent so many curious problems for solution. We shall thereforegive a somewhat full account of its peculiar fauna, andendeavour to elucidate some of the causes to which its zoologicalisolation may be attributed.Mammalia.—The following is the list of the mammalia of

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 427Celebes as far as at present known, though many small speciesmay yet be discovered.1. Cynopithecus nigrescens. 7. Barbirusa alfurns.2. Tarsius spectrum. 8. Sciurus (5 peculiar sp.)3. Viverra tangaluuga. 9. Mus (2 peculiar sp.)4. Cervus hippelaplms. 10. discus (2 peculiar sp.)5. Auoa depressicornis. Also 7 species of bats, of6. Sus celebensis. which 5 are peculiar.The first— a large black ape—is itself an anomaly, since it isnot closely allied to any other form of quadrumana. Its flatprojecting muzzle, large superciliary crests and maxillary ridges,with the form and appearance of its teeth, separate it altogetherfrom the genus Macacus, as represented in the Indo-Malay islands,and ally it closely to the baboons of Africa. We 1have alreadyseen reason to suppose that it has been carried to Batchian,and there is some doubt about the allied species or variety (C.niger) of the Philippines being really indigenous there; in whichcase this interesting form will remain absolutely confined to Celebes.(2.) The tarsier is a truly Malayan species, but it is said tooccur in a small island at the northern extremity of Celebes andon some of the Philippine islands.introduced there.It might possibly have been(3) and (4)—a civet and a deer—are, almost certainly,as in the Moluccas, introduced species. (5.) Anoa depressicornis.This is one of the peculiar Celebesian types; a small straighthornedwild-bull, anatomically allied to the buffaloes, and somewhatresembling the bovine antelopes of Africa, but having nonear allies in the Oriental region. (6.) Sus Celebensis ;a peculiarspecies of wild-pig. (7.) Babirusa alfurus ; another remarkabletype, having no near allies. It differs in its dentition from thetypical Suidae, and seems to approach the African Phacochceridse.The manner in which the canines of the upper jaw are reversed,and grow directly upwards in a spiral curve over the eyes, isunique among mammalia. (8.)Five squirrels inhabit Celebes, andall are peculiar species. (9.) These>are forest rats of the sub-genusGymnomys, allied to Australian species. 10. Cuscus. This typical1The general form of the skull agrees best with that of Cynocephalusmormon, the largest and most typical of the African baboons ;while theposition of the nostrils brings it nearer the macaques.

—;428 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [past hi.Australian form is represented in Celebes by two peculiarspecies.Leaving out the Indo-Malay species, which may probably havebeen introduced by man, and are at all events comparativelyrecent immigrants, and the wild pig, a genus which ranges overthe whole archipelago and which has therefore little significance,we find two genera which have come from the Australian side,— discus and Mus ; and four from the Oriental side, Cynopithecus,Anoa, Bahirusa, and Sciurus. But Sciurus alone correspondsto discus, as a genus still inhabiting the adjacent islandsthe other three being not only peculiar to Celebes, but incapableof being affiliated to any specially Oriental group. We seem, then,to have indications of two distinct periods ; one very ancient,when the ancestors of the three peculiar genera roamed over someunknown continent of which Celebes formed, perhaps, an outlyingportion ;—another more recent, when from one side there enteredSciurus, and from the other discus. But we must rememberthat the Moluccas to the east, possess scarcely any indigenousmammals except Cuscus ; whereas Borneo and Java on the west,have nearly 50 distinct genera. It is evident then, that thefacilities for immigration must have been much less with theOriental than with the Australian region,and we may be prettycertain that at this later period there was no land connectionwith the Indo-Malay islands, or some other animals than squirrelswould certainly have entered. Let us now see what light isthrown upon the subject by the birds.Birds.—The total number of birds known to inhabitCelebesis 205, belonging to about 150 genera. We may leave out ofconsideration the wading and aquatic birds, most of which arewide-ranging species.of land-birds,There remain 123 genera and 152 speciesof which 9 genera and 66 species are absolutelyconfined to the island, while 20 more are found also in the Sulaor Sanguir Islands, so that we may take 86 to be the number ofpeculiar Celebes species. Lord Walden, from whose excellentpaper on the birds of Celebes (Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. viii. p. 23)most of these figures are obtained, estimates, that of the specieswhich are not peculiar to Celebes, 55 are of Oriental and 22 of

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 429Australian origin, the remainder being common toboth regions.This shows a preponderant recent immigration from the Westand North, which is not to be wondered at when we look at thelong coast line of Java, Borneo, and the Philippine islands, withan abundant and varied bird population, on the one side, andthe small scattered islands of the Moluccas, with a comparativelyscanty bird-fauna, on the other.But, adopting the method here usually followed, let us lookat the relations of the genera found in Celebes, omitting forthe present those which are peculiar to it. I divide these generainto two series :—those which are found in Borneo or Java butnot in the Moluccas, and those which inhabit the Moluccas andnot Borneo or Java; these being the respective sources fromwhich, primd facie, the species of these genera must have beenderived. Genera which range widely into both these districtsare rejected, as teaching us nothing of the origin of the Celebesianfauna. In a few cases, sub-genera which show a decidedeastern or western origin, are given.Genera derived from Borneo and Java.1. Geocichla. 9. Nectarophila. 17. Hydrocissa.2. Pratincola (sp.) 10. Anthreptes (sp.) 18. -Cranorrhinus.3. Trichastoma. 11. Munia (sp.) 19. Lyncornis.4. Oriolus (sp.) 12. Acridotheres. 20. Treron (sp.)5. Cyornis 13. Yuugipicus. 21. Gallus (sp.)6. Hypothymis. 14. Mulleripicus. 22. Spilornis.7. Hylocharis. 15. Rhamphococcyx. 23. Butastur.8. iEthopyga. 16. Hierococcyx. 24. Pernis.Genera derived from the Moluccas or Timor.1. Graucalus (sp.) 6. Tanygnathus. 11. Myristicivora (s. g.)2. Chalcostetha. 7. Trichoglossus. 12. Ducula (s. g.)3. Myzoraela. 8. Scythrops (sp.) 13. Zoncenas (s. g.)4. Munia (sp.) 9. Turaccena, 14. Lamproteron (s. g.)5. Cacatua (sp.) 10. Reinwardtcenas (sp.) 15. Megapodius.These tables show a decided preponderance of Orientalover Australian forms. But we must remember that the immediatelyadjacent lands from whence the supply was derived, is

430 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part III.very much richer in the one case than in the other. The 24o-enera derived from Borneo and Java are only about one fourthof the characteristic genera of those islands; while the 15Moluccan and Timorese geuera are fully one third of theircharacteristic types. The proportion derived from the Australian,is greater than that derived from the Oriental side.We shall exhibit this perhaps more clearly, by giving a list ofthe important groups of each set of islands which are absentfrom Celebes.Important Families of Java and Borneoabsent from Celebes.Important Families of the Moluccasabsent from Celebes.1. Eurylsemidse.2. Timaliidse.3. Phyllornithidae.4. Pycnonotida?5. Laniidjfi.6. Megalseraidae.7. Trogonidse.8. Phasianida?.1. Meliphagidae.Additional important genera of Java orBorneo absent from Celebes.1. Orthotomus.2. Copsychus.3. Enicurus.4. Tchitrea.5. Pericrocotus.6. Irena.7. Platylophus.8. Dendrocitta.9. Eulabes.10. Hemicercus.11. Chrysocolaptes.12. Tiga.13. Microptemus.14. Batrachostomus.15. Palseornis.16. Rollulus.Important genera of the Moluccasabsent from Celebes.1. Mimeta.2. Monarcha.3. Rhipidura.4. Pachycephala.5. Lycocorax.6. Alcyone.7. Tanysiptera.8. Geoffroyus.9. Eclectus.10. Platycercus.11. Eos.12. Lorius.If we reckon the absent families to be each represented byonly two important genera, we shall find the deficiency on theOriental side much the greatest;yet those on the side of theMoluccas are sufficiently remarkable.The Meliphagidse are notindeed absolutely wanting, since a Myzomela has now beenfound in Celebes ;but all its larger and more powerful formswhich range over almost the entire region, are absent. Thismay be balanced by the absence of the excessively abundantTimaliidffi of the Indo-Malay islands, which arerepresented by

;chap, xiil.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 431only a single species ; and by the powerfdl Phasianidae, representedonly by the common Malay jungle fowl,perhaps introduced.The entire absence of Pycnonotidse is a very anomalousfact, since one of the largest genera, Criniger, is well representedin several islands of the Moluccas, and one has even been foundin the Togian islands in the great northern inlet of Celebesbut yet it passes over Celebes itself. Ceyx, a genus of smallkingfishers, is a parallel case, since it isfound everywhere fromIndia to New Guinea, leaving out only Celebes ; but this comesamong those curiosities of the Celebesian fauna which we shallnotice further on.In the list of genera derived from Borneo orJava, no less than 6 are represented by identical species (indicatedby sp. after the name) ; while in the Moluccan list 5are thus identical. These must be taken to indicate, either thatthe genus is a recent introduction, or that stragglers still occasionallyenter, crossing the breed, and thus preventing specificmodification. In either case they depend on the existing stateof things, and throw no light on the different distribution ofland and sea which aided or checked migration in former timesand they therefore to some extent diminish the weight of theIndo-Malay affinity, as measured by the relations of the peculiarspecies of Celebes.From our examination of the evidence thus far,—that is, takingaccount firstly,of the species, and, secondly, of the genera, whichare common to Celebes and the groups of islands between whichit is situated, we must admit that the connexion seems ratherwith the Oriental than with the Australian region; but when wetake into account the proportion of the genera and speciespresent,to those which are absent, and giving some weight togreater extent of coast line on the Indo-Malay side, we seemjustified in stating that the Austro-Malay element istherather themost fully represented. This result applies both to birds andmammals ; and it leads us to the belief, that during the epoch ofexisting species and genera, Celebes has never been united withany extensive tract of land either on the Indo-Malay or Austro-Malay side, but has received immigrants from both during a verylong period, the facilities for immigration having been rather the

:.432 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part ill.greatest on the Austro-Malay or Australian side. We have nowto consider what further light can be thrown on the subject bythe consideration of the peculiar genera of Celebes, and of thosecuriosities or anomalies of distribution to which we havereferred.Nine genera of birds are altogether peculiar to Celebes ;threemore are found only in one other island, and seem to be typicallyCelebesian ; while one is found in the Sula islands (whichbelongs to the Celebes group) and probably exists in Celebesalso. The following is a list of these 13 genera1. Artamides... (Campephagidse) 8. Monachalcyon (Alcedinidae)2. titreptocitta .. (Corvidse) 9. Cittura_... „3. Charitomis.. „ 10. Ceycopsis ... „4. Gazzola, (s. g.) „ 11. Meropogon .. (Meropidse)5. Basilomis .. (Sturnidse) 12. Prioniturus (Psittacidas)6. Enochs ... „ 13. Megacephalon (Megapodiidae)7. Scissirostrum „Of the above, Artamides, Monachalcyon,Cittura, and Megacephalon,are modifications of types characteristic of the Australianregion.All are peculiar to Celebes except Cittura, found also inthe Sanguir islands to the northward, but which seems to belongto the Moluccan group. Strcptocitta, Charitomis, and Gazzola,are peculiar types of Corvidre; the two former allied to themagpies, the latter to the jackdaws.Charitomis is known onlyfrom the Sula islands east of Celebes, and is closely related toStrcptocitta. There is nothing comparable to these three groupsin any of the Malay islands, and they seem to have relationsrather with the Corvidse of the old-world northern continent.Basilomis, Enodcs, and Scissirostrum, are remarkable forms ofSturnidse.Basilomis has a beautiful compressed crest, which inthe allied species found in Ceram is elongated behind. Enodcshas remarkable red superciliary streaks, but seems allied toCalornis. Scissirostrum seems also allied to Calomis in generalstructure, but has a very peculiarly formed bill and nostrils.Wecan hardly say whether these three forms show more affinity toOriental or to Australian types, but they add to the weight ofevidence as to the great antiquity and isolation of the Celebesianfauna. Scissirostrum has been classed with Euryceros, a Mada-

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 433gascar bird, and with Buphaga, an African genus ;but the peculiarbeak and nostrils approximate more to Crarticus and itsallies, of the Australian region, which should probably form adistinct family. Ceycopsis is undoubtedly intermediate betweenthe Malayan Ccyx and the African Ispidina, and is thereforeespeciallyinteresting. Meropogon is a remarkable form of beeeater,allied to the Indo-Malayan Nydiornis.raquet-tailed parrots) of which two species inhabitone the Philippines, appears to be allied toGeoffroyus.We must finally notice aPrioniturus (theCelebes, andthe Austro-Malayanfew genera found in Celebes, whosenearest allies are not in the surrounding islands, and which thusafford illustrations of discontinuous distribution. The most remarkable,perhaps, is Coracias, of which a fine species inhabitsCelebes ;while the genus is quite unknown in the Indo-Malaysub-region, and does not appear again till we reach Burmah andIndia ; and the species has no closer affinity for Indian than forAfrican forms. Myialestes, a small yellow flycatcher, is anotherexmple; its nearest ally (M. cinereocapilla) being a common Indianbird, but unknown in the Malay islands. The Celebesian birddescribed by me as Prionochilus aureolimbatus, is probably athird case of discontinuous distribution, if (as a more carefulexamination seems to show) it is not a Prionochilus, but congenericwith Pachyglossa, a bird only found in the Himalayas.The fine pigeon, Carpophaga forsteni, belongs to a group found inthe Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand ; but the Celebesspecies is very distinct from all the others, and seems, if anything,more allied to that of New Zealand.The Sula islands (Sula-mangola, Sula-taliabo, and Sula-besi)lie midway between Celebes and the Moluccas, being 80 milesfrom the nearest part of Celebes, with several interveningislands, and 40 miles from Bouru, all open sea. Their birdsshow, as might be expected, a blending of the two faunas, butwith a decided preponderance of that of Celebes. Out of 43land birds which have been collected in these islands, we maydeduct 6 as of wide range and no significance. Of the 37 remaining,21 are Celebesian species, and 4 are new species but

—434 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.allied to those of Celebes ; while there are 10 Moluccan speciesand 2 new species allied to those of the Moluccas.that no less than 3 Moluccan genera, quite unknown initself, occur here,It is curiousCelebesMonarcha, Pachycephalia, and Criniger; but allthese, as well as several other of the Moluccan birds, are ratherweak flyers, and such as are likely to have been carried acrossby strong winds. Of the genera, 23 are from Celebes, 10 fromthe Moluccas.These facts show, that the Sula islands form partof the Celebes group, although they have received an infusion ofMoluccan forms, which will perhaps in time spread to the mainisland, and diminish the remarkable individuality that now characterisesits fauna.Insects.—Of the reptiles and fishes of Celebes we have notsufficient information to draw any satisfactory conclusions. Itherefore pass to the insects of which something more isknown.The Butterflies of Celebes are not very numerous, less than200 species in all having been collected ; but a very large proportionof them, probably three-fourths of the whole, are peculiar.There is only one peculiar genus, Amcchania, allied to Zethera (agroup confined to the Philippine Islands), with which it shouldperhaps be united. Most of the genera are of wide distributionin the archipelago, or are especially Malayan, only two trulyAustralian genera, Elodina and Acropthalmia, reaching Celebes.On the other hand, 7 peculiar Oriental genera are found in Celebes,but not further east, viz., Clerome, Adolias, Euripus, Apatura,Limenitis, lolaus, and Leptocircus. There are also several indicationsof a direct affinity with the continent rather than withMalaya, as in the cases already enumerated among birds. Afine butterfly, yet unnamed, almostexactly resembles Dichorragiancsimachus, a Himalayan species. Euripus rdbustus is closelyallied to E. halitherses of N. India ;there are no less than o speciesof Limenitis, all quite unlike those found in other parts of thearchipelago. The butterflies of Celebes are remarkably distinguishedfrom all others in the East, by peculiarities of form, size,and colour, which run through groups of species belonging todifferent genera. Many Papilionidse and Pieridoe, and some

—chap, xiil] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 435Nymphalidse, have the anterior wings elongated, with the apexoften acute, and, what is especially remarkable, an abrupt bendor shoulder near the base of the wing. (See Malay Archipelago,3rd Ed. p. 281, woodcut.) No less than 13 species of Papilio, 10Pieridse, and 4 or 5 Nymphalidse, are thus distinguished fromtheir nearest allies in the surrounding islands or in India. Insize again, a large number of Celebesian butterflies stand preeminentover their allies. The fine Papilios adamantius, hlumei,and gigon— are perfect giants by the side of the closely-alliedforms of Java ;while P. androcles is the largest and longest-tailed,of all the true swallow-tailed group of the Old World.AmongNymphalidse, the species of Ehinopalpa and Euripus, peculiar toCelebes, are immensely larger than their nearest allies ; andseveral of the Pieridse are also decidedly larger, though in a lessmarked degree. In colour, many of the Celebesian butterflies differfrom the nearest allied species ; so that they acquire a singularityof aspect which marks them off from the rest of the group.The most curious case is that of three butterflies, belongingto three distinct genera (Ccthosia myrina, Messaras mceonides,and Atella celebensis) all having a delicate violet or lilac gloss inlines or patches, which is wholly wanting in every allied speciesof the surrounding islands. These numerous peculiarities ofCelebesian butterflies are very extraordinary ; and imply isolationfrom surrounding lands, almost as much as do thestrange formsof mammals and birds, which more prominently characterise thisinteresting island.Of the Coleoptera we know much less,but a few interestingfacts may be noted. There are a number of fine species ofCicindela, some of peculiar forms ;and one Odontochila, a SouthAmerican genus; while Collyris reaches Celebes from theOriental region. In Carabidse it has one peculiar genus, Dicraspeda; and a species of the fine Australian genus Catadromus.In Lucanidae it has the Oriental genus, Odontolabris. In Cetoniidaeit has a peculiar genus, Sternoplus, and several fine Cetonice;but the characteristic Malayan genus, Zomaptera, found in everyother island of the archipelago from Sumatra to New Guinea,is absent—an analogous fact to the case of Ceyx among birds.

436 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.In Buprestidae, the principal Austro-Malay genus, Sambus, isfound here ; while Sponsor, a genus 8 species of which inhabitMauritius, has one species here and one in New Guinea. InLongicorns there are four peculiar genera, Comusia, Pytholia,Bityle, and Ombrosaga ; but the most important features are theoccurrence of the otherwise purely Indo-Malayan genera Agelasta,Nyctimene, and Astathes ; and of the purely Austro-Malayan Arrhenotus, Trysimia, Xenolea, Amblymora, Diallus,and JEgocidnus.The remaining genera range over both portionsof the archipelago. In the extensive family of Curculionidsewe can only notice the elegant genus, Celebia, allied to Eupholus,which, owing to its abundance and beauty, isfeature in the entomology of the island.a conspicuousOrigin of the fauna of Celebes.—We have now to consider,briefly, what past changes of physical geography are indicatedby the curious assemblage of facts here adduced. We haveevidently, in Celebes, a remnant of an exceedingly ancient land,which has undergone many and varied revolutions; and thestock of ancient forms which it contains must be taken accountof, when we speculate on the causes that have so curiouslylimited more recent immigrations. Going back to the arrivalof those genera which are represented in Celebes by peculiarspecies, and taking first the Austro-Malay genera, we findamong them such groups as Zoncenas (s.g.), Phlogcenas, Leucotreron(s.g.), and Turaccena, which are not found in the Moluccasat all ; and Myzomela, found in Timor and Banda, but not inCeram or Bourn, which are nearest to Celebes. This, combinedwith the curious absence of so many of the commonest Moluccangenera, leads to the conclusion that the Austro-Malay immigra-•tion took place by way of Timor and the southern partof NewGuinea. It will be remembered, that to account for the Indo-Malayan forms in New Guinea, we suggested an extension ofthat country in a westerly direction just north of Timor. Nowthis is exactly what we require, to account for the stockingof Celebes with the Australian forms it possesses. At this timeBorneo, did not approach so near, and itwas at a somewhat laterperiod that the last great Indo-Malay migration set in; but

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 437finding the country already fairly stocked, comparatively fewgroups were able to establish themselves.Going back a little farther, we come to the entrance of thosefew birds and insects which belong to India or Indo-China ;andthis probably occurred at the same time as that continentalextension southward, which we found was required to account fora similar phenomenon in Java. Celebes, being more remote,received only a few stragglers. We have now to go muchfarther back, to the time when the ancestors of the peculiarCelebesian genera entered the country, and here our conjecturesmust necessarily be less defined.On the Australian side we have to account for Megacephalon,and the other genera of purely Papuan type. It may perhapsbe sufficient to say, that we do not yet know that these genera,or some very close allies, do not still exist in New Guinea ; inwhich case they may well have entered at the same time withthe species, already referred to. If, on the other hand, they arereally as isolated as they appear to be, they representan earliercommunication, either by an approximation of the two islandsover the space now occupied by the Moluccas ; or, what is perhapsmore probable, through a former extension of the Moluccas,which have since undergone so much subsidence, as to lead tothe extinction of a large proportion of their ancient fauna.The wide-spread volcanic action, and especially the prevalence ofraised coral-reefs in almost all the islands, render this lastsupposition very probable.On the Oriental side the difficulty is greater ; for here we find,what seem to be clear indications of a connection with Africa, aswell as with Continental Asia, at some immensely remote epoch.Cynopithecus, Babirusa, and Anoa; Ceijcopsis, Streptocitta, and Gazzola(s. g.), and perhaps Scissirostrum, may be well explained asdescendants of ancestral types intheir respective groups, whichalso gave rise to the special forms of Africa on the one hand, and ofAsia on the other.For this immigration we must suppose, that ata period before the formation of the present Indo-Malay Islands,a great tract of land extended in anorth-westerly direction, tillit met the old Asiatic continent. This may have been before

438 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.the Himalayas had risen to any great height, and when a largepart of what are now the cold plateaus of Central Asia mayhave teemed with life, some forms of which are preserved inAfrica, some in Malaya, and a few in Celebes. Here mayhave lived the common ancestor of Stis, Babimsa, and Phacochosrus; as well as of Cynopithecus, Cynocephalus, and Macacus ;of Anoa and Bubalus; of Scissirostrum and Euryceros ; of Ceyx,Ceycopsis, and Ispidina. Such an origin accounts, too, for thepresence of the North-Indian forms in Celebes ;and it offers lessdifficulties than a direct connection with continental Africa, whichonce appeared to be the only solution of the problem. If thissouth-eastward extension of Asia occurred at the same time asthe north-eastward extension of South Africa and Madagascar,the two early continents may have approached each other sufficientlyto have allowed of some interchange of forms : Tarsiusmay be the descendant of some Lemurine animal that thenentered the Malayan area, while the progenitors of Cryptoproctamay then have passed from Asia to Madagascar.It is true that we here reach the extremest limits of speculation; but when we have before us such singular phenomena asare presented by the fauna of the island of Celebes, we can hardlyhelp endeavouring to picture to our imaginations by what pastchanges of land and sea (in themselves not improbable) the actualcondition of things may have been brought about.II. Australia and Tasmania, or the Australian Sub-region.A general sketch of Australian zoology having been given in theearlier part of this chapter, it will not be necessary to occupy muchtime on this sub-region, which isas remarkably homogeneous asthe one we have just left is heterogeneous. Although much ofthe northern part of Australia is within the tropics, while Victoriaand Tasmania are situated from 36° to 43° south latitude,there is no striking change in the character of the faunathroughout the continent ;a number of important genera extendingover the whole country, and giving a very uniform characterto its zoology. The eastern parts, including the colonies of NewSouth Wales and Queensland, are undoubtedly the richest, several

;chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 439peculiar types being found only here. The southern portion issomewhat poorer, and has very few peculiar forms ; and Tasmaniabeing isolated is poorer still, yet its zoology has much resemblanceto that of Victoria, from which country it has evidentlynot been very long separated. The north, as far as yet known, ischaracterised by hardly any peculiar forms, but by the occurrenceof a number of Papuan types, which have evidently been derivedfrom New Guinea.Mammalia.—The Australian sub-region contains about 160species of Mammalia, of which 3 are Monotremata, 102 Marsupials,23 Chiroptera, 1 Carnivora (the native dog, probably notindigenous), and 31 Muridae. The north is characterised by aspecies of the Austro-Malayan genus Cuscus.Phascolarctos (thekoala, or native bear) is found only in the eastern districts;Phascolomys (the wombat) in the south-east and TasmaniaPetaurista (a peculiar form of flying opossum), in the east.Thylacinus(the zebra-wolf), and Sarcophilus (the " native devil "),two carnivorous marsupials, are confined to Tasmania. WestAustralia, the most isolated and peculiar region botanically,alone possesses the curious littlehoney-eating Tarsipes, and thePeragalea, or native rabbit. The remarkable Myrmecobius, asmall ant-eating marsupial, is found in the west and south;and Onychogalea, a genus of kangaroos, in West and CentralAustralia. All the other genera have a wider distribution, aswill be seen by a reference to the list at the end of thischapter.Plate XL A Scene in Tasmania, with Characteristic Mammalia.—As some of the most remarkable Mammalia of the Australianregion are now found only in Tasmania, we have chosen thisisland for the scene of our first illustration of the fauna of theAustralian sub-region. The pair of large striped animals arezebra-wolves {Thylacinus cynocephalus), the largest and most destructiveof the carnivorous marsupials.These creatures used tobe tolerably plentiful in Tasmania, where they are alone found.They are also called "native tigers," or " native hyaenas;" and bein^destructive to sheep, they have been destroyed by the farmersand will doubtless soon be exterminated.In the foreground on-'e*

:440 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.the left is a bandicoot (Peramclcs gunnii). These are delicate littleanimals allied to the kangaroos ; and they are found in all parts ofAustralia, and Tasmania, to which latter country this speciesis confined. On the right is the wombat (Phascolomys wombat),a root-eating marsupial, with large incisor teeth like those of ourrodents. They inhabit south-east Australia and Tasmania. Inthe foreground is the porcupine ant-eater (Echidna sctosa), belongingto a distinct order of mammalia, Monotremata, of which theonly other member is the duck-billed OrnitJwrhynchus. Theseanimals are, however, more nearly allied to the marsupials, thanto the insectivora or edentata of the rest of the world, which insome respects they resemble. An allied species (Echidna hystrix)inhabits south-east Australia.Birds.—Australia (with Tasmania) possesses about 630 speciesof birds, of which 485 are land-birds. Not more than about onetwentiethof these are found elsewhere, so that it has a largerproportion of endemic species than any other sub-region on theglobe. These birds are divided among the several orders asfollowsPasseres

—chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN. REGION. 441to Tasmania ; which island appears to possess no peculiargenus of birds except Eudyptes, one of the penguins. WestAustralia has no wholly peculiar genus except Geopsittacus, acurious form of ground parroquet; the singular Atrichia, firstfound here, having been discovered in the east. In NorthAustralia, Emblcma (Ploceidce) is the only peculiar Australiangenus, but several Austro-Malayan and Papuan genera enter,as, Syma and Tanysiptera (Alcedinidse) ;Machcerihynchus(Muscicapidse) ; Calornis (Sturnidae) ; Manucodia, Ptilorhis, andjElurcedus (Paradiseidse) ; Megapodius ; and Casuarius. The presenceof a species of bustard (Eupodotis) in Australia, is verycurious, its nearest allies being in the plains of India and Africa.Among waders the genus Tribonyx, a thick-legged bird somewhatresembling the Notornis of New Zealand, though not closelyallied to it, is the most remarkable. The district where thetypical Australian forms most abound is undoubtedly the easternside of the island. The north and south are both somewhatpoorer, the west much poorer, although it possesses a few verypeculiar forms, especially among Mammalia. Tasmania is thepoorest of all,a considerable number of genera being here wanting;but, except the two peculiar carnivorous marsupials, itpossesses nothing to mark it off zoologically from the adjacentparts of the main land. It is probable that its insular climate,more moist and less variable than that of Australia, may not besuitable to some of the absent forms ; while others may requiremore space and more varied conditions, than are offered by acomparatively small island.The remaining classes of animals have been already discussedin our sketch of the region as a whole (p. 396).Plate XII Illustrating the Fauna of Australia.—In thisplate we take New South "Wales as our locality, and representchiefly, the more remarkable Australian types of birds. Themost conspicuous figure is the wonderful lyre-bird (Menura superba),the elegant plumage of whose tail is altogether unique inthe whole class of birds. The unadorned bird is the female. Inthe centre is the emu (Dromceus novm-hollandice) ,the representativein Australia, of the ostrich in Africa and America, but be-Yol. I.—30

442 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGKAPHY. [part in.longing to a different family, the Casurariidaa* To the right area pair of crested pigeons {Ocyphaps lophotes), one of the many singularforms of the pigeon family to which the Australian regiongives birth. In every other part of the globe pigeons aresmooth-headed birds, but here they have developed three distinctforms of crest, as seen in this bird, the crowned pigeonfigured in Plate X., and the double-crested pigeon (Lopholcemusantardicus). The large bird on the tree is one of the Australianfrog-mouthed goat-suckers (Podargits strigoides), which arecalled in the colony " More-pork," from their peculiar cry. Theydo not capture their prey on the wing like true goat-suckers, buthunt about the branches of trees at dusk, for large insects, andalso for unfledged birds.A large kangaroo {Macropus giganteus)is seen in the distance ;and passing through the air, a flyingopossum (Petaurus sciureus), a beautiful modification of a marsupial,so as to resemble in form and habits the flying squirrelsof the northern hemisphere.III. Hie Pacific Islands, or Polynesian Sub-region.Although the area of this sub-region is so vast, and thenumber of islands it contains almost innumerable, there is aconsiderable amount of uniformity in its forms of animal life.From the Ladrone islands on the west, to the Marquesas on theeast, a distance of more than 5,000 miles, the same characteristicgenera of birds prevail ; and this is the only class of animals onwhich we can depend, mammalia being quite absent, and reptilesvery scarce.The Sandwich Islands, however, form an exceptionto this uniformity; and, as far as we yet know, they are sopeculiar that they ought, perhaps, to form a separatesub-region.They are, however, geographically a part of Polynesia; and amore careful investigation of their natural history may showmore points of agreement with the other islands. It is thereforea matter of convenience, at present, to keep them in the Polynesiansub-region, which may be divided into Polynesia properand theSandwich Islands.Polynesia proper consists of a number of groups of islands ofsome importance, and a host of smaller intermediate islets.

ECS3"SE- 13O•*!2Oaat»rpitr1HH>>oS•s.&>r-

———chap, xin.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 443-For the purpose of zoological comparison, we may classthem infour main divisions. 1. The Ladrone and Caroline Islands;2. New Caledonia and the New Hebrides ; 3. The Fiji, Tonga,and Samoa Islands; 4. The Society, and Marquesas Islands.The typical Polynesian fauna is most developed in the thirddivision ; and it will be well to describe this first, and then showhow the other islands diverge from it, and approximate othersub-regions.Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa Islands.—The land-birds inhabitingthese islands belong to 41 genera, of which 17 are characteristicof the Australian region, and 9 more peculiarly Polynesian.The characteristic Australian genera are the following : Petroica(Sylviidae) ; Lalage (Campephagidae) ; Monarcha, Myiagra, Rhipidura(Muscicapidse) ; Pachyccphala (Pachycephalidae) ; Eectes(Laniida?) ; Myzomela, Ptilotis, Anthochmra (Meliphagidae) ; Amadina,Eythrura, (Ploceidse) ; Artamus (Artamidse) ; Lorius (Trichoglossidre); Ptilopus, Phlogainas (Columbidse) ; Megapodius(Megapodiidse).The peculiar Polynesian genera are :Tatare,Lamprolia(Sylviidae) ;Aplonis, Sturnodes (Sturnidae) ; Todiramphus(Alcedinidffi) ;Pyrhulopsis, Cyanoramphus, (Platycercidae) ; Coriphilus(Trichoglossidae) ;Didunculus (Didunculidae).The wide-spread genera are Turdus, Zosterops,Hirundo, Halcyon,Collocalia, Eudynamis Cuculus, Ianthoenas, Carpopliaga,Turtur, Halimdus, Astur, Circus, Strix, Asio. The aquatic birdsare fifteen in number, all wide-spread species except one—a formof moor-hen (Gallinulidse), which has been constituted a newgenus Pareudiastes.Society, and Marquesas Islands.—Here, the number of genera ofland-birds has considerably diminished, amounting only to 16in all. The characteristic Australian genera are 5 ;Monarcha,Anthoclucra, Trichoglossus, Ptilopus, and Phlogcenas. The Polynesiangenera are 4 ;Tatare, Todiramphus, Cyanoramphus,Coriphilus, and one recently described genus, Scrresius, an extraordinaryform of large fruit pigeon, here classed under Carpopliaga.These remote groups have thus all the character ofOceanic islands, even as regards the rest of Polynesia, since they

——;444 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGKAPHY. [part m.possess hardly anything, but what they might have receivedby immigration over a wide extent of ocean.Zadrone, and Caroline Islands.—These extensive groups ofsmall islands are very imperfectly known, yet a considerablenumber of birds have been obtained. They possess twopeculiar Polynesian genera, Tatare and Sturnodes ; one peculiarsub-genus, Psammathia (here included under Acrocephalus);and ten of the typicalAustralian genera found in Polynesia,Lalage, Monarcha, Myiagra, Rhipidura, Myzomela, Erythrura,Artamtts, Phlogcenas, Ptilopus, and Megapodius, as well as thePapuan genus Pedes, and the Malayan Calornis ; —so that theycan be certainly placed in the sub-region. Genera which donot occur in the other Polynesian islands are, Acrocephalus, (s.g.Psammathia) originally derived perhaps from the Philippinesand Caprimulgus, a peculiar species, allied to one from Japan.New Caledonia, and the New Hebrides.—Although these islandsseem best placed with Polynesia, yet they form a transition toAustralia proper, and to the Papuan group. They possess 30genera of land-birds, 18 of which are typical of the Australianregion ; but wdiile 13 are also Polynesian, there are 5 which donot pass further east. These are Acanthiza, Eopsaltria, Gliciphila,Philemon, and Ianthoenas.The peculiar Polynesian genus,Aplonis, of which three species inhabit New Caledonia, link it tothe other portions of the sub-region. The following are thegenera at present known from New Caledonia :Turdus, Acanthiza,Campephaga, Lalage, Myiagra, Rhipidura, Pachycephala,Eopsaltria, Corvus, Physocorax (s.g. of Corvus, allied to the jackdaws),Glicphila, Anthochaira, Philemon, Zosterops, Erythrura,Aplonis, Artamtts, Cuculus, Halcyon, Collocalia, Cyanoramphus,Trichoglossus, Ptilopus, Carpophaga, Macropygia, Ianthoenas,Chalcophaps, Haliastur, Accipiter. The curious Phinochetusjubatus, forming the type of a distinct family of birds(Rhinochetidee),allied to the herons, is only known from New Caledonia.It thus appears, that not more than about 50 genera and 150species of land-birds, are known from the vast number of islandsthat are scattered over the Central Pacific, and it is not probable

—;chap, xiu.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 445that the number will be very largely increased. Some of thespecies, as the Eudynamis taitensis and Tatare longirostris, rangeover 40° of longitude, from the Fiji Islands to the Marquesas. Inother genera, as Cyanommplms and Ptilopus, each importantisland or group of islands, has its peculiar species. The connectionof all these islands with each other, on the one hand, andtheir close relation to the Australian region, on the other, areequally apparent ; but we have no sufficient materials for speculatingwith any success, on the long series of changes that havebrought about their existing condition, as regards their peculiarforms of animal life.Sandwich Islands.—Thissomewhat extensive group of largeislands, is only known to contain 11 genera and 18 species ofindigenous land-birds ; and even of this small number, two birdsof prey are wide ranging species, which may well have reached theislands during their present isolated condition. These latter are,Strix delicatula, an owl spread over Australia and the Pacific;and Asio accipitrinus, a species which has reached the Galapagosfrom S. America, and thence perhaps the Sandwich Islands.the remaining 8 genera, one is a crow (Corvus hawaiensis), andOfanother a fishing eagle (Pandion solitarius), of peculiar species;leaving 7 genera, which are all (according to Mr. Sclater) peculiar.First we have Chasiempis, a genus of Muscicapidse, containingtwo species (which may however belong to distinct genera) ;andas the entire family is unknown on the American continentthese birds must almost certainly be allied to some of thenumerous Muscicapine forms of the Australian region. Nextwe have the purely Australian family Meliphagida?, representedby two genera, Moho, an isolated form, and Chwtoptila, a genusestablished by Mr. Sclater for a bird before classed in Entomyza,an Australian group. The four remaining genera are believedby Mr. Sclater to belong to one group, the Drepanididse, altogetherconfined to the Sandwich Islands. Two of them, Drepanis andHemignathus, with three species each, are undoubtedly alliedthe other two, Loxops and Psittirostra, have usually been classedas finches. The former seem to approach the Dicaeidse; and allresemble this group in their coloration.

446 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.The aquatic birds and waders all belong to wide-spreadgenera, and only one or two are peculiar species."The Sandwich Islands thus possess a larger proportion ofpeculiar genera and speciesof land-birds than any other groupof islands, and they are even more strikingly characterised bywhat seems to be a peculiar family. The only other class ofterrestrial animals at all adequately represented on these islands,are the land shells ;and here too we find a peculiar family, subfamily,or genus (Achatinella or Achatinellidse)consisting of anumber of genera, or sub-genera,— according to the divergent viewsof modern conchologists,—and nearly 300 species. The Eev. J.T. Gulick, who has made a special study of these shells on thespot, considers that there are 10 genera, some of which are confinedto single islands. The species are so restricted that theiraverage range is not more than five or six square miles, whilesome areconfined to a tract of only two square miles in extent,and very few range over an entire island. Some species areconfined to the mountain ridges, others to the valleys ;and eachridge or valley possesses its peculiar species. Considerablymore than half the species occur in the island of Oahu, wherethere is a good deal of forest. Very few shells belonging toother groups occur, and they are all small and obscure ; theAchatinellse almost monopolising the entire archipelago.Remarks on the probable past history of the Sandwich Islands.—The existence of these peculiar groups of birds and landshellsin so remote a group of volcanic islands, clearly indicatesthat they are but the relics of a more extensive land ; and thereefs and islets that stretch for more than 1,000 miles in a westnorth-westdirection, may be the remains of a country oncesufficiently extensive to develope these and many other, nowextinct, forms of life. 1Some light may perhaps be thrown on the past history of the1A new genus of Beetles (Apterocyclus) of the family Lucanidse, hasrecently been described from the Sandwich Islands, and it is said to be mostnearly related to a group inhabiting Chih,—an indication either of the greatantiquity of the fauna, or of the varied accidental migrations from which ithas had its origin.

—;chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 447Sandwich Islands, by the peculiar plants which are found ontheir mountains. The peak of Teneriffe produces no Alpineplants of European type, and this has been considered to provethat it has been always isolated ; whereas the occurrence of NorthTemperate forms on the mountains of Java, accords with other evidenceof this island having once formed part of the Asiatic continent.Now on the higher summits of the Sandwich Islands,nearly 30 genera of Arctic and North Temperate flowering plantshave been found. Many of these occur also in the South Temperatezone, in Australia or New Zealand ; but there are others whichseem plainly to point to a former connection with some NorthTemperate land, probably California, as a number of islets arescattered in the ocean between the two countries. The mostinteresting genera are the following :Silene, which is whollyNorth Temperate, except that it occurs in S. Africa ;Vicia,also North Temperate, and in South Temperate America;Fragaria, with a similar distribution; Aster, widely spreadin America, otherwise North Temperate only ; Vaccinium,wholly confined to the northern hemisphere, in cold andtemperate climates. None of these are found in Australia orNew Zealand ;and their presence in the Sandwich Islandsseems clearly to indicate a former approximation to NorthTemperate America, although the absence of any Americanforms of vertebrata renders it certain that no actual land connectionever took place.Recent soundings have shown, that the Sandwich Islandsrise from a sea which is 3,000 fathoms or 18,000 feet deepwhile there is a depth of at least 2,000 fathoms all across toCalifornia on one side, and to Japan on the other. Betweenthe Fiji Islands, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, andAustralia, the depth isabout 1,300 fathoms, and between Sydneyand New Zealand 2,600 fathoms ; showing, in every case, ageneral accordance between the depth of sea and the approximationof the several faunas. In a few more years, when it isto be hoped we shall know the contour of the sea-bottom betterthan that of the continents, we shall be able to arrive at moredefinite and trustworthy conclusions as to the probable changes

—.448 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.of land and sea by which the phenomena of animal distributionin the Pacific have been brought about.Reptiles of the Polynesian Sub-region.—The researches ofMr. Darwin on Coral Islands, proved, that large areas in thePacific Ocean have been recently subsiding; but the peculiarforms of life which they present, no less clearly indicate theformer existence of some extensive lands. The total absence ofMammalia, however, shows either that these lands never formedpart of the Australian or Papuan continents, or ifthey did, thatthey have been since subjected to such an amount of subsidenceas to exterminate most of their higher terrestrial forms of life.It is a remarkable circumstance, that although Mammalia (exceptbats) are wanting, there are a considerable number of reptilesrano-in« over the whole sub-region. Lizards are the mostnumerous, five families and fourteen genera being represented,as follows :1. Cryptoblepharus2. Ablepharus ...3. Lygosoma4. Mabouya5. Euprepes.6. Dactyloperus ...7. Doryura8. Gehyra9. Amydosaurus .10. Heteronota11. (hrrdophus ...Brachylophus . .12.13. Lophura14. Chioroscartes(Gyninopthalnridse)n(Scincidgej»(Geckotidse)(Geckotidse)(Iguanidse)(Agaiuidse)Fiji Islands.All the islands.Pelew Islands, New Caledonia.Samoa Islands.Pacific Islands.Sandwich Islands.Pacific Islands.Fiji Islands.Tahiti.Fiji Islands.New Caledonia.Fiji Islands.Pelew Islands.Fiji Islands.The first five are wide-spread genera, represented mostly bypeculiar species ; but sometimes the species themselves have awide range, as in the case of Ablepharus pazcilopleurus, which(according to Dr. Gunther) is found in Timor, Australia, NewCaledonia, Savage Island (one of the Samoa group), and theSandwich Islands! Gehyra and Heteronota are Australiangenera ;while Lophura has reached the Pelew Islands from theMoluccas. The remainder (printed in italics), are peculiar genera;Brachylophus being especially interesting as an example of an

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 449otherwise peculiar American family, occurring so far acrossPacific.theSnakes are much less abundant, only four genera being represented,one of them marine. They are, Anoplodipsas, a peculiargenus of Amblycephalidse from New Caledonia; Enygrus, agenus of Pythonidse from the Fiji Islands ; Ogmodon, a peculiargenus of Elapidae, also from the Fiji Islands, but ranging toPapua and the Moluccas ;and Platurus, a wide-spread genus ofsea-snakes (Hydrophidre). In the more remote Sandwich andSociety Islands there appear to be no snakes. This accordswith our conclusion that lizards have some special means ofdispersal over the ocean which detracts from their value asindicating zoo-geographical affinities ;which is further provedby the marvellous range of a single species (referred to above)from Australia tothe Sandwich Islands.A species of Hyla is said to inhabit the New Hebrides, andseveral species of Platymantis (tree-frogs) are found in the FijiIslands ; but otherwise the Amphibians appear to be unrepresentedin the sub-region, though they will most likely be foundin so large an island as New Caledonia.From the foregoing sketch, it appears, that although thereptiles present some special features, they agree on the wholewith the birds, in showing, that the islands of Polynesiaall belong to the Australian region, and that in the Fiji Islandsis to be found the fullest development of their peculiarfauna.IV. New Zealand Sub-region.The islands of New Zealand are more completely oceanicthan any other extensive tract of land, being about 1,200miles from Australia and nearly the same distance from NewCaledonia and the Friendly Isles. There are, however, severalislets scattered around, whose productions show that theybelong to the same sub-region ;—the principal being, NorfolkIsland, Lord Howe's Island, and the Kermadec Isles, on thenorth ; Chatham Island on the east ; the Auckland and MacquarieIsles on the south ;—and if these were once joined to

—450 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.New Zealand, there would have been formed an island-continentnot much inferior in extent to Australia itself.New Zealand is wholly situated in the warmer portion ofthe Temperate zone, and enjoys an exceptionally mild andequable climate. It has abundant moisture, and thus comeswithin the limits of the South-Temperate forest zone ; and thisleads to its productions often resembling those of the tropical,but moist and wooded, islands of thePacific, rather than thoseof the temperate, but arid and scantily wooded plains of Australia.The two islands of New Zealand are about the sameextent (approximately) as the British Isles, but the difference inthe general features of their natural history is very great.Thereare, in the former, no mammalia, less than half as many birds,very few reptiles and fresh-water fishes, and an excessive andmost unintelligible poverty of insects; yet, considering thesituation of the islands and their evidently long-continuedisolation, the wonder rather is that their fauna is so variedand interesting as it is found to be. Our knowledge of thisfauna, though no doubt far from complete, is sufficientlyample ; and it will be well to give a pretty full account ofit, in order to see what conclusions may be drawn as to itsorigin.Mammalia.—The only mammals positivelyknown as indigenousto New Zealand are two bats, both peculiar to it,Scotophiliatuberculatus and Mystadna tuberculata. The former isallied to Australian forms ;the latter is more interesting, asbeing a peculiar genus of the family Noctilionidae, which doesnot exist in Australia ; and in having decided resemblances tothe Phyllostomidse of South America, so that it may almost beconsidered to be a connecting link between the two families.forest rat is said to have once abounded on the islands, and tohave been used for food by the natives ; but there is much doubtas to what it really was, and whether it was not an introducedspecies. The seals are wide-spread antarctic forms which haveno geographical significance.Birds.—About 145 species of birds are natives of New Zealand,of which 88 are waders or aquatics, leaving 57 land-birds belong-A

—:;chap, xni.] THE AUSTEALIAN REGION. 451ing to 34 genera. Of this latter number, 16, or nearly half xarepeculiar ; and there are also 5 peculiar genera of waders andaquatic birds, making 21 in all. Of the remaining genera ofland-birds, four are cosmopolite or of very wide range, while theremainder are characteristic of the Australian region. Thefollowing is a list of the Australian genera found in NewZealand : Sphenmacus, Gerygone, Orthonyx (Sylviidse) ; Graucalus(Campephagidse) ; Rhipidura (Muscicapidse) ; Anthochwra (Meliphagidae); Zosterops (Dicaeida?) ; Cyanoramphus (Platycercidse)Carpophaga (Columbidse) ; Hieracidea (Falconidse) ; Tribonyx(Rallidae). Besides these there are several genera of widerange, as follows :Anthus (Motacillidse) ; Hirundo (Hirundinidse); Chrysococcyx, Eadynamis (Cuculidse) ; Halcyon (Alcedinidae); Coturnix (Tetraonidse) ; Circus (Falconidae) ;Athene(Strigidae).Most of the above genera are represented by peculiar NewZealand species, but in several cases the species are identicalwith those of Australia, as in the following : Anthochcera carunculata,Zosterops lateralis, Hirundo nigricans, and Chrysococcyxlucidus ;also oneWe now come toare of especialEudynamis taitensis—which isinterestPolynesian.the genera peculiar to New Zealand, whichList of Geneea of Birds Peculiar to New Zealand.Family and Genus.Sylviid^e.1. Myiomoira2. Miro

452 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.Family and Genus.STURNID.E.10. Creadion11. Heterolocha ...12. Callseas

—chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 453part of Polynesia, distances of more than 1,000 miles ! Thesefacts seem, however, to have been accepted on insufficient evidenceand to be in themselves extremely improbable. It is observedthat the cuckoos appear annually in certain districts and againdisappear ;but their course does not seem to have been traced,still less have they ever been actually seen arriving or departingacross the ocean. In a country which has still such wide tractsof unsettled land, it is very possible that the birds in questionmay only move from one part of the islands to another.Islets of the New Zealand Sub-region.We will here notice the smaller islands belonging to the subregion,as it ischiefly their birds that possess any interest.Norfolk Island.—The land-birds recorded from this islandamount to 15 species, of which 8 are Australian, viz. : Climacterisscandens, Symmorphus leucopygius, Zosterops tenuirostris andZ. albogularis, Halcyon sanctus, Platycercus pennanti, Garpophagaspadicea, Phapspicata and P. chalcoptera. Of the peculiarspecies three belong to Australian genera ; Petroica, Gerygone, andRhipidura ; one to a cosmopolitan genus, Turdus. So far theaffinity seems to be all Australian, and there remain only threebirds which ally this island to New Zealand,Gyanoramphus rayneri, and Notornis alba.Nestor productus,The former inhabitedthe small Phillip Island (close to Norfolk Island) but is now extinct.Being a typical New Zealand genus, quite incapable of flyingacross the sea, its presence necessitates some former connexionbetween the two islands, and it is therefore perhaps of moreweight than all the Australian genera and species, which are birdscapable of long flights. The Cyanoramphus is allied to a NewZealand broad-tailed parroquet. The Notornis alba is extinct,but two specimens exist in museums, and it is even a strongercase than the Nestor, as showing a former approximation or unionof this island with New Zealand. A beautiful figure of thisbird is given in the Ibis for 1873.Lord Howe's Island.—This small island, situated half-waybetween Australia and Norfolk Island, is interesting, as containinga peculiar species of the New Zealand genus Ocydromus, or

—454 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.wood-hen (0. sylvestris).There is also a peculiar thrush, Turdusvinitinctus. Its other birds are wholly of Australian types, andmost of them probably Australian species. The following havebeen observed, and no doubt constitute nearly its whole indigenousbird fauna.Acanthiza sp., Bhipidura sp., Pachycephala gutturalis,Zosterops strennuus and Z. tephropleurus, Strepera sp.,Halcyon sp., and Chalcophaga chrysochlora.The two species ofZosterops are peculiar. The Ocydromus is important enough toally this island to New Zealand rather than to Australia ;and ifthe white bird seen there is, as supposed, the Notornis alba whichis extinct in Norfolk Island, the connection will be renderedstill more clear.Chatham Islands.—These small islands, 450 miles east of NewZealand, possess about 40 species of birds, of which 13 are landbirds.All but one belong to New Zealand genera, and all butfive are New Zealand species. The following are the genera ofthe land-birds : Sphenoeacus, Gerygone, Myiomoira, Bhipidura,Zosterops, Anthus, Prosthemadera, Anthornis, Chrysococcyx, Cyanoramphus,Carpophaga, Circus. The peculiar species are Anthornismelanoccphala, Myiomoira, difenbachi and M. traversi,Bhipidura flabellifera, and a peculiar rail incapable of flight,named by Captain Hutton Cabalus modestus. It is stated thatthe Zosterops differs from that of New Zealand, and is also amigrant ; and it is therefore believed to come every year fromAustralia, passing over New Zealand, a distance of nearly 1,700miles ! Furtherinvestigation will perhaps discover some otherexplanation of the facts. It is also stated, that the pigeon andone of the small birds (? Gerygone or Zosterops) have arrived atthe islands within the last eight years. The natives further declare,that both the Stringops and Apteryx once inhabited theislands, but were exterminated about the year 1835.The Auckland Islands.—These are situated nearly 300 milessouth of New Zealand, and possess six land-birds, of which threeare peculiar,Anthus auchlandicus, Cyanoramphus aucklandicus,and C. malherbii, the others being New Zealand species ofMyiomoira, Prosthemadera, and Anthornis. It is remarkablethat two peculiar parrots of the same genus should inhabit these

;chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 455small islands ; but such localities seem favourable to the Platycercidae,for another peculiar species isfound in the remote MacquarieIslands, more than 400 miles farther south. A peculiarspecies and genus of ducks, Nesonetta aucklandica, is also foundhere, and as far as yet known, nowhere else. A species ofthe northern genus Mergus isbeen recently obtained by Baron von Hiigel.also found on these islands, and hasPlate XIII. Illustrating the peculiar Ornithology of New Zealand.—Ourartist has here depicted a group of the most remarkableand characteristic of the New Zealand birds.In the middleforeground is the Owl-parrot or Kakapoe (Stringops habroptilus),a nocturnal burrowing parrot, that feeds on fern-shoots, roots,berries, and occasionally lizards ; that climbs but does not flyand that has an owl-like mottled plumage and facial disc.The wings however are not rudimentary, but fully developed;and it seems to be only the muscles that have become uselessfor want of exercise. This would imply, that these birds havenot long been inhabitants of New Zealand only, but were developedin other countries (perhaps Australia) where their wingswere of use to them.Beyond the Kakapoe are a pair of the large rails, Notornismantelli; heavy birds with short wings quite useless forflight, and with massive feet and bill of a red colour. Onthe right is a pair of Kiwis {Apteryx australis), one of thequeerest and most unbird-like of living birds.It has very smalland rudimentary wings, entirely concealed by the hair-likeplumage, and no tail. It is nocturnal, feeding chiefly on worms,which it extracts from soft earth by means of its long bill. Thegenus Apteryx forms a distinct family of birds, of which fourspecies are now known, besides some which are extinct. Theyare allied to the Cassowary and to the gigantic extinct Dinornis.On the wing are a pair of Crook-billed Plovers {Anarhynchusfrontalis), remarkable for being the only birds known whichhave the bill bent sideways. This was at first thought to be amalformation ;but it is now proved to be a constant character ofthe species, as it exists even in the young chicks;yet the purposeserved by such an anomalous structure is not yet discovered.

406 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi,No country on the globe can offer such an extraordinary set ofbirds as are here depicted.Reptiles.—These consistno land-snakes and only one frog.almost wholly of lizards, there beingTwelve species of lizards areknown, belonging to three genera, one of which is peculiar, asare all the species.Hinulia, with two species, and Mocoa, withfour species (one of which extends to the Chatham Islands),belong to the Scincidse ; both are very wide-spread genera andoccur in Australia. The peculiar genus Naultinns, with six species,belongs to the Geckotidse, a family spread over the whole world.The most extraordinary and interesting reptile of New Zealandis, however, the Hatteria punctata, a lizard-like animalliving in holes, and found in small islands on the north-eastcoast, and more rarely on the main land.It is somewhat intermediatein structure between lizards and crocodiles, and also hasbird-like characters in the form of. its ribs. It constitutes, notonly a distinct family, Rhyncocephalidse, but a separate order ofreptiles, Khyncocephalina. It is quite isolated from all othermembers of the class ; and is probably a slightly modified representativeof an ancient and generalised form, which has beensuperseded in larger areas by the more specialized lizards andsaurians.The only representatives of the Ophidia are two sea-snakesof Australian and Polynesian species, and of no geographicalinterest.Amphibia.—The solitary frog indigenous to New Zealand,belongs to a peculiar genus, Liopelma, and to the family Bomburatoridse,otherwise confined to Europe and temperate SouthAmerica.Fresh-water Fishes.—There are, according to Captain Hutton,15 species of fresh-water fish in New Zealand, belonging to 7genera ; six species, and one genus (Retropinna), being peculiar.Betropinna richardsoni belongs to the Salmonidae, and is theonly example of that family occurring in the Southern hemisphere,where it is confined to New Zealand and the ChathamIslands.The wide distribution of Galaxias attennatus—from the

chap, xin.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 457Chatham Islands to South America—has already been noticed \while another species,G. fasciatus, is found in the Chatham andAuckland Isles as well as New Zealand. A second genuspeculiar to New Zealand, Neochanna, allied to Galaxias, hasrecently been described. Prototroctes oxyrhynchus is allied to anAustralian species, but belongs to a family (Haplochitonidse)which is otherwise South American. An eel, Anguilla latirostris,is found in Europe, China, and the West Indies, as well as inNew Zealand ! while the genus Agonostoma ranges to Australia,Celebes, Mauritius, and Central America.Insects.—The great poverty of this class iswell shown by thefact, that only eleven species of butterflies are known to inhabitNew Zealand. Of these, six are peculiar, and one, Argyrophenga(Satyridse), is a peculiar genus allied to the Northern genusErebia. The rest are either of wide range, as Pyrameis carduiand Diadema bolina ; or Australian, as Hamdyaas zoilus ;whileone, Danais erippus, is American, but has also occurred in Australia,and is no doubt a recent introduction into both countries.Only one Sphinx is recorded, and no other species of the Sphinginaexcept the British currant-moth, JEgeria tipuliformis,doubtless imported. Coleoptera are better represented, nearly300 species having been described, all or nearly all being peculiar.These belong to about 150 genera, of which more than 50are peculiar. No less than 14 peculiar genera belong to theCarabidse,mostly consisting of one or two species, but Demetridahas 3, and Metaglymma 8 species. Other important genera areDicrochile, Homalosoma, Mecodema, and Scopodes, all in commonwith Australia. Mecodema and Metaglymma are the largestgenera. Even the Auckland Islands have two small generaof Carabidse found nowhere else.Cicindelidse are represented in New Zealand by 6 species ofCicindela, and 1 of Dystiysidera, a genus peculiar to the Australianregion.The Lucanidse are represented by two peculiar genera, Dendrdblaxand Oxyomus ; two Australian genera, Lissotes andCeratognathus ;and by the almost cosmopolite Dorcus.The Scarabeidse consist of ten species only, belonging to fourVol. I.—31

458 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.genera, two of which are peculiar (Odontria and Stethaspis) ;andtwo Australian (Pericoptus and Calonota). There are noCetoniidse.There is only one Buprestid, belonging to the Australian genusCisseis. The Elateridae, (about a dozen species,) belong mostlyto Australian genera, but two, Metablax and Ochosternus, arepeculiar.There are 30 species of Curculionidse, belonging to 22 genera.Of the genera, 12 are peculiar ; 1 is common to New Zealandand New Caledonia ;restare widely distributed.Longicorns are, next to5 belong to the Australian region, and theCarabidse, the most numerous family,there being, according to Mr. Bates (Ann. Nat. Hist., 1874), about35 genera, of which 26 are peculiar or highly characteristic,and 7 of the others Australian.The largest and most characteristicgenera are JEmona and Xyloteles, both being peculiar toNew Zealand ; few of the remainder having more than one ortwo species. Demonax extends to the Moluccas and S. E.Asia.A dozen of the genera have no near relations with thoseof any other country.Phytophaga are remarkably scarce, only two species ofColaspis being recorded ; and there is only a single species ofCoccinella.The other orders of Insects appear to be equally deficient.Hymenoptera are veiy poorly represented, only a score of speciesbeing yet known ; but two of the genera are peculiar, as are allthe species. The Neuroptera and Heteroptera are also veryscarce, and several of the species are wide-spread forms of theAustralian region. The few species of Homoptera are allpeculiar. The Myriapoda afford some interesting facts. Thereare nine or ten species, all peculiar. One genus, Lithobius,ranges over the northern hemisphere as far south as Singapore,and probably through the Malay Archipelago, but is not foundin Australia. Henicops occurs elsewhere only in Tasmaniaand Chili. Cryptops, only in the north temperate zone ; whiletwo others, Cermatia and Cormocephalus, both occur inAustralia.

—chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 459Land-Shells.—Of these, 114 species are known, 97 beingpeculiar. Three species of Helix are also found in Australia,and five more in various tropical islands of the Pacific. Nanina,Lymncea, and Assiminea, are found in Polynesia or Malaya,but not in Australia. Amphibola is an Australian genus, as isJanella. Testacella and Limax belong to the Palsearctic region.From the Chatham Islands, 82 species of shells are known,all being New Zealand species, except nine, which arepeculiar.Tlie Ancient Fauna of New Zealand.—One of the most remarkablefeatures of the New Zealand fauna, is the existence,till quite recent times, of an extensive group of wingless birds,—calledMoas by the natives—many of them of gigantic size,and which evidently occupied the place which, in other countries,is filled by the mammalia. The most recent account of thesesingular remains, is that by Dr. Haast, who, from a study ofthe extensive series of specimens in the Canterbury museum,believes, that they belong to two families, distinguished byimportant differences of structure,and constitute four genera,Dinornis and Miornis, forming the family Dinornithidse;Palapteryx and Euryapteryx, forming the family Palapterygidae.These were mostly larger birds than the living Apteryx, andsome of them much larger even than the African ostrich, andwere more allied to the Casuariidse and Struthionidae than tothe Apterygidse. No less than eleven species of these birdshave been discovered; all are of recent geological date, andthere are indications that some of them may have been inexistence less than a century ago, and were really exterminatedby man. Eemains have been found (of apparentlythe same recent date) of species of Apteryx, Stringops, Ocydromus,and many other living forms, as well as of Harpagornis,a large bird of prey, and Gnemiornis, a gigantic goose. Bodiesof the Hatteria 'punctata have also been found along with thoseof the Moa, showing that this remarkable reptile was once moreabundant on the main islands than it is now.TJie Origin of the New Zealand Fauna.—Having now given

460 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.an outline sketch of the main features of the New Zealandfauna and of its relations with other regions, we may considerwhat conclusions are fairly deducible from the facts. As theoutlying Norfolk, Chatham, and Lord Howe's Islands, are allinhabited (or have recently been so) by birds of New Zealandtype or even identical species, almost incapable of flight, we mayinfer that these islands show us the former minimum extent of theland-area in which the peculiar forms which characterise thesub-region were developed. If we include the Auckland andMacquarie Islands to the south, we shall have a territory of notmuch less extent than Australia, and separated from it by perhapsseveral hundred miles of ocean. Some such ancient landmust have existed to allow of the development and specializationof so many peculiar forms of birds, and it probably remainedwith but 'slight modifications for a considerable geological period.During all this time it would interchange many of its forms oflife with Australia, and there would arise that amount of identityof genera between the two countries winch we find to exist.extension southwards, perhaps considerably beyond the Macquaries,would bring it within the range of floating ice duringcolder epochs, and within easy reach of the antarctic continentduring the warm periods ;of genera and species withItsand thus would arise that interchangeSouth America, which forms one ofthe characteristic features of the natural history of New Zealand.Captain F. W. Hutton (to whose interesting paper on theGeographical relations of the New Zealand Fauna we areindebted for some of our facts) insists upon the necessity offormer land-connections in various directions, and especiallyof an early southern continental period, when New Zealand,Australia, Southern Africa, and South America, were united.Thus he would account for the existence of Struthious birdsin all these countries, and for the various other groups ofbirds, reptiles, fishes, or insects which have no obvious meansof traversing the ocean,—and this union must have occurredbefore mammalia existed in any of these countries. Butsuch a supposition is quite unnecessary, if we consider thatall wingless land-birds and some water-birds (as the Gare-fowl

chap, xni.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 461and Steamer Duck) are probably cases of abortion of uselessorgans, and that the common ancestors of the variousforms of Struthiones may have been capable of a moderatedegree of flight ; or they may have originated in the northernhemisphere, as already explained in Chap. XI. p. 287.The existenceof two, if not three, distinct families of these birds in NewZealand, proves that the original type was here isolated at avery early date, and being wholly free from the competition ofmammalia, became more differentiated than elsewhere. TheHatteria is probably coeval with these early forms, and is theonly relic of a whole order of reptiles, which once perhapsranged far over the globe.Still less does any other form of animal inhabiting New Zealand,require a land connection with distant countries to accountfor its presence. With the example before us of the Bermudasand Azores, to which a great variety of birds fly annually over vastdistances, and even of the recent arrival of new birds in NewZealand and Chatham Island, we may be sure that the ancestorsof every New Zealand bird could easily have reached itsshoresduring the countless ages which elapsed while the Dinornis andApteryx were developing. The wonderful range of some of theexisting species of lizards and fresh-water fish, asalready given,proves that they too possess means of dispersal which havesufficed to spread them, within a comparatively recent period,over countries separated by thousands of miles of ocean; and thefact that a group like the snakes, so widely distributed and forwhich the climate of New Zealand is so well adapted, does notexist there, is an additional proof that land connection had nothingto do with the introduction of the existing fauna. We havealready (p. 398), discussed in some detail the various modes inwhich the dispersal of animals in the southern hemisphere hasbeen effected ;and in accordance with the principles there established,we conclude, that the New Zealand fauna, living andextinct, demonstrates the existence of an extensive tractof landin the vicinity of Australia, Polynesia, and the Antarctic continent,without having been once actually connected with eitherof these countries, since the period when mammalia had peopled

462 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.all the great continents. That event certainly dates back toSecondary, if not to Palaeozoic, times, because so dominant agroup must soon have spread over the whole continuous landareaof the globe. We have no reason for believing that birdswere an earlier development ; and certainly cannot, with anyprobability, place the origin of the Struthiones before that ofMammals.Causes of the Poverty of Insect-life in New Zealand : its Influenceon the Character of the Flora.—The extreme paucity of insectsin New Zealand, to which we have already alluded, seemsto call for some attempt at explanation. No other country in the•world, in which the conditions are equally favourable for insectlife,and which has either been connected with, or is in proximityto, any of the large masses of land, presents a similar phenomenon.The only approach to it is in the Galapagos, and insome of the islands of the Pacific ; and in each of these cases theabsence of mammals leads us to infer, that no connection with acontinent has ever taken place. Yet the fauna of New Zealandevidently dates back to a remote geological epoch, and it seemsstrange that an abundance of indigenous insects have not beendeveloped, especially when we consider the vastantiquity thatmost of the orders and families, and many of the genera, of insectspossess (see p. 166), and that they must always have reached thecountry in greater numbers and variety than any of the higheranimals. The undoubted fact that such an indigenous insectfaunahas not arisen, would therefore lead us to conclude, thatinsects find the conditions requisite for their development only inthe great continental masses of land, instrict adaptation to, anddependance on, a varied fauna and flora of ever-increasing richnessand complexity. A small number of widely-separated forms, introducedinto a country where the fauna and flora are alike scantyand unrelated to them, seem to have little tendency to varyand branch out into that vast network of insect-life whichenriches all the great continents and their once connectedislands.It is a striking confirmation on a large scale,of Mr. Darwin'sbeautiful theory—that the gay colours of flowers have mostly, or

—chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 4G3perhaps, wholly been produced, in order to attract insects which aidin their fertilization—that in New Zealand, where insectsare sostrikingly deficient in variety, the flora should be almost as strikinglydeficient in gaily-coloured blossoms. Of course there are someexceptions, butas a whole, green,. inconspicuous, and imperfectflowers prevail, to an extent not to be equalled in any other partof the globe ;and affording a marvellous contrast to the generalbrilliancy of Australian flowers, combined with the abundanceand variety of its insect-life. We must remember, too, that thefew gay or conspicuous flowering-plants possessedby New Zealand,are almost all of Australian, South American, orEuropeangenera; the peculiar New Zealand or Antarctic genera beingalmost wholly without conspicuous flowers. In the tropicalGalapagos the same thing occurs. Mr. Darwin notices thewretched weedy appearance of the vegetation ; and states thatit was some time before he discovered that most of the plantswere in flower at the time of his visit ! And the insect-life wascorrespondingly deficient, consisting mainly of a few terrestrialbeetles.The poverty of insect-life in New Zealand must, therefore, bea very ancient feature of the country ; and it furnishes an additionalargument against the theory of land-connection with, oreven any near approach to, either Australia, South Africa, orSouth America. For in that case numbers of winged insectswould certainly have entered, and theflowers would then, as inevery other part of the world, have been rendered attractive tothem by the development of coloured petals ; and this characteronce acquired would long maintain itself, even if the insects had,from some unknown cause, subsequently disappeared.After the preceding paragraphs were written, it occurred to me,that if this reasoning were correct, New Zealand plants ought tobe also deficient in scented flowers ; because it is a part of thesame theory, that the odours of flowers have, like their colours,been developed to attract the insects required to aid in their fertilization.I therefore at once applied to my friend Dr. Hooker,as the highest authority on New Zealand botany ;simply askingwhether there was any such observed deficiency. His reply was:

464 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi" New Zealand plants are remarkably scentless, both in regard tothe rarity of scented flowers, of leaves with immersed glandscontaining essential oils, and of glandular hairs." There are afew exceptional cases, but these seem even more rare than mightbe expected, so that the confirmation of theory is very complete.The circumstance that aromatic leaves are also very scarce, suggeststhe idea that these, too, serve as an attraction to insects.Aromatic plants abound most in arid countries, and on Alpineheights ; both localities where winged insects are comparativelyscarce, and where it may be necessary to attract them in everypossible way.Dr. Hooker also informs, me that since his Introductionto the New Zealand Flora was written, many plants withhandsome flowers have been discovered, especially among theRaoiunculi, shrubby Veronicas, and herbaceous Composite. Thetwo former, however, are genera of wide range, which may haveoriginated in New Zealand by the introduction of plants withhandsome flowers, which the few indigenous insects would beattracted by, and thus prevent the loss of their gay corollas ; sothat these discoveries will not much affect the general characterof the flora, and its very curious bearing on the past history ofthe islands through the relations of flowers and insects.In judging of the relationhere supposed to exist, it must beremembered, that if the New Zealand insects have been introducedfrom the surrounding countries by chance immigrations atdistant intervals, then, as we go back into the past the insectfauna will become poorer and poorer, and still more inadequatethan at present to lead to the development of attractive flowersand odours.This quite harmonizes with the fact of the ancientindigenous flora being so remarkably scentless and inconspicuous,while a few of the more recently introduced genera ofplants have retained their floral attractions.Concluding Remarks on the Early History of the AustralianRegion.We have already discussed in some detail, the various relationsof the Australian sub-regions to the surrounding Eegions, and thegeographical changes that appear to have taken place. A very

chap, xiu.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 465few observations will therefore suffice, on the supposed earlyhistory of the Australian region as a whole.It was probably far back in the Secondary period, that someportion of the Australian region was in actual connection withthe northern continent, and became stocked with ancestral formsof Marsupials ; but from that time till now there seems to havebeen no further land connection, and the Australian lands havethenceforward gone on developing the Marsupial and Monotrematetypes, into the various living and extinct races we now findthere. During some portion of the Tertiary epoch Australia probablycomprised much of its existing area, together with Papuaand the Solomon Islands, and perhaps extended as far east as theFiji Islands ; while it might also have had a considerable extensionto the south and west.Some light has recently been thrownon this subject by Professor McCoy's researches on the Palaeontologyof Victoria. He finds abundant marine fossils ofEocene and Miocene age, many of which are strikingly similarto those of Europe at the same period. Among these are Cetaceansof the genus Squaloclon ;European species of Plagiostomousfishes ; mollusea and corals closely resembling those ofEurope and North America of the same age,—such as numerousVolutes closely allied to those of the Eocene beds of the IsleofWight, and the genus Dentalium in great abundance, almost orquite identical with European tertiary species. Along withthese, are found some living species, but always such as nowlive farther north in tropical seas. The Cretaceous and Mesozoicmarine fossils are equally close to those of Europe.The whole of these remains demonstrate that, as in thenorthern so in the southern hemisphere, a much warmer climateprevailed in the Eocene and Miocene periods than at the presenttime. This is a most important result, and one which stronglysupports Mr. Belt's view, before referred to, that the warmerclimates in past geological epochs, and especially that of theMiocene as compared with our own, was caused by a diminution ofthe obliquity of the ecliptic, leading to a much greater uniformityof the seasons for a considerable distance from the equator, andgreatly reducing the polar area within which the sun would ever

4GG ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.disappear during an entire rotation of the earth. During sucha period, tropical forms of marine animals would have been ableto spread north and south, into what are now cool latitudes ;andidentical genera, and even species, might then have ranged alongthe southern shores of the old Palsearctic continent, fromBritainto the Bay of Bengal, and southward along the Malayan coaststo Australia.Numerous Miocene plant-beds have alsobeen found in Victoria,saidcontaining abundance of Dicotyledonous leaves, which aregenerally to resemble those of the Asiatic flora, and of theMiocene plant-beds of the Khine.It is to be hoped these bedswill be more closely examined for remains of insects, land-shells,and vertebrates, and that the plants will be carefully preserved andcritically studied ; for here probably lies hidden the key, thatwill solve much of the mystery thatof the Australian fauna.attaches to the past history

chap, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 467TABLES OF DISTRIBUTIONIn drawing up these tables, showing the distribution of thevarious classes of animals in the Australian region, the followingsources of information have been relied on, in addition to thegeneral treatises, monographs, and catalogues used in compilingthe 4th Part of this work.Mammalia.—Gould, Mammals of Australia ;Waterhouse onMarsupials ;Dr. J. E. Gray's List of Mammalia of New Guinea;Midler, Temminck and Schlegel on Mammals of the Moluccas;papers by Dr. Gray ;and personal observation by the Author.JKrtfo.—Gould's Birds of Australia; Buller's Birds of NewZealand ; G. R. Gray's Lists of Birds of Moluccas, &c. ;Hartlauband Finsch on Birds of Pacific Islands ;Sclater on Birdsof Sandwich Islands ;papers by Haast, Hutton, Meyer, Salvin,Schlegel, Sclater, Travers, Lord Walden and the Author.Reptiles.— Krefft, Catalogue of Snakes ; Gunther, List ofLizards in Voyage of Erebus and Terror (1875) ; and numerouspapers.

.468 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part III.TABLE I.FAMILIES OF ANIMALS INHABITING THE AUSTRALIAN REGION.Explanation.Names in italics show families which are peculiar to the region.Names inclosed thus ( ) show families which only just enter the region, and arenot considered properly to belong to it.Numbers correspond to the series of numbers to the families in Part IV.Sub-regions.Order and Family.©

...CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 460Sub-regions.Order and Family.x .23~-Range beyond the Region.81. Phalangistidce82. PhascolomyidceMONOTREMATA83. Ornithorhynchidce..84. EchidnidceBIRDS.Passeres.1. Turdidae2. Sylviidse3. Timaliidae ...5. Cinclidae8. Certhiidae9. Sittidae10. Paridce13. Pycnonotidse . .14. Oriolidae15. Campephagidae16. Dicruridae17. Muscicapidae...18. Pachycephalidce19. Laniidai20. Corridae21. Paradiseidce ...22. M'eli-phagidce .23. Nectariniidae24. Dicaeidae2 5. Drepanididce .30. Hirundinidae .34. Ploceidae35. Sturnidae36. Artamida?37. Alaudidae.38. Motacillidee ...47. Pittidae49. Menuridce50. Atrichiidce ...CosmopoliteCosmopoliteOriental familyOriental familyOriental and EthiopianOriental and EthiopianOriental and EthiopianThe Old WorldAlmost peculiar to regionThe Old WorldCosmopoliteOriental and EthiopianOriental and EthiopianCosmopoliteOriental. EthiopianThe Old' WorldOrientalThe Old World and N. AmericaThe Old WorldOriental, EthiopianPeculiar to AustraliaPeculiar to AustraliaPlCARI^!.51. Picidse58. Cnculidae62. Coraciidae63. Meropidae67. Alcedinidae ...68. Bucerotidae ...71. Podargidae ...73. Capriroulgidas74. CypselidaeAll other regionsCosmopoliteOriental and EthiopianOriental and EthiopianCosmopoliteOriental and EthiopianOrientalCosmopoliteCosmopolite

470 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.

iCHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 471Sub-regions.Order and Family.en i—3 —

.472 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART 111Sub-regions.Order and Family.OS 3 —3 Range beyond the Region.14. Alytidae15. Pelodryadae ...16. Hylidae17. Polypedatidae18. Ranidae19. DiseoglossidaeFISHES (FRESH-WATER).ACANTHOPTERYGII.11. Trachinidae ...35. Labyrinthici ...37. Atherinidae ...38. Mugillidae ...Anacanthini.53. Gadopsidce ...Physostomi.59. Siluridse61. Haplochitonidse65. Salmonidae ...67. Galaxidae78. Ostegolossidae85. (Symbranchidae)Dipnoi.92. SirenoideiINSECTS. LEPI-DOPTERA (PART).Durini (Butterflies).1. Danaidse2. Satyridae3. Elymniidae ...4. Morphidae6. Acraeidae8. Nymphalidae . .9. Libytheidae ...10. Nemeobeidas ..13. Lycaenidae14. Pieridae15. Papilionidae ...16. HesperidaeSphingidea.17. Zygaenidae18. Castniidae19. Agaristidae ...20. Uraniidae23. Sphingidae ...All regions but OrientalNeotropicalAll regions but EthiopianAll the regionsAlmost cosmopoliteAll regions but NearcticPatagonia (? marine)Oriental, S. AfricaEurope, AmericaEthiopian, NeotropicalAll warm regionsTemperate S. AmericaPalaearctic, NearcticTemperate S. AmericaAll tropical regionsOriental, NeotropicalEthiopian, NeotropicalAll warm regions, and to CanadaCosmopoliteOriental, EthiopianOriental, NeotropicalAll tropical regionsCosmopoliteAll the other regionsAll other regions but NearcticCosmopoliteCosmopoliteCosmopoliteCosmopoliteCosmopoliteNeotropicalOriental, EthiopianAll tropical regionsCosmopolite

.CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 473TABLE II.GENERA OF TERRESTRIAL MAMMALIA AND BIRDS INHABITING THEA USTRALIAN REGION.Explanation.Names in italics show genera peculiar to the regionNames enclosed thus ( ) show genera which just enter the region, but are not consideredproperly to belong to it.Genera truly belonging to the region are numbered consecutively.MAMMALIA.Order, Family, andGenus.q a).'3O 0>Range within the Region.Range beyond the Region.PRIMATES.Cynopithecidje.(Macacus1. Cynopithecus ...Lombok to Timor)Celebes and BatchianOriental genusPhilippines ?Lemurid-e.(Tarsius ,Celebes)Indo-Malayan genusCHIROPTERA.Pteropid^e.2. Pteropus3. Xantharpyia ...4. Cynopterus5. Macroglossus ..6. Harpyia7. Hypoderma8. Notopteris15111111The whole reg. except New Zeal.Moluccas and TimorMorty IslandCelebes, Moluccas, TimorCelebes and MoluccasCelebes, Moluccas, and TimorFiji IslandsTropics of E. Hemisp.Oriental, S. PalaearcticOrientalIndo-MalayaPhilippinesRhinolophid^;.9. Rhinolophus ..10. Hipposideros ..11. Phyllorhina ..12. AseUia13. MegadermaMoluccas, Timor, AustraliaMoluccas and Aru IslandsMoluccas and TimorAmboynaTernate"Warmer pts. of E. Hem is.OrientalIndo-MalayaIndo-MalayaOriental, EthiopianVESPERTILIONIDiE.14. Scotophilus ..15. Vespertilio16. Miniopteris17. Taphozous18. Plecotus19. Nyctophilus ..Vol. I.—32Moluccas, Timor, AustraliaAustraliaMoluccas, Timor, and AustraliaCelebes, Moluccas, N. AustraliaTimorAustralia and TasmaniaOrientalCosmopoliteIndo-Malaya, S. AfricaOrien.,Ethiop., Neotrop.N. India, S. PalaearcticIndia

474 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [PART 111.Order, Family, andGenus.

CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 475Order, Family, andGenus.

476 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part III.Order, Family, and

CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 477Order, Family, andGenus.

478 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III.

CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 479Order, Family, andGenus.

1480 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [far :Order, Family, andGenus.r

.(HAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 481Order, Family, andGenus.. cRange within the Region.Range beyond the Region.CuCULIDiE.167. Rhamphococcyx168. Centropus169. Cueulus170. Calicchthrus ..171. Cacomantis ...172. Chrysococcyx(Hierococcyx...173. Eudynamis ...174. ScythropsCoraciid^:.1135110516CelebesAustro-Malaya and AustraliaAustro-Malaya and AustraliaPapuan IslandsAustro-Malaya and AustraliaAustro-Malaya to Fiji Islandsand N. ZealandCelebes)The whole region ; excl. SandwichIslandsCelebes, Moluccas, and AustraliaOriental, EthiopianPale, Orien., EthiopianOrientalOriental, EthiopianOriental genusOriental(Coracias175. Eurystomus ...Celebes)Austro-Malaya aud AustraliaOriental and EthiopianOriental and EthiopianMeropid^;.176. Meropogon177. Merops.CelebesAustro-Malaya and AustraliaPale, Orien.,EthiopianAlCEDINIDjE.178. Alcedo179. Alcyone180. Pelargopsis ...181. Ceyx182. Ceycopsis183. Syma184. Halcyon185. Todirhamphus186. Dacelo187. Monachalcyon188. Caridonax189. Tanysiptcra ...190. Cittura191. MelidoraBtJCEROTID-E.4627121936111421Celebes to New IrelandBatchian to TasmaniaCelebes, FloresCelebes to New GuineaCelebesPapuan Islands and N. AustraliaThe whole region ; excl. SandwichIslandsCentral Pacific and Sandwich Ids.Papuan Islands and AustraliaCelebesLombok and FloresBatchian to N. Guinea and N.AustraliaCelebes and Sanguir IslandsNew GuineaPale, Orien.,PhilippinesOrientalOrientalOriental, EthiopianEthiopian192. Hydrocissa? ...193. Calao194. Cranorrhinus ?CelebesMoluccas to Solomon IslandsCelebesOrientalMalayanMalayanPODARGID.E.195. Podargus196. Batrachostomus197. uEgothdes ...1025Papuan Islands to TasmaniaMoluccasPapuaD Islands to TasmaniaOrientalCAPRIMULGID.E.198. Caprimulgus ..Lombok to Australia, N. Guineato Pelew IslandsPale, Ethiopian, Orien.

482 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.

CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 483Order, Family, andGenus.O 0)*5tRange within the Region.Range bej-ond the Region.Stringopmle.235. StringopsN. Zealand, Chatham Islands ?COLUMB.E.Columbidje,236. Treron237. Ptilopus238. Carpophaga ...239. Ianthaenas240. Leitcomelcena...241. Lopholcemus ...242. Geopelia.243. Macropygia ...244. Turacczna245. Reinwardto&nas246. Turtur247. Ocyphaps248. Petrophassa ...249. Chalcophaps ..250. Trugon251. Henicophaps ...252. Phaps253. Leucosarcia ...254. Geophaps255. Lophophaps ...256. Catenas257. Otidiphaps ...258. Phlogcenas ...259. GouraDlDUNCULIDiE.260. Didwnculus ...5040611563121141131231173Celebes, Bouru, and Ceram,Floresand TimorThe whole region ; excl. N.ZealandThe whole regionGilolo, Timor, Papuan Ids. toSamoan IslandsAustraliaAustraliaLombok to TasmaniaAustro-Malaya, AustraliaCelebes, Timor, Solomon Ids.Celebes to New GuineaAustro-MalayaAustraliaN. W. AustraliaAustro-Malaya, AustraliaN. GuineaPapuan IslandsAustralia and TasmaniaAustraliaAustraliaAustraliaAustro-MalayaN. GuineaCelebes, N. Guinea to MadagascarPapuan IslandsSamoan IslandsOriental,Indo-MalayaEthiopianAn-OrientalJapan, Philippines,daman IslandsMalaya, ChinaIndo-MalayaPalsearc, Orien., Ethiop.OrientalIndo-MalayaPhilippine IslandsGALLING.TETRAONIDiE.261. CoturnixPhasianice.(GallusTurnicid^;.262. TurnixCelebes, Timor, Australia, N.ZealandCelebes to Timor)Celebes & Moluccas to TasmaniaPalaearc, Orien., Ethiop.Oriental genusPalsearc, Orien., Ethiop.MEGAPODIID.E.263. Talegallus ...264. Megacephalon265. Lipoa266. Megapodius ...1112Papuan Islands and AustraliaCelebesS. AustraliaCelebes to Austral. & Samoan Ids.Philippines, Nicobar Ids*

484 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part III.Order, Family, and .Genus.

CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 485Order, Family, andGenus.

INDEX TO VOL. I.

INDEX TO VOL. I.Note.—In this Index the names in Italics all refer to fossil genera or familiesmentioned in Part II. The systematic names of genera and families occurring inalmost every page of Part III. are not given, as they would unnecessarily swellthe Index ; but they can be readily referred to by the Class or Order, or by theGeographical Division (Region or Sub-region) under which they occur. Theywill, however, all be found in the General Index, with a reference to the page (inVol. II., Part IV.) where a systematic account of their distribution is given.Aardvark of East Africa, figure of, 261Accipitres, European Eocene, 163Accipitres, classification of, 97range of Palsarctie genera of, 248range of Ethiopian genera of, 312range of Oriental genera of, 385range of Australian genera of, 486Aceratheriwn, European Miocene, 119N. American Tertiary, 136Achcenodon, N. American Tertiary, 138Acotherium, European Eocene, 126Adapts, European Eocene, 125/Elurogale, European Eocene, 125sEpyornis, of Madagascar, 164/Eshna, from the Lias, 167Agnopterus, European Eocene, 163Agriochcerus, N. American Tertiary, 138Agrion, from the Lias, 167Alcephalus, Indian Miocene, 122Aldabra Islands, land-tortoises of, 289Ahtornis, N. American Eocene, 163Algeria, Post-Pliocene deposits and caves of,111Allen. Mr. J. A., on Zoological regions, 61objections to his system of circumpolarzones, 67objections to his zoo-geographical nomenclature,68Altai mountains, fossils in caves, 111Amblyrhiza, Pliocene of Antilles, 148America, recent separation of North andSouth, 40extinct mammalia of, 129North, Post-Pliocene fauna of, 129Amomys, N. American Tertiary, 134Amphechinus, European Miocene, 117Amphibia, means of dispersal of, 28classification of, 100peculiar to Palaearctic region, 186of Central Europe, 196of the Mediterranean sub-region, 205of Siberian sub-region, 220Vol. L—33Amphibia, of the Manchurian sub-region, 226table of Paltearctic families of, 237of the Ethiopian region, 255of West Africa, 264South African, 268of Madagascar, 280table of Ethiopian families of, 298of the Oriental region, 317of the Indian sub-region, 326of Ceylon, 327of Indo-Chinese sub-region, 331of Indo-Malay sub- region, 340table of Oriental families of, 369of the Australian region, 397resemblances of Australian and SouthAmerican, 400of New Guinea, 416of New Zealand, 457Ampkibos, Indian Miocene, 122Amphicjion, European Miocene, 118Indian Miocene, 121N. American Tertiary, 134Amphinuricidai, European Miocene, 119Amphimoschus, European Miocene, 120Amphisorex, European Miocene, 118Amphitragulns, European Miocene, 120Anastoma, European Tertiary, 169Anchilophus. European Eocene, 125Anchippodus, N. American Eocene, 139Anchippus, N. American Tertiary, 135Anckitheruhe, N. American Tertiary, 135Anchitherium, European Miocene, 119European Eocene, 125N American Tertiary, 135Ancient fauna of New Zealand, 459Ancylotherium, Miocene of Greece, 116European Miocene, 121Andaman Islands, zoology of. 333probable past history of, 334Andreas, European Miocene, 165Animal kingdom, primary divisions of, 85Animals, development of, affecting distribution,7dispersal and migration of, 10

490 INDEX.Animals, rapid multiplication of, 10Anisacodon, N. American Tertiary, 137Anoa of Celebes, peculiarities of, 428Anoplotheriidce, European Miocene, 119Anoplotherium, European Miocene, 1 19European Eocene, 126S. American Eocene, 148Anseres, arrangement of, 98peculiar Palasarctic genera, 250peculiar Ethiopian genera of, 313peculiar Australian genera of, 487Antelopes in the Indian Miocene deposits, 122birthplace and migrations of, 155Paliearctic, 182Antelotherhim, Indian Miocene, 122Anthracothcrid.ee, N. American Tertiary, 137Anthraeotherium, European Miocene, 119Antiacodon, N. American Tertiary, 133Antilles, Pliocene Mammalia of, 148Antilope, Post-Pliocene, 112in Brazilian caves, 144Antiquity of the genera of insects, 166of the genera of land and freshwatershells, 168Aphanapteryx of Mauritius, 164Aphelotherium, European Eocene, 125Aquila, European Miocene, 161Archcenpteryx, Bavarian Oolite, 163Arctic zone not a separate region, 68Arctocyon, European Eocene, 125Arctodus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130Arctomys, European Pliocene, 113Arctotherium in Brazilian caves, 144S. American Pliocene, 146Argus pheasant, figure of, 339peculiarity in display of plumage, andconfirmation of Mr. Darwin's views,340Artiodactyla, European Eocene, 126N. American Tertiary, 137S. American Pliocene, 146Arvicola, European Pliocene, 113in Brazilian caves, 145S. American Pliocene, 147S. American Eocene, 148Auchena, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130Auckland Islands, birds of, 455Australia, physical features of, 387Australia and S. America, supposed land connectionbetween, 398Australian region, description of, 387zoological characteristics of, 390mammalia of, 390birds of, 391reptiles of, 396amphibia of, 397fresh-water fish of, 397summary of vertebrata of, 397supposed land-connection of with 8. America,398insects of, 403lepidoptera of, 404coleoptera of, 405land shells of, 407sub-regions of, 408early history of, 465Australian sub-region, mammalia of, 438illustration of mammalia of, 439birds of, 440illustration of fauna of, 441Austro- Malayan sub-region, physical featuresof, 388zoology of, 409Aye-aye, figure of, 278Azores, visited by European birds, 17birds of, 207Azores, butterflies of, 207beetles of, 207, 209peculiarly modified birds of, 207stragglers to, 208how stocked with animal life, 208BBabirusa of Celebes, peculiarities of, 42bBadger, figure of, 195Balaam, European Pliocene, 112Balwnodon, European Pliocene, 112Baly, Mr, on Phytophaga of Japan, 230Banca, its peculiar species and solution of aproblem in distribution, 356Barriers, as affecting distribution, 6permanence of, as affecting distribution, 7to the dispersal of birds, 17Bates, Mr., on Carabidaeof Japan, 228on Longicorns of Japan, 230Bathmodon, N. American Tertiary, 13€Bathrodon, N. American Tertiary, 133Batrachia, Tertiary, 165Bats, powers of flight of, 15classification of, 87of New Zealand, 450Bears, probable cause of absence of, fromtropical Africa, 291Beaver, N. American Tertiary, 140Beetles, families selected for study, 103from the Lias, 167of Azores, 207of Japan, 228Belemnoziphius, European Pliocene, 112Belt, Mr. , his theory of a great Siberian lakeduring the glacial epoch, 218on change of climate caused by diminutionof obliquity of ecliptic, 466Birds, means of dispersal of, 15dispersal of by winds, 16American, found in Europe, 16reaching the Azores, 17barriers to dispersal of, 17limited by forests, 17classification of, 93Miocene of Greece, 116extinct, 160fossil of Palrearetic region, 161European of Miocene period, 161Eocene of Europe, 162relations of, 162extinct of North America, 163recently extinct in New Zealand, 164Cretaceous of N. America, 164remains of in Brazilian caves, 164recently extinct in Madagascar and theMascarene Islands, 164cosmopolitan groups of, 176numerous genera, Palaearetic, 1S3of the European sub-region, 193northern range of in Europe, 193of the zone of pine forests, 194of Iceland, 198of the Mediterranean sub-region, 203of Malta, 206 (note)of Azores, 207of the Cape Verd Islands, 215of Siberian sub-region, 219Oriental found in Siberia, 219extreme northern Asiatic, 219of northern Asiatic forests, 220of the Manchurian sub-region, 223Pal^arctic genera of, in the Manchuriansub-region, 224

AmericanINDEX.491Birds, Oriental genera of, in the Manchuriansub-region, 224characteristic ofgolia, 226N.W. China and Mon-table of Palsearctic families of, 235of West Africa, 243list of Paliearctic genera of, 243of the Ethiopian region, 253of the East African sub-region, 260S. African, 267genera of, peculiar to Madagascar, 275common to Madagascar and Oriental orEthiopian regions, 276species common to Madagascar and Africaor Asia, 277table of Ethiopian families of, 295table of Ethiopian genera of, 306of the Oriental region, 316of the Indian sub-region, 323Oriental genera of in Central India, 324Pala^arctic and Ethiopian genera inCentral India, 325of Ceylon, 327of Indo-Chinese subr egion, 330of Indo-Malayan sub-region, 337illustration of peculiar Malayan, 339of the Philippine Islands, 346table of Oriental families of, 366table of Oriental genera of, 375of Australian region, 391specially organized Australian families of,392of the Papuan Islands, 410peculiarities of, 413brilliant colours of, 413remarkable forms of, 414of the Moluccas, 418peculiarities of, 421of Timor group, 423of Celebes. 42Sof Australia, 440of New Zealand, 451peculiar to New Zealand, 452of Norfolk Island, 453of Lord Howe's Island, 453of the Chatham Islands, 454of the Auckland Islands, 455table of families of Australian, 471table of genera of Australian, 478Black ape of Celebes, 427Blanford, Mr. W. T., on the " Indian"region, 60on relations of Indian sub-region withAfrica, 321Blapsirtium, Oolitic insect, 167Blyth, Mr., on zoological regions, 60on the relations of Indian sub-region withAfrica, 321Borneo, probable recent changes in, 357Bos, Post-Pliocene, 112Indian Miocene, 122Bourbon, zoology of, 280reptiles of, 281Bovidce, European Miocene, 120Brachymys, European Miocene, 120Brumatherivm, Miocene of Perim Island, 122Brazilian cave-fauna, 143remarks on, 145Breyeria borinensis, carboniferous insect, 168Britain, peculiar species in, 197British Isles, zoology of, 197Broad-bill, Malayan, figure of. 340Brontotherida', N. Tertiary, 137Brontotherinm, X. American Tertiary, 137B-ubo, European Miocene, 162Bulimus, Eocene, 169Buncehiras, N. American Tertiary, 134Buprestidium, Oolitic insect, 167Butterflies, arrangement of, 103Pal«arctic, 187of Central Europe, 196of the Mediterranean sub-region, ^05of Azores, 207peculiar to Siberian sub-region, 220of Japan and North China, 227of the Ethiopian region, 255number of Ethiopian species, 256of Indo-Malay sub-region, 342of the Australian region, 404of the Austro-Malay sub-region, 404of the Moluccas, 419of Celebes, peculiarities of, 434of New Zealand, 457Cadurcotherium, European Eocene, 125Cmlodon, in Brazilian caves, 145Ccelogenys, in Brazilian caves, 144Cosnopithecus, European Eocene, 124Cainotherium, European Miocene, 120European Eocene, 126Calamodon, N. American Eocene, 139Callithrix in Brazilian caves, 184Canaries, birds of, 208beetles of, 209Canidw, European Miocene, 118European Eocene, 125N. American Tertiary, 134remarkable S. African, 267Canis, European Pliocene, 112Post-Pliocene, 112European Miocene, 118Indian Miocene, 121European Eocene, 125N. American Post-Pliocene, T29N. American Tertiary, 134, 135in Brazilian caves, 144S. American Pliocene. 146Camel, fossil in Indian Miocene, 122birth-place and migrations of, 155Fahearctic, 182Camelida; essentially extra-tropical, 112N. American Tertiary, 138Camelopardalis, Miocene of Greece, 116Indian Miocene, 122Cametotherium, S. American Pliocene, 147Cape of Good Hope, peculiar flora and faunaof, 266Cape Verd Islands, zoology of, 214Cape-hare, S. African, 267Cardiodus; S. American Pliocene, 147Cariama, Brazilian caves, 164Carnivore of European Pliocene, 112Miocene of Greece, 115European Miocene, 118Indian Miocene, 121European Eocene, 125N. American Post- Pliocene, 129N. American Tertiary. 134of Brazilian caves, 144S. American Pliocene, 146Carnivora, classification of, 88antiquity of, 153of the Pala'arctie region, 182list of Palsearctic genera of, 240list of Ethiopian genera of, 302range of Oriental genera of, 373list of Australian genera of, 476Caroline Islands, birds of, 444Carterodon in Brazilian caves, 145

492 INDEX.Cams, and Gerstaeker on classification ofanimals, 85Professor, on classification of the Cetacea,88Castor, European Pliocene, 113European Miocene, 120Casoryx, N. American Tertiary, 138Cathartes, Brazilian caves, 164Cave-fauna of Brazil, 143Cavia, European Miocene, 121in Brazilian caves, 144S. American Pliocene, 147Cebochcerus, European Eocene, 126Cebus in Brazilian caves, 144Celebes, physical features of, 389mammalia of, 426birds of, 428insects of, 434origin of fauna of, 436Centetidm, European Miocene, 118Ceratodus, remarkable Australian fish, 397Cercolabes in Brazilian caves, 145Cercopithecus in European Pliocene, 112Cervidce, European Miocene, 120birthplace and migrations of, 155Cervus, European Pliocene, 113Indian Pliocene and Miocene, 122N. American Post-Pliocene, 130N. American Tertiary, 138in Brazilian caves, 144S. American Pliocene, 147Cetacea, European Pliocene, 112European Miocene, 119N. American Post-Pliocene, 130N. American Tertiary, 140Cetacea, classification of, 89range of Oriental genus, 374Ceylon and Malaya, resemblance of insects of,327Ceylonese sub-region, 326mammalia of, 327birds of, 327reptiles of, 327amphibia of, 327insects of, 327past history of, as indicated by its fauna,328Chalicomys, European Pliocene, 113Chalicotherium, European Miocene, 119Indian Miocene, 122fossil in N. China, 123Chamaleo, N. American Eocene, 165Chamois, figure of, 195Chatham Islands, birds of, 454Chelonia, classification of, 100Chelydra, European Pliocene, 165Chevrotain of Malaya, figure of, 336Chili should not be placed in the Palseaor Nearctic regions, 63China, fossil mammals in, resembling those ofIndian and European Miocene, 362North, mammalia of, 222Chinchillida: in Brazilian caves, 145S. American Pliocene, 147Pliocene of Antilles, 148Chiroptera, classification of, 87list of Palsearctic genera of, 239list of Ethiopian genera of, 300range of Oriental genera of, 371list of Australian genera of, 475Chiroptera, European Eocene, 125in Brazilian caves, 144Chlamydolherium in Brazilian caves, 145Chmromorus, European Miocene, 119Chceropotiimvs, European Eocene, 126Chairotheriwn, Indian Miocene, 122Choneziphivs, European Pliocene, 112Chough, Alpine, figure of, 195Circuuipolar zones, objections to system of, 67Classification as affecting the study of distribution,83Clausilia, Eocene, 169Climate, as a limit to the range of mammalia,11gradual change of, before the glacial epoch,41Coleoptera. families selected for study, 103Palsearctic, 188number of Palsearctic species, 189of Central Europe, 196of the M editerranean sub-region, 205of the Cape Verd Islands, 215of the Ethiopian region, 256S. African, 268of Madagascar, 282, 283of the Oriental region, 319of Indo-Malay sub-region, 342of the Australian region, 405affinity of Australian and South American406, 407of Celebes, 435of New Zealand, 457Collocalia, European Miocene, 161Colobus, European Miocene, 117Colonoceras, N. American Tertiary, 136Colossochelys of Indian Miocene, 123,U65Columbse, classification of, 96range of Palsearctic genera of, 248range of Ethiopian genera of, 311range of Oriental genera of, 384range of Australian genera of, 485Comoro islands, zoology of, 281Continents, distribution of, 37recent changes of, 38Continental extension in Mesozoic times, 156Corvus, European Miocene, 161Coryphndon, European Eocene, 126Cosmopolitan groups enumerated, 175Cricetodon, European Miocene, 120Cricetus, European Tliocene, 113Crocodiles, Eocene, 165Crocodilia, classification of, 100Crook-billed plovers of New Zealand, 456Crotch, Mr., on beetles of the Azores, 209Crowned-pigeon, figure of, 415Cryptornis, European Eocene, 163Ctenomys, S. American Pliocene, 147Cuba, extinct mammalia of, 148Curculionidium, Oolitic insect, 167Cyclostoma, Eocene, 169Cyllo sepulta, European Cretaceous, 167Cynoelurvs, in Brazilian caves, 144Cynopithecus of Celebes, affinities of, 427Cyotherium, European Eocene, 125D.Daptophilus, N. American Tertiary, 134Darwin, Mr., his explanation of the cause ofthe abundance of apterous insects inMsdeira, 211on the relation of flowers and insects, 463Dasyprocta, European Miocene, 121in Brazilian eaves, 144Dasypus, in Brazilian caves, 145S. American Pliocene, 147Dasyurus, Australian Post-Tertiary. 157David, Pere, his researches in China and Thibet,221, 222on birds of N. China, 226

INDEX. 493Deer, fossil in N. American Tertiary formations,138Palsearctic, 182probable cause of absence of from tropicalAfrica, 291Delphinus, European Pliocene, 112Dendrocyg na, European Miocene, 162Desman of S. Russia, figure of, 219Diceratherium, N. American Tertiary, 137Dichobune, European Eocene, 12'iDicotyles, N. American Post- Pliocene, 130N. American Tertiary, 137in Brazilian caves, 144S. American Pliocene, 146birthplace and migrations of, 155Dicrocerus, European Miocene, 120Didelphys, European Eocene, 126N. American Post-Pliocene, 130in Brazilian caves, 145Didida:, 164Dinocerata, N. American Tertiary, 139Dinaceras, N. American Eocene, 139Dinoruis, allied form in European Eocene, 163of New Zealand and Australia, 164Dinoriiithidcc of New Zealand, 164Dinotheriim, Miocene of Greece, 116European Miocene, 120Miocene of Perim Island, 123Dinyctis, N. American Tertiary, 134Dinylus, European Miocene, 117Diplacodon,^. American Tertiary, 136Diprotodon, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157Dispersal of animals, 10of mamma' ia, 10of reptiles and amphibia, 28Distribution, affected by climate, 5affected by physical features, 5contrasts of, in similar climates, 5similarities of, in diverse climates, 6barriers as affecting, 6study of, dependent on a good classification,83of animals an adjunct to geology, 8of animals requires certain preliminarystudies, Sof animals dependent on physical geography,35of animals, as affected by the glacial epoch.40of animals, as affected by changes ofvegetation, 43of animals, as affected bv organic changes,44of animals, hypothetical illustration of,46of animals, complexity of the causes affectingthe, 49of animals, problems in, 51of plants, as affected by the glacial epoch,42Dodo of Mauritius, 282Dolichopterus, European Miocene, 162Dommina, N. American Tertiary, 134Dorcatherium, European Miocene, 120Dremothe.rium, Miocene of Greece, 116European Miocene, 120Dresser, Mr. H. E., on northern range ofEuropean birds, 193Dromatheritim, N, American Triassic, 134oldest American mammal, 160Drnngo-shrike, Malayan figtne o p , 340Dryopntkecus European Miocene, 117E.East Africa, geographical features of, 258wide range of genera and species over, 259few special types in, 260East African sub-region, description of, 258genera and species ranging over the wholeof, 259mammalia of, 260birds of, 260reptiles of, 260amphibia and fishes of, 260insects of, 260few peculiar types in, 260illustration of zoology of, 261East Australia, peculiar birds of, 440East Thibet, mammalia of, 222Eaton, Rev. A. E., on insects of KerguelenIsland, 211Echimyidiv, in Brazilian caves, 145Eckinogale, European Miocene, 118Ectognathus, N. American Eocene, 139Edentata, Miocene of Greece, 116European Miocene, 121N. American Post-Pliocene, 130N. American Pliocene, 140of Brazilian caves, 145S. American Pliocene, 147Edentata, classification of, 90probable birthplace of, 155range of Ethiopian genera of, 305range of Oriental genus rf, 375Elephants, fossil of Indian M\ >cene, 123fossil in N. American Post- Pliocene formations,130birthplace and migrations of, 155Elephant shrews, 8. African, 267Elephas, Post-Pliocene, 112fossil in N. China, 123N. American Tertiary, 138Elliot, Mr., his great work on the birds oparadise, 415Elomis, European Miocene, 162Elotherium, N. American Tertiary, 137, 139Elwes, Mr., on birds of Peisia, 204on true relations of the birds of CentralIndia, 323Embasis, N. American Tertiary, 134Emu, figure of, 441Emys, Indian Miocene, 123Miocene and Eocene, 1 65Emydida, Indian Miocene, 123Enhydrion, Indian Miocene, 121Eobasileus, N. American Eocene, 139Eocene period, 124fauna of S. America, 148Ephemera, from the Lias, 167Bporeodon, N. American Tertiary, 138Equiiln; European Pliocene, 112Miocene of Greece, 115European Eocene, 125Eqmts, European Pliocene, 112Pust-Pliocene, 112Indian Miocene, 121N. American Post-Pliocene, 130N. American Tertiary, 135Brazilian caves, 144S. American Pliocene, 146Ereptodon, N. American Post- Pliocene, 130Erinaceus, European Miocene, 117Erythromachus of Rodriguez, 164Esthonyx, N. American Eocene, 139Ethiopian region should not include any partof India, 63defined, 7isubdivisions of, 73

494 INDEX.Ethiopian region, general features of, 251zoological characteristics of, 25?mammalia of, 253great speciality of, 253birds of, 253reptiles of, 254amphibia of, 255fresh-water fish of, 255summary of vertebrates of, 255insects of, 255coleoptera of, 256terrestrial mollusca of, 257sub-regions of, 258Atlantic islands of, 269the probable past history of, 285tables of distribution of animals of, 293Ewtnys, N. American Tertiary, 140Euphrachis, S. American Pliocene, 147Europe, recent changes in physical geographyof, 39Miocene fauna of Central, 117Miocene fauna of, allied to existing faunaof tropical Asia and Africa, 124European sub-region, description of, 191forests of, 192mammalia of, 192birds of, 193reptiles and amphibia of, 195fresh-water fish of, 196insects of, 196islands of, 197Euryceros of Madagascar, figure of, 278Eurydon, in Brazilian caves, 145Euriitherium, European Eocene, 126Eutatus, S. American Pliocene, 147Eutelodon, European Eocene, 126Eutemnodus, S. American Eocene, 148Extinct mammalian fauna of Europe, generalconsiderations on, 126mammalia of N. America and Europe,comparison of, 140mammalia of the Antilles, 148mammalia of Old and New Worlds,general remarks on, 148fauna of New Zealand, 459Extinction of large animals, causes of, 158Fauna of Japan, general character and affinitiesof, 230of Patearetic region, general conclusionsas to, 231extinct, of Madagascar and MascareneIslands, 282Malayan, probable origin of, 359Moluccan, peculiarities of, 419Timorese, origin of, 422of Celebes, origin of, 436of New Zealand, origin of, 460Felis spelcea, 110Felis, Miocene of Greece, 115European Miocene, 118Indian Miocene, 121N. American Post-Pliocene, 129in Brazilian caves, 144Fernando Po, zoological features of, 265Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa Islands, birds of, 443Fishes, means of dispersal of, 29classification of, 101cosmopolitan groups of, 176of the Palaearctic region, 186of the European sub-region, 196of the Mediterranean sub-region, 205of the Manchurian sub-region. 227Fishes.fresh -water,table of Palaearctic familiesof, 227of the Ethiopian region, 255of South Africa, 268fresh-water, table of Ethiopian families of,298fresh-water, of the Oriental region, 318of the Indo-Malay sub-region, 341fresh-water, table of Oriental families of,369fresh-water, of the Australian region, 397fresh-water,resemblance of Australian andS. American, 400how the transmission may have takenplace, 401fresh-water, of New Zealand, 457Flamingoes, European Miocene, 162Flora, of New Zealand, as influenced by scarcityof insects, 462fossil of Australia, 467Flower, Professor, on classification of mammalia,85classification of carnivora, 87Flying Lemur, Malayan, figure of, 337Flying Opossum, figure of, 442Formosa, zoology of, 332Forests, essential to existence of many Europeananimals, 192Siberian, greatest extent of, 216G.Galapagos, scarcity of insects in, 463Galecynus, in European Pliocene, 112Galera, N. American Post- Pliocene, 13Galeospalax, European Miocene, 118Galeotherium, Post-Pliocene, 111Galethylax, European Eocene, 125Galictis, in Brazilian caves, 144Gallinse, classification of, 96range of Palaearctic genera of, 248range of Ethiopian genera of, 311range of Oriental genera of, 3S4range of Australian genera of, 485GoMus, Miocene of Greece, 116Gallus bravardi, European Pliocene, 161Gast

INDEX. 495Grallae, peculiar Oriental genera of, 386peculiar Australian genera of, 486Gray, Dr. J. E., on classification of Cetacea,88Greece, Upper Miocene deposits of, 115summary of Miocene fauna of, 116Groups peculiar to a region, how denned, 184Gulick, Rev. J. T., on Achatinellidas of theSandwich Islands, 446Giinther, Dr., his classification of reptiles, 98his classification of fishes, 101on gigantic tortoises of Galapagos and theMascarene Islands, 289on range of Indian reptiles in the Himalayas,329H.Haast, Dr. , on extinct birds of New Zealand,460Habitat, definition of, 4Hainan, zoology of, 334Haleyomis, European Eocene, 103Halitherium, European Pliocene, 112European Miocene, 119Helladotherium, Miocene of Greece, 116European Miocene, 120Hatteria of New Zealand, 456Helictis, Himalayan, figure of, 331Helix, Eocene, 169Hemibos, Indian Miocene, 122Hemicyon, European Miocene, 118Herpetotherium, N. American Tertiary, 134llesperomys, N. American Tertiary, 140in Brazilian caves, 145S. American Pliocene, 147Hesperomis, N. American Cretaceous, 164Heterodon, in Brazilian caves, 145Hexaprotodon, Indian Miocene, 122Hickman, Mr. John, on a cause of the extinctionof large animals, 158Himalayas, altitude reached by various groupsin the, 329, 333Hipparion, European Pliocene, 112Miocene of Greece, 115European Miocene, 119N. American Post-Pliocene, 130N. American Tertiary, 135Hippopotamus, Post- Pliocene, 112Europe m Pliocene, 113Indian Pliocene, 122Hipposyus, N. American Tertiary, 133Hippotheri-um, European Miocene, 119Indian Miocene, 122Hippotragus, European Miocene, 120Homalodontotherium, S. American Pliocene,146Homalophvs, European Miocene, 161Homocamelus, N. American Tertiary, 138Honevsuckers, birds specially adapted to"Australia, 392Hooker, Dr. , on deficiency of odours in NewZealand plants, 464Hoplocetus, European Pliocene, 112Hoplophoneus, N. American Tertiary, 134Hor&es, fossil, in Indian Miocene, 121perfect series of ancestral, in N. America,136probable birthplace of, 154Hutton, Capt. F. W., on origin of New Zealandfauna, 461Huxley, Professor, on zoological regions, 59division of animal kingdom by, 85Hycena, Post-Pliocene, 112Miocene of Greece, 115European Miocene, 118Hyoma, Indian Miocene, 121fossil in N. China, 123Hyrenwrctos in European Pliocene, 112European Miocene, 118Indian Miocene, 121S. American Pliocene, 146Hycenictis, Miocene of Greece, 115European Miocene, 118Hyrenidw, European Miocene, 118Hycenodon, European Miocene, 118European Eocene, 125N. American Tertiary, 134Hyomodontidoe, European Miocene, 118Hydrochcerus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130Hydrornis, European Miocene, 162Hyohippus, N. American Tertiary, 135Hyomoschns, European Miocene, 120Hyopotamus, European Miocene, 119N. American Tertiary, 137Hyopsodus, N. AmericanTertiary, 133Hyotherium, European Miocene, 119Hypertragulus, N. American Tertiary, 13SHypisodus, N. American Tertiary, 138Hi/psiprymnus, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157Hyrachyus, N. American Tertiary, 136Hyracodon, N. American Tertiary, 136Hyracoidea, classification of, 90Palaearetic, 242Ethiopian, 304Hyracotherium, supposed, in European Eocene,125European Eocene, 126Hystrix, European Pliocene, 113Miocene of Greece, 116N. American Tertiary, 140Ibidipodui, European Miocene, 162Ibidorhynclms, figure of, 331Iceland, zoology of, 198Icthyornis, N. American Cretaceous, 164Icticyon in Brazilian caves, 144Ictitherium, Miocene of Greece, 115European Miocene, 118Ictops, N. American Tertiary, 133India, Miocene fauna of, allied to that ofEurope, 123geological features of, 328Indian, sub-region, description of, 321supposed relation to Ethiopian region, 321mammalia of, 322birds of, 323reptiles and amphibia of, 326Indo-Chinese, sub-region, description of, 329zoological characteristics of, 330illustration of, 331reptiles of, 331amphibia of, 331insects of, 332islands belonging to, 333Indo-Malayan sub- region, description of, 334mammalia of, 336illustrations of, 336, 339birds of, 337remote geographical relations of, 339reptiles and amphibia of, 340fishes of, 341insects of, 341coleoptera of, 342terrestrial mollusca of, 343zoological relations of islands of, 345recent geographical changes in, 357probable origin of fauna of, 359Insects, means of dispersal of, 32

496 INDEX.Insects, tenacity of life of, 33adapted to special conditions, 33groups selected for the study of theirgeographical distribution, 102antiquity of the genera of, 166fossil of European Miocene, 166European Cretaceous, 167European Wealden, 167Palaeozoic, 168Palsearctic, 187of Central Europe, 196of the Mediterranean sub-region, 205of the Siberian sub-region, 220of the Manchurian sub-region, 227of the Ethiopian region, 255of the East African sub-region, 260of West Africa, 265S. African, 268of Madagascar, 282general remarks on, 284of tropical Africa and America, probablecause of similarities in, 291of Indo-Chinese sub-region, 332of the Oriental region, 318of Ceylon, 327of Indo-Malay sub-region, 341statistics of collecting in the variousislands of the Malay Archipelago, 343of the Australian region, 403of New Guinea, 417of the Moluccas, 420of Timor group, 426of Celebes, 454of New Zealand, 458scarcity of, in New Zealand, 462influence of on the flora, 463Insectivora, European Miocene, 117N. American Post-Pliocene, 129N. American Tertiary, 133Insectivora, classification of, 87of the Palsearctic region, 181of N. China and E. Thibet, 222range of Palsearctic genera of, 239of Madagascar, 273range of Ethiopian genera of, 301of the Oriental region, 315range of Oriental genera of, 372range of Australian genera of, 476Isacis, N. American Tertiary, 133Ischyromys, N. American Tertiary, 140Islands, N. European, zoology of, 197of the Mediterranean sub-region, 206of the West African sub-region, 265of Ethiopian region, 269Mascarene, 280of the Indo-Chinese sub-region, 333of Indo-Malay sub-region, 345Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa, 443Society and Marquesas. 444New Caledonia and New Hebrides, 445Sandwich, 446of New Zealand sub-region, 453Norfolk, 453Lord Howe's, 454Chatham, 454Auckland, 455Issiodromys, European Pliocene, 113Jacchus, in Brazilian caves, 144Japan and North China, physical features of.221southern extremity of perhaps belongs tothe Oriental region, 226Japan, general character of the fauna of, 230former land-connexions of, 231Java, mammalia of, 349productions of, well known, 350birds of, 351representative species of birds in, 352origin of the anomalous features of itsfauna, 352Sumatra and Borneo, their geographicalcontrasts and zoological peculiaritiesexplained, 357Junonia, European Miocene, 167Kakapoe, of New Zealand, 455Kangaroos, extinct in Australia, 157Kerguelen Island, apterous insects of, 211{note)Kerodon, in Brazilian caves, 144S. American Pliocene, 147King-fisher, racquet tailed, of New Guinea,figure of, 415Kiwi of New Zealand, 455Koodoo antelope, figure of, 261Lacertilia, classification of, 99Ladrone Islands, birds of, 444Lagomys, European Pliocene, 113European Miocene, 120Lagostomus, in Brazilian eaves, 145S. American Pliocene, 147Lake Baikal, seals of, 218Land and water, proportions of, 35Land and fresh-water shells,antiquity of thegenera of, 168Land-shells, Palseozoic, 169Paliearctic, 190of Madeira, 209of the Cape Verd Islands, 215of the Ethiopian region, 257of W. Africa, 265of Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands,285of Indo-Malay sub-region, 344of the Australian region, 407of Sandwich Islands, 446of New Zealand, 459Lanius, European Miocene, 161Laopithecits, \ .American Tertiary, 133Laor?iis, N. American Cretaceous, 164Lemuria, a hypothetical land, 76Lamuravidce, N. American Tertiary, 133Lemuravus, N American Tertiary, 133Lemuridm, European Eocene, 124Lemuroidea, range of Ethiopian genera of, 300range of Oriental genera of, 371Lepictis, N. American Tertiary, 133Lepidoptera, cosmopolitan families of, 177table of Palsearctic families of, 23SS. African, 268table of Ethiopian families of, 299of the Oriental region, 318table of Oriental families of, 369of the Australian region, 404table of Australian families of, 472Leptarchus, N. American Tertiary, 135Leptauchenia, N. American Tertiary, 138Leptochosrus, N. American Tertiary, 137Leptodon, Miocene of Greece, 116Leptomeryx, N. American Tertiary, 138Leptoplilvs, European Miocene, 162

INDEX. 497Leptosomus, allied form in European Eocene,168Leptosomus of Madagascar, 27Sfigure of, 279Leptothcrium, in Brazilian caves, 144Lepus, in Brazilian caves, 145S. American Pliocene, 147Lestodon, S. American Pliocene, 147Lewis, Mr. George, his collection of Japaninsects, 228Lebellula, from the Lias, 167Lilljeborg, Professor, on classification of theRodentia, 90Limnwa, Eocene, 169European Secondary, 169Limnatornis, European Miocene, 161Limnoctjon, N. American Tertiary, 134Limnohyus, N. American Tertiary, 136Limnotneridce, N. American Tertiary, 133Limnolherivm, N. American Tertiary, 133Listriodon, European Miocene, 119Lithomys, European Miocene. 120Lithornis, European Eocene, 163Lizards, classification of, 99Tertiary, 165wide range of a species in Polynesia, 448Loncheres, in Brazilian caves, 145Lonchophorus, in Brazilian caves, 145Lophiodon, European Eocene, 125N. American Tertiary, 136Lophiotherium, N. American Tertiary, 136 .Lord Howe's Island, birds of, 453Loxomylus, Pliocene of Antilles, 148Lund, Dr., his researches in caves of Brazil, 143Lutra, European Miocene, 118Indian Miocene, 121Lyccena, Miocene of Greece, 115Lyrebird, figure of, 441M.Macacus, European Pliocene, 112Miocene of Greece, 115Indian Miocene, 121supposed in European Eocene, 125Machairodus, 110, 111Miocene of Greece, 115European Miocene, 118Indian Miocene, 121N. American Tertiary, 134in Brazilian caves, 144S. American Pliocene, 146Macranchenia, S. American Pliocene, 146Macrotherium, Miocene of Greece, 116European Miocene, 121Madagascar, extinct birds of, 164description of, 272mammalia of, 272birds of, 274reptiles of, 279amphibia of, 280extinct fauna of, 282general remarks on insect fauna of, 284Madeira, birds of, 20Sland shells of, 208beetles of, 210wingless insects numerous in, 211how stocked with animals, 213Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo, zoologicalunity of, 353comparison of mammalia, 354of birds, 355Malagasy sub-region, description of, 272mammalia of, 272birds of, 274illustration of zoology of, 278Malagasy sub-region, reptiles of, 279amphibia of, 280extinct fauna of, 2S2, 289insects of, 282early history of, 2S6Malaya and Indo-Malaya, terms defined, 345(note)Malavan forms of life reappearing in West" Africa, 263fauna, probable origin of, 359resemblances to that of Madagascar andCeylon explained, 361Malta, Post-Pliocene fauna of, 114formerly joined to Africa, 201fossil elephants of, 201birds of, 206 (note)Mammalia, means of dispersal of, 10as limited by climate, 11as limited by rivers, 12how far limited by the sea, 13dispersed by ice-floes and drift-wood, 14means of dispersal of aquatic, 15of most importance in determining zoologicalregions, 57classification of, 85birthplace and migrations of some familiesof, 142, 153cosmopolitan groups of, 176of the Palsearetic region, 181of the European sub-region, 192of the Mediterranean sub-region, 202of the Siberian sub-region, 217characteristic of Western Tartary, 218of the Manchurian sub-region, 222Pal»arctio genera of, in the Manchuriansub-region, 222Oriental genera of, on borders of samesub-region. 223peculiar to Japan, 223characteristic of N. W. China and Mongolia,226table of Palaearetic families of, 234range of Pal*arctic genera of, 239of the Ethiopian region, 253absence of certain important groups, 253of the East African sub-region, 260of West Africa, 262of S. Africa, 267of Madagascar, 272table of Ethiopian families of, 294table of Ethiopian genera of, 300of the Oriental region, 315range of the genera inhabiting the Indiansub-region, 322of Ceylon, 327of the Indo-Chinese sub-region, 330of the Indo-Malayan sub-region, 336illustration of characteristic Malayan,336of the Philippine Islands, 345table of Oriental families of, 365table of Oriental genera of, 371of Australian region, 390of the Papuan Islands, 410of the Moluccas, 417of Timor group, 422of Celebes, 427of Australia, 439illustration of, 439of New Zealand, 450table of families of Australian, 470table of genera of Australian, 475Mammal, the most ancient American, 134Mammalia, extinct, of Old World, 107extinct, of historic period, 110extinct, comparative age of in Europe, 127

498 INDEX.Mammalia, extinct, of the New World, 129extinct, of N. America and Europe, compared,141original birth-place of some families andgenera, 142, 153of the secondary period, 160Manatus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130Manchurian sub-region, description of, 220mammalia of, 222birds of, 223reptiles and amphibia of, 227fresh-water fish of, 227insects of, 227coleoptera of, 228Marquesas Islands, birds of, 443Marsh, Mr., on unprovability of Asiatic andAfrican deserts, 200on camels and goats as destructive tovegetation, 200Marsupials, classification of, 91N. American Post-Pliocene, 130European Miocene, 121first migration to America, 155diversified forms of, 391of America prove no connexion withAustralia, 399list of Australian genera of, 476Martes, N. American Tertiary, 135Mascarene Islands, zoology o'f, 280extinct fauna of, 282gigantic land-tortoises of, 289Mastodon, European Pliocene, 113Miocene of Greece, 116European Miocene, 120in Brazilian caves, 144S. American Pliocene, 147Indian Miocene, 123N. American Post-Pliocene, 130N. American Tertiary, 138Mauritius, zoology of, 280reptiles of, 2S1McCoy, 'Professor, on Paleontology ofVictoria, 466Mediterranean, recent changes in, 39sub-region, description of, 199mammalia of, 202birds of, 203reptiles and amphibia of, 204fresh-water fish of, 205insects of, 205islands of, 206sea not separating distinct faunas, 201Megacerops, N. American Tertiary, 137Megalomeryc, N. American Tertiary, 13SMegalociius, fossil in Cuba, 14SMegalonyx, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130in Brazilian caves, 145S. American Pliocene, 147Megalostoma, Eocene, 169Megamys, S. American Eocene, 148Megaspira, European Tertiary, 169Megatheridn?, in Brazilian caves, 145Megatherium, N. American Post-Pliocene 130in Brazilian caves, 145S. American Pliocene, 147Melania, European secondary, 169Meleagris, N. American Miocene, 163Mellivora, Indian Miocene, 121Melolonthidium, Oolitic insect, 167MenUcotherium, N. American Tertiary 13SMenotheriiim, N. American Tertiary, 133Mephitis, in Brazilian caves, 144Merychus, N. American Tertiary, 138Merychipws, N. American Tertiary, 135MerychocJuzrws, N. American Tertiary, 138Merycodus, N. American Tertiary, 13SMerycopotamus, Indian Miocene, 122Merycotherium of Siberian drift,' 112Mesacodon, N. American Tertiary, 133Mesohippxis. N. American Tertiary, 135Mesonyx, N. American Tertiary, 134Mcsopithecus, Miocene of Greece, 115Meyer, Dr. A. B., on reptiles and amphibia otNew Guinea, 415Microlestes, oldest European mammal, 160Micromeryx, European Miocene, 120Micmsyops, N. American Tertiary, 133Microtherium, European Miocene, 120Middendorf, on extreme northern birds, 219Migrating birds, in which region to be placed185Migration of animals, 10general phenomena of, 18of birds, 19of birds in Europe, 19probable origin of, 22of birds in India and China, 23of birds in N. America, 23changes in extent of, 24of birds in S. Temperate America, 25general remarks on, 25Milvus, European Miocene, 162Miocene fauna of the Old World, 114fauna of Greece, 115fauna of Greece, summary of, 116fauna of Central Europe,117deposits of Siwalik Hills, 121faunas of Europe and Asia, general observationson, 123Miohippus, N. American Tertiary, 135Mivart, Professor, on classification of primates,86on classification of insectivora, 87on classification of amphibia, 101Moles almost wholly Palrearetic, 1S1Mole-rat, of W. Tartary, 218Mollusca, means of dispersal of, 30classification of, 104groups selected for study, 104Moluccas, zoology of, 417birds of, 419reptiles of, 420Insects of, 420peculiarities of fauna of, 421Monkeys on the high Himalayas, 12fossil in N. American Miocenein E. Thibet, 222abundance of in the Oriental region, 315Monotremata, classification of, 91list of Australian genera of, 477" More-pork" of Australia, figure of, 442Morotherium, N. American Pliocene, 140MotaciUa, European Miocene, 161Mound -builders, peculiar Australian birds393Moupin, position and zoology of, 221Marida;. S. American Pliocene, 147Murray, Mr. Andrew, on zoological region, 60Mustela, Miocene of Greece, 115European Miocene. 118S. American Pliocene, 146Mii^telidre, in Brazilian caves. 144Mylodon, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130S. American Pliocene, 147Mi/ogalc, European Miocene, 118Mi/omorphus, fossil in CubaMuopotamus, in Brazilian caves, 145Myoxus, European Miocene, 120European Eocene, 126Mysarachne, European Miocene, 118Mi/sops, N. American Eocene, 140Myxophagus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130

INDEX. 499Nannhyus, N. American Tertiary, 137Nos-ua, in Brazilian caves, 144Nearctic region, denned, 79subdivisions of, 80distinct from Pal*arctie, 79Necrornis, European Miocene, 161Neotropical region, denned, 78subdivisions of, 78relations of W. African sub-region with, 265Kesodon, S. American Pliocene, 147Newton, Professor, on position of Menuridceand Atrickiidce, 95on birds of Iceland, 198New Caledonia, birds of, 444New Guinea, zoology of, 409mammalia of, 410birds of, 411peculiarities of its ornithology, 413illustration of ornithology of, 414reptiles ar.d amphibia of, 415insects of, 416New Zealand, objections to making a primaryzoological region, 62extinct birds of, 164sub-region, description of, 449compared with British Isles, 449mammalia of, 451islets of, 453illustration of ornithology of, 455reptiles of, 456amphibia of, 457fresh-water fish of, 457insects of, 458Longicorns of, 458Myriapoda of, 458land-shells of, 459ancient fauna of, 460origin of fauna of, 460poverty of insects in, 462relations of insect-fauna and flora, 472Nicobar Islands, their zoological relations, 332Nightingale, migration of the, 21Norfolk Island, birds of, 453North America, remarks on Post-Pliocenefauna of, 130Post-Pliocene fauna of, partly derived fromS. America, 131extinct birds of, 163North Africa, zoological relations of, 202Notharctos, N. American Tertiary, 133Notornis of New Zealand, 455Nototherium, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157O.Ochotherivm, in Brazilian caves, 145Octodontidce, S. American Pliocene, 147Ophidia, classification of, 99Opisthocomus, Brazilian caves, 164Opossum, extinct, in European Miocene, 121Oreodon, N. American Tertiary, 138Oreodontidce, N. American Tertiary, 138Oriental region, defined, 75subdivisions of, 75description of, 314zoological features of, 315mammalia of, 315birds of, 316reptiles of, 317amphibia of, 317fresh-water fishes of, 318summary of vertebrata, 31Sinsects of, 318sub-regions of, 321Oriental region, concluding remarks on, 362tables of distribution of animals of, 364Oriental relations of VV. African sub-region, 265Oriental and Patearctic faunas once identical,362Oriental and Ethiopian faunas, cause of theirresemblances, 363Orohippus, N. American Tertiary, 136Ostrich, Miocene of N. India, 162Otaria, European Miocene, 118Ovibos, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130Oxen, birthplace and migrations of, 155Palwarctie, 182Oxya-na, N. American Tertiary, 134Oxygomphits, European Miocene, 118Oxymycterus, in Brazilian caves, 145S. American Pliocene, 147Pachyana, N. American Tertiary, 134Pachynolophus, European Eocene, 126Pachytherium, in Brazilian caves, 145Palaearctic region, defined, 71subdivisions of, 71general features of, 180zoological characteristics of, 181has few peculiar families, 181mammalia of, 181birds of, 182high degree of speciality of, 184reptiles and amphibia of, 186fresh-water fish of, 186summary of vertebrata of, 186insects of, 186coleoptera of, 187number of coleoptera of, 189land-shells of, 190sub-regions of, 190general conclusions on the fauna of, 231tables of distribution of animals of, 233Palceacodcn, N. American Tertiary, 133Palceetus, European Miocene, 162Palceyithalus, European Eocene, 162Palwtodus, European Miocene, 162Paheocastor, N. American Tertiary, 140Palceocercv.s, European Miocene, 162Palceochanis, European Miocene, 119Polwohierax, European Miocene, 162Palceolagus, N. American Tertiary, 140Palceolama,$. American Pliocene, 147Palceomephitis, European Miocene, 118Palceovieryx, European Miocene, 120Pc.l&omys, European Miocene, 121PalcBontina oolitica, Oolitic insect, 167Palaeontology, 107how best studied in its bearing on geographicaldistribution, 168as an introduction to the study of geographicaldistribution, concluding remarkson, 169Palmonyctis, European Eocene, 12SPalceoperdix, European Miocene, 161Palmoyforymis, European Miocene, 166Palaoreas, Miocene of Greece, 116Palcrortyx, European Miocene, 161Palceoryx, Miocene of Greece, 116Palceospalax, 111European Miocene, 117PaUrosyops, N. American Tertiary, 136Palceotheridc", European Eocene, 125Palceotherium, European Eocene, 125S. American Eocene, 148Palaeotragus, Miocene of Greece, 116Palceotringa, N. American Cretaceous, 164

!500 INDEX.Palapt

INDEX. 501Region, the best term for the primary zoologicaldivisions, 68Arctic, why not adopted, 69Palaearctic, defined, 71Palaearctic, subdivisions of, 71Ethiopian, defined, 73Ethiopian, subdivisions of, 73Oriental, defined, 75Oriental, subdivisions of, 75Australian, defined, 77Australian, subdivisions of, 77Neotropical, defined, 78Neotropical, subdivisions of, T8Nearctic, defined, 79Nearctic, distinct from Palaearctic, 79Nearctic. subdivisions of, 80Regions, zoological, 50zoological, how they should be formed, 53zoological, may be defined by negative orpositive characters, 54zoological, by what class of animals bestdetermined, 56for each class of animals, not advisable,58zoological, proposed since 1857, 58zoological, Mr. Sclater's, 59zoological, discussion of those proposedby various authors, 61zoological, proportionate richness of, 64temperate and tropical, well marked illnorthern hemisphere, 65and zones, table of, 66comparative richness of, 81and sub-regions, table of, 81order of succession of the, 173Representative species, 4Reptiles, means of dispersal of, 28classification of, 98Miocene of Greece, 116of Indian Miocene deposits, 123extinct Tertiary, 165cosmopolitan groups of, 176peculiar to Palaearctic region, 186of Central Europe, 195of the Mediteiranean sub-region, £04of Siberian sub-region, 220of the Manchurian sub-region, 227table of Palaearctic families of, £36of the Ethiopian region, 254of the East African sub-region, 260of West Africa, 264S. African, 268of Madagascar, 279table of Ethiopian families of, 297of the Oriental region, 317of the Indian sub-region, 326of Ceylon, 327of Indo-Chinese sub-region, 331of Indo-Malay sub-region, 340table of Oriental families of. 368of the Australian region, 396of New Guinea, 415of the Moluccas, 4£0of the Polynesian sub-region, 447of New Zealand, 456table of Australian families of, 472Rhea, in Brazilian caves, 164Rhinoceros, Post- Pliocene, 112European Pliocene, 113Miocene of Greece, 116Indian Miocene, 122fossil remain.' of, at 16,000 feet elevationin Thibet, 122fossil in N China, 123N. American Tertiary, 136Rhinoceros-hornbill, figure of, 339Rhinocerotidm, N. American Tertiary, 136River-hog, of West Africa, figure of, 264of Madagascar, figure of, 278Rivers, limiting the range of mammalia, 12limiting the range of birds, 17River-scene in West Africa, 264Kodentia, classification of, 90range of Palsarctic genera of, 242range of Ethiopian genera of, 304range of Oriental genera of, 374range of Australian genera of, 476Rodentia, European Pliocene, 113Miocene of Greece, 116European Miocene, 120European Eocene, 126N. American Post-Pliocene, 130N. American Tertiary, 139of Brazilian ca\es, 144S. American Pliocene, 147of S. American Eocene, 148Ruff, figure of, 1958.Sahara, a debatable land, 251Saiga, antelope of W. Tartary, 218Samoa Islands, birds of, 413Sandwich Islands, birds of, 445probable past history of, 446mountain plants of, 446depth of ocean around, 447Sand grouse, Pallas, of Mongolia, 226Suty rites Rei/nesii, .European Cretaceous insect,167Saunders, Mr. Edward, on the Buprestidae ofJapan, 229Scelidotherium, in Brazilian caves, 145S. American Pliocene, 147SchistopUurum, S. American Pliocene, 147Schweinfurth, Dr., ou natural history of Centra]Africa, 252on limits of W. African sub-region, 262{note)Sciurus, European Miocene, 120European Eocene, 126Scivravvs, N. American Eocene, 140Sclater, Mr., on zoological regions, 59why his six regions are adopted, 63on birds of Sandwich Islands, 445Sea, as a barrier to mammalia, 13Seals, fossil in European Miocene, 118of Lake Baikal, 218Secondary formations, mammalian remainsin, 159Secretary bird of Africa, figure of, 261Semnopithccus, European Pliocene, 112Miocene of Greece, 115European Miocene, 117Indian Miocene, 121Semper, Dr., on Philippine mammalia, 345Serpentarius, European Miocene, 162Seychelle Islands, zoology of, 281amphibia of, 281'Sharp, Dr., on Japan beetles, 229Sharpe, Mr. R. B., his arrangement of Accipitres,97on birds of Cape Verd Islands, 215Sheep, Palaearctic, 182Siberia, climate of. 217Siberian sub-region, description of, 216mammalia nf, 217birds of, 219reptiles and amphibia of, 220insects of, 220Simocyon, Miocene of Greece, 115

American502 INDEX.Sinopa, N. American Tertiary, 134Sirenia, classification of, 89range of Ethiopian genera of, 303range of Oriental genus, 374range of Australian genus of, 476Sirenia, European Pliocene, 112European Miocene, 119Sivathe riti m, Indian Miocene, 122Siwalik Hills, Miocene deposits of, 121Smith, Mr. Frederick, on Hynienoptera ofJapan, 230Snake, at great elevation in Himalayas, 220Snakes, classification of, 99Eocene, 165large proportion of venomous species inAustralia, 396of New Zealand, 457Society Islands, birds of, 443Soricictis, European Miocene, 118Soricidcc, European Miocene, 118South African sub-region, description of, 266mammalia of, 267birds of, 267reptiles of, 268amphibia of, 268fresh-water fish of, 268butterflies of, 26Scoleoptera of, 268summary of its zoology, 269South America, fossil fauna of, 143Pliocene deposits of, 146supposed land connection with Australia,398South Australia, peculiar birds of, 441Species, representative, 4Speothos, in Brazilian caves, 144Spermo]ihihis, European Miocene, 120Sphenodon, in Brazilian caves, 145Sphinx, in European Oolite, 167St. Helena, zoological features of, 269coleoptera of, 270landshells of, 271St. Thomas' Island, birds of, 266Stations, definition of, 4Steneofiber, European Miocene, 120Sthenurvs, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157Strix, European Miocene, 162Struthiones, arrangement of, 9Srange of Ethiopian genera of, 313range of Australian genera of, 487Struthious birds, probable origin of, 287Stylinodontida>, X. American Eocene, 139Stylinodontia,N . Eocene, 139Sub-regions, on what principle formed, SOPalaearctic, 191Ethiopian, 258Oriental, 321Australian, 40SSuidce, European Miocene, 119Sula Islands, fauna of, 433Sus, European Pliocene, 113Miocene of Greece, 116European Miocene, 119Indian Miocene, 122Swinhoe, Mr., on zoology of Formosa andHainan, 332Symborodon, N. American Tertiary, 137Synaphodus, European Miocene, 119Synoplotlierhim, N. American Tertiary, 134Tables of distribution of families and generaexplained, 177Talpa, European Miocene, 117Tapir, fossil in N. China, 123Tapirs, birthplace and migrations of, 154Tapir, Malayan, figure of, 3371'apiridcB, European Eocene, 125Tapirus, European Pliocene, 113Indian Miocene, 122in Brazilian caves, 144Tarsier, Malayan, figure of, 337Tasmania, comparative zoological poverty of,441Toxodon, European Miocene, 118TclmatobuLS, N. American Cretaceous, 1C4Telmatolestes, N. American Tertiary, 133Testudo, Miocene of Greece, 116Indian Miocene, 123Testudo, great antiquity of the genus, 289Tetrachus, European Miocene, 117Tetrao albus, in Italian caverns, 161Thalassictis, Miocene of Greece, 115European Miocene, 118Theridomys, European Miocene, 126European Eocene, 126S. American Eocene, 148Thinoliyns, N. American Tertiary, 137Thiuolestes, N.American Tertiary, 133Thylacinus, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157Thylacoleo, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157Tillodontia, N. American Eocene, 139Tillotheridce, N. American Eocene, 139Tillotherium, N. American Eocene, 139Timor, physical features of, 389group, mammalia of, 422birds of, 422origin of fauna of, 424insects of, 420Tinoeeras, N. American Eocene, 139Titinmmys, European Miocene, 121Titanotherivm, N. American Tertiary, 137Tomarctos, N. American 'tertiary, 135Tonga Islands, birds of, 443Tortoises, classification of, 100of Mascarene Islands and Galapagos, 289Touraco of W. Africa, figure of, 264Toxodon, S. American Pliocene, 13.ToxodontidK, S. American Pliocene, 147Trachytherivm, European Miocene, 119Tragocerus, Miocene of Greece, 116European Miocene, 120Tragopan, Himalayan, figure of, 331Tree-shrew of Borneo, figure of, 337Tree-kangaroo, figure of, 415Trichechvs, N American Post-Pliocene, 130Trichoglossida>, birds specially adapted toAustralia, 393Trionyx, Indian Miocene, 123Miocene and Eocene, 165Tristan d'Acunha, zoology of, 271Tristram, Canon, summary of the birds ofPalestine, 203Trogon, European Miocene, 161Troqontherivm, Post-Pliocene of Europe. IllTrvcijelis, N. American Post-Pliocene, 129Tundras of Siberia, greatest extent of, 216Tnpaiida', European Miocene, 118Turner, Mr., on classification of Edentata, 90Tylodon, European Eocene, 125Typotherium, S. American Pliocene, 147U.Uintacyon, N. American Tertiary, 134UintaOierium, N. American Eocene, 139Uintornis, N. American Eocene, 163Unio, European Secondary, 169Ungulata, classification of, 89

INDEX. 503I JJngulata, antiquity of, 151of the Palsearctic region, 182range of Pafcearctic genera of, 241range of Ethiopian genera of, 303range of Oriental genera of, 374range of Australian genera of, 476Ungulate, European Pliocene, 112Miocene of Greece, 115European Miocene, 119Indian Miocene, 121European Eocene, 125N. American Post-Pliocene, 130N. American Tertiary, 135of Brazilian caves, 144S. American Pliocene, 146Urania of Madagascar, 282Ursidce, N. American Tertiary, 135in Brazilian caves, 144Ursitaxus, Indian Miocene, 121Ursus, Post-Pliocene, 112Indian Miocene, 121Vanga of Madagascar, figure of, 278Varanus, Miocene of Greece, 116Indian Miocene, 123Vertebrata, summary of Palaearctic, 1S6summary of Ethiopian, 255summary of Oriental, 318summary of Australian, 397Vespertilio, European Eocene, 125Viperus, European Miocene, 1(55Vivcrra, European Pliocene, 112European Miocene, 118Viverridce, European Miocene, 118European Eocene, 125W.Walden, Viscount, on birds of PhilippineIslands, 346on birds of Celebes, 428Washakius, N. American Tertiary, 134Waterhouse, Mr. G. E., on classification olrodentia, 90on classification of marsupials, 91West African sub-region, description of, 262mammalia of, 262birds of, 262Oriental or Malayan element in, 263river scene with characteristic animals, 264reptiles of, 264amphibia of, 264Oriental and Neotropical relations of, 265insects of, 265land-shells of, 265islands of, 265West Australia, peculiar birds of, 441Whydah finch of W. Africa, figure of, 264Wollaston, Mr. T. V., on the coleoptera of theAtlantic Islands, 209 *on the wings of the Madeiran beetles, 211on the origin of the insect fauna of theAtlantic Islands, -J14on coleoptera of the Cape Verd Islands, 215on beetles of St. Helena, 270Xenurus, in Brazilian caves, 145Xiphodontidw, European Miocene, 119Z.Zeuglodontidce, N. American Tertiary, 140Zonites prisms. Palaeozoic, 169Zoological characteristics of Palaearctic region,181Ethiopian region, 252Oriental region, 315Australian region, 390Zoological regions, discussion on, 50END OF VOL. I.

SoSoSoSocSouSovSp-SpSpSpSp,St.St.StaSteSthStrStiStnStylStylSub-SuiaSulaSits, £MEiInSwinhSyminSynaSyno'iTable;Tal]