Ly ie, SSN Ss SAE SOO SNe Z LI Drs S SRR EE MMOy RK PRESENTED TO J. F. GATES CLARKE BY ROBERT L. WEBSTER PULLMAN, WASHINGTON 1950 Mecgeert /9 fe «1908 | M- dehacet fog a . ee loe+. cofttaae) tat Gar Ane a OIE. L AN im Daferk beg gosta EEE Sa abnaf, vee wthed Ow ees: besfreal Core by a och; — hie; he had geo tend ye 4 oblaie taoplazuuonk «4 A llecla 7. a6 es peft fp mcedt FE, cn tig pw i afficars ¥ ke Life Fe ofru tlogeca ll, NED? Be Ca 14 Ce cateG fieatied, “ay Vx Alnke of Keo a Aipublc oe Eovnvece?, a Eke, Me fark cecctl accads be ae) sof Vie Lingpoaud : stp Faden the Coo “ait ES Ae heek 7 EL a hey ile Ly, fertoveranse pothew gual he, (eegerebcle> Das PT ee ee qecthace 4° wood ae Le i parce oes elles haps vomlh X ee a prope Lo Ves ee Te lo gee’ he Pe Pes fy Celleheege. es 1 ya Atte LS7ee — \ « “<6 | sews THE WORLD ox MERCATOR'S PROJECTION snewixe tHe ZOOGEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS, ayo tae APPROXIMATE UNDULATIONS or tne OCEAN BED. Pista saxon OSE be ti a = Sts Pa NEE D arte pees Or wo | s-—_+—"—_+_ += New York: Harper & Brothers \TE UNDULATIONS or rae OCEAN BED. al elen I, 7 a Long. East of 100 LO Stanford's Geographical Hstab* London: THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. WITH A STUDY OF THE RELATIONS OF LIVING AND EXTINCT FAUNAS AS ELUCIDATING THE PAST CHANGES OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE. By ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE, AUTHOR OF THE “MALAY ARCHIPELAGO,” ETC. IN TWO VOLUMES. Vor. L WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. NEW YORE: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1876. PREFACE. THE present work is an attempt to collect and summarize the existing information on the Distribution of Land Animals; and to explain the more remarkable and interesting of the facts, by means of established laws of physical and organic change. The main idea, which is here worked out in some detail for the whole earth, was stated sixteen years ago in the concluding pages of a paper on the “Zoological Geography of the Malay Archipelago,” which appeared in the Journal of Proceedings of the Linnean Society for 1860; and again, in a paper read before the Royal Geographical Society in 1863, it was briefly sum- marized in the following passage :— “My object has been to show the important bearing of researches into the natural history of every part of the world, upon the study of its past history. An accurate knowledge of any groups of birds or of insects and of their geographical dis- tribution, may enable us to map out the islands and continents of a former epoch,—the amount of difference that exists be- tween the animals of adjacent districts being closely related to preceding geological changes. By the collection of such minute facts, alone, can we hope to fill up a great gap in the vi PREFACE. past history of the earth as revealed by geology, and obtain some indications of the existence of those ancient lands which now lie buried beneath the ocean, and have left us nothing but these living records of their former existence.” The detailed study of several groups of the birds and insects collected by myselt in the East, brought prominently before me some 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 and Professor Newton, who, about six years ago, both suggested that I should undertake the task. I accordingly set to work; but goon became discouraged by the great dearth of materials in many groups, the absence of general systematic works, and the excessive confusion that pervaded the classification. Neither was it easy to decide on any satisfactory method of treating the subject. ‘ During the next two years, however, several im- portant catalogues and systematic treatises appeared, which induced me to resume my work; and during the last three years it has occupied a large portion of my time. After much consideration, and some abortive trials, an outline plan of the book was matured; and as this is, so far as I am aware, quite novel, it will be well to give a few of the reasons for adopting it. Most of the previous writings on Geographical Distribution appeared to me to be unsatisfactory, because they drew their conclusions from a more or less extensive selection of facts; and did not clearly separate groups of facts of unequal value, or those relating to groups of animals of unequal rank. As an example of what is‘meant, I may refer to Mr. Andrew Murray’s large and valuable work on the Geographical Distribution of Mammalia, in which an immense number of coloured maps are . A PREFACE. Vii used to illustrate the distribution of various groups of animals, These maps are not confined to groups of any fixed rank, but are devoted to a selection of groups of various grades. Some show the range of single species of a genus—as the lion, the tiger, the puma, and a species of fox; others are devoted to sections of genera,—as the true wolves ; others to genera,—as the hyenas, and the bears; others to portions of families,—as the flying squirrels, and the oxen with the bisons; others to families, —as the Mustelidz, and the Hystricide; and others to groups of families or to orders,—as the Insectivora, and the opossums with the kangaroos. But in no one grade are all the groups treated alike. Many genera are wholly unnoticed, while several families are only treated in combination with others, or are represented by some of the more important genera. In making these observations I by no means intend to criticise Mr. Murray’s book, but merely to illustrate by an example, the method which has been hitherto employed, and which seems to me not well adapted to enable us to establish the 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 a partial selection of facts, which may be made to prove anything. I determined, therefore, to take in succession every well-estab- lished family of terrestrial vertebrates, and to give an account of the distribution of all its component genera, as far as materials were available. Species, as such, are systematically disregarded, —firstly, because they are so numerous as to be unmanageable ; and, secondly, because they represent the most recent modifica- tions of form, due to a variety of often unknown causes, and are therefore not so clearly connected with geographical changes as are the natural groups of species termed genera ; which may be considered to represent the average and more permanent viii PREFACE. distribution of an organic type, and to be more clearly influenced by the various known or inferred changes in the organic and physical environment. ° This systematic review of the distribution of families and genera, now forms the last part of my book—Geographical Zoology; but it was nearly the first written, and the copious materials collected for it enabled me to determine the zoo- geographical divisions of the earth (regions and sub-regions) to be adopted. I next drew up tables of the families and genera found in each region and sub-region ; and this afforded a basis for the geographical treatment of the subject—Zoological Geo- eraphy—the most novel, and perhaps the most useful and generally interesting part of my work. While this was in progress I found it necessary to make a careful summary of the distribu- tion of extinct Mammalia. This was a difficult task, owing to the great uncertainty that prevails as to the affinities of many of the fossils, and my want of practical acquaintance with Paleontology ; but having carefully examined and combined the works of the best authors, I have given what I believe is the first connected sketch of the relation of extinct Mammalia to the distribution of living groups, and have arrived at some very interesting and suggestive results. It will be observed that man is altogether omitted from the series of the animal kingdom as here given, and some ex- planation of this omission may perhaps be required. If the genus Homo had been here treated like all other genera, nothing more than the bare statement—“ universally distributed ”— could have been given;—and this would inevitably have pro- voked the criticism that it convéyed no information. If, on the other hand, I had given an outline of the distribution of the varieties or races of man, I should have departed from the plan of my work for no sufficient reason. Anthropology is a science / PREFACE, ix by itself; and it seems better to omit it altogether from a zoological work, than to treat it in a necessarily superficial manner. The best method of illustrating a work of this kind was a matter requiring much consideration. To have had a separate coloured or shaded map for each family would have made the work too costly, as the terrestrial vertebrates alone would have required more than three hundred maps. I had also doubts about the value of this mode of illustration, as it seemed rather to attract attention to details than to favour the development of general views. J determined therefore to adopt a plan, suggested in conversation by Professor Newton; and to have 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 headings to each family; and, when the map has become familiar, these will, I believe, convey at a glance a body of important information. Taking advantage of the recent extension of our knowledge of the depths of the great oceans, I determined to give upon this map a summary of our knowledge of the contours of the ocean bed, by means of tints of colour increasing in intensity with the depth. Such amap, when it can be made generally accurate, will be of the greatest service in forming an estimate of the more probable changes of sea and land during the Tertiary period ; and it is on the effeets of such changes that any satis- factory explanation of the facts of distribution must to a great extent depend. Other important factors in determining the actual distribution of animals are, the zones of altitude above the sea level, and the strongly contrasted character of the surface as regards vege- tation—a primary condition for the support of animal life. I x PREFACE. therefore designed a series of six maps of the regions, drawn on a uniform scale, on which the belts of altitude are shown by contour-shading, while the forests, pastures, deserts, and peren- nial snows, are exhibited by means of appropriate tints of colour. These maps will, I trust, facilitate the study of geographical distribution as a science, by showing, in some cases, an adequate cause in the nature of the terrestrial surface for the actual dis- tribution of certain groups of animals. As it is hoped they will be constantly referred to, double folding has been avoided, and they are consequently rather small; but Mr. Stanford, and his able assistant in the map department, Mr. Bolton, have taken great care in working out the details from the latest observations; and this, combined with the clearness and the beauty of their execution, will I trust render them both interesting and in- structive. In order to make the book more intelligible to those readers who have no special knowledge of systematic zoology, and to whom most of the names with which its pages are often crowded must necessarily be unmeaning, I give a series of twenty plates, each one illustrating at once the physical aspect and the special zoological character of some well-marked division of a region. Great care has been taken to associate in the pictures, such species only as do actually occur together in nature ; so that each plate represents a scene which is, at all events, not an impossible one. The species figured all belong to groups which are either pecu- liar to, or very characteristic of, the region whose zoology they illustrate ; and it is hoped that these pictures will of themselves serve to convey a notion of the varied types of the higher animals in their true geographical relations. The artist, Mr. J. B. Zwecker, to whose talent as a zoological draughtsman and great knowledge both of animal and vegetable forms we are indebted for this set of drawings, died a few weeks after he PREFACE. x1 had put the final touches to the proofs. He is known to many readers by his vigorous illustrations of the works of Sir Samuel Baker, Livingstone, and many other travellers—but these, his last series of plates, were, at my special request, executed with a care, delicacy, and artistic finish, which his other designs seldom exhibit. It must, however, be remembered, that the figures of animals here given are not intended to show specific or generic characters for the information of the scientific zoolo- gist, but merely to give as accurate an idea as possible, of some of the more remarkable and more restricted types of beast and bird, amid the characteristic scenery of their native country ;— and in carrying out this object there are probably few artists who would have succeeded better than Mr. Zwecker has done. The general arrangement of the separate parts of which the work is composed, has been, to some extent, determined by the illustrations and maps, which all more immediately belong to Part III. It was at first intended to place this part last, but as this arrangement would have brought all the illustrations into the second volume, its place was changed,—perhaps in other respects for the better, as it naturally follows Part II. Yet for persons not well acquainted with zoology, it will per- haps be advisable to read the more important articles of Part IV. (and especially the observations at the end of each order) after Part IL, thus making Part III. the conclusion of the work, Part IV. is, in fact, a book of reference, in which the distri- bution of all the families and most of the genera of the higher animals, is given in systematic order. Part III. is treated somewhat more popularly; and, although it is necessarily crowded with scientific rames (without which the inferences xii PREFACE, and conclusions would have nothing solid to rest on), these may be omitted by the non-scientific reader, or merely noted as a certain number or proportion of peculiar generic types. Many English equivalents to family and generic names are, however, given; and, assisted by these, it is believed that any reader capable of understanding Lyell’s “ Principles,” or Darwin’s “Origin,” will have no difficulty in following the main argu- ments and appreciating the chief conclusions arrived at in the present work. To those who are more interested in facts than in theories, the book will serve as a kind of dictionary of the geography and affinities of animals. By means of the copious Index, the native country, the systematic position, and the numerical extent of every important and well established genus of land- animal may be at once discovered ;—information now scattered through hundreds of volumes. In the difficult matters of synonymy, and the orthography of generic names, I have been guided rather by general utility than by any fixed rules. When I have taken a whole family group from a modern author of repute, I have generally followed his nomenclature throughout. In other cases, I use the names which are to be found in a majority of modern authors, rather than follow the strict rule of priority in adopting some newly discovered appellation of early date. In orthography I have adopted all such modern emendations as seem coming into general use, and which do not lead to inconvenience ; but where the alteration is such as to completely change the pronunciation and appearance of a well-known word, I have not adopted it. I have also thought it best to preserve the initial letter of well- known and old-established names, for convenience of reference to the Indices of established works. As an example I may refer to Enicurus,—a name which has been in use nearly half a PREFACE, xill century, and which is to be found under the letter H, in Jerdon’s Birds of India, Blyth’s Catalogue, Bonaparte’s Conspectus, and the Proceedings of the Zoological Suciety of London down to 1865. Classicists now write Henicwrus as the correct form ; but this seems to me one of those cases in which orthographical accuracy should give way to priority, and still more to con- venience. . In combining and arranging so much detail from such varied sources, many errors and omissions must doubtless have occurred. Owing to my residence at a distance from the scientific libraries of the metropolis, I was placed at a great disadvantage ; and I could hardly have completed the work at all, had I not been permitted to have a large number of volumes at once, from the library of the Zoological Society of London, and to keep them for months together ;—a privilege for which I return my best thanks to Mr. Sclater the Secretary, and to the Council. Should my book meet with the approval of working natu- ralists, I venture to appeal to them, to assist me in rendering any future editions more complete, by sending me (to the care of my publishers) notes of any important omissions, or corrections of any misstatements of fact; as well as copies of any of their papers or essays, and especially of any lists, catalogues, and monographs, containing information on the classification or distribution of living or extinct animals. To the many friends who have given me information or agsistance I beg to tender my sincere thanks. Especially am I indebted to Professor Newton, who not only read through much of my rough MSS., but was so good as to make numerous cor- rections and critical notes. These were of great value to me, as they often contained or suggested important additional matter, or pointed out systematic and orthographical inaccuracies. xiv PREFACE. Professor Flower was so good as to read over my chapters on extinct animals, and to point out several errors into which I had fallen. Dr. Giinther gave me much valuable information on the classification of reptiles, marking on my lists the best established and most natural genera, and referring me to reliable sources of information. I am also greatly indebted to the following gentlemen for detailed information on special subjects :— To Sir Victor Brooke, for a MS. arrangement of the genera of Bovide, with the details of their distribution: To Mr. Dresser, for lists of the characteristic birds of Northern and Arctic Europe: To Dr. Hooker, for information on the colours and odours of New Zealand plants : To Mr. Kirby, for a list of the butterflies of Chili: To Professor Mivart, for a classification of the Batrachia, and an early proof of his article on “Apes” in the Encyclopedia Britannica : To Mr. Salvin, for correcting my list of the birds of the Galapagos, and for other assistance : To Mr. Sharpe, for MS. lists of the birds of Madagascar and the Cape Verd Islands: To Canon Tristram, for a detailed arrangement of the difficult family of the warblers,—Sylviide : To Viscount Walden, for notes on the systematic arrangement of the Pycnonotid and Timaliide, and for an early proof of his list of the birds of the Philippine Islands. I also have to thank many naturalists, both in this coun- try and abroad, who have sent me copies of their papers; and I trust they will continue to favour me in the same manner. PREFACE. XV An author may easily be mistaken in estimating his own work. I am well aware that this first outline of a great subject is, in parts, very meagre and sketchy; and, though perhaps overburthened with some kinds of detail, yet leaves many points most inadequately treated. It is therefore with some hesitation that I venture to express the hope that I have made some approach to the standard of excellence I have aimed at ;—which was, that my book should bear a similar relation to the eleventh and twelfth chapters of the “ Origin of Species,” as Mr. Darwin’s “ Animals and Plants under Domestication ” does’ to the first chapter of that work. Should it be judged worthy of such a rank, my long, and often wearisome labours, will be well repaid. Marcu, 1876. ‘ 1 > o + { ; . { i + i ’ = 4 a . hy : * ; { et ; \ t " t : ij CMPD. TAs Parte babel ~ ‘ ; ‘ - baie ‘ ie - b a * a Ye ot ; { ; pe, da ur : oo) ’ r \ < : ao ' i 7 hoe Bs 1 i ' DP) a VET? : 7 { 4 : . . ' . x ‘ : ( 7 7 < ‘ . ‘ ee © A i ; . ’ ‘ - . ' r - . = . » ai i ul : d i J : a { ms x" ‘ rot % \ CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. PART YT THE PRINCIPLES AND GENERAL PHENOMENA OF DISTRIBUTION. CHAPTER 1. 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 of Mammals (p. 11)—Valleys and Rivers as Barriers to Mammals (p. 12)—Arms of the Sea as Barriers to Mammals (p. 13)—Ice-floes and drift-wood as aiding the Dispersal of Mammals (p. 14)—Means of Dispersal of Birds (p. 15)—Dis- persal of Birds by Winds (p. 16)—Barriers to the Dispersal of Birds (p. 17)— The Phenomena of Migration (p. 18)—Migrations of Birds (p. 19)—General remarks 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 their Range (p. 32) : : 5 . S é 2 - : - 10—34 CHAPTER III. DISTRIBUTION AS AFFECTED BY THE CONDITIONS AND CHANGES OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE. Land and Water (p. 35)—Continental Areas (p. 36)—Recent Changes in the Con- tinental Areas (p. 38)—The Glacial Epoch as affecting the Distribution of Animals (p. 40)—Changes of Vegetation as affecting the Distribution of Ani- mals (p. 43)—Organic Changes as affecting Distribution (p. 44) - 385—49 Vou. I.—2 , XVili CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER IV. ON ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. Principles upon which Zoological Regions should be formed (p. 53)—Which class of Animals is of most importance in determining Zoological Regions (p. 56)— « Various Zoological Regions proposed since 1857 (p. 58)—Discussion of proposed Regions (p. 61)—Reasons for adopting the Six Regions first proposed by Mr. Sclater (p. 63)—Objections to the system of Circumpolar Zones (p. 67)—Does the Arctic Fauna characterise an independent Region (p.68)—Palzarctic Region (p. 71)—Ethiopian Region (p. 73)—Oriental Region (p. 75)—Australian Re- gion (p. 77)—Neotropical Region (p.78)—Nearctic Region (p. 79)—Observations on the series of Sub-regions (p. 80) . “ ; 5 : 2 . 50—82 CHAPTER V. CLASSIFICATION AS AFFECTING THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Classification of the Mammalia (p. 85)—Classification of Birds (p. 92)—Classifica- tion of Reptiles (p. 98)—Classification of Amphibia (p. 100)—Classification of Fishes (p. 101)—Classification of Insects (p. 102)—Classification of Mollusca (p. 104) , : : 3 . 4 : A : : . 83—104 PART IL ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. CHAPTER VI. THE EXTINCT MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. Historic and Post-pliocene Period (p. 110)—Pliocene Period (p. 112)—General Conclusions as to the Pliocene and Post-pliocene Faunas of Europe (p. 113)— Miocene Period (p. 114)—Extinct Animals of Greece (p. 115)—Miocene Fauna of 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 Extinct Mammalian Fauna of Europe (p. 126). F A A A . 107—128 CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. ' xin CHAPTER VII. EXTINCT MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. North America—Post-pliocene Period (p. 129)—Remarks on the Post-pliocene _ Fauna of North America (p. 130)—Tertiary Period (p. 132)—Trimates (p. 32) Insectivora (p. 133)—Carnivora (p. 134)—Ungulata (p. 135)—Proboscidea (p.138)—Tillodontia (p.139)—Rodentia (p.140)—General Relations of the Ex- tinct Tertiary Mammalia of North America and Europe (p.140)— South Ame- rica (p. 143) —Fauna of the Brazilian Caves (p. 143)— Pliocene Period of Tem- perate South America (p. 146)—Pliocene Mammalia of the Antilles (p. 148)-— Eocene Fauna of South America (p. 148)—General Remarks on the Extinct Mammalian Fauna of the Old and New Worlds (p. 148)—The Birth-place and Migrations of some Mammalian Families and Genera (p. 153) . 129—156 CHAPTER VIII. VARIOUS EXTINCT ANIMALS ;—AND ON THE ANTIQUITY OF THE GENERA OF INSECTS AND LAND-MOLLUSCA, Extinct Mammalia of Australia (p. 157)—Mammalian Remains of the Secondary Formations (p. 159)—Extinct Birds (p. 160)—Palearctic Region and North India (p. 161)—North America (p. 163)—South America, Madagascar, New Zealand (p. 164)—Extinct Tertiary Reptiles (p. 165)—Antiquity of the Genera of Insects (p. 166)—Antiquity of the Genera of Land and Fresh-water Shells (p. 168) : : : p : : - . : : . 157—170 PART Ut ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY: A REVIEW OF THE CHIEF FORMS OF LIFE IN 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 OF ANIMALS.—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 XX CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER X. THE PALHARCTIC REGION. Zoological Characteristics of the Palearctic Region (p. 181)—Summary of Pale- arctic Vertebrata (p. 186)—Insects (p. 187)—Land-shells (p. 190)—The Pale- arctic Sub-regions (p. 196)—Central and Northern Europe (p. 191)—North European Islands (p. 197)—Mediterranean Sub-region (p. 199)—The Mediter- ranean and Atlantic Islands (p. 206) —The Siberian Sub-region, or Northern Asia (p. 216)—Japan and North China, or the Manchurian Sub-region (p. 220) —Birds (p. 223)—Insects (p. 227)—-Remarks on the General Character of the Fauna of Japan (p.°230)—General Conclusions as to the Fauna of the Pale- arctic Region (p. 231)—Table I. Families of Animals inhabiting the Pale- arctic Region (p. 234)—Table II. List of the Genera of Terrestrial Mammalia and Birds of the Palearctic Region (p. 239) - : - . 181—250 CHAPTER XI. THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. Zoological Characteristics of the Ethiopian Region (p. 252)—Summary of Ethio- pian Vertebrates (p. 255)—The Ethiopian Sub-regions (p. 258)—The East African Sub-region, or Central and East Africa (p. 258)—The West African Sub-region (p. 262)—Islands of the West African Sub-region (p. 265)—South African Sub-region (p. 266)—Atlantic Islands of the Ethiopian Region ;—St. Helena (p. 269)—Tristan d’Acunha (p. 271)—Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands, or the Malagasy Sub-region (p. 272)—The Mascarene Islands (p. 280) —Extinct Fauna of the Mascarene Islands and Madagascar (p. 282)—General Remarks on the Insect Fauna of Madagascar (p. 284)—On the probable Past History of the Ethiopian Region (p. 285)—Table I. Families of Animals inhabiting the Ethiopian Region (p. 294)—Table II. List of Genera of Ter- restrial Mammalia and Birds of the Ethiopian Region (p. 300) . 251—313 CHAPTER XII. THE ORIENTAL REGION, Zoological Characteristics of the Oriental Region (p. 315)—Summary of Oriental Vertebrata (p. 318)—The Oriental Sub-regions (p. 321)—Hindostan, or Indian Sub-region (p, 321)—Range of the Genera of Mammalia which inhabit the Sub- region of Hindostan (p. 322)—Oriental, Palearctic, and Ethiopian Genera of Birds in Central India (p. 224)—Sub-region of Ceylon and South India (p. 8326)—The Past History of Ceylonand 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. at Indo-Chinese Sub-region (p. 333)—Indo-Malaya, or the Malayan Sub-region (p. 834)—Malayan Insects (p. 341)—The Zoological Relations of the several Islands of the Indo-Malay Sub-region (p. 345)—Philippine Islands (p. 345)— Java (p. 349)—Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo (p. 353)— Probable recent Geo- graphical Changes in the Indo-Malay Islands (p. 357)—Probable Origin of the Malayan 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 Re- gion (p. 371) : : : . : : . . 5 - 3814—386 CHAPTER XIII. THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. General Zoological Characteristics of the Australian Region (p. 390)—Summary of the Australian Vertebrata (p. 397)—Supposed Land-connection between Australia 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)—Insects— Peculiarities of the Moluccan Fauna (p. 420)—Timor Group (p. 422)— Celebes Group (p. 426)—Origin of the Fauna of Celebes (p. 436)— Australia and Tasmania, or the Australian Sub-region (p. 438)—The Pacific Islands, or Polynesian 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 New Zealand (p. 459)—The Origin of the New Zealand Fauna (p. 459)—Causes of the Poverty of Insect-life in New Zealand : its Influence on the Character of the Flora (p. 462)—Concluding Remarks on the Early History of the Austra- lian Region (p. 464)—Table I. Families of Animals inhabiting the Australian Region (p. 468)—Table II. Genera of Terrestrial Mammalia and Birds of the Australian Region (p. 473) : : 5 : : 4 - 3887—485 Index to Vol. I. ; , : , j 5 4 A 4 489— 503 « » . ae ‘ “ / e . ee i ae 5 mera a y =. ve el a 4 ‘ SS ae ‘ ‘ = =! 7 ‘ ron re » > —_ ee all 4 wer nae : eo Z Ses a iz / 7 eens Vee ! = — fy “— / t —— _ . = n * ‘ ae - ae 1 ' » PI 7 = « a4 me ae P '= Js, vs *~ “~ 4 } : ; oe | x \ - “ ~ i 4 mm - i . J m 7 LZ . = = nee * - 7 ei F ~ i? > ¢ & . =~) i == > ly, ies 1 = ~ 7 = . e ~ od A re » . ft 7 . 7 i = ‘ In “4 = > ae 7 7 + - . ine oe ai a - > = : Be m4 y ai * a ie i. f3 id S i, = rn a, - ; > 4 } Ss om = = a al 1 “ 7 _ - ae ~ are 7 7 nd me ~ + _ Ss an e e ' - . > * oo - = oe “ - a - » ‘ ’ i ie . \y — + wae 4 : oof " rae gl » BE = aes BE eas von . i . = ee = os A 2 eS a = - * sf a a » 4 n “i a5) ee 7 7 = _~ = a a ny ~ : - az + a ort a 2 ~ in - > 5 ar wt = ta SS ee - ay hd ae = - ’ x a von - ‘ es _ ae de oe a a : “ - 1 ee [i MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. I. fe IO oo P wo PH HS oo Oo DP aD HT PF HW bw Map of the World, showing the Zoo-Geographical Regions and the contour of the Ocean-bed : 3 ‘ ‘ é . Frontispiece To face page Map of the Palearctic Region . : : : : : = 18) Plate I. The Alps of Central Europe with Characteristic Animals 195 Plate II. Cimetennite Mammalia of Western Tartary . 218 Plate III. Characteristic Animals of North China 226 Map of the Ethiopian Region 251 Plate IV. Characteristic Animals of East Africa 261 Plate V. Scene in West Africa with Characteristic Animals . 264 Plate Vi. Scene in Madagascar with Characteristic Animals 278 Map of the Oriental Region 315 Plate WII. Scene in Nepaul with Characteristic Animals . 331 Plate VIII. A Forest in Borneo with Characteristic Mammalia . 337 Plate IX. A Malacca Forest with some of its Peculiar Birds 340 Map of the Australian Region 387 Plate |X. Scene in New Guinea with Characteristic Animals . 415 Plate XJ. The Characteristic Mammalia of Tasmania 439 Plate XII. The Plains of New South Wales with Characteristic Ani- mals . 442 Plate XIII. Scene in New Zealand with some of its Remarkable Birds 455 THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. PART I. THE PRINCIPLES AND GENERAL PHENOMENA OF DISTRIBUTION. J CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. Ir is a fact within the experience of most persons, that the various species of animals are not uniformly dispersed over the surface of the country. If we have a tolerable acquaintance with any district, be it a parish, a county, or a larger extent of territory, we soon become aware that each well-marked portion of it has some peculiarities in its animal productions. If we want: to find certain birds or certain insects, we have not only to choose the right season but to go to the right place. If we travel beyond our district in various directions we shall almost certainly meet with something new to us; some species which we 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 by degrees of latitude and longitude and to perceive important changes of climate and vegetation, the differences in the forms of animal life will become greater ; till at length we shall come to a country where almost everything will be new, all the familiar creatures of our own district being replaced by others more or less differing from them. If we have been observant during our several journeys, and have combined and compared the facts we have collected, it will become apparent that the change we have witnessed has been of two distinct kinds. In our own and immediately surround- ing districts, particular species appeared and disappeared because + DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I, the soil, the aspect, or the vegetation, was adapted to them or the reverse. The marshes, the heaths, the woods and forests, the chalky downs, the rocky mountains, had each their peculiar inhabitants, which reappeared again and again as we came to tracts of country suitable for them. But as we got further away we began to find that localities very similar to those we had left behind were inhabited by a somewhat different set of species; and this diflerence increased with distance, notwithstanding that almost identical external conditions might be often met with. The first class of changes is that of stations ; the second that of habitats. The one is a local, the other a geographical phenomenon. The whole area over which a particular animal is found may consist of any number of stations, but rarely of more than one habitat. Stations, however, are often so extensive as to include the entire range of many species. Such are the great seas and oceans, the Siberian or the Amazonian forests, the North African deserts, the Andean or the Himalayan highlands. There is yet another difference in the nature of the change we have been considering. The new animals which we meet with as we travel in any direction from our starting point, are some of them very much like those we have left behind us, and can be at once referred to familiar types; while others , are altogether unlike anything we have seen at home. When we reach the Alps we find another kind of squirrel, in South- ern Italy a distinct mole, in Southern Europe fresh warblers and unfamiliar buntings. We meet also with totally new forms ; as the glutton and the snowy owl in Northern, the genet and the hoopoe in Southern, and the saiga antelope and collared pratincole in Eastern Europe. The first series are examples of what are termed representative species, the second of distinct groups or types of animals. The one represents a comparatively recent modification, and an origin in or near the locality where it occurs; the other is a result of very ancient changes both organic and inorganic, and is connected with some of the most curious and difficult of the problems we shall have to discuss. Cy my 7 | CHAP. 1.] INTRODUCTORY. 5 Having thus defined our subject, let us glance at the opinions that have generally prevailed as to the nature and causes of the phenomena presented by the geographical distribution of animals. It was long thought, and is still a popular notion, that the manner in which the various kinds of animals are dispersed over the globe is almost wholly due to diyersities of climate and of vegetation. There is indeed much to favour this belief. The arctic regions are strongly characterised by their white bears and foxes, their reindeer, ermine, and walruses, their white ptarmigan, owls, and falcons; the temperate zone has its foxes and wolves, its rabbits, sheep, beavers, and marmots, its sparrows and its song birds ; while tropical regions alone produce apes and elephants, parrots and peacocks, and a thousand strange quadru- peds and brilliant birds which are found nowhere in the cooler regions. So the camel, the gazelle and the ostrich live in the desert; the bison on the prairie; the tapir, the deer, and the jaguar in forests. Mountains and marshes, plains and rocky precipices, have each their animal inhabitants; and it might well be thought, in the absence of accurate inquiry, that these and other differences would sufficiently explain why most of the regions and countries into which the earth is popularly divided should have certain animals peculiar to them and should want others which are elsewhere abundant. A more detailed and accurate knowledge of the productions of different portions of the earth soon showed that this explanation was quite insufficient; for it was found that countries exceed- ingly similar in climate and all physical features may yet have very distinct animal populations. The equatorial parts of Africa and South America, for example, are very similar in climate and are both covered with luxuriant forests, yet their animal life is widely different; elephants, apes, leopards, guinea-fowls and touracos in the one, are replaced by tapirs, prehensile- tailed monkeys, jaguars, curassows and toucans in the other. Again, parts of South Africa and Australia are wonderfully similar in their soil and climate; yet one has lions, antelopes, zebras and giraffes ; the other only kangaroos, wombats, phalan- a 6 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS, [PART I, gers and mice. In like manner parts of North America and Europe are very similar in all essentials of soil climate and vegetation, yet the former has racoons, opossums, and humming- birds; while the latter possesses moles, hedgehogs and true fly- catchers. Equally striking are the facts presented by the distribution of many large and important groups of animals. Marsupials (opossums, phalangers &c.) are found from temperate Van Diemen’s land to the tropical islands of New Guinea and Celebes, and in America from Chili to Virginia. No: crows exist in South America, while they inhabit every other part of the world, not excepting Australia. Antelopes are found only in Africa and Asia; the sloths only in South America ; the true lemurs are confined to Madagascar, and the birds-of-paradise to New Guinea. : If we examine more closely the distribution of animals in any extensive region, we find that different, though closely allied species, are often found on the opposite sides of any considerable barrier to their migration. Thus, on the two sides of the Andes and Rocky Mountains in America, almost all the mammala, birds, and insects are of distinct species. To a less extent, the Alps and Pyrenees form a similar barrier, and even great rivers and river plains, as those of the Amazon and Ganges, separate more or less distinct groups of animals. Arms of the sea are still more effective, if they are permanent; a circumstance in some measure Indicated by their depth. Thus islands far away from land almost always have very peculiar animals found nowhere else; as is strikingly the case in Madagascar and New Zealand, and toa less degree in the West India islands. But shallow straits, hike the English Channel or the Straits of Malacca, are not found to have the same effect, the animals being nearly or quite identical on their opposite shores. A change of climate or a change of vegetation may form an equally effective barrier to migration. Many tropical and polar animals are pretty accu- rately limited by certain isothermal lines; and the limits of the creat forests in most parts of the world strictly determine the ranges of many species. : Naturalists have now arrived at the conclusion, that by some CHAP, I. ] INTRODUCTORY. 7 slow process of development or transmutation, all animals have been produced from those which preceded them; and the old notion that every species was specially created as they now exist, at a particular time and in a particular spot, is abandoned as opposed to many striking facts, and unsupported by any evidence. This modification of animal forms took place very slowly, so that the historical period of three or four thousand years has hardly produced any perceptible change in a single species. Even the time since the last glacial epoch, which on the very lowest estimate must be from 50,000 to 100,000 years, has only served to modify a few of the higher animals into very slightly different species. The changes of the forms of animals appear to have accompanied, and perhaps to have depended on, changes of physical geography, of climate, or of vegetation ; since it is evident that an animal which is well adapted to one condition of things will require to be slightly changed in con- stitution or habits, and therefore generally in form, structure, or colour, in order to be equally well adapted to a changed condition of surrounding circumstances. Animals multiply so rapidly, that we may consider them as continually trying to extend their range; and thus any new land raised above the sea by geological causes becomes immediately peopled by a crowd of competing inhabitants, the strongest and best adapted of which alone succeed in maintaining their position. If we keep in view these facts—that the minor features of the earth’s surface are everywhere slowly changing ; that the forms, and structure, and habits of all living things are also slowly changing ; while the great features of the earth, the continents, and oceans, and loftiest mountain ranges, only change after very long intervals and with extreme slowness; we must see that the present distribution of animals upon the several parts of the earth’s surface is the final product of all these wonderful revolutions in organic and inorganic nature. The greatest and most radical differences in the productions of any part of the globe must be dependent on isolation by the most effectual and most permanent barriers. That ocean which has remained broadest and deepest from the most remote geological epochs 8 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. {PART I. will separate countries the productions of which most widely and radically differ; while the most recently-depressed seas, or the last-formed mountain ranges, will separate countries the productions of which are almost or quite identical, It will be evident, therefore, that the study of the distribution of animals and plants may add greatly to our knowledge of the past history of our globe. It may reveal to us, in a manner which no other evidence can, which are the oldest and most permanent features of the earth’s surface, and which the newest. It may indicate the existence of islands or conti- nents now sunk beneath the ocean, and which have left no record of their existence save the animal and vegetable pro- ductions which have migrated to adjacent lands. It thus becomes an important adjunct to geology, which can rarely do more than determine what lands have been raised above the waters, under what conditions and at what period; but can seldom ascertain anything of the position or extent of those which have sunk beneath it. Our present study may often enable us, not only to say where lands must have recently disappeared, but also to form some judgment as to their ex- tent, and the time that has elapsed since their submersion. Having thus briefly sketched the nature and objects of the subject we have to study, it will be necessary—before entering on a detailed examination of the zoological features of the different parts of the earth, and of the distribution of the orders, families, and genera of animals—to examine certain preliminary facts and principles essential for our guidance. We must first inquire what are the powers of multiplication and dispersal of the various groups of animals, and the nature of the barriers that most effectually limit their range. We have then to consider the effects of changes in physical geography and in climate; to examine the nature and extent of such changes as have been known to occur ; to determine what others are possible or probable; and to ascertain the various modes in which such changes affect the structure, the distribution, or the very exist- ence of animals. CHAP. I.] INTRODUCTORY. 9 “Two subjects of a different nature must next engage our attention. We have to deal with two vast masses of facts, each involving countless details, and requiring subdivision and grouping to be capable of intelligible treatment. All the con- tinents and their chief subdivisions, and all the more important islands of the globe, have to be compared as regards their vari- ous animal forms. To do this effectively we require a natural division of the earth especially adapted to our purpose; and we shall have to discuss at some length the reasons for the particular system adopted —a discussion which must to some extent anticipate and summarize the conclusions of the whole work. We have also to deal with many hundreds of families and many thousands of genera of animals, and here too a true and natural classification is of great importance. We must therefore give a connected view of the classification adopted in the various classes of animals dealt with. And lastly, as the existing distribution of animals is the result and outcome of all preceding changes of the earth and of its inhabitants, we require as much knowledge as we can get of the animals of each country during: past geological epochs, in order to interpret the facts we shall accumulate. We shall, therefore, enter upon a somewhat detailed sketch of the various forms of extinct animals that have lived upon the earth during the Tertiary period; discuss their migrations at various epochs, the changes of physical geography that they imply, and the extent to which they enable us to determine the birthplace of 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 of animals that would otherwise be insoluble problems; and, what is hardly less valuable, will teach us to estimate the compara- tive importance of the various groups of animals, and to avoid the common error of cutting the gordian knot of each difficulty by vast hypothetical changes in existing continents and oceans —probably the most permanent features of our globe. Vou. L—3 CHAPTER II. THE MEANS OF DISPERSAL AND THE MIGRATIONS OF ANIMALS. ALL animals are capable of multiplying so rapidly, that if a single pair were placed in a continent with abundance of food and no enemies, they might fully stock it in a very short time. Thus, a bird which produces ten pairs of young during its life- time (and this is far below the fertility of many birds) will, if we take its life at five years, increase to a hundred millions in about forty years, a number sufficient to stock a large country. Many fishes and insects are capable of multiplying several thousandfold each year, so that in a few years they would reach billions and trillions. Even large and slow breeding mammals, which have only one at a birth but continue to breed from eight to ten successive years, may increase from a single pair to ten millions in less than forty years. | But as animals rarely have an unoccupied country to breed in, and as the food in any one district is strictly limited, their natural tendency is to roam in every direction in search of fresh pastures, or new hunting grounds. In doing so, however, they meet with many obstacles. Rocks and mountains have to be climbed, rivers or marshes to be crossed, deserts or forests to be traversed ; while narrow straits or wider arms of the sea separate islands from the main land or continents from each other. We have now to inquire what facilities the different classes of animals have for overcoming these obstacles, and what kind of barriers are most effectual in checking their progress. Means of Dispersal of Mammalia.—Many of the largest mam- malia are able to roam over whole continents and are hardly CHAP, II.] DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. Bi stopped by any physical obstacles. The elephant is almost equally at home on plains and mountains, and it even climbs to the highest summit of Adam’s Peak in Ceylon, which is so steep and rocky as to be very difficult of ascent for man. It traverses rivers with great ease and forces its way through the densest jungle. There seems therefore to be no limit to its powers of wandering, but the necessity of procuring food and its capacity of enduring changes of climate. The tiger is another animal with vreat powers of dispersal. It crosses rivers and sometimes even swims over narrow straits of the sea, and it can endure the severe cold of North China and Tartary as well as the heats of the plains of Bengal. The rhinoceros, the lion, and many of the ruminants have equal powers of dispersal ; so that wherever there is land and sufficient food, there are no limits to their possible range. Other groups of animals are more limited in their migra- tions. The apes, lemurs, and many monkeys are so strictly adapted to an arboreal life that they can never roam far beyond the limits of the forest vegetation. The same may be said of the squirrels, the opossums, the arboreal cats, and the sloths, with many other groups of less importance. Deserts or open country are equally essential to the existence of others. The camel, the hare, the zebra, the giraffe and many of the antelopes could not exist in a forest country any more than could the jerboas or the prairie marmots. ; There are other animals which are confined to mountains, and could not extend their range into lowlands or forests. The goats and the sheep are the most striking group of this kind, inhabit- ing many of the highest mountains of the globe; of which the European ibex and mouflon are striking examples. Rivers are equally necessary to the existence of others, as the beaver, otter, water-vole and capybara; and to such animals high mountain- ranges or deserts must form an absolutely impassable barrier. Climate as a Limit to the Range of Mammals.—Climate appears to limit the range of many animals, though there is some reason to believe that in many cases it is not the climate itself so much as the change of vegetation consequent on climate which produces the 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 not range more than about 10° beyond the southern and 12° beyond the northern tropic, while the great bulk of the species are found only within an equatorial belt about 30° wide. But as these animals are almost exclusively fruit-eaters, their distribu- tion depends as much on vegetation as on temperature ; and this is strikingly shown by the fact that the Semnopithecus schista- ceus inhabits the Himalayan mountains to a height of 11,000 feet, where it has been seen leaping among fir-trees loaded with snow-wreaths! Some northern animals are bounded by the isothermal of 32°. Such are the polar bear and the walrus, which cannot live in a state of nature far beyond the limits of the frozen ocean ; but as they live in confinement in temperate countries, their range is probably limited by other conditions than temperature. We must not therefore be too hasty in concluding, that animals which we now see confined to a very hot or a very cold climate are incapable of living in any other. The tiger was once con- sidered a purely tropical animal, but it inhabits permanently the cold plains of Manchuria and the Amoor, a country of an almost arctic winter climate. Few animals seem to us more truly in- habitants of hot countries than the elephants and rhinoceroses ; yet in Post-tertiary times they roamed over the whole of the northern continents to within the arctic circle ; and we know that the climate was then as cold as it is now, from their entire bodies being preserved in ice. Some change must recently have occurred either in the climate, soil, or vegetation of Northern Asia which led to the extinction of these forerunners of existing tropical species; and we must always bear in mind that similar changes may have acted upon other speciés which we now find restricted within narrow limits, but which may once have roamed over a wide and varied territory. Valleys and Rivers as Barriers to Mammals.—To animals which thrive best in dry and hilly regions, a broad level and marshy valley must often prove an effectual barrier. The difference of vegetation and of insect life, together with an unhealthy atmos- phere, no doubt often checks migration if it is attempted. Thus CHAP. II.] DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION, 13 many animals are restricted to the slopes of the Himalayas or to the mountains of Central India, the flat valley of the Ganges forming a limit to their range. In other cases, however, it is the river rather than the valley which is the barrier. In the great Amazonian plains many species of monkeys, birds, and even insects are found up to the river banks on one side but do not cross to the other. Thus in the lower part of the Rio Negro two monkeys, the Jacchus bicolor and the Brachiurus couxiou, are found on the north bank of the river but never on the south, where a red-whiskered Pethecia is alone found. Higher up Afeles paniscus extends to the north bank of the river while Lagothrix humboldtit comes down to the south bank; the former being a native of Guiana, the latter of Ecuador. The range of the birds of the genus Psophia or trumpeters, is also limited by the rivers Amazon, Madeira, Rio Negro and some others; so that in these cases we are able to define the limits of distribution with an unusual degree of accuracy, and there is little doubt the same barriers also limit a large number of other species. Arms of the Sea as Barriers to Mammals—vVery few mammals can swim over any considerable extent of sea, although many can swim well for short distances. The jaguar traverses the widest streams in South America, and the bear and bison cross the Mississippi; and there can be no doubt that they could swim over equal widths of salt water, and if accidentally carried out to sea might 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” that during the floods in Scotland in 1829, some pigs only six months old that were carried out to sea, swam five miles and got on shore again. He also states, on the authority of the late Edward Forbes, that a pig jumped overboard to escape from a terrier in the Grecian Archipelago, and swam safely to shore many miles distant. These facts render it probable that wild pigs, from their greater strength and activity, might under favourable cir- cumstances cross arms of the sea twenty or thirty miles wide; and there are facts in the distribution of this tribe of animals which 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 at sea or how many miles they could traverse. Squirrels, rats, and lemmings often migrate from northern countries in bands of thousands and hundreds of thousands, and pass over rivers, lakes and even arms of the sea, but they generally perish in the salt- water. Admitting, however, the powers of most mammals to swim considerable distances, we have no reason to believe that any of them could traverse without help straits of upwards of twenty miles in width, while in most cases a channel of half that distance would prove an effectual barrier. Tce-floes and Driftwood as Arding the Dispersal of Mammals.— In the arctic regions icebergs originate in glaciers which de- scend into the sea, and often bear masses of gravel, earth, and even some vegetation on their surfaces ; and extensive level ice- fields break away and float southwards. These might often carry with them such arctic quadrupeds as frequent the ice, or even on rare occasions true land-animals, which might some- times be stranded on distant continents or islands. But a more effectual because a more wide-spread agent, is to be found in the uprooted trees and rafts of driftwood often floated down great rivers and carried out to sea. Such rafts or islands are sometimes seen drifting a hundred miles from the mouth of the Ganges with living trees erect upon them; and the Amazon, the Orinoco, Mississippi, Congo, and most great rivers produce similar rafts. Spix and Martius declare that they saw at differ- ent times 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 these rafts; and Admiral W. H. Smyth informed Sir C. Lyell that among the Philippine islands after a hurricane, he met with floating masses of wood with trees growing upon them, so that they were at first mistaken for islands till it was found that they were rapidly drifting along. Here therefore, we have ample means for carrying all the smaller and especially the arboreal mammals out to sea; and although in most cases they would perish there, yet in some favourable instances strong winds or CHAP, II.] DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION, 15 unusual tidal currents might carry them safely to shores per- haps several hundred miles from their native country. The fact of green trees so often having been seen erect on these rafts is most important ; for they would act as a sail by which the raft might be propelled in one direction for several days in succession, and thus at last reach a shore to which a current alone would never have carried it. There are two groups of mammals which have quite excep- tional means of dispersal—the bats which fly, and the cetacea, seals, &e., which swim. The former are capable of traversing considerable spaces of sea, simce two North American species either regularly or occasionally visit the Bermudas, a distance of 600 miles from the mainland. The oceanic mammals (whales and porpoises) seem to have no barrier but temperature; the polar species being unable to cross the equator, while the tropical forms are equally unfitted for the cold polar waters. The shore- feeding manatees, however, can only live where they find food ; and a long expanse of rocky coast would probably be as com- plete a barrier to them as a few hundred miles of open ocean. The amphibious seals and walruses seem many of them to be capable of making long sea journeys, some of the species being found on islands a thousand miles apart, but none of the arctic are identical with the antartic species. The otters with one exception are freshwater animals, and we have no reason to believe they could or would traverse any great distances of salt water. In fact, they would be less liable to dispersal across arms of the sea than purely terrestrial species, since their powers of swimming would enable them to regain the shore if accidentally carried out to sea by a sudden flood. Means of Dispersal of Birds—It would seem at first sight that no barriers could limit the range of birds, and that they ought to be the most ubiquitous of living things, and little fitted there- fore to throw any light on the laws or causes of the geographical distribution of animals. This, however, is far from being the case; many groups of birds are almost as strictly limited by barriers as the mammalia; and from their larger numbers and the avidity with which they have been collected, they furnish 16 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART 1, materials of the greatest value for our present study. The different groups of birds offer remarkable contrasts in the extent of their range, some being the most cosmopolite of the higher animals, while others are absolutely confined to single spots on the earth’s surface. The petrels (Procellariidew) and the gulls (Laride) are among the greatest wanderers; but most of the species are confined to one or other of the great oceans, or to the arctic or antarctic seas, a few only being found with scarcely any variation over almost the whole globe. The sandpipers and plovers wander along the shores as far as do the petrels over the ocean. Great numbers of them breed in the arctic regions and migrate as far as India and Australia, or down to Chili and Brazil; the species of the old and new worlds, however, being generally distinct. In striking contrast to these wide ranges we find many of the smaller perching birds, with some of the parrots and pigeons, confined to small islands of a few square miles in extent, or to single valleys or mountains on the main- land. Dispersal of Birds by Winds——Those groups of birds which possess no powers of flight, such as the ostrich, cassowary, and apteryx, are in exactly the same position as mammalia as regards their means of dispersal, or are perhaps even inferior to them ; since, although they are able to cross rivers by swimming, it is doubtful if they could remain so long in the water as most land quadrupeds. A very large number of short-winged birds, such as toucans, pittas, and wrens, are perhaps worse off; for they can fly very few miles at a time, and on falling into the water would soon be drowned. It is only the strong-flying species that can venture to cross any great width of sea; and even these rarely do so unless compelled by necessity to migrate in search of food, or to a more genial climate. Small and weak birds are, however, often carried accidentally across great widths of ocean by violent gales. This is well exemplified by the large numbers of stragglers from North America, which annually reach the Bermudas. No less than sixty-nine species of American birds have occurred in Europe, most of them in Britain and Heligo- land. They consist chiefly of migratory birds which in autumn CHAP. II.] BIRDS. 17 return along the eastern coasts of the United States, and often fly from point to point across bays and inlets. They are then liable to be blown out to sea by storms, which are prevalent at this season; and it is almost always at this time of year that their occurrence has been noted on the- shores of Europe. It may, however, be doubted whether this is not an altogether modern phenomenon, dependent on the number of vessels con- stantly on the Atlantic which afford resting-places to the wan- derers; as it is hardly conceivable that such birds as titlarks, cuckoos, wrens, warblers, and rails, could remain on the wing without food or rest, the time requisite to pass over 2,000 miles of ocean. It is somewhat remarkable that no European birds reach the American coast but a few which pass by way of Iceland and Greenland; whereas a considerable number do reach the Azores, fully half way across; so that their absence can hardly be due to the prevailing winds being westerly. The case of the Azores is, however, an argument for the unassisted passage of birds for that distance ; since two of the finches are peculiar ‘species, but closely allied to European forms, so that their progenitors must, probably, have reached the islands before the Atlantic was a commercial highway. Larrvers to the Dispersal of Birds—-We have seen that, as a rule, wide oceans are an almost absolute barrier to the passage of most birds from one continent to another; but much narrower seas and straits are also very effectual barriers where the habits of the birds are such as to preserve them from being carried away by storms. All birds which frequent thickets and forests, and which feed near or on the ground, are secure from such accidents; and they are also restricted in their range by the extent of the forests they inhabit. In South America a large number of the birds have their ranges determined by the ex- tent of the forest country, while others are equally limited to the open plains. Such species are also bounded by mountain ranges whenever these rise above the woody region. Great rivers, such as the Amazon, also limit the range of many birds, even when there would seem to be no difficulty in their crossing them, The supply of food, and the kind of vegetation, soil, and climate 18 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION, [parr 1. 4 best suited to a bird’s habits, are probably the causes which mark out the exact limits of the range of each species ; to which must be added the prevalence of enemies of either the parent birds, the eggs, or the young. In the Malay Archipelago pigeons abound most where monkeys do not occur; and in South America the same birds are comparatively scarce in the forest plains where monkeys are very abundant, while they are plentiful on the open plains and campos, and on the mountain plateaux, where these nest-hunting quadrupeds are rarely found. Some birds are confined to swamps, others to mountains ; some can only live on rocky streams, others on deserts or grassy plains. The Phenomena of Migration—The term “ migration” is often applied to the periodical or irregular movements of all animals ; but it may be questioned whether there are any regular mi- grants but birds and fishes. The annual or periodical movements of mammalia are of a different class. Monkeys ascend the Himalayas in summer to a height of 10,000 to 12,000 feet, and descend again in winter. Wolves everywhere descend from the mountains to the lowlands in severe weather. In dry seasons great herds of antelopes move southwards towards the Cape of Good Hope. The well-known lemmings, in severe winters, at long intervals, move down from the mountains of Scandinavia in immense numbers, crossing lakes and rivers, eating their way through haystacks, and surmounting every obstacle till they reach the sea, whence very few return. The alpine hare, the arctic fox, and many other animals, exhibit similar phenomena on a smaller scale; and generally it may be said, that whenever a favourable succession of seasons has led to a great multipli- cation of any species, it must on the pressure of hunger seek food in fresh localities. For such movements as these we have no special term. The summer and winter movements best correspond to true migration, but they are always on a small scale, and of limited extent; the other movements are rather temporary incursions than true migrations. The annual movements of many fishes are more strictly analogous to the migration of birds, since they take place in large bodies and often to considerable distances, and are o@ CHAP, 11. ] BIRDS. 19 immediately connected with the process of reproduction. Some, as the salmon, enter rivers; others, as the herring and mackerel, approach the coast in the breeding season; but the exact course of their migrations is unknown, and owing to our complete ignorance of the area each species occupies in the ocean, and the absence of such barriers and of such physical diversities as occur on the land, they are of far less interest and less connected with our present study than the movements of birds, to which we shall now confine ourselves. Migrations of birds.—In all the temperate parts of the globe there are a considerable number of birds which reside only a part of-the year, regularly arriving and leaving at tolerably fixed epochs. In our own country many northern birds visit us in winter, such as the fieldfare, redwing, snow-bunting, turnstone, and numerous ducks and waders; with a few, like the black red- start, and (according to Rev. C. A. Johns) some of the woodcocks from the south. In the summer a host of birds appear—the cuckoo, the swifts and swallows, and numerous warblers, being the most familiar,—which stay to build their nests and rear their young, and then leave us again. These are true migrants; but a number of other birds visit us occasionally, like the waxwing, the oriole, and the bee-eater, and can only be classed as stragglers, which, perhaps from too rapid multiplication one year and want of food the next, are driven to extend their ordinary range of migration to an unusual degree. We will now endeavour to sketch the chief phenomena of migration in different countries. Hurope.—It is well ascertained that most of the birds that spend their spring and summer in the temperate parts of Europe pass the winter in North Africa and Western Asia. The winter visitants, on the other hand, pass the summer in the extreme north of Europe and Asia, many of them having been found to breed in Lapland. The arrival of migratory birds from the south is very constant as to date, seldom varying more than a week or two, without any regard to the weather at the time; but the departure is less constant, and more dependent on the weather. Thus the swallow always comes to us about the middle 20 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [PART 1, of April, however cold it may be, while its departure may take place from the end of September to late in October, and is said by Forster to occur on the first N. or N.E. wind after the 20th of September. Almost all the migratory birds of Europe go southward to the Mediterranean, move along its coasts east or west, and cross over in three places only ; either from the south of Spain, in the neighbourhood of Gibraltar, from Sicily over Malta, or to the east by Greece and Cyprus. They are thus always in sight of land. The passage of most small birds (and many of the larger ones too) takes place at night; and they only cross the Mediter- ranean when 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 authenti- - cated, that the males often leave before the females, and both before the young birds, which in considerable numbers migrate later and alone. These latter, however, seldom go so far as the old ones; and numbers of young birds do not cross the Mediter- ranean, but stay in the south of Europe. The same rule apples to the northward migration; the young birds stopping short of the extreme arctic regions, to which the old birds migrate.! When old and young go together, however, the old birds take the lead. In the south of Europe few of the migratory birds stay to breed, but pass on to more temperate zones; thus, in the south of France, out of 350 species only 60 breed there. The same species is often sedentary in one part of Europe and migra- tory in another; thus, the chaffinch is a constant resident in England, Germany, and the middle of France; but a migrant in the south of France and in Holland: the rook visits the south of France in winter only: the Falco tinnunculus is both a resident and a migrant in the south ot France, according to M. Marcel de Serres, there being two regular passages every year, while a certain number always remain. 1 Marcel de Serres states this as a general fact for wading and swimming birds. 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, &e. 2nd ed., Paris, 1845, p. 121. CHAP. II.] - BIRDS. 21 We see, then, that migration is governed by certain intelligible laws; and that it varies in many of its details, even in the same species, according to changed conditions. It may be looked upon as an exaggeration of a habit common to all locomotive animals, of moving about in search of food. This habit is greatly restricted in quadrupeds by their inability to cross the sea or even to pass through the highly-cultivated valleys of such countries as Europe; but the power of flight in birds enables them to cross every kind of country, and even moderate widths of sea; and as they mostly travel at night and high in the air, their movements are difficult to observe, and are supposed to be more mysterious than they perhaps are. In the tropics birds move about to different districts according as certain fruits become ripe, certain insects abundant, or as flooded tracts dry up. On the borders of the tropics and the temperate zone extends a belt of country of a more or less arid character, and liable to be parched at the summer solstice. In winter and early spring its northern margin is verdant, but it soon becomes burnt up, and most of its birds necessarily migrate to the more fertile regions to the north of them. They thus follow the spring or summer as it advances from the south towards the pole, feeding on the young flower buds, the abundance of juicy larve, and on the ripening fruits; and as soon as these become scarce they retrace their steps homewards to pass the winter. Others whose home is nearer the pole are driven south by cold, hunger, and darkness, to more hospitable climes, returning northward in the early summer. As a typical example of a migratory bird, let us take the nightingale. During the winter this bird inhabits almost all North Africa, Asia Minor, and the Jordan Valley. Early in April it passes into Europe by the three routes already mentioned, and spreads over France, Britain, Denmark, and the south of Sweden, which it reaches by the beginning of May. It does not enter Brittany, the Channel Islands, or the western part of England, never visiting Wales, except the extreme south of Glamorganshire, and rarely extending farther north than York- shire. It spreads over Central Europe, through Austria and Hungary to Southern Russia and the warmer parts of Siberia, 22 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [PART I. but it nevertheless breeds in the Jordan Valley, so that in some places it is only the surplus population that migrates. In August and September, all who can return to their winter quarters. Migrations of this type probably date back from at least the period when there was continuous land along the route passed over; and it is a suggestive fact that this land connection is known to have existed in recent geological times. Britain was connected with the Continent during, and probably before, the glacial epoch; and Gibraltar, as well as Sicily and Malta, were also recently united with Africa, as is proved by the fossil elephants and other large mammalia found in their caverns, by the comparatively shallow water still existing in this part of the Mediterranean while the remainder is of oceanic profundity, and by the large amount of identity in the species of land animals still inhabiting the opposite shores of the Mediterranean. The submersion of these two tracts of land (which were perhaps of considerable extent) would be a slow process, and from year to year the change might be hardly perceptible. It is easy to see how the migration that had once taken place over continuous land would be kept up, first over lagoons and marshes, then over a narrow channel, and subsequently over a considerable sea, no one generation of birds ever perceiving any difference in the route. There is, however, no doubt that the sea-passage is now very dangerous to many birds. Quails cross in immense flocks, and great numbers are drowned at sea whenever the weather is un- favourable. Some individuals always stay through the winter in the south of Europe, and a few even in England and Ireland ; and were the sea to become a little wider the migration would cease, and the quail, like some other birds, would remain divided between south Europe and north Africa. Aquatic birds are observed to follow the routes of great rivers and lakes, and the shores of the sea. One great body reaches central Europe by way of the Danube from the shores of the Black Sea; another ascends the Rhone Valley from the Gulf of Lyons. CHAP. Il.] - BIRDS. 23 India and China.—In the peninsula of India and in China great numbers of northern birds arrive during September and October, and leave from March to May. Among the smaller birds are wagtails, pipits, larks, stonechats, warblers, thrushes, buntings, shrikes, starlings, hoopoes, and quails. Some species of cranes and storks, many ducks, and great numbers of Scolo- pacide also visit India in winter; and to prey upon these come 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 Asia; they spread over all northern and central India, mingling with the sedentary birds of the oriental fauna, and give to the orni- thology of Hindostan at this season quite a European aspect. The peculiar species of the higher Himalayas do not as a rule descend to the plains in winter, but merely come lower down the mountains; and in southern India and Ceylon comparatively few of these migratory birds appear. In China the migratory birds follow generally the coast line, coming southwards in winter from eastern Siberia and northern Japan ; while a few purely tropical forms travel northwards in summer to Japan, and on the mainland as far as the valley of the Amoor. North America.—The migrations of birds in North America have been carefully studied by resident naturalists, and present some interesting features. The birds of the eastern parts of North America are pre-eminently migratory, a much smaller pro- portion being permanent residents than in corresponding latitudes in Europe. Thus, in Massachusetts there are only about 30 species of birds which are resident all the year, while the regular summer visitors are 106. Comparing with this our own country, though considerably further north, the proportions are reversed ; there being 140 residents and 63 summer visitors. This differ- ence is clearly due to the much greater length and severity of the winter, and the greater heat of summer, in America than with us. The number of permanent residents increases pretty regularly as we go southward ; but the number of birds at any locality 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, more species breed than in the warm Southern States. Even in the extreme north, beyond the limit of forests, there are no less than 60 species which breed; in Canada about 160; while in Carolina there are only 135, and in Louisiana, 130. The extent of the migration varies greatly, some species only going a few degrees north and south, while others migrate annually from the tropics to the extreme north of the continent; and every gradation occurs between these extremes. Among those which migrate furthest are the species of Dendreca, and other Ameri- can flycatching warblers (Mniotiltide), many of which breed on the shores of Hudson’s Bay, and spend the winter in Mexico or the West Indian islands. The great migratory movement of American birds is almost wholly confined to the east coast; the birds of the high central plains and of California being for the most part sedentary, or only migrating for short distances. All the species which reach South America, and most of those which winter in Mexico and Guatemala, are exclusively eastern species; though a few Rocky Mountain birds range southward along the plateaux of Mexico and Guatemala, but probably not as regular annual migrants. In America as in Europe birds appear in spring with great regularity, while the time of the autumnal return is less con- stant. More curious is the fact, also observed in both hemi- spheres, that they do not all return by the same route followed in going northwards, some species being constant visitors to certain localities in spring but not in autumn, others in autumn but not in spring. Some interesting cases have been observed in America of a gradual alteration in the extent of the migration of certain birds. A Mexican swallow (Hirundo lunifrons) first appeared in Ohio in 1815. Year by year it increased the extent of its range till by 1845 it had reached Maine and Canada; and it is now quoted by American writers as extending its annual migrations to Hudson’s Bay. An American wren (Tvroglodytes ludovicianus) is another bird which has spread considerably northwards since CHAP. II.] BIRDS. 25 the time of the ornithologist Wilson ; and the rice-bird, or “ Bob- o’-link,” of the Americans, continually widens its range as rice and wheat are more extensively cultivated. This bird winters in Cuba and other West Indian Islands, and probably also in Mexico. In April it enters the Southern States and passes northward, till in June it reaches Canada and extends west to the Saskatchewan River in 54° north latitude. South Temperate America.—The migratory birds of this part of the world have been observed by Mr. Hudson at Buenos Ayres. As in Europe and North America, there are winter and summer visitors, from Patagonia and the tropics respectively. Species of Pyrocephalus, Milvulus, swallows, and a humming- bird, are among the most regular of the summer visitors. They are all insectivorous birds, From Patagonia species of Zan- optera, Cinelodes, and Centrites, come in winter, with two gulls, two geese, and six snipes and plovers. Five species of swallows appear at Buenos Ayres in spring, some staying to breed, others passing on to more temperate regions farther south. As a rule the birds which come late and leave early are the most regular. Some are very irregular in their movements, the Molothrus bona- riensis, for example, sometimes leaves early in autumn, some- times remains all the winter. Some resident birds also move in winter to districts where they are never seen in summer. General Remarks on Migration.—The preceding summary of the main facts of migration (which might have been almost in- definitely extended, owing to the great mass of detailed infor- mation that exists on the subject) appears to accord with the view already suggested, that the “instinct” of migration has arisen from the habit of wandering in search of food common to all animals, but greatly exaggerated in the case of birds by their powers of flight and by the necessity for procuring a large amount of soft insect food for their unfledged young. Migra- tion in its simple form may be best studied in North America, where it takes place over a continuous land surface with a con- siderable change 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 southern Vou. I.—4 26 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [PART 1, limits of their range a few hundred miles, so that in the central parts of the area the species is a permanent resident, to others - which move completely over 1,000 miles of latitude, so that in all the intervening districts they are only known as birds of passage. Now, just as the rice-bird and the Mexican swallow have extended their migrations, owing to favourable conditions induced by human agency ; so we may presume that large num- bers of species would extend their range where favourable con- ditions arose through natural causes. If we go back only as far as the height of the glacial epoch, there is reason to believe that 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 luxuriant vegetation, just as the glaciers of Switzerland now often termi- nate amid forests and corn-fields), and as the cold decreased and the ice retired almost imperceptibly year by year, would follow it up farther and farther according as the peculiarities of vegeta- tion and insect-food were more or less suited to their several constitutions. It is an ascertained fact that many individual birds return year after year to build their nests in the same spot. This shows a strong local attachment, and is, in fact, the faculty or feeling on which: their very existence probably depends. For were they to wander at random each year, they would almost certainly not meet with places so well suited to them, and might even get into districts where they or their young would inevitably perish. It is also a curious fact that in so many cases the old birds migrate first, leaving the young ones behind, who follow some short time later, but do not go so far as their parents. This is very strongly opposed to the notion of an imperative instinct. The old birds have been before, the young have not; and it is only when the old ones have all or nearly all gone that the young go too, probably following some of the latest stragglers. They wander, however, almost at ran- dom, and the majority are destroyed before the next spring. This is proved by the fact that the birds which return in spring are as a rule not more numerous than those which came the CHAP, I. ] BIRDS. 27 preceding spring, whereas those which went away in autumn were two or three times as numerous. Those young birds that do get back, however, have learnt by experience, and the next year they take care to go with the old ones. The most striking fact in favour of the “instinct” of migration is the “ agitation,” or excitement, of confined birds at the time when their wild companions are migrating. It seems probable, however, that this is what may be called a social excitement, due to the anxious cries of the migrating birds; a view supported by the fact stated by Marcel de Serres, that the black swan of Australia, when domesticated in Europe, sometimes joins wild swans in their northward migration. We must remember too that migra- tion at the proper time is in many cases absolutely essential to the existence of the species; and it is therefore not improbable that some strong social emotion should have been gradually developed in the race, by the circumstance that all who for want of such emotion did not join their fellows inevitably perished. The mode by which a passage originally overland has been converted into one over the sea offers no insuperable difficulties, as has already been pointed out. The long flights of some birds without apparently stopping on the way is thought to be inex- plicable, as well as their finding their nesting-place of the previous year from a distance of many hundreds or even a thousand miles. But the observant powers of animals are very great; and birds flying high in the air may be guided by the physical features of the country spread out beneath them in a way that would be impracticable to purely terrestrial animals. It is assumed by some writers that the breeding-place of a species is to be considered as its true home rather than that to which it retires in winter; but this can hardly be accepted as a rule of universal application. A bird can only breed success- fully where it can find sufficient food for its young; and.the reason probably why so many of the smaller birds leave the warm southern regions to breed in temperate or even cold lati- tudes, is because caterpillars and other soft insect larve are there abundant at the proper time, while in their winter home the 28 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [PART I, larvee have all changed into winged insects. But this favourable breeding district will change its position with change of climate ; and as the last great change has been one of increased warmth in allthe temperate zones, it is probable that many of the migratory birds are comparatively recent visitors. Other changes may however have taken place, affecting the vegetation and conse- quently the insects of a district ; and we have seldom the means of determining in any particular case in what direction the last extension of range occurred. For the purposes of the study of geographical distribution therefore, we must, except in special cases, consider the true range of a species to comprise all-the area which it occupies regularly for any part of the year, while all those districts which it only visits at more or less distant intervals, apparently driven by storms or by hunger, and where it never regularly or permanently settles, should not be included as forming part of its area of distribution. Means of Dispersal of Reptiles and Amphibia—If we leave out of consideration the true marine groups—the turtles and sea- snakes—reptiles are scarcely more fitted for traversing seas and oceans than are mammalia. We accordingly find that in those oceanic islands which possess no indigenous mammals, land rep- tiles are also generally wanting. The several groups of these ani- mals, however, differ considerably both in their means of dispersal and in their power of resisting adverse conditions. Snakes are most dependent on climate, becoming very scarce in temperate and cold climates and entirely ceasing at 62° north latitude, and they do not ascend very lofty mountains, ceasing at 6,000 feet elevation in the Alps. Some inhabit deserts, others swamps and marshes,. while many are adapted for a life in forests. They swim rivers easily, but apparently have no means of passing the sea, since they are very rarely found on oceanic islands. Lizards are also essentially tropical, but they go somewhat farther north than snakes, and ascend higher on the mountains, reaching 10,000 feet in the Alps. They possess too some unknown means (probably in the egg-state) of passing over the ocean, since they are found to inhabit many islands where there are neither mammalia nor snakes. CHAP. Il. ] REPTILES AND FISHES. 29 The amphibia are much less sensitive to cold than are true reptiles, and they accordingly extend much farther north, frogs being found within the arctic circle. Their semi-aquatic life also gives them facilities for dispersal, and their eggs are no doubt sometimes carried by aquatic birds from one pond or stream to another. Salt water is fatal to them as well as to their eggs, and hence it arises that they are seldom found in those oceanic islands from which mammalia are absent. Deserts and oceans would probably form the most effectual barriers to their dis- persal; whereas both snakes and lizards abound in deserts, and have some means of occasionally passing the ocean which frogs and salamanders do not seem to possess, Means of Dispersal of Fishes—The fact that the same species of freshwater fish often inhabit distinct river systems, proves that they have some means of dispersal over land. The many authentic accounts of fish falling from the atmosphere, indicate one of the means by which they may be transferred from one river basin to another, viz., by hurricanes and whirlwinds, which often carry up considerable quantities of water and with it fishes of small size. In voleanic countries, also, the fishes of subter- ranean streams may sometimes be thrown up by volcanic explo- sions, as Humboldt relates happened in South America. Another mode by which fishes may be distributed is by their eggs being occasionally carried away by aquatic birds; and it is stated by Gmelin that geese and ducks during their migrations feed on the eggs of fish, and that some of these pass through their bodies with their vitality unimpaired.’ Even water-beetles flying from one pond to another might occasionally carry with them some of the smaller eggs of fishes. But itis probable that fresh-water fish are also enabled to migrate by changes of level causing streams to alter their course and carry their waters into adjacent basins. On plateaux the sources of distinct river systems often approach each other, and the same thing occurs with lateral tributaries on the lowlands near their mouths. Such changes, although small in extent, and occurring only at long intervals, would * Quoted in Lyell’s Principles of Geology (11th ed. vol. ii. p. 374), from Amen. Acad. Essay 75. 30 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [PART 1, act very powerfully in modifying the distribution of fresh-water fish. Sea fish would seem at first sight to have almost unlimited means of dispersal, but this is far from being the case. Tempera- ture forms a complete barrier to a large number of species, cold water being essential to many, while others can only dwell in the warmth of the tropics. Deep water is another barrier to large numbers of species which are adapted to shores and shallows; and thus the Atlantic is quite as impassable a gulf to most fishes as it is to birds. Many sea fishes migrate to a limited extent for the purpose of depositing their spawn in favourable situations. The herring, an inhabitant of the deep sea, comes in shoals to our coast in the breeding season; while the salmon quits the northeru seas and enters our rivers, mount- ing upwards to the clear cold water near their sources to deposit its eggs. Keeping in mind the essential fact that changes of temperature and of depth are the main barriers to the dispersal of fish, we shall find little difficulty in tracing the causes that have determined their distribution. Means of Dispersal of Mollusca—The marine, fresh-water, and land mollusca are three groups whose powers of dispersal and consequent distribution are very different, and must be separately considered. The Pteropoda, the Janthina, and other groups of floating molluses, drift about in mid-ocean, and their dispersal is probably limited chiefly by temperature, but perhaps also by the presence of enemies or the scarcity of proper food. The univalve and bivalve mollusca, of which the whelk and the cockle may be taken as types, move so slowly in their adult state, that we should expect them to have an exceedingly limited distribution; but the young of all these are free swimming embryos, and they thus have a powerful means of dispersal, and are carried by tides and currents so as ultimately to spread over every shore and shoal that offers conditions favourable for their development. The fresh water molluscs, which one might at first suppose could not range beyond their own river-basin, are yet very widely distributed in common with almost all other fresh water productions ; and Mr. Darwin has shown that this is CHAP, II.] LAND-SHELLS AND INSECTS. 31 due to the fact, that ponds and marshes are constantly frequented by wading and swimming birds which are pre-eminently wan- derers, and which frequently carry away with them the seeds of plants, and the eggs of molluscs and aquatic insects. Fresh water molluscs just hatched were found to attach themselves to a duck’s foot suspended in an aquarium ; and they would thus be easily carried from one lake or river to another, and by the help of different species of aquatic birds, might soon spread all over the globe. Even a water-beetle has been caught with a small living shell (Ancylus) attached to it; and these fly long distances and are lable to be blown out to sea, one having been caught on board the Beagle when forty-five miles from land. Although fresh water molluscs and their eggs must frequently be carried out to sea, yet this cannot lead to their dispersal, since salt water is almost immediately fatal to them ; and we are therefore forced to conclude that the apparently insignificant and uncer- tain means of dispersal above alluded to are really what have led to their wide distribution. The true land-shells offer a still more difficult case, for they are exceedingly sensitive to the influence of salt water; they are not likely to be carried by aquatic birds, and yet they are more or less abundant all over the globe, inhabiting the most remote oceanic islands, It has been found, however, that land-shells have the power of lying dormant a long time. Some have lived two years and a half shut up in pill boxes ; and one Egyptian desert snail came to life after having been glued down to a tablet in the British Museum for four years ! We are indebted to Mr. Darwin for experiments on the power , of land shells to resist sea water, and he found that when they had formed a membranous diaphragm over the mouth of the shell they survived many days’ immersion (in one case fourteen days) ; and another experimenter, quoted by Mr. Darwin, found that out of one hundred land shells immersed for a fortnight in the sea, twenty-seven recovered. It is therefore quite possible for them to be carried in the chinks of drift wood for many hundred miles across the sea, and this is probably one of the most effectual modes 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 resting on the ground, and as many of the waders often go far inland, this may have been one of the methods of distributing species of land shells ; for it must always be remembered that nature can afford to wait, and that if but once in a thousand years a single bird should convey two or three minute snails to a distant island, this is all that is required for us to find that island well stocked with a great and varied population of land shells. Means of Dispersal of Insects and the Barriers which Limit their Range—Winged insects, as a whole, have perhaps more varied means of dispersal over the globe than any cther highly organised animals. Many of them can fly immense distances, and the more delicate ones are liable to be carried by storms and hurricanes over a wide expanse of ocean. They are often met with far out at sea. Hawk-moths frequently fly on board ships as they approach the shores of tropical countries, and they have sometimes been captured more than 250 miles from the nearest land. Dragon-flies came on board the Adventure frigate when fifty miles off the coast of South America. A southerly wind brought flies in myriads to Admiral Smyth’s ship in the Mediterranean when he was 100 miles distant from the coast of Africa. A large Indian beetle (Chrysochroa ocellata) was quite recently caught alive in the Bay of Bengal by Captain Payne of the barque William Mansoon, 273 miles from the nearest land. Darwin caught a locust 370 miles from land; and in 1844 swarms of locusts several miles in extent, and as thick as the flakes in a heavy snowstorm, visited Madeira. These must have come with perfect safety more than 300 miles; and as they con- tinued flying over the island for along time, they could evidently have travelled to a much greater distance, Numbers of living beetles belonging to seven genera, some aquatic and some terres- trial, were caught by Mr. Darwin in the open sea, seventeen miles from the coast of South America, and they did not seem injured by the salt water. Almost all the accidental causes that lead to the dispersal of the higher animals would be still more favourable for insects. Floating trees could carry hundreds of insects for one bird or mammal; and so many of the larvae, eggs, CHAP, II. ] DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. 33 and pup of insects have their abode in solid timber, that they might survive being floated immense distances. Great numbers of tropical insects have been captured in the London docks, where they have been brought in foreign timber ; and some have emerged from furniture after remaining torpid for many years. Most insects have the power of existing weeks or months with- out food, and some are very tenacious of life. Many beetles will survive immersion for hours in strong spirit ; and water a few degrees below the boiling point will not always kill them. We can therefore easily understand how, in the course of ages insects may become dispersed by means which would be quite inadequate in the case of the higher animals. The drift-wood and tropical fruits that reach Ireland and the Orkneys; the double cocoa-nuts that cross the Indian ocean from the Seychelle Islands to the coast of Sumatra; the winds that carry volcanic dust and ashes for thousands of miles ; the hurricanes that travel in their revolving course over wide oceans; all indicate means by which a 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 msects requires to be looked at from another point of view. ‘They are, of all animals, perhaps the most wonderfully adapted for special conditions ; and are so often fitted to fill one place in nature and one only, that the barriers against their permanent displacement are almost as numerous and as effective as their means of dispersal. Hundreds of species of lepidoptera, for example, can subsist in the larva state only on one species of plant; so that even if the perfect insects were carried to a new country, the continuance of the race would de- pend upon the same or a closely allied plant being abundant there. Other insects require succulent vegetable food all the year round, and are therefore confined to tropical regions ; some can live only in deserts, others in forests; some are de- pendent on water-plants, some on mountain-vegetation. Many are so intimately connected with other insects during some part of their existence that they could not live without them ; such are the parasitical hymenoptera and diptera, and those mimicking species whose welfare depends upon their being 34 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I: mistaken for something else. Then again, insects have enemies in every stage of their existence—the egg, the larva, the pupa, and the perfect form; and the abundance of any one of these enemies may render their survival impossible in a country other- wise well suited to them. Ever bearing in mind these two opposing classes of facts, we shall not be surprised at the enormous range of some groups of insects, and at the extreme localization of others; and shall be able to give a rational account of many phenomena of distribution that would otherwise seem quite unintelligible. CHAPTER III. DISTRIBUTION AS AFFECTED BY THE CONDITIONS AND CIIANGES OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE. THE distribution of animals over the earth’s surface, 1s evidently dependent in great measure upon those grand and important characteristics of our globe, the study of which is termed physical geography. The proportion of land and water; the outlines and distribution of continents; the depth of seas and oceans; the position of. islands ; the height, direction, and continuity of moun- tain chains ; the position and extent of deserts, lakes, and forests ; the direction and velocity of ocean currents, as well as of prevalent winds and hurricanes; and lastly, the distribution of heat and cold, of rain, snow, and ice, both in their means and in their extremes, have all to be considered when we endeavour to account for the often unequal and unsymmetrical manner in which animals are dispersed over the globe. But even this knowledge is insufficient unless we inquire further as to the evidence of permanence possessed by each of these features, in order that we may give due weight to the various causes that have led to the existing facts of animal distribution. Land and Water—The well-known fact that nearly three- fourths of the surface of the earth is occupied by water, and but a little more than one-fourth by land, is important as indicating the vast extent of ocean by which many of the continents and islands are separated from each other. But there is another fact 36 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. which greatly increases its importance, namely, that the mean height of the land is very smal! compared with the mean depth of the sea. It has been estimated by Humboldt that the mean height of all the land surface does not exceed a thousand feet, owing to the comparative narrowness of mountain ranges and the great extent of alluvial plains and valleys; the ocean bed, on the contrary, not only descends deeper than the tops of the highest mountains rise above its surface, but these profound depths are broad sunken plains, while the shallows correspond to the moun- tain ranges, so that its mean depth is, as nearly as can be esti- mated, twelve thousand feet.!. Hence, as the area of water is three times that of the land, the total cubical contents of the land, above the sea level, would be only j, that of the waters which are below that level.. The important result follows, that whereas it is scarcely possible that in past times the amount of land surface should ever greatly have exceeded that which now exists, it is just possible that all the land may have been at some time submerged ; and therefore in the highest degree probable that among the continual changes of land and sea that have been always going on, the amount of land surface has often been much less than it is now. For the same reason it is probable that there have been times when large masses of land have been more isolated from the rest than they are at present; just as South America would be if North America were submerged, or as Australia would become if the Malay Archipelago were to sink beneath the ocean. It is also very important to bear in mind the fact insisted on by Sir Charles Lyell, that the shallow parts of the ocean are almost always in the vicinity of land; and that an amount of elevation that would make little difference to the bed of the ocean, would raise up extensive tracts of dry land in the vicinity of existing continents. It is almost certain, therefore, that changes in the distribution of land and sea must have taken place more frequently by additions to, or 1 This estimate has been made for me by Mr. Stanford from the materials used in delineating the contours of the ocean-bed on our general map. It embodies the result of all the soundings of the Challenger, Tuscarora, and other vessels. obtainable up to August, 1875. CHAP. I11.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 37 modifications of pre-existing land, than by the upheaval of entirely new continents in mid-ocean. These two principles will throw light upon two constantly recurring groups of facts in the distribution of animals,—the restriction of peculiar forms to areas not at present isolated—and on the other hand, the occurrence of allied forms in lands situated on opposite shores of the great oceans. Continental Areas.—Although the dry land of the earth’s surface is distributed with so much irregularity, that there is more than twice as much north of the equator as there is south of it, and about twice as much in the Asiatic as in the American hemisphere; and, what is still more extraordinary, that on a hemisphere of which a point in St. George’s Channel between England and Ireland is the centre, the land is nearly equal in extent to the water, while in the opposite hemisphere it is in the proportion of only one-eighth,—yet the whole of the land is almost continuous. It consists essentially of only three masses: the American, the Asia-African, and the Australian. The two former are only separated by thirty-six miles of shallow sea at Behring’s Straits, so that it is possible to go from Cape Horn to Singapore or the Cape of Good Hope without ever being out of sight of land; and owing to the intervention of the numerous islands of the Malay Archipelago the journey might be continued under the same conditions as far as Melbourne and Hobart Town. This curious fact, of the almost perfect continuity of all the great masses of land notwithstanding their extremely irregular shape and distribution, is no doubt dependent on the circumstances just alluded to; that the great depth of the oceans and the slowness of the process of upheaval, has almost always produced the new lands either close to, or actually connected with pre-existing lands; and this has necessarily led to a much greater uniformity in the distribution of organic forms, than would have prevailed had the continents been more completely isolated from each other. The isthmuses which connect Africa with Asia, and North with South America, are, however, so small and insignificant compared 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 nominal connection. The Isthmus of Suez indeed, being itself a desert, and connecting districts which for a great distance are more or less desert also, does not effect any real union between the luxu- riant forest-clad regions of intertropical Asia and Africa. The Isthmus of Panama is a more effectual line of union, since it is hilly, well watered, and covered with luxuriant vegetation ; and we accordingly find that the main features of South American zoology are continued into Central America and Mexico. In Asia a great transverse barrier exists, dividing that continent into a northern and southern portion; and as the lowlands occur on the south and the highlands on the north of the great moun- tain range, which is situated not far beyond the tropic, an abrupt change of climate is produced ; so that a belt of about a hundred miles wide, is all that intervenes between a luxuriant tropical region and an almost arctic waste. Between the northern part of Asia, and Europe, there is no barrier of importance ; and it is impossible to separate these regions as regards the main features of animal life. Africa, like Asia, has a great transverse barrier, but it is a desert instead of a mountain chain; and it is found that this desert is a more effectual barrier to the diffusion of animals than the Mediterranean Sea; partly because it coincides with the natural division of a tropical from a temperate climate, but also on account of recent geological changes which we shall presently allude to. It results then from this outline sketch of the earth’s surface, that the primary divisions of the geographer correspond approximately with those of the zoologist. Some large portion of each of the popular divisions forms the nucleus of a zoological region; but the boundaries are so changed that the geographer would hardly recognise them: it has, therefore, been found necessary to give them those distinct names which will be fully explained in our next chapter. Recent Changes in the Continental Areas.—The important fact has been now ascertained, that a considerable portion of the Sahara south of Algeria and Morocco was under water at a very recent epoch. Over much of this area sea-shells, identical with those now living in the Mediterranean, are abundantly scattered, cHAP, 11.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 39 not only in depressions below the level of the sea but up to a height of 900 feet above it. Borings for water made by the French government have shown, that these shells occur twenty feet deep in the sand; and the occurrence of abundance of salt, sometimes even forming considerable hills, is an additional proof of the disappearance of a large body of salt water. The common cockle is one of the most abundant of the shells found; and the Rev. H. B. Tristram discovered a new fish, in a salt lake nearly 300 miles inland, but which has since been found to inhabit the Gulf of Guinea. Connected with this proof of recent elevation in the Sahara, we have most interesting indications of subsidence in the area of the Mediterranean, which were perhaps contem- poraneous. Sicily and Malta are connected with Africa by a . submerged bank from 300 to 1,200 feet below the surface ; while the depth of the Mediterranean, both to the east and west, is enormous, in some parts more than 13,000 feet; and another submerged bank with a depth of 1,000 feet occurs at the straits of Gibraltar. In caves in Sicily, remains of the living African elephant have been found by Baron Anca ; and in other caves Dr. Falconer discovered remains of the Elephas antiquus and of two species of Hippopotamus. In Malta, three species of elephant have been discovered by Captain Spratt; a large one closely allied to H#. antiquus and two smaller ones not exceeding five feet high when adult. These facts clearly indicate, that when North Africa was separated by a broad arm of the sea from the rest ot the continent, it was probably connected with Europe; and this explains why zoologists find themselves obliged to place it along with Europe in the same zoological region. Besides this change in the level of the Sahara and the Medi- terranean basin, Europe has undergone many fluctuations in its physical geography in very recent times. In Wales, abundance of sea-shells of living species have been found at an elevation of 1,300 feet; and in Sardinia there is proof of an elevation of 300 feet since the human epoch; and these are only samples of many such changes of level. But these changes, though very important 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 to determine the boundaries of great zoological regions. The only other other recent change of great importance which can be adduced to illustrate our present subject, is that which has taken place between North and South America. The living marine shells 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 West Indian fossil shells and corals of the Miocene period, however, are found to be largely identical with those of the Pacific coast. The fishes of the Atlantic and Pacific shores of America are as a rule very distinct; but Dr. Giinther has recently shown that a considerable number of species inhabiting the seas on opposite sides of the isthmus are absolutely identical. These facts certainly indicate, that during the Miocene epoch a broad channel separated North and South America; and it seems pro- bable that a series of elevations and subsidences have taken place uniting and separating them at different epochs ; the most recent 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 stationary mollusca. The Glacial Epoch as affecting the Distribution of Animals.— The remarkable refrigeration of climate in the northern hemi- sphere within the epoch, of existing species, to which the term Glacial epoch is applied, together with the changes of level that accompanied and perhaps assisted to produce it, has been one of the chief agents in determining many of the details of the exist- ing distribution of animals in temperate zones. A comparison of the effects produced by existing glaciers with certain super- ficial phenomena in the temperate parts of Europe and North America, renders it certain that between the Newer Pliocene and the Recent epochs, a large portion of the northern hemisphere must have been covered with a sheet of ice several thousand feet thick, like that which now envelopes the interior of Green- land. Much further south the mountains were covered with perpetual snow, and sent glaciers down every valley ; and all the CHAP. 111.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION, 41 great valleys on the southern side of the Alps poured down streams of ice which stretched far out into the plains of North- ern Italy, and have left their débris in the form of huge mountainous moraines, in some cases more than a thousand feet high. In Canada and New Hampshire the marks of moving ice are found on the tops of mountains from 3,000 to 5,000 feet high ; and the whole surface of the country around and to the north of the great lakes is scored by glaciers. Wherever the land was submerged during a part of this cold period, a deposit called boulder-clay, or glacial-drift has been formed. This is a mass of sand, clay, or gravel, full of angular or rounded stones of all sizes, up to huge blocks as large as a cottage; and especi- ally characterized by these stones being distributed confusedly through it, the largest being as often near the top as near the bottom, and never sorted into layers of different sizes as in materials carried by water. Such deposits are known to. be formed by glaciers and icebergs; when deposited on the land by glaciers they form moraines, when carried into water and thus spread with more regularity over a wider area they form drift. This drift is rarely found except where there is other evidence of ice-action, and never south of the 40th parallel of latitude, to which in the northern hemisphere signs of ice-action extend. In the southern hemisphere, in Patagonia and in New Zealand, exactly similar phenomena occur. A very interesting confirmation of the reality of this cold epoch is derived from the study of fossil remains. Both the — plants and animals of the Miocene period indicate that the climate of Central Europe was decidedly warmer or more equa- ble than it is now; since the flora closely resembled that of the Southern United States, with a likeness also to that of Eastern Asia and Australia. Many of the shells were of tropical genera ; and there were numbers of large mammalia allied to the elephant, rhinoceros, and tapir. At the same time, or perhaps somewhat earlier, a temperate climate extended into the arctic regions, and allowed a magnificent vegetation of shrubs and forest trees, some of them evergreen, to flourish within twelve degrees of the Pole. In the Pliocene period we find ourselves Vou. I.—5 42 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART among forms implying a climate very little different from the present; and our own Crag formation furnishes evidence of a gradual refrigeration of climate; since its three divisions, the Coralline, Red, and Norwich Crags, show a decreasing number of southern, and an increasing number of northern species, as we approach the Glacial epoch. Still later than these we have the shells of the drift, almost all of which are northern and many of them arctic species. Among the mammalia indicative of cold, are the mammoth and the reindeer. In gravels and cave- deposits of Post-Plocene date we find the same two animals, which soon disappear as the climate approached its present con- dition; and Professor Forbes has given a list of fifty shells which inhabited the British seas before the Glacial epoch and inhabit it still, but are all wanting in the glacial deposits. The whole of these are found in the Newer Pliocene strata of Sicily and the south of Europe, where they escaped destruction during the glacial winter. There are also certain facts in the distribution of plants, which are so well explained by the Glacial epoch that they may be said to give an additional confirmation to it. All over the northern hemisphere within the glaciated districts, the summits of lofty mountains produce plants identical with those of the polar regions. In the celebrated case of the White Mountains in New Hampshire, United States (latitude 45°), all the plants on the summit are arctic species, none of which exist in the lowlands for near a thousand miles further north. It has also been re- marked that the plants of each mountain are more especially related to those of the countries directly north of ‘it. Thus, those of the Pyrenees and of Scotland are Scandinavian, and those of the White Mountains are all species found in Labrador. Now, remembering that we have evidence of an exceedingly mild and uniform climate in the arctic regions during the Miocene period and a gradual refrigeration from that time, it is evident that with each degree of change more and more hardy plants would be successively driven southwards ; till at last the plains of the temperate zone would be inhabited by plants, which were once confined to alpine heights or to the arctic regions. CHAP, 11.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 43 As the icy mantle gradually melted off the face of the earth these plants would occupy the newly exposed soil, and would thus necessarily travel in two directions, back towards the arctic circle and up towards the alpine peaks. The facts are thus exactly explained by a cause which independent evidence has proved to be a real one, and every such explanation is an addi- tional proof of the reality of the cause. But this explanation im- plies, that in cases where the Glacial epoch cannot have so acted alpine plants should not be northern plants ; and a striking proof of this is to be found on the Peak of Teneriffe, a mountain 12,000 feet high. In the uppermost 4,500 feet of this mountain above the limit of trees, Von Buch found only eleven species of plants, eight of which were peculiar; but the whole were allied to those found at lower elevations. On the Alps or Pyrenees at this elevation, there would be a rich flora comprising hundreds of arctic plants; and the absence of anything corresponding to them 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 changes immediately affect their distribution. A remarkable example of this is afforded by the pre-historic condition of Denmark, as interpreted by means of the peat-bogs and kitchen-middens. This country is now celebrated for its beech-trees; oaks and pines being scarce ; and it is known to have had the same vegetation in the time of the Romans. In the peat-bogs, however, are found deposits of oak trees; and deeper still pines alone occur. Now the kitchen-middens tell us much of the natural history of Denmark in the early Stone period ; and a curious confirmation of the fact that Denmark like Norway was then chiefly covered with pine forests is obtained by the discovery, that the Caper- cailzie was then abundant, a bird which feeds almost exclusively on the young shoots and seeds of pines and allied plants. The cause of this change in the vegetation is unknown; but from the known fact that when forests are destroyed trees, of a different kind usually occupy the ground, we may suppose that some such change as a temporary submergence might cause an entirely 44 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. different vegetation and a considerably modified fauna to occupy the country. Organic Changes as affecting Distribution—We have now briefly touched on some of the direct effects of changes in physical geography, climate, and vegetation, on the distribution of ani- mals; but the indirect effects of such changes are probably of quite equal, if not of greater importance. Every change becomes the centre of an ever-widening circle of effects. The different members of the organic world are so bound together by complex relations, that any one change generally involves numerous other changes, often of the most unexpected kind. We know comparatively little of the way in which one animal or plant is bound up with others, but we know enough to assure us that groups the most apparently disconnected are often dependent on each other. We know, for example, that the introduction of goats into St. Helena utterly destroyed a whole flora of forest trees; and with them all the insects, mollusca, and perhaps birds directly or indirectly dependent on them. Swine, which ran wild in Mauritius, exterminated the Dodo. The same animals are known to be the greatest enemies of venomous serpents. Cattle will, in many districts, wholly prevent the growth of trees; and with the trees the numerous insects depen- dent on those ‘trees, and the birds which fed upon the insects, must disappear, as well as the small mammalia which feed on the fruits, seeds, leaves, or roots. Insects again have the most wonderful influence on the range of mammalia. In Paraguay a certain species of fly abounds which destroys new-born cattle and horses ; and thus neither of these animals have run wild in that country, although they abound both north and south of it. This inevitably leads to a great difference in the vegetation of Paraguay, and through that to a difference in its insects, birds, reptiles, and wild mammalia. On what causes the existence of the fly depends we do not know, but it is not improbable that some comparatively slight changes in the temperature or humidity of the air at a particular season, or the introduction of some enemy might lead to its extinction or banishment. The whole face of the country would then soon be changed: new species would CHAP. 11.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 45 come in, while many others would be unable to live there; and the immediate cause of this great alteration would probably be quite imperceptible to us, even if we could watch it in progress year by year. So, in South Africa, the celebrated Tsetse fly inhabits certain districts having well defined limits; and where it abounds no horses, dogs, or cattle can live. Yet asses, zebras, and antelopes are unaffected by it. So long as this fly continues to exist, there is a living barrier to the entrance of certain animals, quite as effectual as a lofty mountain range or a wide arm of the sea. The complex relations of one form of life with others is nowhere better illustrated than in Mr. Darwin’s celebrated case of the cats and clover, as given in his Crigin of Species, 6th ed., p. 57. He has observed that both wild heartsease and red-clover are fertilized in this country by humble-bees only, so that the production of seed depends on the visits of these insects. A gentleman who has specially studied humble-bees finds that they are largely kept down by field-mice, which destroy their combs and nests. Field-mice in their turn are kept down by cats ; and probably also by owls ; so that these carnivorous animals are really the agents in ren- dering possible the continued existence of red-clover and wild heartsease. For if they were absent, the field-mice having no enemies, would multiply to such an extent as to destroy all the humble-bees; and these two plants would then produce no seed and soon become extinct. Mr. Darwin has also shown that one species often exterminates another closely allied to it, when the two are brought into contact. One species of swallow and thrush are known to have increased at the expense of allied species. Rats, carried all over the world by commerce, are continually extirpating other 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 allows allied species hitherto inhabiting distinct areas to come into contact, will often lead to the extermination of one of them; and this extermination will be effected by no external force, by no actual 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 adverse circumstances, than the other. Now if we consider carefully the few suggestive facts here referred to (and many others of like import are to be found in Mr. Darwin’s various works), we shall be led to conclude that the several species, genera, families, and orders, both of animals and vegetables which inhabit any extensive region, are bound together by a series of complex relations; so that the increase, diminution, or extermination of any one, may set in motion a series of actions and reactions more or less affecting a large portion of the whole, and requiring perhaps centuries of fluctua- tion before the balance is restored. The range of any species or group in such a region, will in many cases (perhaps in most) be determined, not by physical barriers, but by the competition of other organisms. Where barriers have existed from a remote epoch, they will at first have kept back certain animals from coming in contact with each other; but when the assemblage of organisms on the two sides of the barrier have, after many ages, come to form a balanced organic whole, the destruction of the barrier may lead to a very partial intermingling of the peculiar forms of the two regions. Each will have become moditied in special ways adapted to the organic and physical conditions of the country, and will form a living barrier to the entrance of animals less perfectly adapted to those conditions. Thus while the abolition of ancient barriers will always lead to much intermixture of forms, much extermination and wide- spread alteration in some families of animals; other important groups will be unable materially to alter their range; or they may make temporary incursions into the new territory, and be ultimately driven back to very near their ancient limits. In order to make this somewhat difficult subject more intelli- gible, it may be well to consider the probable effects of certain hypothetical conditions of the earth’s surface :— 1. If the dry land of the globe had been from the first continuous, and nowhere divided up by such boundaries as lofty mountain ranges, wide deserts, or arms of the sea, it seems probable that none of the larger groups (as orders, tribes, or CHAP. 111.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 47 Jamities,) would have a limited range; but, as is to some extent the case in tropical America east of the Andes, every such group would be represented over the whole area, ky countless minute modifications of form adapted to local conditions. 2. One great physical barrier would, however, even then - exist ; the hot equatorial zone would divide the faunas and floras of the colder regions of the northern and southern hemispheres from any chance of intermixture. This one barrier would be more effectual than it is now, since there would be no lofty mountain ranges to serve as a bridge for the partial interchange of northern and southern forms. 3. If such a condition of the earth as here supposed con- tinued for very long periods, we may conceive that the action and reaction of the various organisms on each other, combined with the influence of very slowly changing physical conditions, would result in an almost perfect organic balance, which would be manifested by a great stability in the average numbers, the local gange, and the peculiar characteristics of every species. 4, Under such a condition of things it is not improbable that the total number of clearly differentiated specific forms might be much greater than it is now, though the number of generic and family types might perhaps be less ; for dominant species would have had ample time to spread into every locality where they could exist, and would then become everywhere modified into forms best suited to the permanent local conditions. 5. Now let us consider what would be the probable effect of the introduction of a barrier, cutting off a portion of this homo- geneous and well-balanced world. Suppose, for instance, that a subsidence took place, cutting off by a wide arm of the seaa large and tolerably varied island. The first and most obvious result would be that the individuals of a number of species would be divided into two.portions, while others, the limits of whose range agreed approximately with the line of subsidence, would exist in unimpaired numbers on the new island or on the main land. But the species whose numbers were diminished and whose original area was also absolutely diminished by the portion 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; others which produced favourable varieties, might be so modified by natural selection as to maintain their existence under a different form; and such changes would take place in varying modes on the two sides of the new strait. 6. But the progress of these changes would necessarily affect the other species in contact with them. New places would be opened in the economy of nature which many would struggle to obtain; and modification would go on in ever-widening circle and very long periods of time might be required to bring the whole again into a state of equilibrium. 7. A new set of factors would in the meantime have come into play. The sinking of land and the influx of a large body of water could hardly take place without producing important climatal changes. The temperature, the winds, the rains, might all be affected, and more or less changed in duration and amount. This would lead to a quite distinct movement in the organic world. Vegetation would certainly be considerably affected, and through this the insect tribes. We have seen how closely the life of the higher animals is often bound up with that of insects ; and thus a set of changes might arise that would modify the numerical proportions, and even the forms and habits of a great number of species, would completely exterminate some, and raise others from a subordinate to a dominant position. And all these changes would occur differently on opposite sides of the strait, since the insular climate could not fail to differ considerably from that of the continent. 8. But the two sets of changes, as above indicated, produced by different modes of action of the same primary cause, would act and react on each other; and thus lead to such a far-spread- ing disturbance of the organic equilibrium as ultimately perhaps to affect in one way or another, every form of life upon the earth. This hypothetical case is useful as enabling us better to realize how wide-spreading might be the effects of one of the simplest changes of physical geography, upon a compact mass of mutually CHAP. 11.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 49 adapted organisms. In the actual state of things, the physical changes that occur and have occurred through all geological epochs aré larger and more varied. Almost every mile of land surface has been again and again depressed beneath the ocean ; most of the great mountain chains have either originated or greatly increased in height during the Tertiary period; marvellous alterations of climate and vegetation have taken place over half the land-surface of the earth; and all these vast changes have influenced a globe so cut up by seas and oceans, by deserts and snow-clad mountains, that in many of its more isolated lahd-masses ancient forms of life have been preserved, which, in the more extensive and more varied continents have long given way to higher types. How complex then must have been the actions and reactions such a state of things would bring about ; and how impossible must it be for us to guess, in most cases, at the exact nature of the forces that limit the range of some 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 or less hypothetically, some of the larger changes in physical geography that have occurred during the ages immediately pre- ceeding our own, and to estimate the effect they will probably have produced on animal distribution. We may then, by the aid of such knowledge as to past organic mutations as the geo- logical record supplies us with, be able to determine the probable birthplace and subsequent migrations of the more important genera and families; and thus obtain some conception of that grand series of co-ordinated changes in the earth and its in- habitants, whose final result is seen in the forms and the geo- graphical distribution of existing animals. CHAPTER IV. : ON ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. To the older school of Naturalists the native country of an animal was of little importance, except in as far as climates differed. Animals were supposed to be specially adapted to live in certain zones or under certain physical conditions, and it was hardly recognised that apart from these conditions there was any influence in locality which could materially affect them. It was believed that, while the animals of tropical, temperate, and arctic climates, essentially differed; those of the tropics were essentially alike all over the world. A group of animals was said to inhabit the “Indies;” and important differences of structure were often overlooked from the idea, that creatures equally adapted to live in hot countries and with certain general 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 be popularly associated as slightly modified varieties of tropical forms of life; while to naturalists, who were acquainted with the essential differences of structure, it was a never-failing source of surprise, that under climates and conditions so apparently identical, such strangely divergent forms should be produced. To the modern naturalist, on the other hand, the native country (or “habitat” as it is technically termed) of an animal CHAP. IV.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 51 or a group of animals, is a matter of the first importance; and, as regards the general history of life upon the globe, may be considered to be one of its essential characters. The structure, affinities, and habits of a species, now form only a part of its natural history. We require also to know its exact range at the present day and in prehistoric times, and to have some knowledge of its geological age, the place of its earliest appear- ance on the globe, and of the various extinct forms most nearly allied to it. To those who accept the theory of development as . worked out by Mr. Darwin, and the views as to the general permanence and immense antiquity of the great continents and oceans so ably developed by Sir Charles Lyell, it ceases to be a matter of surprise that the tropics of Africa, Asia, and America should differ in their productions, but rather that they should have anything incommon. Their similarity, not their diversity, is the fact that most frequently puzzles us. The more accurate knowledge we have of late years obtained of the productions of many remote regions, combined with the greater approaches that have been made to a natural classifica- tion of the higher animals, has shown, that every continent* or well-marked division of a continent, every archipelago and even every island, presents problems of more or less complexity to the student of the geographical distribution of animals. If we take up the subject from the zoological side, and study any family, order, or even extensive genus, we are almost sure to ‘meet with some anumalies either in the present or past distri- bution of the various forms. Let us adduce a few examples of these problems. Deer have a wonderfully wide range, over the whole of Europe, Asia, and North and South America; yet in Africa south of the great desert there are none. Bears range over the whole of Europe, Asia, and North America, and true pigs of the genus Sus, over all Europe and Asia and as far as New Guinea; yet both bears and pigs, like deer, are absent from Tropical and South Africa. Again, the West Indian islands possess very few Mammaiia, all of small size and allied to those of America, except one 52 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART 1. genus; and that belongs to an Order, “ Insectivora,” entirely absent from South America, and to a family, “Centetidz,” all the other species of which inhabit Madagascar only. And as if to add force to this singular correspondence we have one Madagascar species of a beautiful day-flying Moth, Urania, all the other species of which inhabit tropical America. These insects are gorgeously arrayed in green and gold, and are quite unlike any other Lepidoptera upon the globe. The island of Ceylon generally agrees in its productions with the Southern part of India; yet it has several birds which are allied to Malayan and not to Indian groups, and a fine butterfly of the genus Hestia, as well as several genera of beetles, which are purely Malayan. Various important groups of animals are distributed in a way not easy to explain. The anthropoid apes in West Africa and Borneo; the tapirs in Malaya and South America; the camel tribe in the deserts of Asia and the Andes; the trogons in 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 the naturalist now has to deal; and in order to do so he requires some system of geographical arrangement, which shall serve the double purpose of affording a convenient subdivision of his subject, and at the same time of giving expression to the main results at which he has arrived. Hence the recent discussions* on “Zoological Regions,” or, what are the most natural primary divisions of the earth as regards its forms of animal life. The divisions in use till quite recently were of two kinds ; either those ready made by geographers, more especially the quarters or continents of the globe; or those determined by climate and marked out by certain parallels of latitude or by isothermal lines. Either of these methods was better than none at all; but from the various considerations explained in the preceding chapters, it will be evident, that such divisions must have often been very unnatural, and have disguised many CHAP. IV. | ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 53 of the most important and interesting phenomena which a study of the distribution of animals presents to us. The merit of initiating a more natural system, that of determin- ing zoological regions, not by any arbitrary or @ priori considera- tion but by studying the actual ranges of the more important groups of animals, is due to Mr. Sclater, who, in 1857, established six primary zoological regions from a detailed examination of the distribution of the chief genera and families of Birds. Before stating what these regions are, what objections have been made to them, what other divisions have been since proposed, and what are those which we shall adopt in this work, it will be well.to consider the general principles which should guide us in the choice between rival systems. Principles on which Zoological Regions should be formed.— It will be evident in the first place that nothing like a per- fect zoological division of the earth is possible. The causes that have led to the present distribution of animal life are so varied, their action and reaction have been so complex, that anomalies and irregularities are sure to exist which will mar the symmetry of any rigid system. On two main points every sys- tem yet proposed, or that probably can be proposed, is open to objection; they are,—I1stly, that the several regions are not of equal rank ;—2ndly, that they are not equally applicable to all classes of animals. As to the first objection, it will be found impossible to form any three or more regions, each of which differs from the rest in an equal degree or in the same manner. One will surpass all others in the possession of peculiar families ; another will have many characteristic genera; while a third will be mainly distinguished by negative characters. There will also be found many intermediate districts, which possess some of the characteristics of two well-marked regions, with a few special features of their own, or perhaps with none; and it will be a difficult question to decide in all cases which region should possess this doubtful territory, or whether it should be formed into a primary region itself. Again, two regions which have now well-marked points of difference, may be shown to have been much more alike at a comparatively recent geological epoch ; 54 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. and this, it may be said, proves their fundamental unity and that they ought to form but one primary region. To obviate some of these difficulties a binary or dichotomous division is sometimes proposed; that portion of the earth which differs most from the rest being cut off as a region equal in rank to all that remains, which is subjected again and again to the same process. To decide these various points it seems advisable that con- venience, intelligibility, and custom, should largely guide us. The first essential is, a broadly marked and easily remembered set of regions; which correspond, as nearly as truth to nature will allow, with the distribution of the most important groups of animals. What these groups are we shall presently explain. In determining the number, extent, and boundaries of these regions, we must be guided by a variety of indications, since the application of fixed rules is impossible. They should evi- dently be of a moderate number, corresponding as far as practicable with the great natural divisions of the globe marked out by nature, and which have always been recognized by’ geographers. There should be some approximation to equality of size, since there is reason to believe that a tolerably extensive area has been an essential condition for the development of most animal forms; and it is found that, other things being equal, the numbers, variety and importance of the forms of animal and vegetable life, do bear some approximate relation to extent of area. Although the possession of peculiar families or genera is the main character of a primary zoological region, yet the negative character of the absence of certain families or genera is of equal importance, when this absence does not manifestly depend on unsuitability to the support of the group, and especially when there is now no physical barrier preventing their entrance. This will become evident when we consider that the importance of the possession of a group by one region de- pends on its absence from the adjoining regions; and if there is now no barrier to its entrance, we may be sure that there has once been one; and that the possession of the area by a distinct and well balanced set of organisms, which must have been slowly CHAP. IV. | ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 55 developed and adjusted, is the living barrier that now keeps out intruders. — When it is ascertained that the chief differences which now obtain between two areas did not exist in Miocene or Pliocene times, the fact is one of great interest, and enables us to speculate with some degree of probability as to the causes that have brought about the present state of things; but it is not a reason for uniting these two areas into one region. Our object is to represent as nearly as possible the main features of the distribution of existing animals, not those of any or all past geological epochs. Should we ever obtain sufficient information as to the geography and biology of the earth at past epochs, we might indeed. determine approximately what were the Pliocene or Miocene or Eocene zoological regions; but any attempt to exhibit all these in combination with those of our own period, must lead to confusion. The binary or dichotomous system, although it brings out the fundamental differences of the respective regions, is an inconvenient one in its application, and rather increases than obviates the difficulty as to equality or inequality of regions; for although a, b, c, and d, may be areas of unequal zoological rank, a being the most important, and d the least, yet this inequality will probably be still greater if we first divide them into a, on one side, and b, ¢, and d, on the other, and then, by another division, make 0, an area of the second, and ¢, and d, of the third rank only. Coming to the second objection, the often incompatible distribution of different groups of animals, affords ground for opposition to any proposed scheme of zoological regions. There is first the radical difference between land and sea animals; the most complete barriers to the dispersal of the one, sometimes offering 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 inhabiting the land. But among land animals themselves there are very great differences of distribution, due to certain specialities 56 : DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. in their organization or mode of life. These act mainly in two ways,—Istly, by affecting the facilities with which they can be dispersed, either voluntarily or involuntarily ;—2ndly, by the conditions which enable them to multiply and establish themselves in certain areas and not in others. When both these means of diffusion are at a maximum, the dispersal of a group becomes universal, and ceases to have much interest for us. This is the case with certain groups of fungi and lichens, as well as with some of the lower animals; and in a less degree, as has been shown by Mr. Darwin, with many fresh-water plants and animals. At the other extreme we may place certain arboreal vertebrata such as sloths and lemurs, which have no means of passing such barriers as narrow straits or moderately high mountains, and whose survival in any new country they might reach, would be dependent on the presence of suitable forests and the absence of dangerous enemies. Almost equally, or perhaps even more restricted, are the means of permanent diffusion of terrestrial molluscs; since these are without any but very rare and accidental means of being safely transported across the sea; their individual powers of locomo- tion are highly restricted; they are especially subject to the attacks of enemies; and they often depend not only on a peculiar vegetation, but on the geological character of the coun- try, their abundance being almost in direct proportion to the presence of some form of calcareous rocks. Between these extremes we find animals possessed of an infinite gradation of powers to disperse and to maintain themselves ; and it will evi- dently be impossible that the limits which best define the distribution of one group, should be equally true for all others. Which class of Animals is of most importance in determining Zoological Regions—To decide this question we have to con- sider which groups of animals are best adapted to exhibit, by their existing distribution, the past changes and present physical condition of the earth’s surface; and at the same time, by the abundance of their remains in the various tertiary formations will best enable us to trace out the more recent of the series of changes, both of the earth’s surface and CHAP. IV. ] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 57 of its inhabitants, by which the present state of things has been brought about. For this purpose we require a group which shall be dependent for its means of dispersal on the dis- tribution of land and water, and on the presence or absence of lofty mountains, desert plains or plateaux, and great forests ; since these are the chief physical features of the earth’s surface whose modifications at successive periods we wish to discover. It is also essential that they should not be subject to dispersal by many accidental causes; as this would inevitably in time tend to obliterate the effect of natural barriers, and produce a scattered distribution, the causes of which we could only guess at. Again, it is necessary that they should be so highly organized as not to be absolutely dependent on other groups of animals, and with so much power of adaptation as to be able to exist in one form or another over the whole globe. And lastly, it is highly important that the whole group should be pretty well known, and that a fairly natural classification, especially of its minor divisions such as families and genera, should have been arrived at; the reason for which last proviso is explained in our next chapter, on classification. Now in every one of these points the mammalia are preemi- nent; and they possess the additional advantage of being the most highly developed class of organized beings, and that to which we ourselves belong. We should therefore construct our typical or standard Zoological Regions in the first place, from a consideration of the distribution of mammalia, only bringing to our aid the distribution of other groups to determine doubtful points. Regions so established will be most closely im accord- ance with those long-enduring features of physical geography, on which the distribution of all forms of life fundamentally depend; and all discrepancies in the distribution of other classes of animals must be capable of being explained, either by their exceptional means of dispersion or by special condi- tions affecting their perpetuation and increase in each locality. If these considerations are well founded, the objections of those who study insects or molluscs, for example,—that our regions are not true for their departments of nature—cannot be Vou. 1L—6 58 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. maintained. For they will find, that a careful consideration of the exceptional means of dispersal and conditions of existence of each group, will explain most of the divergences from the normal distribution of higher animals. We shall thus be led to an intelligent comprehension of the phenomena of distribution in all groups, which would not be the case if every specialist formed regions for his own particular study. In many cases we should find that no satisfactory division of the earth could be made to correspond with the dis- tribution even of an entire class; but we should have the cole- opterist and the lepidopterist each with his own Geography. Aud even this would probably not suffice, for it is very doubtful if the detailed distribution of the Longicornes, so closely dependent on woody vegetation, could be made to agree with that of the Staphylinide or the Carabide which abound in many of the most barren regions, or with that of the Scarabeide, largely de- pendent on the presence of herbivorous mammalia. And when each of these enquirers had settled a division of the earth into “yxegions ” which exhibited with tolerable accuracy the pheno- mena of distribution of his own group, we should have gained nothing whatever but a very complex mode of exhibiting the bare facts of distribution. We should then have to begin to work out the causes of the divergence of one group from another in this respect ; but as each worker would refer to his own set of regions as the type, the whole subject would become involved in inextricable confusion. These considerations seem to make it imperative that one set of “regions” should be established as typical for Zoology; and it is hoped the reasons here advanced will satisfy most naturalists that these regions can be best determined, in the first place, by a study of the dis- tribution of the mammalia, supplemented in doubtful cases by that of the other vertebrates. We will now proceed to a discus- sion of what these regions are. Various Zoological Regions proposed since 1857.—It has already been pointed out that a very large number of birds are limited by the same kind of barriers as mammalia; it will therefore not be surprising that a system of regions formed to suit the CHAP. IV.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 59 one, should very nearly represent the distribution of the other. Mr. Sclater’s regions are as follows :— 1. The Palearctic Region ; including Europe, Temperate Asia, and N. Africa to the Atlas mountains. 2. The Ethiopian Region; Africa south of the Atlas, Mada- gascar, and the Mascarene Islands, with Southern Arabia. 3. The Indian Region; including India south of the Hima- layas, 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, the Antilles, and Southern Mexico. This division of the earth received great support from Dr. Giinther, who, in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1858, showed that the geographical distribution of Reptiles agreed with it very closely, the principal difference being that the reptiles of Japan have a more Indian character than the birds, this being especially the case with the snakes. In the volume for 1868 of the same work, Professor Huxley discusses at considerable length the primary and secondary zoological divisions of the earth. He gives reasons for thinking that the most radical primary division, both as regards birds and mam- mals, is into a Northern and Southern hemisphere (Arctogzea and Notogea), the former, however, embracing all Africa, while the latter includes only Australasia and the Neotropical or Austro-Columbian region. Mr. Sclater had grouped his regions primarily into Palseogeea and Neogea, the Old and New Worlds of geographers; a division which strikingly accords with the distribution of the passerine birds, but not so well with that of mammala or reptiles. Professor Huxley points out that the Nearctic, Palearctic, Indian, and Ethiopian regions of Mr. Sclater have a much greater resemblance to each other than any one of them has to Australia or to South America ; and he further suggests that New Zealand alone has peculiarities which might entitle it to rank as a primary region 60 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. along with Australasia and South America; and that a Circum- polar Province might be conveniently recognised as of equal rank with the Palearctic and Nearctic provinces. In 1866, Mr. Andrew Murray published a large and copiously illustrated volume on the Geographical Distribution of Mam- mals, in which he maintains that the great and primary mammalian regions are only four: Ist. The Palearctic region of Mr. Sclater, extended to include the Sahara and Nubia ; 2nd. the Indo-African region, including the Indian and Ethiopian regions of Mr. Sclater; 3rd. the Australian region (unaltered) ; 4th. the American region, including both North and South America. These are the regions as described by Mr. Murray, but his coloured map of “ Great Mammalian Regions” shows all 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 peninsula of India had derived its Fauna mainly from Africa; and that the term “Indian region” of Mr. Sclater was misleading, because India proper, if it belongs to it at all, is the least typical portion of 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 marked Malay affinities. In 1871 Mr. E. Blyth published in Nature “A suggested new Division of the Earth into Zoological Regions,’ in which he indicates seven primary divisions or regions, subdivided into twenty-six sub-regions. The seven regions are defined as follows: 1. The Boreal region; including the whole of the Palearctic and Nearctic regions of Mr. Sclater along with the West Indies, Central America, the whole chain of the Andes, with Chili and Patagonia. 2. The Columbian region; consisting of the remaining part of South America. 3. The Ethiopian region; comprising besides that region of Mr. Sclater, the valley of 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. 61 half of Ceylon. 4. The Lemurian region; consisting of Mada- gascar and its adjacent islands. 5, The Austral-Asian region ; which is the Indian region of Mr. Sclater without the portion taken to be added to the Ethiopian region. 6. The Melanesian region; which is the Australian region of Mr. Sclater without New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, which form 7. the Polynesian region. Mr. Blyth thinks this is “a true classifi- cation of 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 Com- parative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Vol. 2), Mr. J. A. Allen proposes a division of the earth in accordance with what he terms, “the law of circumpolar distribution of life 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 are subdivided into regions; (2) consisting of the American and the Europxo-Asiatic regions; (4) into the African and Indian regions ; (8) into the tropical Australian region, and one com- prising the southern part of Australia and New Zealand. The other realms each form a single region. Discussion of proposed Regions.—Before proceeding to define the regions adopted in this work, it may be as well to make a few remarks on some of the preceding classifications, and to give the reasons which seem to render it advisable to adopt very few of the suggested improvements on Mr. Sclater’s original proposal. Mr. Blyth’s scheme is one of the least natural, and also the most inconvenient. There can be little use in the knowledge that a group of animals is found in the Boreal Region, if their habitat might still be either Patagonia, the West Indies, or Japan; and it is difficult to see on what principle the Madagascar group of islands is made of equal rank with this enormous region, seeing that its forms of life have marked African affinities. Neither does it seem advisable to adopt the Polynesian Region, or that comprising New Zealand alone (as hinted at by Professor Huxley and since adopted by 62 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART 1. Mr. Sclater in his Lectures on Geographical Distribution at the Zoological Gardens in May 1874), because it is absolutely with- out indigenous mammalia and very poor in all forms of life, and therefore by no means prominent or important enough to form a primary region of the earth. It may be as well here to notice what appears to be a serious objection to making New Zealand, or any similar isolated district, one of the great zoological regions, comparable to South America, Australia, or Ethiopia ; which is, that its claim to that distinction rests on grounds which are liable to fail. It is because New Zealand, in addition to its negative merits, possesses three families of birds (Apterygide living, Dinornithide and Palapterygide extinct), and a peculiar lizard-like reptile, Hatteria, which has to be classed in a distinct order, Rhyncho- cephalina, that the rank of a Region is claimed for it. But supposing, what is not at all improbable, that other Rhyncho- cephalina should be discovered in the interior of Australia or in New Guinea, and that Apterygide or Palapterygide should be found to have inhabited Australia in Post-Pliocene times, (as Dinornithide have already been proved to have done) the clams of New Zealand would entirely fail, and it would be universally acknowledged to be a part of the great Australian region. No such reversal can take place in the case of the other regions ; because they rest, not upon one or two, but upon a large number of peculiarities, of such a nature that there is no room upon the globe for discoveries that can seriously modify them. Even if one or two peculiar types, like Apterygide or Hatteria, should permanently remain characteristic of New Zea- land alone, we can account for these by the extreme isolation of the country, and the absence of enemies, which have enabled these defenceless birds and reptiles to continue their existence ; just. as the isolation and protection of the caverns of Carniola have enabled the Proteus to survive in Europe. But supposing that the Proteus was the sole representative of an order of Batrachia, and that two or three other equally curious and isolated forms occurred with it, no one would propose that these caverns or the district containing them, should form one of the CHAP. IV. ] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 63 primary divisions of the earth. Neither can much stress be laid on the negative characteristics of New Zealand, since they are found to an almost equal extent in every oceanic island. Again, it is both inconvenient and misleading to pick out certain tracts from the midst of one region or sub-region and to place them in another, on account of certain isolated affinities which may often be accounted for by local peculiarities. Even if the resemblance of the fauna of Chili and Patagonia to that of the Palearctic and Nearctic regions was much greater than it is, this mode of dealing with it would be objectionable ; but it is still more so, when we find that these countries have a strongly marked South American character, and that the north- ern affinities are altogether exceptional. The Rodentia, which comprise a large portion of the mammalia of these countries, are wholly South American in type, and the birds are almost all allied to forms characteristic of tropical America. For analogous reasons the Ethiopian must not be made to include any part of India or Ceylon ; for although the Fauna of Central India has some African affinities, these do not prepon- derate; and it will not be difficult to show that to follow Mr. Andrew Murray in uniting bodily the Ethiopian and Indian regions of Mr. Sclater, is both unnatural and inconvenient. The resemblances between them are of the same character as those which would unite them both with the Palearctic and Nearctic regions ; and although it may be admitted, that, as Professor Huxley maintains, this group forms one of the great primary divisions of the globe, it is far too extensive and too hetero- geneous to subserve the practical uses for which we require a division 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 any glaring irregularities, it is a positive, and by no means an un- important, advantage to have our named regions approximately equal in size, and with easily defined, and therefore easily re- membered, boundaries. All elaborate definitions of interpene- trating frontiers, as well as regions extending over three-fourths of the land surface of the globe, and including places which are 64 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. the antipodes of each other, would be most inconvenient, even if there were not such difference of opinion about them. There can be little doubt, for example, that the most radical zoological division of the earth is made by separating the Australian re- gion from the rest; but although it is something useful and definite to know that a group of animals is peculiar to Australia, it is exceedingly vague and unsatisfactory to say of any other group merely that it is extra-Australian. Neither can it be said that, from any point of view, these two divisions are of equal importance. The next great natural division that can be made is the separation of the Neotropical Region of Mr. Sclater from the rest of the world. We thus have three primary divisions, which Professor Huxley seems inclined to consider as of tolerably equal zoological importance. But a consideration of all the facts, zoological and paleeontological, indicates, that the great northern division (Arctogeea) is fully as much more impor- tant than either Australia or South America, as its four compo- nent parts are less important ; and if so, convenience requires us to adopt the smaller rather than the larger divisions. This question, of comparative importance or equivalence of value, is very difficult to determine. It may be considered from the point of view of speciality or isolation, or from that of richness and variety of animal forms. In isolation and speciality, determined by what they want as well as what they possess, the Australian and Neotropical regions are undoubtedly each com- parable with the rest of the earth (Arctogea). But in richness and variety of forms, they are both very much inferior, and are much more nearly comparable with the separate regions which compose it. Taking the families of mammalia as established by the best authors, and leaving out the Cetacea and the Bats, which are almost universally distributed, and about whose classification there is much uncertainty, the number of families represented in each of Mr. Sclater’s regions is as follows : I. Palearctic region has 31 families of terrestrial mammalia. II. Ethiopian _,, 3. 20 ” 9 ” IIJ. Indian ” ” 31 ” ” ”» IV. Australian _,, » 14 ” ” ” V. Neotropical ,, 332 20 3 ” ” VI. Nearctic re seus a 5 CHAP. IV. ] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 65 We see, then, that even the exceedingly rich and isolated Neo- tropical region is less rich and diversified in its forms of mam- malian life than the very much smaller area of the Indian region, or the temperate Palearctic, and very much less so than the Ethiopian region ; while even the comparatively poor Nearctic region, is nearly equal to it in the number of its family types. If these were united they would possess fifty-five families, a number very disproportionate to those of the remaining two. Another consideration is, that although the absence of certain forms of life makes a region more isolated, it does not make it zoologically more important ; for we have only to suppose some five or six families, now common to both, to become extinct either in the Ethiopian or the Indian regions, and they would become as strongly differentiated from all other regions as South America, while still remaining as rich in family types. In birds exactly the same phenomenon recurs, the family types being less numerous in South America than in either of the other tropical regions of the earth, but a larger proportion of them are restricted to it. It will be shown further on, that the Ethiopian and Indian, (or, as I pro- pose to call it in this work, Oriental) regions, are sufficiently differ- entiated by very important groups of animals peculiar to each ; and that, on strict zoological principles they are entitled to rank as regions of equal value with the Neotropical and Aus- tralian. It is perhaps less clear whether the Palearctic should be separated from the Oriental region, with which it has un- doubtedly much in common ; but there are many and powerful reasons for keeping it distinct. There is an unmistakably different facies in the animal forms of the two regions; and although no families of mammalia or birds, and not many genera, are wholly confined to the Palearctic region, a very considerable number of both have their metropolis in it, and are very richly represented. The distinction between the characteristic forms of life in tropical and cold countries is, on the whole, very strongly marked in the northern hemisphere ; and to refuse to recognise this in a sub- division of the earth which is established for the very purpose of expressing such contrasts more clearly and concisely than by ordinary geographical terminology, would be both illogical and 66 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. inconvenient. The one question then remains, whether the Nearctic region should be kept separate, or whether it should form part of the Palearctic or of the Neotropical regions. Pro- fessor Huxley 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 to be said for both views, but both cannot be right; and it will be shown in the latter part of this chapter that the Nearctic region is, on the whole, fully as well defined’as the Palzearctic, by posi- tive characters which differentiate it from both the adjacent regions. More evidence in the same direction will be found in the Second Part of this work, in which the extinct faunas of the several regions are discussed. A confirmation of the general views here set forth, as to the distinctness and approximate equivalence of the six regions, is to be found in the fact, that if any two or more of them are com- bined they themselves become divisions of the next lower rank, or “ sub-regions ;””—and these will be very much more important, both zoologically and geographically, than the subdivisions of the remaining regions. It is admitted then that these six regions are by no means of precisely equal rank, and that some of them are far more isolated and better characterized than others; but it is maintained that, looked at from every point of view, they are more equal in rank than any others that can be formed ; while in geographical equality, compactness of area, and facility of definition, they are beyond all comparison better than any others that have yet been proposed for the purpose of facilitat- ing the study of geographical distribution. They may be ar- ranged and grouped as follows, so as to exhibit their various relations and affinities. Regions. Neogiea } ee cel ... Austral zone......... Notogzea. TIC See. cnce B l Panmarcric ... ( Boreal zone ......... = ale Paleogeea PE TAN ++... ' Paleotropical zone a = ORIENTAL ........ \icct ae lu AUSTRALIAN ... Austral zone......... Notogzea. The above table shows the regions placed in the order followed in the Fourth Part of this work, and the reasons for which are CHAP. IV.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 67 explained in Chapter IX. As a matter of convenience, and for other reasons adduced in the same chapter, the detailed exposi- tion of the geographical distribution of the animals of the several regions in Part III. commences with the Palearctic and termin- ates with the Nearctic region. Objections to the system of Circumpolar Zones.—Myr. Allen’s system of “realms” founded on climatic zones (given at p- 61), having recently appeared in an ornithological work of considerable detail and research, calls for a few remarks. The author continually refers to the “law of the distribution of life in circumpolar zones,’ as if it were one generally accepted and that admits of no dispute. But this supposed “law ” only applies to the smallest details of distribution—to the range and increasing or decreasing numbers of species as we pass from north to south, or the reverse ; while it has little bearing on the great features of zoological geography—the limitation of groups of genera and families to certain areas. It is analogous to the “law of adaptation” in the organisation of animals, by which members of various groups are suited for an aerial, an aquatic, a desert, or an arboreal life ; are herbivorous, carnivorous, or insectivorous; are fitted to live underground, or in fresh waters, or on polar ice. It was once thought that these adaptive peculiarities were suitable foundations for a classification,—that whales were fishes, and bats birds; and even to this day there are naturalists who cannot recognise the essential diversity of structure in such groups as swifts and swallows, sun-birds and humming-birds, under the superficial disguise caused by adap- tation to a similar mode of life. The application of Mr. Allen’s principle leads to equally erroneous results, as may be well seen by considering his separation of “the southern third of Aus- tralia” to unite it with New Zealand as one of his secondary zoological divisions. If there is one country in the world whose fauna is strictly homogeneous, that country is Australia; while New Guinea on the one hand, and New Zealand on the other, are as sharply differentiated from Australia as any adjacent parts of the same primary zoological division can possibly be. Yet the “law of cirewmpolar distribution” leads to the division of 68 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. Australia by an arbitrary east and west line, and a union of the northern two-thirds with New Guinea, the southern third with New Zealand. Hardly less unnatural is the supposed equiva- lence of South Africa (the African temperate realm) to all tropical Africa and Asia, including Madagascar (the Indo- African tropical realm). South Africa has, it is true, some striking peculiarities; but they are absolutely unimportant as compared with the great and radical differences between tropical Africa and tropical Asia. On these examples we may fairly rest our rejection of Mr. Allen’s scheme. We must however say a few words on the zoo-geographical nomenclature proposed in the same paper, which seems also very objectionable. The following terms are proposed: realm, region, province, district, fauna and flora ; the first being the highest, the last the lowest and smallest sub-division. Con- sidering that most of these terms have been used in very different senses already, and that no means of settling their equivalence in different parts of the globe has been even suggested, such a complex system must lead to endless confusion. Until the whole subject is far better known and its first principles agreed upon, the-simpler and the fewer the terms employed the better ; and as “region” was employed for the primary divisions by Mr. Sclater, eighteen years ago, and again by Mr. Andrew Murray, in his Geographical Distribution of Mammals; nothing but obscurity can result from each writer using some new, and doubtfully better, term. For the sub-divisions of the regions no advantage is gained by the use of a distinct term—“ pro- vince ”—which has been used (by Swainson) for the primary divisions, and which does not itself tell you what rank it holds ; whereas the term “sub-region” speaks for itself as being un- mistakably next in subordination to region, and this clearness of meaning gives it the preference over any independent term. As to minor named sub-divisions, they seem at present uncalled for; and till the greater divisions are themselves generally agreed on, it seems better to adopt no technical names for what must, for a long time to come, be indeterminate. Does the Arctic Fauna characterize an independent Region.— CHAP. IV. ] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 69 The proposal to consider the Arctic regions as constituting one of the primary zoological divisions of the globe, has been advocated by many naturalists. Professor Huxley seems to consider it advisable, and Mr. Allen unhesitatingly adopts it, as well as an “antarctic” region to balance it in the southern hemisphere. The reason ae an “ Arctic Region ” finds no place in this work may therefore be here stated. No species or group of animals can properly be classed as “arctic,” which does not exclusively inhabit or greatly prepon- derate in arctic lands. For the purpose of establishing the need of an “ arctic ” zoological region, we should consider chiefly such groups as are circumpolar as well as arctic; because, if they are confined to, or greatly preponderate in, either the eastern or western hemispheres, they can be at once allocated to the Nearctic or Palearctic regions, and can therefore afford no Justification for establishing a new primary division of the globe. Thus restricted, only three genera of land mammalia are truly arctic: Gulo, Myodes, and Rangifer. Two species of widely dispersed genera are also exclusively arctic, Ursus maritimus and Vulpes lagopus. Exclusively arctic birds are not much more numerous. Of land birds there are only three genera (each consisting of but a single species), Pinicola, Nyctea, and Surnia. Lagopus is cir- cumpolar, but the genus has too wide an extension in the temperate zone to be considered arctic. Among aquatic birds we have the genus of ducks, Somateria ; three genera of Uriide, Uria, Catarractes, and Mergulus ; and the small family Alcide, consisting of the genera Alea and Fratercula. Our total then is, three genera of mammalia, three of land, and six of aquatic birds, including one peculiar family. In the southern hemisphere there is only the iat genus Aptenodytes that can be classed as antarctic ; and even that is more properly south temperate. In dealing with this arctic fauna we have two courses open to us; we must either group them with the other species and genera which are common to the two northern regions, or we 70 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. must: form a separate primary region for them. As a matter of convenience the former plan seems the best; and it is that which is in accordance with our treatment of other intermediate tracts which contain special forms of life. The great desert zone, extending from the Atlantic shores of the Sahara across Arabia to Central Asia, is a connecting link between the Pale- arctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental regions, and contains a number of “ desert” forms wholly or almost wholly restricted to it ; but the attempt to define it as a separate region would introduce difficulty and confusion. Neither to the “desert” nor to the “arctic” regions could any defined limits, either geographical or zoological, be placed; and the attempt to determine what species or genera should be allotted to them would prove an insoluble problem. The reason perhaps is, that both are essen- tially unstable, to a much greater extent than those great masses of land with more or less defined barriers, which constitute our six regions. The Arctic Zone has been, within a recent geologi- cal period, both vastly more extensive and vastly less extensive than it is at present. Ata not distant epoch it extended over half of Europe and of North America. At an earlier date it appears to have vanished altogether; since a luxuriant vegeta- tion of tall deciduous trees and broad-leaved evergreens flourished within ten degrees of the Pole! The great deserts have not improbably been equally fluctuating; hence neither the one nor the other can present that marked individuality in their forms of life, which seems to have arisen only when extensive tracts of land have retained some considerable sta- bility both of surface and climatal conditions, during periods sufficient for the development and co-adaptation of their several assemblages of plants and animals. We must also consider that there is no geographical difficulty in dividing the Arctic Zone between the two. northern regions. The only debateable lands, Greenland and Iceland, are generally admitted to belong respectively to America and Europe. Neither is there any zoological difficulty ; for the land mam- malia and birds are on the whole wonderfully restricted to their respective regions even in high latitudes ; and the aquatic forms CHAP. IV. ] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 7i are, for our present purpose, of much less importance. As a primary division the “Arctic region” would be out of all pro- portion to the other six, whether as regards its few peculiar types or the limited number of forms and species actually in- habiting it; but it comes in well as a connecting link between two regions, where the peculiar forms of both are specially modi- fied; and is in this respect quite analogous to the great desert zone above referred to. I now proceed to characterize briefly the six regions adopted in the present work, together with the sub-regions into which they may be most conveniently and naturally divided, as shown in our general map. Palearctic Region—This very extensive region comprises all temperate Europe and Asia, from Iceland to Behring’s Straits and from the Azores to Japan. Its southern boundary is some- what indefinite, but it seems advisable to comprise in it all the extra-tropical part of the Sahara and Arabia, and all Persia, Cabul, and Beloochistan to the Indus. It comes down to a little below the upper limit of forests in the Himalayas, and includes the larger northern half of China, not quite so far down the coast as Amoy. It has been said that this region differs from the Oriental by negative characters only ; a host of tropical families and genera being absent, while there is little or nothing but peculiar species to characterize it abso- lutely. This however is not true. The Palearctic region is well characterized by possessing 5 families of vertebrata peculiar to it, as well as 35 peculiar genera of mammalia, and 57 of birds, constituting about one-third of the total number it possesses. These are amply sufficient to characterize a region positively ; but we must also consider the absence of many im- portant groups of the Oriental, Ethiopian, and Nearctic regions ; and we shall then find, that taking positive and negative characters together, and making some allowance for the neces- sary poverty of a temperate as compared with tropical regions, the Palearctic is almost as strongly marked and well defined as any other. Sub-divisions of the Palearctic Region.—These are by no means +] bo DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. so clearly indicated as in some of the other regions, and they are adopted more for convenience than because they are very natural or strongly marked. The first, or European sub-region, comprises Central and Northern Europe as far South as the Pyrenees, the Maritime and Dinaric Alps, the Balkan mountains, the Black Sea, and the Caucasus. On the east the Caspian sea and the Ural mountains seem the most obvious limit; but it is doubtful if they form the actual boundary, which is perhaps better marked by the valley of the Irtish, where a pre-glacial sea almost certainly connected the Aral and Caspian seas with the Arctic ocean, and formed an effective barrier which must still, to some extent, influence the distribution of animals. The next, or Mediterranean sub-region, comprises South Europe, North Africa with the extra-tropical portion of the Sahara, and Egypt to about the first or second cataracts ; and eastward through Asia Minor, Persia, and Cabul, to the deserts of the Indus. The third, or Siberian sub-region, consists of all north and central Asia north of Herat, as far as the eastern limits of the great desert plateau of Mongolia, and southward to about the upper limit of trees on the Himalayas. The fourth, or Manchurian sub-region, consists of Japan and North China with the lower valley of the Amoor; and it should probably be extended westward in a narrow strip along the Himalayas, embracing about 1,000 or 2,000 feet of vertical distance below the upper limit of trees, till it meets an eastern extension of the Mediterranean sub-region a little beyond Simla. These extensions are necessary to avoid passing from the Oriental region, which is essentially tropical, directly to the Siberian sub- region, which has an extreme northern character; whereas the Mediterranean and Manchurian sub-regions are more temperate in climate. It will be found that between the upper limit of most of the typical Oriental groups and the Thibetan or Siberian fauna, there is a zone in which many forms occur common to temperate China. This is especially the case among the phea- sants and finches. CHAP. IV. ] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 73 Ethiopian Region—The limits of this region have been indi- cated by the definition of the Palearctic region. Besides Africa south of the tropic of Cancer, and its islands, it comprises the southern half of Arabia. This region has been said to be identical in the main charac- ters of its mammalian fauna with the Oriental region, and has therefore been united with it by Mr. A. Murray. Most impor- tant differences have however been overlooked, as the following summary of the peculiarities of the Ethiopian region will, I think, show. It possesses 22 peculiar families of vertebrates; 90 peculiar genera of mammalia, being two-thirds of its whole number ; and 179 peculiar genera of birds, being three-fifths of all it possesses. It is further characterized by the absence of several families and genera which range over the whole northern hemisphere, details of which will be found in the chapter treating of the region. There are, it is true, many points of resemblance, not to be wondered at between two tropical regions in the same hemisphere, and which have evidently been at one time more nearly connected, both by intervening lands and by a different condition of the lands that even now connect them. But these resemblances only render the differences more remarkable ; since they show that there has been an ancient and long-continued separation of the two regions, developing a dis- tinct fauna in each, and establishing marked specialities which the temporary intercommunication and immigration has not sufficed to remove. The entire absence of such wide-spread groups as bears and deer, from a country many parts of which are well adapted to them, and in close proximity to regions where they abound, would alone mark out the Ethiopian region as one of the primary divisions of the earth, even if it possessed a less number than it actually does of peculiar family and generic groups. Sub-divisions of the Ethiopian Region.—The African conti- nent south of the tropic of Cancer is more homogeneous in its prominent and superficial zoological features than most of the other regions, but there are nevertheless important and deep- Vou. I.—7 74 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. seated local peculiarities. Two portions can be marked off as possessing many peculiar forms; the luxuriant forest district of equatorial West Africa, and the southern extremity or Cape district. The remaining portion has no well-marked divisions, and a large proportion of its animal forms range over it from Nubia and Abyssinia, to Senegal on the one side and to the Zambesi on the other; this forms our first or East-African sub-region. The second, or West African sub-region extends along the coast from Senegal to Angola, and inland to the sources of the Shary and the Congo. The third, or South African sub-region, comprises the Cape Colony and Natal, and is roughly limited by a line from Delagoa Bay to Walvish Bay. The fourth, or Malagasy sub-region, consists of Madagascar and the adjacent islands, from Rodriguez to the Seychelles ; and this differs so remarkably from the continent that it has been pro- posed to form a distinct primary region for its reception. — Its productions are indeed highly interesting; since it possesses 3 families, and 2 sub-families of mammals peculiar to itself, while almost all its genera are peculiar. Of these a few show Oriental or Ethiopian affinities, but the remainder are quite isolated. Turning to other classes of animals, we find that the birds are almost as remarkable; but, as might be expected, a larger number of genera are common to surround- ing countries. More than 30 genera are altogether peculiar, and some of these are so isolated as to require to be classed in separate families or sub-families. The African affinity is how- ever here more strongly shown by the considerable number (13) of peculiar Ethiopian genera which in Madagascar have repre- sentative species. There can be no doubt therefore about Mada- gascar being more nearly related to the Ethiopian than to any other region; but its peculiarities are so great, that, were it not for its small size and the limited extent of its fauna, its claim to rank as a separate region might not seem unreasonable. It is true that it is not poorer in mammals than Australia; but that country is far more isolated, and cannot be so decidedly and CHAP. IV. ] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 75 naturally associated with any other region as Madagascar can be with the Ethiopian. It is therefore the better and more natural course to keep it as a sub-region; the peculiarities it exhibits being of exactly the same kind as those presented by the Antilles, by New Zealand, and even by Celebes and Ceylon, but in.a much greater degree. Oriental Region—On account of the numerous objections that have been made to naming a region from the least charac- teristic portion of it, and not thinking “ Malayan,” proposed by Mr. Blanford, a good term, (as it has a very circumscribed and definite meaning, and especially because the “ Malay” archi- pelago is half of it in the Australian region,) I propose to use the word “ Oriental” instead of “ Indian,” as being geographically applicable to the whole of the countries included in the region and to very few beyond it; as being euphonious, and as being free from all confusion with terms already used in zoological geography. I trust therefore that it may meet with general acceptance. This small, compact, but rich and varied region, consists of all India and China from the limits of the Palearctic region ; all the Malay peninsula and islands as far east as Java and Baly, Borneo and the Philippine Islands; and Formosa. It is positively characterized by possessing 12 peculiar families of vertebrata ; by 55 genera of land mammalia, and 165 genera of land birds, altogether confined to it; these peculiar genera forming in each case about one half of the total number it possesses. Sub-divisions of the Oriental region—First we have the Indian sub-region, consisting of Central India from the foot of the Himalayas in the west, and south of the Ganges to the east, as far as a line drawn from Goa curving south and up to the Kistna river; this is the portion which has most affinity with Africa. The second, or Ceylonese sub-region, consists of the southern extremity of India with Ceylon; this is a mountainous forest region, and possesses several peculiar forms as well as some Malayan types not found in the first sub-region. 76 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. Next we have the Indo-Chinese sub-region, comprising South China and Burmah, extending westward along the Himalayan range to an altitude of about 9,000 or 10,000 feet, and south- ward to Tavoy or Tenasserim. The last is the Indo-Malayan sub-region, comprising the Peninsula of Malacca and the Malay Islands to Baly, Borneo, and the Philippines. On account of the absence from the first sub-region of many of the forms most characteristic of the other three, and the number of families and genera of mammalia and birds which occur in it and also in Africa, it has been thought by some naturalists that this part of India has at least an equal claim to be classed as a part of the Ethiopian region. This question will be found fully discussed in Chapter XII. devoted to the Oriental region, where it is shown that the African affinity is far less than has been represented, and that in all its essential features Central India is wholly Oriental in its fauna. Before leaving this region a few words may be said about Lemuria, a name proposed by Mr. Sclater for the site of a sup- posed submerged continent extending from Madagascar to Ceylon and Sumatra, in which the Lemuroid type of animals was devel- oped. This is undoubtedly a legitimate and highly probable sup- position, and it is an example of the way in which a study of the geographical distribution of animals may enable us to reconstruct the geography of a bygone age. But we must not, as Mr. Blyth proposed, make this hypothetical land one of our actual Zoo- logical regions. It represents what was probably a primary Zoological region in some past geological epoch; but what that epoch was and what were the limits of the region in question, we are quite unable to say. If we are to suppose that it comprised the whole area now inhabited by Lemuroid animals, we must make it extend from West Africa to Burmah, South China, and Celebes; an area which it possibly did once occupy, but which cannot be formed into a modern Zoological region without vio- lating much more important affinities. If, on the other hand, we leave out all those areas which undoubtedly belong to other regions, we reduce Lemuria to Madagascar and its adjacent CHAP. IV. ] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. hy) islands, which, for reasons already stated, it is not advisable to treat as a primary Zoological region. The theory of this ancient continent and the light it may throw on existing anomalies of distribution, will be more fully considered in the geographical part of this work. Australian Region.—Mr. Sclater’s original name seems pre- ferable to Professor Huxley’s, “ Austral-Asian;” the incon- venience of which alteration is sufficiently shown by the fact that Mr. Blyth proposed to use the very same term as an appropriate substitute for the “Indian region” of Mr. Sclater. Australia is the great central mass of the region; it is by far the richest in varied and highly remarkable forms of life; and it therefore seems in every way fitted to give a name to the region of which it is the essential element. ‘The limits of this region in the Pacific are somewhat obscure, but as so many of the Pacific Islands are extremely poor zoologically, this is not of great importance. Sub-divisions of the Australian Region.—The first sub-region is the Austro-Malayan, including the islands from Celebes and Lombock on the west to the Solomon Islands on the east. The Australian sub-region comes next, consisting of Australia and Tasmania. The third, or Polynesian sub-region, will consist of all the tropical Pacific Islands, and is characterized by several peculiar genera of birds which are all allied to Australian types. The fourth, consists of New Zealand with Auckland, Chatham, and Norfolk Islands, and must be called the New Zealand sub-region. The extreme peculiarities of New Zealand, due no doubt to its great isolation and to its being the remains of a more extensive land, have induced several naturalists to suggest that it ought justly to form a Zoological region by itself. But the inconveniences of such a procedure have been already pointed out; and when we look at its birds as a whole (they being the only class sufficiently well represented to found any conclusion upon) we find that the majority of them belong to Australian genera, and where the genera are peculiar they are most nearly related 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, as before remarked, of the same character as the preservation of the Proteus in the caverns of Carniola ; and can give the locality where it happens to have survived no claim to form a primary Zoological region, unless supported by a tolerably varied and distinctly characterized fauna, such as never exists in a very restricted and insular area. Neotropical Reyion—My. Sclater’s original name for this region is preserved, because change of nomenclature is always an evil; and neither Professor Huxley’s suggested alteration “ Austro-Columbia,’ nor Mr. Sclater’s new term “ Dendrogzea,” appear to be improvements. The region is essentially a tropical one, and the extra-tropical portion of it is not important enough to make the name inappropriate. That proposed by Professor Huxley is not free from the same kind of criticism, since it would imply that the region was exclusively South American, whereas a considerable tract of North America belongs to it. This region includes South America, the Antilles and tropical North America; and it possesses more peculiar families of vertebrates and genera of birds and mam- malia than any other region, Subdivisions of the Neotropical Region.—The great central mass of South America, from the shores of Venezuela to Paraguay and Eastern Peru, constitutes the chief division, and may be termed the Brazilian sub-region. It is on the whole a forest country; its most remarkable forms are highly developed arboreal types; and it exhibits all the characteristics of this rich and 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 con- tinent; and we must include in it the west side of the Andes as far as the limits of the forest near Payta, and the whole of the high Andean plateaus as far as 4° of south latitude; which makes it coincide with the range of the Camelide and Chin- chillide. The third, or Mexican sub-region, consists of Central America and Southern Mexico, but it has no distinguishing character- CHAP. IV.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 79 istics except the absence of some of the more highly specialized Neotropical groups. It is, however, a convenient division as comprising the portion of the North American continent which belongs zoologically to South America. The fourth, or Antillean sub-region, consists of the West India islands (except Trinidad and Tobago, which are detached portions of the continent and must be grouped in the first sub- region) ; and these reproduce, in a much less marked degree, the phenomena presented by Madagascar. Terrestrial mammals are almost entirely wanting, but the larger islands possess three genera which are altogether peculiar to them. The birds are of South American forms, but comprise many peculiar genera. Terrestrial molluscs are more abundant and varied than in any part of the globe of equal extent; and if these alone were considered, the Antilles would constitute an important Zoological region. Nearctic Region —This region comprises all temperate North America and Greenland. The arctic lands and islands beyond the limit of trees form a transitional territory to the Palearctic region, but even here there are some characteristic species. The southern limit between this region and the Neotropical is a little uncertain ; but it may be drawn at about the Rio Grande del Norte on the east coast, and a little north of Mazatlan on the west; while on the central plateau it descends much farther south, and should perhaps include all the open highlands of Mexico and Guatemala. This would coincide with the range of several characteristic Nearctic genera. Distinction of the Nearctic from the Palcarctic Region.—The Nearctic region possesses twelve peculiar families of vertebrates or one-tenth of its whole number. It has also twenty-four peculiar genera of mammalia and fifty-two of birds, in each case nearly one-third of all it possesses. This proportion is very nearly the same as in the Palearctic region, while the number of peculiar families of vertebrata is very much greater. It has been already seen that both Mr. Blyth and Professor Huxley are disposed to unite this region with the Palearctic, while Pro- fessor Newton, in his article on birds in the new edition of the 80 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. Encyclopedia Britannica, thinks that as regards that class it can hardly claim to be more than a sub-region of the Neotropical. These views are mutually destructive, but it will be shown in the proper place, that on independent grounds the Nearctic region can very properly be maintained. Subdivisions of the Nearctic Region—The sub-regions here depend on the great physical features of the country, and have been in some eases accurately defined by American naturalists. First we have the Californian sub-region, consisting of Cali- fornia and Oregon—a narrow tract between the Sierra Nevada and the Pacific, but characterized by a number of peculiar species and by several genera found nowhere else in the region. The second, or Rocky Mountain sub-region, consists of this great mountain range with its plateaus, and the central plains and prairies to about 100° west longitude, but including New Mexico and Texas in the South. The third and most important sub-region, which may be termed the Alleghanian, extends eastward to the Atlantic, in- cluding the Mississippi Valley, the Alleghany Mountains, and the Eastern United States. This is an old forest district, and contains most of the characteristic animal types of the region. The fourth, or Canadian sub-region, comprises all the northern part of the continent from the great lakes to the Arctic ocean ; a land of pine-forests and barren wastes, characterized by Arctic types and the absence of many of the genera which distin- guish the more southern portions of the region. Observations on the series of Sub-regions.—The twenty-four sub- regions here adopted were arrived at by a carefut consideration of the distribution of the more important genera, and of the materials, both zoological and geographical, available for their determination; and it was not till they were almost finally decided on, that they were found to be equal in number through- out all the regions—four in each. As this uniformity is of great advantage in tabular and diagrammatic presentations of the distribution of the several families, I decided not to disturb it unless very strong reasons should appear for adopting a greater or less number in any particular case. Such however have not CHAP. IV.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 81 arisen ; and it is hoped that these divisions will prove as satis- factory and useful to naturalists in general as they have been to the author. Of course, in a detailed study of any region much more minute sub-division may be required; but even in that case it is believed that the sub-regions here adopted, will be found, with slight modifications, permanently available for ex- hibiting general results. I give here a table showing the proportionate richness and speciality of each region as determined by its families of verte- brates and genera of mammalia and birds ; and also a general table of the regions and sub-regions, arranged in the order that seems best to show their mutual relations. CoMPARATIVE RICHNESS OF THE Six REGIONS. VERTEBRATA. MAMMALIA. Brrps. R iB een eas ren | Ake ere eee | eneray ee ea esl Gecerad nae Vase | ewe a | Palearctic...) 136 3 100 35 35 || 174 Di 33 Ethiopian Feel lee 22 140 90 64 | 294 179 60 Oriental......| 164 12 118 55 46 || 340 165 48 | Australian...) 141 30 Yb 44 61 || 298 | 189 64 Neotropical. 168 44 130 103 79 683 576 86 Nearctic .....| 122 12 74 vA 32 169 52 31 TABLE OF REGIONS AND SUB-REGIONS. Regions. Sub-regions. | Remarks. I, Palearctic...| 1. North Europe. | ae 2. Mediterranean (or S. Eu.) Transition to Ethiopian. | 3. Siberia. _ Transition to Nearctic. | 4. Manchuria (or Japan) Transition to Oriental. II. Ethiopian ... 1, East Africa. | Transition to Palzearctic. | 2. West Africa. 3. South Africa. 4. Madagascar. | 82 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART. I. TABLE OF REGIONS AND SUB-REGIONS—continued. j{TT. LV: V. Wa. Regions. Sub-regions. Remarks, Oriental.....- Australian... Neotropical. Nearctic..... mwhr Pep pwr Bw bor . Hindostan (or Central Ind.) . Ceylon. Indo-China (or Himalayas) . Indo-Malaya. . Austro-Malaya. . Australia. Polynesia. New Zealand. . Chili (or S. Temp. Am.) . Brazil. . Mexico (or Trop. N. Am.) Antilles. . California. . Rocky Mountains. . Alleghanies (or East U. S.) . Canada. Transition to Ethiopian. Transition to Palzarctic. Transition to Australian. Transition to Oriental. Transition to Neotropical. Transition to Australian. Transition to Nearctic. Transition to Neotropical. | Transition to Palxarctie. CHAPTER V. CLASSIFICATION AS AFFECTING THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. A LITTLE consideration will convince us, that no inquiry into the causes and laws which determine the geographical distribn- tion of animals or plants can lead to satisfactory results, unless we have a tolerably accurate knowledge of the affinities of the several species, genera, and families to each other; in other words, we require a natural classification to work upon. Let us, for example, take three animals—a, 6, and c—which have a general external resemblance to each other, and are usually considered to be really allied; and let us suppose that a and 0 inhabit the same or adjacent districts, while ¢ is found far away on the other side of the globe, with no animals at all resembling it in any of the intervening countries. We should here have a difficult problem to solve; for we should have to show that the general laws by which we account for the main features of distribution, will explain this exceptional case. But now, sup- pose some comparative anatomist takes these animals in hand, and finds that the resemblance of ¢ to a and 0 is only superficial, while their internal structure exhibits marked and important differences; and that ¢ really belongs to another group of animals, d, which inhabits the very region in which ¢ was found—and we should no longer have anything to explain. This is no imaginary case. Up to a very few years ago a curious Mexican animal, Bassaris astuta, was almost always classed in the civet family (Viverride), a group entirely con- 84 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PARY I. fined to Africa and Asia; but it has now been conclusively shown by Professor Flower that its real affinities are with the racoons (Procyonide), a group confined to North and South America. In another case, however, an equally careful exami- nation shows, that an animal peculiar to the Himalayas (dlurus fulgens) has its nearest ally in the Cercoleptes of South America. Here, therefore, the geographical difficulty really exists, and any satisfactory theory of the causes that have led to the existing distribution of living things, must be able to account, more or less definitely, for this and other anomalies. From these cases it will be evident, that if any class or order of animals is very imperfectly known and its classification altogether artificial, it is useless to attempt to account for the anomalies its distribution may 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 of distribution discussed in the preceding chapters, we should find limited and defined distribution to be the rule, universal or indefinite distribution to be the exception, in every natural group corresponding to what are usually regarded as families and genera; and so much is this the case in nature, that when we find a group of this nominal rank scattered as it were at random over the earth, we have a strong presumption that it is not natural; but is, to a considerable extent, a haphazard collection of species. Of course this reasoning will only apply, in cases where there are no unusual means of dispersal, nor any exceptional causes which might determine a scattered distribution. From the considerations now adduced it becomes evident, that it is of the first importance for the success of our inquiry to secure a natural classification of animals, especially as regards the families and genera. The higher groups, such as classes and orders, are of less importance for our purpose; because they are almost always widely and often universally distributed, except those which are so small as to be evidently the nearly extinct representatives of a once more extensive series of forms. We now proceed to explain the classification to be adopted, as low down as the series of families. To these, equivalent English CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 85 names are given wherever they exist, in order that readers pos- sessing no technical knowledge, may form some conception of the meaning of the term “ family ” in zoology. The primary divisions of the animal kingdom according to two eminent modern authorities are as follows : HUXtey. CarRuS AND GERSTAEKER. Classification of Animals (1869). Handbuch der Zoologie (1868). 1. Protozoa } 2. Infusoria § 3. Coelenterata 4, Annuloida 1. Protozoa. 2. Coelenterata. 3. Echinodermata. 4, Vermes. Sy ROS | 5, Arthropoda. 6. Molluscoida 6. Molluscoida. 7. Mollusca 7. Mollusca. 8. Vertebrata &. Vertebrata. For reasons already stated it is only with the fifth, seventh, and eighth of these groups that the present work proposes to deal; and even with the fifth and seventh only partially and in the most general way. The classes of the vertebrata, according to both the authors above quoted, are: 1. Mammalia. 2. Aves. 3. Reptilia. 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), FLowrErR (1870). Carus (1868). : 1, Primates, 1. Primates... AP Papi 2. Chiroptera 2, Chiroptera. 3. Insectivora ... 3. Insectivora. : § 6. Carnivora. 4, Carnivora... © 2 7) Pinnipedia. Monodelphia... 5. Cetacea 12. Natantia. 6. Sirenia dacs § 10, Artiodactyla. 7. Ungulata ) 11. Perissodactyla. 8. Proboscidea ... 9. Proboscidea. 9. Hyracoidea ... 8. Lamnungia. 10. Rodentia 4, Rodentia. 1]. Edentata 13. Bruta. Didelphia ...... 12. Marsupialia ... 14. Marsupialia. Ornithodelphia 13. Monotremata 15. Monotremata. 86 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I, The above series of orders is arranged according to Professor Flower’s Osteology of Mammalia, and they will follow in this succession throughout my work. Professor Huxley arranges the same orders in a different series. In determining the manner in which the several orders shall be subdivided into families, I have been guided in my choice of classifications mainly by the degree of attention the author ap- pears to have paid to the group, and his known ability as a systematic zoologist ; and in a less degree by considerations of convenience as regards the special purposes of geographical dis- tribution. In many cases it is a matter of great doubt whether a certain group should form several distinct families or be united into one or two; but one method may bring out the peculiarities of distribution much better than the other, and this is, in our case, a sufficient reason for adopting it. For the Primates I follow, with some modifications, the classification of Mr. St. George Mivart given in his article “ Apes” in the new edition of the Zncyclopedia Britannica, and in his paper in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1865, p. 547. It is as follows: Order—PRIMATES, divided into two Sub-orders : I, Anthropoidea. If. Lemuroidea. Sub-order—ANTHROPOIDEA. Fan. Hominid ... .... Man. 1, Simiide ....... .... Anthropoid Apes. RMIT see ta: =... 2. Semnopithecidee ... Old-world Monkeys. 3. Cynopithecidee ... Baboons and Macaques. Gann ie Cebidee ........... American Monkeys. paar 3 5. Hapalide ... .... Marmosets. Sub-order-- LemUROIDEA. Fam. Grlemuride .... 4... 22.2) 28 Wuemure: (eomlarsiid s.. ... feito. Mlarsiens: 8. Chiromyide see | cons | |epkl suena) PNO-Oved: Omitting man (for reasons stated in the preface) the three first families are considered by Professor Mivart to be sub- families of Simiide; but as the geographical distribution of the Old World apes is especially interesting, it is thought CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 87 better to treat them as families, a rank which is claimed for the anthropoid apes by many naturalists. As no good systematic work on the genera and species of bats has been yet published, I adopt the five families as generally used in this country, with the genera as given in the papers of Dr. J. E. Gray and Mr. Tomes. A monograph by Dr. Peters has long been promised, and his outline arrangement was published in 1865, but this will perhaps be materially altered when the work appears. Order—CHIROPTERA. Fam. Frugivora ee bas ... 9. Pteropide ... Fruit-eating Bats. Istiophora 10. Phyllostomidze ... Leaf-nosed Bats. Insectivora 11. Rhinolophide ... Horse-shoe Bats. Gymnorhini { 12. Vespertilionide ... True Bats. 13. Noctilionide ... Dog-headed Bats. The genera of Chiroptera are in a state of great confusion, the names used by different authors being often not at all compar- able, so that the few details given of the distribution of the bats are not trustworthy. We have therefore made little use of this order in the theoretical part of the work. The osteology of the Insectivora has been very carefully worked out by Professor Mivart in the Jownral of Anatomy and Physiology (Vol. i1., p. 880), and I follow his classification as given there, and in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society (1871). Order—INSECTIVORA. Fam. 14. Galeopithecidze fe ee st Flying Lemurs. 15, Macroscelididze ste oie cad Elephant Shrews. 16. Tupatide ~ .... ee ae si Squirrel Shrews. 17. Erinaceide ... ae : see Hedgehogs. 18. Centetide ... Ena Ace ss Tenrecs. 19. Potamogalidee SR as ae Otter Shrew. 20. Chrysochloridze aie ais a Golden Moles. 21. Talpidee eee seis ae Sar Moles. 22. Soricidee oe es ao ae Shrews. The next order, Carnivora, has been studied in detail by Professor Flower ; and I adopt the classification given by him in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1869, p. 4. * 88 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. Order—CARNIVORA. Fam. 23. Felide ... ... Cats, Lion, &c. | 24. Cryptoproctide ... Cryptoprocta. fEluroidea , 25. Viverridee ... Civets. ee Protelidee ... Aard-wolf. set pedi: 27. Hyzenidee ... Hyeenas. wsstpecla) Cynoidea 28. Canide ... ... Dogs, Foxes, &c. 29. Mustelidee ... Weasels. Aectuiden is Procyonidee ... Racoons. : 31. lurid... ... Pandas. 32. Urside ... ... Bears. 33. Otariide ... .... Eared Seals. Pinnipedia 34, Trichechide ... Walrus. 35. Phocide.... ... Seals. The Cetacea is one of those orders the classification of which is very unsettled. The animals comprising it are so huge, and there is so much difficulty in preserving them, that only a very few species are known with anything like completeness. A con- siderable number of genera and species have been described or indicated ; but as many of these are founded on imperfect speci- mens of perhaps a single individual, it is not to be wondered at that those few naturalists who occupy themselves with the study of these large animals, cannot agree as to the proper mode of group- ing them into natural families. They are, however, of but little importance to us, as almost all the species inhabit the ocean, and of only a few of them can it be said that anything is accurately known of their distribution. I therefore consider it best to follow Professor Carus, who makes a smaller number of families ; but I give also the arrangement of Dr. Gray in his British Museum catalogue of whales and seals, as modified subsequently in the Proceedings of Zoological Society, 1870, p. 772. The Zeu-— glodontide, a family of extinct tertiary whales, are classed by Professors Owen and Carus between Cetacea and Sirenia, while Professor Huxley considers them to have been carnivorous and allied to the seals. CHAP. V. | CLASSIFICATION. 89 Order—CETACEA. Fam, (CARUus). Fam. (GRAY). Sub-order I.— § Balenide 36. Baleenide. Mystaceti. ( Balwnopteridee . 37. Baleenopteride. Catodontide ... . 38. Catodontide. . Hyperoodontide. Hyperoodontide ... 39. [Eblodontid Sub-order I.—) vi onodontide .-» 40. (Part of Delphinide.) Ceonuacatt- Platanistidee. Iniade. Delphinide. Delphinide ... Orcadee. Belugide. Pontoporiade. Extinct family Zeuglodontide. Order—SIRENTA. one | eistin The order Sirenia, comprising the sea-cows, consists of a single family : Family 42. Manatide. The extensive order Ungulata comprises the three orders Pachydermata, Solidungula, and Ruminantia of the older natu- ralists. The following classification is that now generally adopted, the only difference of opinion being as to whether some of the groups should be classed as families or sub-families, a matter of little importance for our purpose: Order—UNGULATA. Fam. Perissodactyla or ! i Tote ee ocds Uneulates " 45. Rhinocerotidee ... - . £46. Hippopotamid Suina va SuIdee ose : Tylopoda 48. Camelidee Artiodactyla or eee eee Even-toed Ungulates Tragulina 49, Tragulide 50. Cervidee ... os Pecora | 51. Camelopardid 52. Bovidee Vou. I.—8 Horses. Tapirs. Rhinoceros. Hippopotamus, Swine. Camels. Chevrotains. Deer. Giraffes. Cattle, Sheep, Antelopes, &c. 90 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. The two next orders consist of but a single family each, viz. : Order Fam. PROBOSCIDEA _... 53. Elephantide ... ... Elephants. HYRACOIDEA ... 54, Hyracidee .. «ee Rock-rabbits. We now come to the Rodentia, a very extensive and difficult order, in which there is still much difference of opinion as to the details of classification, although the main outlines are pretty well settled. The foundations of a true classification of this order were laid by Mr. G. R. Waterhouse more than thirty years ago, and succeeding authors have done little more than follow his arrangement with unimportant modifications. Professor Lilljeborg, of Upsala, has however made a special study of this group of animals, and has given an original and detailed classifi- cation of all the genera. (Systematisk Ofversigt af de Gnagande Déggdjuren, Glires. Upsala, 1866.) I follow this arrangement with a few slight modifications suggested by other naturalists, and which make it better adapted for the purposes of this work. Order—RODENTIA. Fam. 55. Muridee opeit ieee GhUate, 56. Spalacide ... ... Mole-rats, 57. Dipodidee ... ... Jerboas. Maina 58. Myoxidee in) @acdepe Gtmuce: [oti 59. Saccomyide ... ... Pouched Rats. GO. Castoride ... ... Beavers. Gin nlicidentats 61. Sciuridze dee jee) QUirrels: P 62. Haploodontide ... Sewellels. 63. Chinchillide ... ..... Chinchillas. 64. Octodontide ... ...Octodons. Hystricina ) 65. Echimyide ... ... Spiny Rats. (Waterhouse) ) 66. Cercolabide ... ... Tree Porcupines. 67. Hystricide ... ... Porcupines. 68. Caviidee woe ce Cavaes: sis : Leporina 69. Lagomyide .... ... Pikas. Duplicidentati { Ewe tettionis) | 70. Leporidee vos eos Hares. The Edentata have been classified by Mr. Turner, in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society (1851, p. 205), by Dr. Gray in the British Museum Catalogue, and by Professor Carus in his Handbuch. The former takes a middle course between CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 91 the numerous families of Dr. Gray, seven in number, and the two families to which Professor Carus restricts the existing species. I therefore follow Mr. Turner. Order—EDENTATA. Fam. Bradypoda ... 71. Bradypodide ... Sloth. 72. Manidide ... ... Scaly Ant-eaters. 3. Dasypodide ... Armadillos, 7 Entomophaga 4 74’ Orycteropodide... Ant-bears. 75. Myrmecophagide Ant-eaters. The Marsupials have been well classified and described by Mr. Waterliouse in the first volume of his Natural Mistory of Mammalia, and his arrangement is here followed. The sub- orders adopted by Professor Carus are also given. Order—MARSUPIALIA. Fam. 76. Didelphide ... ... Opossums. . 77. Dasyuride ... ... Native Cats. Rapacia (Wagner) 78. Mereobide .... Native Ant-eater. 79. Peramelide... ... Bandicoots. Poephaga (Owen) ... 80, Macropodide ... Kangaroos. Carpophaga (Owen) ... 81. Phalangistide ... Phalangers. Rhizophaga (Owen) ... 82. Phascolomyide ... Wombats. Order—MONOTREMATA. The last order, the Monotremata, consist of two families, which Professor Carus combines into one, but which it seems more natural to keep separate. Fam. 83. Ornithorhynchide ... ... «. .... Duckbill. 84. Echidnide esebrteeots Gres! hoes SaChIOnas 92 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART L. BIRDS. Birds are perhaps the most difficult to classify of all the divisions of the vertebrata. The species and genera are exceedingly numerous, and there is such a great uniformity in general structure and even in the details of external form, that it is exceedingly difficult to find characters by which orders and families can be characterised. For a long time the system of Vigors and Swainson was followed; but this wholly ignored anatomical characters and in many cases plainly violated well- marked affinities. Characters derived from the form of the sternum, the scutellation of the tarsi, and the arrangement of the feathers, have all assisted in determining natural groups. More recently Professor Huxley has applied the variations of the bony palate to the general arrangement of birds ; and still more recently Professor Garrod has studied certain leg-muscles for the same purpose. The condition of the young as regards plumage, and even the form, texture, and coloration of the egg, have also been applied to solve doubtful cases of affinity; yet the problem is not settled, and it will probably remain for another generation of ornithologists to determine with any approach to accuracy what are the most natural divisions of the class into orders and families. In a work like the present it is evidently not advisable to adopt all the recent classifications ; since experience has shown that no arrangement in which one set of characters is mainly relied on, long holds its ground. Such modifications of the old system as seem to be well established will be adopted; but the older groups will be ad- hered to in cases where the most recent classifications are open to doubt, or seem inconvenient as separating families, which, owing to their similarity in general structure, form and habits are best kept together for the purposes of geographical dis- tribution. The old plan of putting the birds of prey at the head of the class, is now almost wholly given up; both because they are not CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 93 the most highly organised, but only one of the most specialised forms of birds, and because their affinities are not with the Passeres, but rather with the cormorants and some other of the aquatic groups. The Passeres therefore are placed first; and the series of families is begun by the thrushes, which are certainly the most typical and generally well-organised form of birds. Instead of the Scansores and Fissirostres of the older authors, the order Picarize, which includes them both, is adopted, but with some reluctance; as the former are,*generally speaking, well marked and strongly contrasted groups, although certain families have been shown to be intermediate. In the Picariz are included the goat-suckers, swifts, and humming-birds, sometimes separated as a distinct order, Macrochires. The parrots and the pigeons form each a separate order. The old groups of Gralle and Anseres are preserved, as more convenient than breaking them up into widely separated parts; for though the latter plan may in some cases more strictly represent their affinities, its details are not yet established, nor is it much used by ornithologists. In accordance with these views the following is the series of orders and families of birds adopted in this work : Class—A VES. Orders. ‘la Serene aa the great mass of the smaller birds—Crows, : a Finches, Flycatchers, Creepers, Honeysuckers, &c., &c. ae Including Woodpeckers, Cuckoos, Toucans, Kingfishers, Swifts, &e., &. 3. Psittaci ... Parrots only. 4, Columbe ... Pigeons and the Dodo. 5. Galline ... Grouse, Pheasants, Curassows, Mound-builders, &c. 6. Opisthocomi The Hoazin only. 7. Accipitres ... Eagles, Owls, and Vultures. 8. Gralla ... Herons, Plovers, Rails, &e. 9. Anseres ... Gulls, Ducks, Divers, &c 10. Struthiones... Ostrich, Cassowary, Apteryx, &e. The Passeres consist of fifty families, which may be arranged and grouped in series as follows. It must however be remem- bered that the first family in each series is not always that which is most allied to the last family of the preceding series. All extensive natural groups consist of divergent or branching alliances, which renders it impossible to arrange the whole in one continuous series. 94 . Liotrichide .... . Phyllornithide ... wile 508 Green Bulbuls. ee TIATUBRWNHODMDNANR WHR DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. «| fipAprer A;—TyYPiIcAL oR TURDOID PASSERES. . Turdide se “e - Thrushes. Sylviidee ae 200 Abe Warblers. . Timaliidee a — see Babblers. . Panuride vee see Oe Reedlings. Cinclidze Ane ae on Dippers. . Troglodytide ... “Be oes Wrens. . Chameidee a5 oh fos . Certhiidee sie sas oe Creepers. . Sittidee He wa oe Nuthatches. . Paridee eae ia os Tits. bias sie Hill-tits. . Pycnonotide ... se oe Bulbuls. . Oriolidze ae = et Orioles. . Campephagide ... ee oe Caterpillar-shrikes, . Dicruridze Use a ee Drougos. . Muscicapide ... sae aa Flycatchers. +18. Pachycephalidee sie at Thick-heads, 19. Laniidee seis ad ae Shrikes. 20. Corvidee ae nee as Crows. 21, Paradiseide ... ie ode Paradise-birds. 22. Meliphagide ... a ahs Honey-suckers. 23. Nectarineide ... ae as Sun-birds. B.—TANAGROID PASSERES. 24. Diczidee ae ae Be Flower-peckers. 25. Drepanididee aa ae 26. Ceerebidee ® =e see Sugar-birds. 27. Mniotiltide ... San See Wood-warblers. 28. Vireonidie ane eee a Greenlets. 29. Ampelidze Bes sea sti Waxwings. 30. Hirundinide ... Bh ee Swallows. 31. Icteridz ode eh ss Hangnests. 32. Tanagridee Rae one ae Tanagers. 33. Fringillide ... se se Finches. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44, 45. C.—StTuRNOID PASSERES. Ploceidze ae se Ate Weaver-birds. Sturnide on ane cae Starlings. Artamidee mee one sais Swallow-shrikes, Alaudidee ate eA ae Larks. Motacillide ... set ne Wagtails. D.—Formicaroip PASsERES. Tyrannide ee She BoA Tyrants. Pipridee mc Son a Manakins. Cotingidee aes si vee Chatterers. Phytotomide ... aes ast Plant-cutters. Eurylemide ... se sof Broad-bills. Dendrocolaptide ase sae American Creepers. Formicariide ... aoe ase Ant-thrushes. CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 95 D.—FormicaRroip PassEREsS—continued. 46. Pteroptochide ... 47. Pittidee ae 48. Paictidee Pittas. E.—ANOMALOUS PASSERES. 49. Menuridze Lyre-birds. 50. Atrichidee Scrub-birds. The preceding arrangement is a modification of that proposed by myself in the Js (1874, p. 406). The principal altera- tions are adding the families Panuride and Sittide in series A, commencing series B with Diceide; bringing Vireonide next to the allied American family Mniotiltide; and placing Motacillide in series C next to Alaudide. At the suggestion of Professor Newton I place Menuridz and Atrichidz apart from the other Passeres, as they both possess striking peculiarities of anatomical structure. . The heterogeneous families constituting the order Picarize may be conveniently arranged as follows : 51. Picidee Woodpeckers. 52. Yungide .. Wrynecks. 53. Indicatoridze Honey-guides. Sub-order— 54. Megalemidee Barbets. Scansores. 55. Rhamphastidee Toucans. 56. Musophagidee Plantain-eaters. 57. Coliidee Colies 58. Cuculidee Cuckoos. Intermediate ... 59. Leptosomidze The Leptosoma. 60. Bucconide ... Puff-birds. 61. Galbulide ... Jacamars. 62. Coraciidze Rollers. 63. Meropidze Bee-eaters. 64. Todidee ry Todies. 65. Momotide ... Motmots. 66. Trogonide ... Trogons. Sub-order— 67. Alcedinide ... Kingfishers. Fissirostres. 68. Bucerotide ... Hornbills. 69. Upupidee Hoopoes. 70. Irrisoridze Promerops. 71. Podargide ... Frog-mouths. 72. Steatornithidee The Guacharo. 73. Caprimulgide Goatsuckers. 74. Cypselidee Swifts. 75. Trochilide ... Humming-birds. 96 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART 1. The Psittaci or parrot tribe are still in a very unsettled state of classification; that recently proposed by Professor Garrod differing widely from the arrangement adopted in Dr. Finsch’s monograph of the order. Taking advantage of the researches of these and other authors, the following families are adopted as the most convenient in the present state of our knowledge: 76. Cacatuide ... ... The Cockatoos. 77. Platycercide ... The Broad-tailed Paroquets of Australia. 78. Paleornithide ... The Oriental Parrots and Paroquets. 79. Trichoglosside .... The Brush-tongued Paroquets and Lories. 80. Conuride ... .... The Macaws and their allies. 81. Psittacide ... ... The African and South American Parrots. 82. Nestoride ... ... The Nestors of New Zealand. 83. Stringopidee ... The Owl-parrots of New Zealand. The Columb, or pigeons, are also in a very unsatisfactory state as regards a natural classification. The families, sub- families, and genera proposed by various authors are very numerous, and often quite irreconcilable. I therefore adopt only two families; and generally follow Mr. G. R. Gray’s hand- list for the genera, except where trustworthy authorities exist for a different arrangement. The families are: 84. Columbide ... Pigeons and Doves. 85. Didide ae ... The extinct Dodo and allies. The Galline, or game-birds, may be divided into seven families : . Fam. Sub-fam. 86. Pteroclide ... ae aA ... Sand-grouse. 87. Tetraonide ... ne Sra ... Partridges and Grouse. Pavonine ... ... Peafowl. Lophophorinze ... Tragopans, &c. Phasianine ... .... Pheasants. 88. Phasianidz ...\ Euplocamine ... Fire-backed Pheasants, &c, Galline ... ... Jungle-fowl. Meleagrine ... 2. ( Turkeys. Numidine ... ... Guinea-fowl. 89. Turnicidee ee mes ae .... Hemipodes. 90. Megapodiide ... ass Bie ... Mound-makers. Cracinze ... Curassows. 91. Cracidee ...4 Penelopine ... +. Guans, Oreophasinze .... Mountain-pheasant.- 92, Tinamidee an ae ee .... Tinamous. CHAP. V. | CLASSIFICATION. oF 3 The Opisthocomi consist of one family containing a single species, the “‘ Hoazin” of Guiana. Family 93. Opisthocomide. The Accipitres, or birds of prey, which were long considered to be the highest and most perfect order of birds, are now , properly placed lower down in the series, their affinities being more with the aquatic than with the perching birds. The following is the arrangement adopted by Mr. Sharpe in his recently published British Museum catalogue of diurnal birds of prey :— Sub-orders. Fam. Sub-families. 1 : Vulturine .. Vultures f 1. Wi a ¢ Cf eee . Sida Sarcorhamphine = ‘Turkey-buzzards. Falcones “95. Serpentariide ... Polyborniz ... Caracaras. | | Accipitrine ... Hawks. 96. Falconide -. ( Buteonine po Buzzards. | Aquiline ... eo Hagles. Falconinze ... Falcons. Pandiones...97. Pandionidee are ae ... Fishing-eagles. Striges ...98. Strigidee Ene es ang si Ovvls, The Grallz or Grallatores are in a very unsettled state. The following series of families is in accordance with the views of some of the best modern ornithologists : 99. Rallide ... ae a3 - Rails, &. 100. Scolopacidee ales va Sandpipers and Snipes 101. Chionididee Sheath-bills. 102. Thinocoridee Quail-snipes. 103. Parride ... Jacanas. 104. Glareolidee Pratincoles. 105. Charadriidee Plovers. 106. Otidide ... Bustards. 107. Gruide Cranes. 108. Cariamide Cariamas. 109, Aramide... Guaraunas. 110, Psophiide Trumpeters. 111. Eurypyyidee Sun-bitterns. 112. Rhinocheetidee Kagus. 113. Ardeide ... Herons. ° 114, Plataleidze Spoonbills and Ibis. 115. Ciconiide Storks, . Palamedeidee ; . Pheenicopteride ... Screamers. Flamingoes, 98 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART 1. The Anseres or Natatores are almost equally unsettled. The flamingoes are usually placed in this order, but their habits best assort with those of the waders. Fam. Anatidee Laridz 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. Colymbid, Podicipid Alcidee Procellariidee Pelecanide ... Spheniscidee oe CE eve Duck and Geese. Gulls. Petrels. Pelicans. Penguins. Divers. Grebes. Auks. The last order of birds is the Struthiones or Ratitee, considered by many naturalists to form a distinct sub-class. It consists of comparatively few species, either living or recently extinct. 126. 127. 128. 129. 130. 131. Living | Extinct Fam. Struthionide Casuariide .. Apterygide ... Dinornithide Palapterygidee Epyornithide REPTILES. Ostriches. Cassowaries. Apteryx. Dinornis. Palapteryx. Aipyornis. In reptiles I follow the classification of Dr. Giinther as given in the Philosophical Transactions, vol. clvii., p. 625. He divides the class into five orders as follows :— Sub-classes. I. Squamata ... II. Loricata III. Cataphracta 1 2 3. 4 5 Orders. . Ophidia . Lacertilia Rhyncocephalina . Crocodilia . Chelonia Serpents. Lizards. The Hatteria. Crocodiles. Tortoises. In the arrangement of the families comprised in each of these orders I also follow the arrangement of Dr. Giinther and Dr. J. E. Gray, as given in the British Museum Catalogue, or as modified by the former gentleman who has kindly given me much personal information. CHAP, V.] CLASSIFICATION, 99 The Ophidia, or Snakes, form the first order and are classified as follows :— OONDOP WNW Innocuous Snakes ¢ 10. 20. Venomous Colubrine ) 21. SHENES og) Sua) PEE Viperine Snakes... | aie 25 Fam. . Typhlopide . Tortricide ... . Xenopeltide . Uropeltide . Calamaride . Oligodontide. . Colubride ... . Homalopside . Psammophide ... Rachiodontide. . Dendrophide . Dryiophide . Dipsaside ... . Scytalidee. . Lycodontide : . Amblycephalidee . Pythonide Si8 . Erycidea ats . Acrochordide ... Elapide ... ... Dendraspidide. Atractaspidide. . Hydrophide Crotalide ... Viperidee Burrowing 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, &e. Sea-snakes. Pit-vipers. True vipers The second order, Lacertilia, are arranged as follows :— 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40, 41. 42. 43. Fam. Trogonophide ... Chirotide Amphisbeenide Lepidosternide Varanidee Helodermide. Teidee Lacertide Zonuride Chalcidee. Anadiade. Chirocolide. Iphisade. Cercosauride. Chamesauride. Gymnopthalmide Pygopodidee Aprasiade. Amphisbenians. Water Lizards. Teguexins Land Lizards Gape-eyed Scinks. Two-legged Lizards. 100 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART 1. Fam. 44, Lialide. 45, Scincide ais aes Bs Scinks. 46. Ophiomoride ... ae ie Snake-lizards. 47. Sepide ... eh ton ee Sand-lizards. 48. Acontiade. 49. Geckotidee on st sis Geckoes. 50. Iguanide ie Bad ore Iguanas. 51. Agamide fas ant an Fringed Lizards. 52. Chameleonide ... Rat ee Chameleons. The third order, Rhyncocephalina consists of a single family :— 53. Rhyncocephalide ... ... The Hatteria of New Zealand. The fourth order, Crocodilia or Loricata, consists of three families :— 54, Gavialide mee zie eae Gavials. 55. Crocodilide ... ee ate Crocodiles. 56. Alligatoride ... sas ies Alligators. The fifth order, Chelonia, consists of four families :— 57. Testudinide ... as Land and fresh-water Tortoises. 58. Chelydide .... ae Fresh-water Turtles. 59. Trionychide ... ane Soft Turtles. 60. Cheloniide ... Nee Sea Turtles. AMPHIPBIA. In the Amphibia I follow the classification of Professor Mivart, as given for a large part of the order in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1869. For the remainder I follow Dr. Strauch, Dr. Giinther, and a MSS. arrangement kindly furnished me by Professor Mivart. The class is first divided into three groups or orders, and then into families as follows :— CHAP, V.] > Ori Go bo CLASSIFICATION. 191 Order IL—PSEUDOPHIDIA. Fam. . Ceciliadee Cecilia. Order I.--BATRACHIA URODELA. . Sirenide . Proteide ... . Amphiumide . Menopomide . Salamandride Siren. Proteus. Amphiuma. Giant Salamanders. Salamanders and Newts. Order III. BATRACHIA ANOURA. Fam. Fam. . Rhinophrynide 16. Pelodryade ... . Phryniscidee Vio dtylids, “.:- ...9, -Lree Krogs: . Hylapleside ... mong 18. Polypedatide ... . Bufonide... é 19. Ranide BoA Gy ee . Xenorhinide ... 2). Discoglosside ... Eo , . Engystomide ... Di Pipidse 2c. ss. ars . Bombinatoridee 22. Dactylethride ... Toads. . Plectromantide {ng . Alytide ... FISHES. These are arranged according to the classification of Dr. Giinther, whose great work “The British Museum Catalogue of Fishes,” has furnished almost all the material for our account of the distribution of the class. In that work all existing fishes are arranged in six sub-classes and thirteen orders. A study of the extraordinary Ceratodus from Australia has induced Dr. Giinther to unite three of his sub-classes ; but as his catalogue will long remain a handbook for every student of fishes, it seems better to follow the arrange- ment there given, indicating his later views by bracketing together the groups he now thinks should be united. 102 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS, [PART I, Sub-class. Order. E £ Remarks. 1. Acanthopterygii ...| 47 |Gasterosteide to Notacanthi. | 2, Do. Pharyncognathi) 5 |Pomacentride to Chromide. meleostai 3. Acanthini ...| 6 |Gadopside to Pleuronectide. ec CPCORIED <=). Ax) Bhysostomi .| 29 |Siluride to Pegaside. £ | 5. Lophobranchii 2 |Solenostomide and Syngnathide. S 6. Plectognathi 2 |Sclerodermi and Gymnodontes. 4 |Dipnoi ... 7. Sirenoidei 1 |Sirenoidei. el Gancider 8. Holostei 3 |Amiide to Lepidosteide. ane Na 9. Chondrostei. 2 |Accipenseride and Polydontide. Chondropte- | 10. Holocephala ... 1 |Chimeride. rygii 11. Plagiostomata 15 |Carchariide to Myliobatide. Cyclostomata 12. Marsipobranchii ...) 2 |Petromyzontide and Myxinide. Leptocardii 13. Cirrhostomi ... 1 |Cirrhostomi. Total... 116 families. INSECTS. The families and genera of insects are so immensely numerous, probably exceeding fifty-fold those of all other land animals, that for this cause alone it would be impossible to enter fully into their distribution. It is also quite unnecessary, because many of the groups are so liable to be transported by accidental causes, that they afford no useful information for our subject ; while others are so obscure and uninteresting that they have been very partially collected and studied, and are for this reason equally ineligible. I have therefore selected a few of the largest and most conspicuous families, which have been so assiduously coliected in every part of the globe, and so carefully studied at home, as to afford valuable materials for com- parison with the vertebrate groups, when we have made due allowance for the dependence of many insects on peculiar forms of vegetation, and the facility with which many of. them are transported either in the egg, larva, or perfect state, by winds, currents, and other less known means. I confine myself then, almost exclusively, to the sixteen families of Diurnal Lepidoptera or butterflies, and to six of the most extensive, conspicuous, and popular families of Coleoptera. CHAP. V.] CLASSIFICATION. 103 The number of species of Butterflies is about the same as that of Birds, while the six families of Coleoptera selected, comprise more than twenty thousand species, far exceeding the number of all other vertebrates. These families have all been recently cata- logued, so that we have very complete information as to their arrangement and distribution. LEPIDOPTERA DIURNA, OR BUTTERFLIES. Fam. Fam. 1. Danaide. 9. Libythzide. 2. Satyride. 10. Nemeobiide. 3. Elymniide. 11. Eurygonide. 4, Morphide. 12. Erycinide. 5. Brassolide. 13. Lyceenide. 6. Acreide. 14. Pieride. 7. Heliconide. 15. Papilionide. 8. Nymphalide. 16. Hesperide. COLEOPTERA, OR BEETLES. Fam. Fam. 1, Cicindelide ... Tiger-beetles. 4, Cetoniide ... Rose-chafers, 2. Carabide ... Ground-beetles. 5. Buprestide ... Metallic Beetles. 3, Lucanide ... Stag-beetles. 6. Longicornia ... Long-horned Beetles. The above families comprise the extensive series of ground beetles (Carabidze) containing about 9,000 species, and the Longi- corns, which are nearly as numerous and surpass them in variety of form and colour as well as in beauty. The Cetoniide and Buprestidz are among the largest and most brilliant of beetles ; the Lucanidz are pre-eminent for remarkable form, and the Cicindelide for elegance; and all the families are especial favourites with entomologists, so that the whole earth has been ransacked to procure fresh species. Results deduced from a study of these will, therefore, fairly represent the phenomena of distribution of Coleoptera, and, as they are very varied in their habits, perhaps of insects in general. 104 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [PART I. MOLLUSCA. The Mollusca are usually divided into five classes as follows :— Classes. I. Cephalopoda ... ... Cuttle-fish. II. Gasteropoda ... ... Snails and aquatic Univalves. III. Pteropoda ... «+. Oceanic Snails. IV. Brachiopoda ... .... Symmetrical Bivalves. V. Conchifera .... .... Unsymmetrical Bivalves. The Gasteropoda and Conchifera alone contain land and freshwater forms, and to these we shall chiefly confine our illustrations of the geographical distribution of the Mollusca. The classification followed is that of Dr. Pfeiffer for the Operculata and Dr. Von Martens for the Helicide. The families chiefly referred to are :— Class II.—GASTEROPODA. Order 2.—Pulmonifera. Fam. . Helicide. Limacide. Oncidiade. Limneide. . Auriculide. . Aciculide. Diplommatinide. . Cyclostomide. . Helicinide. In-operculata WOMB Ap whe Operculata . “X= PA al: ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. Vote -—9 a | a y . baw a . = ps fa v \¢ f : ; - : j } 4 : ft f sil 2 * . ; | ; | . . ; q ; / _ ; ‘ 4 : : : CHAPTER VI. THE EXTINCT MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. ALTHOUGH it may seem somewhat out of place to begin the systematic treatment of our subject with extinct rather than with living animals, it is necessary to do so in order that we may see the meaning and trace the causes of the existing dis- tribution of animal forms. It is true, that the animals found fossil in a country are very generally allied to those which still inhabit it; but this is by no means universally the case. If it were, the attempt to elucidate our subject by Paleontology would be hopeless, since the past would show us the same puzzling diversities of faunas and floras that now exist. We find however very numerous exceptions to this rule, and it is these exceptions which tell us of the past migrations of whole groups of animals. We are thus enabled to determine what portion of the existing races of animals in a country are de- scendants of its ancient fauna, and which are comparatively modern immigrants; and combining these movements of the forms of life with known or probable changes in the distribution of land and sea, we shall sometimes be able to trace approxi- mately the long series of changes which have resulted in the actual state of things. To gain this knowledge is our object in studying the “ Geographical Distribution of Animals,” and our plan of study must be determined, mainly, by the facilities it affords us for attaining this object. In discussing the countless details of distribution we shall meet with in our survey of the zoological regions, we shall often find it useful to refer to the evidence we possess of the range of the group in question in 108 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [PART Il. past times ; and when we attempt to generalise the phenomena on a large scale, with the details fresh in our memory, we shall find a reference to the extinct faunas of various epochs to be absolutely necessary. The degree of our knowledge of the Paleontology of various parts of the world is so unequal, that it will not be advisable to treat the subject under each of our six regions. Yet some sub- division must be made, and it seems best to consider separately the extinct animals of the Old and of the New Worlds. Those of Europe and Asia are intimately connected, and throw light on the past changes which have led to the establishment of the three great continental Old World regions, with their various subdivisions. The wonderful extinct fauna recently discovered in North America, with what was previously known from South temperate America, not only elucidates the past history of the whole continent, but also gives indications of the mutual rela- tions of the eastern and western hemispheres. The materials to be dealt with are enormous; and it will be necessary to confine ourselves to a general summary, with fuller details on those points which directly bear upon our special subject. The objects of most interest to the pure zoologist and to the geologist—those strange forms which are farthest removed from any now living—are of least interest to us, since we aim at tracing the local origin or birthplace of existing genera and families; and for this purpose animals whose affinities with living forms are altogether doubtful, are of no value whatever. The great mass of the vertebrate fossils of the tertiary period consist of mammalia, and this is precisely the class which is of most value in the determination of zoological regions. The animals of the secondary period, though of the highest interest to the zoologist are of little importance to us; both because of their very uncertain affinities for any existing groups, and also because we can form no adequate notion of the distribution of land and sea in those remote epochs. Our great object is to trace back, step by step, the varying distribution of the chief forms of life; and to deduce, wherever possible, the physical changes which must have accompanied or caused such changes. CHAP. VI. ] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 109 The natural division of our subject therefore is into geological periods. We first go back to the Post-Pliocene period, which includes that of the caves and gravels of Europe containing flint implements, and extends back to the deposit of the glacial drift in the concluding phase of the glacial epoch. Next we have the Pliocene period, divided into its later portion (the Newer Pliocene) which includes the Glacial epoch of the northern hemisphere ; and its earlier portion (the Older Pliocene), repre- sentéd by the red and coralline crag of England, and deposits of similar age in the continent. During this earlier epoch the climate was not very dissimilar from that which now prevails; but we next get evidence of a still earlier period, the Miocene, when a warmer climate prevailed in Europe, and the whole fauna and flora were very different. This is perhaps the most interesting portion of the tertiary deposits, and furnishes us with the most valuable materials for our present study. Further back still we have the Eocene period, with apparently an almost tropical climate in Europe; and here we find a clue to some of the most puzzling facts in the distribution of living animals. Our knowledge of this epoch is however very im- perfect; and we wait for discoveries that will elucidate some of the mystery that still hangs over the origin and migrations of many important families. Beyond this there is a great chasm in the geological record as regards land animals; and we have to go so far back into the past, that when we again meet with mam- malia, birds, and land-reptiles, they appear under such archaic forms that they cease to have any local or geographical signi- ficance, and we can only refer them to wide-spread classes and orders. For the purpose of elucidating geographical distri- bution, 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 and important than those of other classes, we shall at first confine ourselves almost exclusively to these. What is known of the birds, reptiles, and fishes of the tertiary epoch will be best indicated by a brief connected sketch of their fossils in all parts of the globe, which we shall give in a subsequent chapter. 110 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. ~_ [Part w. Historic Period—In tracing back the history of the organic world we find, even within the limits of the historical period, that some animals have become extinct, while the distribution of others has been materially changed. The Rytina of the North Pacific, the dodo of Mauritius, and the great auk of the North Atlantic coasts, have been exterminated almost in our own times. The kitchen-middens of Denmark contain remains of the capercailzie, the Bos primigenius, and the beaver. The first still abounds farther north, the second is extinct, and the third is becoming soin Europe. The great Irish elk, a huge-antlered deer, probably existed almost down to historic times. Pleistocene or Post-Pliocene Period.—We first meet with proofs of important changes in the character of the European fauna, in studying the remains found in the caverns of England and France, which have recently been so well explored. These cave-remains are probably all subsequent to the Glacial epoch, and they all come within the period of man’s occupation of the country. Yet we find clear proofs of two distinct kinds of change in the forms of animal life. First we have a change clearly trace- able to a difference of climate. We find such arctic forms as the rein-deer, the musk-sheep, the glutton, and the lemming, with the mammoth and the woolly rhinoceros of the Siberian ice-cliffs, inhabiting this country and even the south of France. This is held to be good proof that a sub-arctic climate pre- vailed over all Central Europe ; and this climate, together with the continental condition of Britain, will sufficiently explain such a southward range of what are now arctic forms. But together with this change we have another that seems at first sight to be in an exactly opposite direction. We meet with numerous animals which now only inhabit Africa, or South Europe, or the warmer parts of Asia. Such are, large felines— some closely related to the lion (Felis spelwa), others of alto- gether extinct type (Machairodus) and forming the extreme de- velopment of the feline race ;—hyznas ; horses of two or more species; and a hippopotamus. If we go a little further back, to the remains furnished by the gravels and brick-earths, we still find the same association of forms. The reindeer, the glutton, CHAP. VI.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 111 the musk-sheep, and the woolly rhinoceros, are associated with several other species of rhinoceros and elephant; with nume- rous civets, now abundant only in warm countries; and with antelopes of several species. We also meet here with a great extension of range of forms now limited to small areas. The Saiga antelope of Eastern Europe occurs in France, where wild sheep and goats and the chamois were then found, together with several species of deer, of bear, and of hyzna. i 1 . _ ‘ > a ‘es BK - fo +p . le oe = : . ‘ he : i = > ~ ‘ Ore t x - CHAP. X.] THE PALAZARCTIC REGION. 227 procyonoides), an animal confined to North China, Japan, and the Amoor Valley, and having no close allies in any other part of the globe. In the distance are some deer, a group of animals very abundant and varied in this part of the Palearctic region. Reptiles and Amphibia.—Reptiles are scarce in North China, only four or five species of snakes, a lizard and one of the Geck- otidee occurring in the country round Pekin. The genus Halys is the most characteristic form of snake, while Callophis, an oriental genus, extends to Japan. Among lizards, Plestiodon, Maybouya, Tachydromus, and Gecko reach Japan, the two latter being very characteristic of the Oriental region. Amphibia are more abundant and interesting; Hynobius, Onychodactylus, and Sieboldtia (Salamandride) being peculiar to it, while most of the European genera are also represented. Fresh-water Fish—Of these there are a few peculiar genera ; as Plecoglossus (Salmonide) from Japan; Achilognathus, Pseu- doperilampus, Ochetobius, and Opsariichthys (Cyprinids); and there are many other Chinese Cyprinide belonging to the border jand of the Palearctic and Oriental regions. Insects—The butterflies of this sub-region exhibit the same mixture of tropical and temperate forms as the birds. Most of the common European genera are represented, and there are species of Parnassivs in Japan and the Amoor. Jsodema, a peculiar genus of Nymphalidz is found near Ningpo, just within our limits ; and Sericinus, one of the most beautiful genera of Papilionidee is peculiar to North China, where four species occur, thus balancing the Zhais and Doritis of Europe. The genus Zephyrus (Lyceenidee) is well represented by six species in Japan and the Amoor, against two in Europe. Papilio paris and P. bianor, magnificent insects of wholly tropical appearance, abound near Pekin, and allied forms inhabit Japan and the Amoor, as well as P. demetrius and P. alcinous belonging to the “ Protenor” group of the Himalayas. Other tropical genera occurring in Japan, the Amoor, or North China are, Debis, Neope, Mycalesis, Ypthimia (Satyride); Thawmantis (Mor- phide), at Shanghae ; Zuripus, Neptis, Athyma (Nymphalide) ; Terias (Pieride) ; and the above-mentioned Papilionide. 228 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART IIL, Coleoptera.—The beetles of Japan decidedly exhibit a mixture of tropical forms with others truly Palearctic, and it has been with some naturalists a-matter of doubt whether the southern and best known portion of the islands should not be joined to the Oriental region. An important addition to our knowledge of the insects of this country has recently been made by Mr. George Lewis, and a portion of his collections have been described by various entomologists in the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. As the question is one of considerable in- terest we shall give a summary of the results fairly deducible from what is now known of the entomology of Japan; and it must be remembered that almost all our collections come from the southern districts, in what is almost a sub-tropical climate ; so that if we find a considerable proportion of Paleearctic forms, we may be pretty sure that the preponderance will be much greater a little further north. Of Carabide Mr. Bates enumerates 244 species belonging to 84 genera, and by comparing these with the Coleoptera of a tract of about equal extent in western Europe, he concludes that there is little similarity, and that the cases of affinity to the forms of eastern tropical Asia preponderate. By comparing his genera with the distributions as given in Gemminger and Harold’s . Catalogue, a somewhat different result is arrived at. Leaving out the generic types altogether peculiar to Japan, and also those genera of such world-wide distribution that they afford no clear indications for our purpose, it appears that no less than twenty- two genera, containing seventy-four of the Japanese species, are either exclusively Palearctic, Paleearctic and Nearctic, or highly characteristic of the Palearctic region ; then come thirteen genera containing eighty-seven of the species which have a very wide distribution, but are also Palearctic: we next have seventeen genera containing twenty-four of the Japanese species which are decidedly Oriental and tropical. Here then the fair comparison is between the twenty-two genera and seventy-four species whose affinities are clearly Palzearctic or at least north temperate, and seventeen genera with twenty-four species which are Asiatic and tropical; and this seems to prove that, although South CUAP. X.] THE PALAARCTIC REGION. 229 Japan (like North China) has a considerable infusion of tropical forms, there is a preponderating substratum of Palearctic forms, which clearly indicate the true position of the islands in zoolo- gical geography. There are also a few cases of what may be called eccentric distribution; which show that Japan, like many other island-groups, has served as a kind of refuge in which dying-out forms continue to maintain themselves. These, which are worthy of notice, are as follows: Orthotrichus (1 sp.) has the only other species in Egypt; TZrechichus (1 sp.) has two other species, of which one inhabits Madeira, the other the Southern United States ; Perileptus (1 sp.) has two other species, of which one inhabits Bourbon, the other West Europe; and lastly, Crepidogaster (1 sp.) has the other known species in South Africa. These cases diminish the value of the indications afforded by some of the Japanese forms, whose only allies are single species in various remote parts of the Oriental region. The Staphylinide have been described by Dr. Sharp, and his list exhibits a great preponderance of north temperate, or cosmo- politan forms, with a few which are decidedly tropical. The Pselaphidee and Scydmenide, also described by Dr. Sharp, exhibit, according to that gentleman, “ even a greater resemblance to those of North America than to those of Europe,” but he says nothing of any tropical affinities. The water-beetles are all either Palearctic or of wide distribution. The Lucanidee (Gemm. and Har. Cat., 1868) exhibit an inter- mingling of Palearctic and Oriental yenera. The Cetoniide (Gemm. and Har. Cat. 1869) show, for North China and Japan, three Oriental to two Palearctic genera. The Buprestidz collected by Mr. Lewis have been described by Mr. Edward Saunders in the Journal of the Linnean Society, vol. xi. p. 509. The collection consisted of thirty-six species belonging to fourteen genera. No less than thirteen of these are known also from India and the Malay Islands; nine from Europe; seven from Africa; six from America, and four from China. In six of the genera the Japanese species are said to be allied to those of the Oriental region ; while in three they are allied to European forms, and in two to American. Considering 230 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. the southern latitude and warm climate in which these insects were mostly collected, and the proximity to Formosa and the Malay Islands compared with the enormous distance from Europe, this shows as much Palearctic affinity as can be expected. In the Palearctic region the group is only plentiful in the southern parts of Europe, which is cut off by the cold plateau of Thibet from all direct communication with Japan; while in the Oriental region it everywhere abounds and is, in fact, one of the most conspicuous and dominant families of Coleoptera. The Longicorns collected by Mr. Lewis have been described by Mr. Bates in the Annals of Natural History for 1873. The number of species now known from Japan is 107, belonging to sixty-four genera. The most important genera are Leptura, Clytanthus, Monohammus, Praonetha, Exocentrus, Glenea, and Oberea. There are twenty-one tropical genera, and seven peculiar to Japan, leaving thirty-six either Palearctic or of very wide range. A number of the genera are Oriental and Malayan, and many characteristic European genera seem to be absent ; but it is certain that not half the Japanese Longicorns are yet known, and many of these gaps will doubtless be filled up when the more northern islands are explored. The Phytophaga, described by Mr. Baly, appear to have a considerable preponderance of tropical Oriental forms. A considerable collection of Hymenoptera formed by Mr. Lewis have been described by Mr. Frederick Smith ; and exhibit the interesting result, that while the bees and wasps are decidedly of tropical and Oriental forms, the Tenthredinide and Ichneu- monide are as decidedly Palearctic, “the general aspect of the collection being that of a European one, only a single exotic form being found among them.” Remarks on the General Character of the Fauna of Japan — From a general view of the phenomena of distribution we feel justified in placing Japan in the Palwarctic region ; although some tropical groups, especially of reptiles and insects, have largely occupied its southern portions ; and these same groups have in many cases spread into Northern China, beyond the CHAP. X.] THE PALAZARCTIC REGION | 231 usual dividing line of the Palearctic and Oriental regions. The causes of such a phenomenon are not difficult to conceive. Even now, that portion of the Palearctic region between Western Asia and Japan is, for the most part, a bleak and inhospitable region, abounding in desert plateaus, and with a rigorous climate even in its most favoured districts, and can, therefore, support but a scanty population of snakes, and of such groups of insects as require flowers, forests, or a considerable period of warm summer weather; and it is precisely these which are represented in Japan and North China by tropical forms. We must also consider, that during the Glacial epoch this whole region would have become still less productive, and that, as the southern limit of the ice retired northward, it would be followed up by many tropical forms along with such as had been driven south by its advance, and had survived to return to their northern homes. It is also evident that Japan has a more equable and probably moister climate than the opposite shores of China, and has also a very different geological character, being rocky and broken, often volcanic, and supporting a rich, varied, and peculiar vege- tation. It would thus be well adapted to support all the more hardy denizens of the tropics which might at various times reach it, while it might not be so well adapted for the more boreal forms from Mongoha or Siberia. The fact that a mixture of such forms occurs there, is then, little to be wondered at, but we may rather marvel that they are not more predominant, and that even in the extreme south, the most abundant forms of mammal, bird, and insect, are modifications of familiar Palearctic types. The fact clearly indicates that the former land con- nections of Japan with the continent have been in a northerly rather than in a southerly direction, and that the tropical immi- grants have had difficulties to contend with, and have found the land already fairly stocked with northern aborigines in almost every class and order of animals. General Conclusions as to the Fauna of the Palearctic Re- gion.—From the account that has now been given of the fauna 232 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III, of the Palearctic region, it is evident that it owes many of its deficiencies and some of its peculiarities to the influence of the Glacial epoch, combined with those important changes of physi- cal geography which accompanied or preceded it. The elevation of the old Sarahan sea and the complete formation of the Mediterra- nean, are the most important of these changes in the western portion of the region. In the centre, a wide arm of the Arctic Ocean extended southward from the Gulf of Obi to the Aral and the Caspian, dividing northern Europe and Asia. At this time our European and Siberian sub-regions were probably more distinct than they are now, their complete fusion having been effected since the Glacial epoch. As we know that the Himalayas have greatly increased in altitude during the Tertiary period, it is not impossible that during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs the vast plateau of Central Asia was much less elevated and less completely cut off from the influence of rain-bearing winds. It might then have been far more fertile, and have supported a rich and varied animal population, a few relics of which we see in the Thibetan antelopes, yaks, and wild horses. The influence of yet earlier changes of physical geography, and the relations of the Palearctic to the tropical regions immediately south of it, will be better understood when we have examined and discussed the faunas of the Ethiopian and Oriental regions. CHAP. X. } THE PALAZARCTIC REGION. 233 TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION. In constructing these tables showing the distribution of vari- ous Classes of animals in the Palearctic region, the following sources of information have been chiefly relied on, in addition to the general treatises, monographs, and catalogues used in compiling the fourth part of this work. Mammatlia.—Lord Clement’s Mammalia and Reptiles of Europe ; Siebold’s Fauna Japonica; Pere David's List of Mammalia of North China and Thibet ; Swinhoe’s Chinese Mammalia ; Radde’s List of Mammalia of South-Eastern Siberia ; Canon ‘Tristram’s, Lists for Sahara and Palestine; Papers by Professor Milne-Edwards, Mr. Blanford, Mr. Sclater, and the local lists given by Mr. A. Murray in the Appendix to his Geographical Distribution of Mammalia. Birds.—Blasius’ List of Birds of Europe; Godman, On Birds of Azores, Madeira, and Canaries; Middendorf, for Siberia; Pére David and Mr. Swinhoe, for China and Mongolia ; Homeyer, for East Siberia; Mr. Blanford, for Persia and the high Himalayas; Mr. Elwes’s paper on the Distribution of Asiatic Birds; Canon Tristram, for the Sahara and Palestine; Professor Newton, for Iceland and Greenland; Mr. Dresser, for Scandinavia; and numerous papers and notes in the Ibis ; Journal fiir Ornithologie; Annals and Mag. of Nat. History ; and Proceedings of the Zoological Society. Reptiles and Amphibia.—Schreiber’s European Herpetology. Vou. L—17 234 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART Ih. TABLE I. FAMILIES OF ANIMALS INHABITING THE PALAARCTIC REGION. EXPLANATION. Names in italics show families peculiar to the region. Names inclosed thus (...... ) barely enter the region, and are not considered properly to belong to it. Numbers are not consecutive, but correspond to those in Part IV. Sub-regions. Order and Family. g | 5 = | Ss = Range beyond the Region, else] e| 2 alze\3 | 3 MAMMALIA. PRIMATES. 3. Cynopithecide — — | Ethiopian, Oriental CHIROPTERA. 9. (Pteropide) ... — | Tropics of E. Hemisphere 11. Rhinolophide | — | — | — | — | Warmer parts of E. Hemis. 12. Vespertilionide — | — | — | — | Cosmopolite 13. Noctilionide... — Tropical regions INSECTIVORA. 15. Macroscelidide — Ethiopian 17. Erinaceide ... | — | — | — | — | Oriental, S. Africa 21. Talpide... ... | — | =| — | — | Nearctic, Oriental 22. Soricide... ... | — | — | — | — | Cosmopolite, excl. Australia and S. America CARNIVORA. \ 23. Felide ... ... | — | —|— | — | All regions but Australian 25. Viverride ... — Ethiopian, Oriental 27. Hyxnide 2 —- Ethiopian, Oriental 28. Canide ... ... | — | — | — | — | All regions but Australian 29. Mustelide ... | — | — | — | — | All regions but Australian 31. Hluride — | Oriental 32. Urside ... ... | — | — | — | — | Nearctic, Oriental, Andes 33. Otariidz... ... — N. and S. temperate zones 34. Trichechide ... | — - | Arctic regions 35. Phocide .. | —|—|—|— | N. and S. temperate zones CETACEA. SO LO41, Seer meses | Oceanic SIRENIA. 42. Manatide ... | — = Tropics, from Brazil to N. Australia UNGULATA. 43. Equide ... ... = |= | Ethiopian 47, Suide ... ... | —|— |— | — | Cosmopolite, excl. Nearctic reg. and Australia 48. Camelide ... | —|— | Andes 50. Cervide... ... | —|— | —|— | Allregions but Ethiopian and Australian 52. Bovide ... ... | —|—|— | — | All regions but Neotropical and Australian CHAP. X. | Order and Family. Europe. HYRACOIDAE. 54. (Hyracide) RODENTIA, 55. Muride ... 56. Spalacide 57. Dipodide 58. Myoxide 60. Castoride 61. Sciuride... ... 64. Octodontide ... 67. Hystricide 69. Lagomyide 70. Leporidee BIRDS. PASSERES. . Turdide... . Sylviide... . Timaliide . Panuride . Cinclidee - Troglodytide. 2 . Sittide ... . Paride ... . Pycnonotide ral 1 2 3 4 5 6 8. Certhiide 9 10 13 14 . Oriolide... ... 17. Muscicapide ... 19. Laniide ... 20. Corvide... ... 23. (Nectariniide) 24. (Dicxide) 29. Ampelide 30. Hirundinide... | - 33. Fringillide 35. Sturnide 37. Alaudide 38. Motacillide ... 47. (Pittide) PICARIA. 51. Picide 52. Yungide 58. Cuculide 62. Coraciide 63. Meropide 67. Alcedinide 69. Upupide = 73. Caprimulgide 74. Cypselide THE PALAARCTIC REGION. 235 Sub-regions. Mediter ranean ) Japan. Range beyond the Region. Ethiopian family Almost Cosmopolite Ethiopian, Oriental Ethiopian, Nearctic | Ethiopian | Nearctic | All regions but Australian Abyssinia, Neotropical Ethiopian, Oriental Nearctic All regions but Australian Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian Nearctic, Oriental Oriental American, Oriental Oriental, Nearctic |Nearctic, Oriental, Australian, Madagascar Nearctic, Oriental, Australian [?] Oriental, Ethiopian | Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian Eastern Hemisphere | Eastern Hemisphere and N. America Cosmopolite Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian Nearctic _Cosmopolite | All regions but Australian Eastern Hemisphere All regions but Neotropical | Cosmopolite Oriental, Australian, Ethiopian — | All regions but Australian — |N. W. India, N. E. Africa, S. Africa | — | Almost Cosmopolite — | Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian — | Cosmopolite Ethiopian, Oriental Cosmopolite Almost Cosmopolite 236 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. Order and Family. Europe. Sub-regions. Mediter- ranean. Siberia. Japan. Range beyond the Region. CoLUMB&. 84. Columbide ... GALLINA. 86. 87. 88. 89. Pteroclide ... Tetraonide ... Phasianide ... Turnicide ACCIPITRES. Ons 96. Me 98. Vulturide ... Falconide ... Pandionide... Strigidee GRALLA. 99. 100. 104. 105. 106. 107. 113. 114. 115. TG Rallide Scolopacide... Glareolide ... Charadriide... Otididee Gruide Ardeidze ; Plataleide ... Ciconiide Phenicopteride ANSERES. 118. 119. 120. 121. 123. 124, 125. Anatide Laride .. Procellariide Pelecanide ... Colymbide ... Podicipidee Alcide ... REPTILIA. OPHIDIA,. . Typhlopide... . Calamariide... . Oligodontide . Colubride ... . Homalopside . Psammophidee . Krycide:.. ... . Elapide... ... . Crotalide . Viperidee Cosmopolite Ethiopian, Indian Nearctic, Ethiopian, Oriental Oriental, Ethiopian, Nearctic Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian All regions but Australian Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian Cosmopolite Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian [PART Ill. Eastern Hemisphere, and N. America Cosmopolite Almost Cosmopolite Nearly Cosmopolite Neotropical, Ethiopian, Indian Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Arctic and N. Temperate Cosmopolite N. Temperate zone All regions but Nearctic All other regions Oriental and Neotropical Almost Cosmopolite Oriental, and all other regions Ethiopian and Oriental Oriental and Ethiopian Australian and all other regions Nearctic, Neotropical, Oriental | Ethiopian, Oriental CHAP. X.] THE PALZARCTIC REGION 237 mM =] os 4 o a3 ° i=] D Order and Family. Range beyond the Region. ranean, Europe Mediter | Siberia. Japan LACERTILIA. 26. Trogonophide 28. Amphisbenide 30. Varanidee 33. Lacertide 34. Zonuride = 41. Gymnopthal- MICE oe cen 45. Scincide * 46. Ophiomoride ... 47, Sepide ... 49. Geckotide 51. Agamide ... 52. Chameleonide CHELONIA. 57. Testudinide ... 59. Trionychide ... 60. Cheloniide AMPHIBIA. UrRoDELA. 3. Proteide 5. Menopomide... 6. Salamandride ANOURA. 10. Bufenide : 13. Bombinatoride 15. Alytide ... Weeklylidee: ... 7. 18. Polypedatide 19. Ranide ... , 20. Discoglosside FISHES (FRESH- WATER). ACANTHOPTERYGII. 1. Gasterosteide 3. Percide ... 12. Scienide ; 26. Comephoride... 37. Atherinide PHYSOSTOMI. 59. Siluride... Ethiopian, Neotropical Oriental, Ethiopian, Australian | All continents but American America, Africa, N. India Ethiopian, Australian, Neotropical — Almost Cosmopolite | Ethiopian Almost Cosmopolite All continents but America Ethiopian, Oriental All continents but Australia Ethiopian, Oriental, Nearctic Marine Nearctic | Nearctic Nearctic to Andes of Bogota All continents but Australia Neotropical, New Zealand All regions but Oriental All regions but Ethiopian All the regions Almost Cosmopolite All regions but Nearctic Nearctic All regions but Australian All regions but Australian N. America and Australia All warm regions | | 65. Salmonide .... | — | — — Nearctic, New Zealand 70. Esocide... ... | — | — Nearctic files Ummbrides segs. |) ——= Nearctic 73. Cyprinodontide | — | |All regions but Australia 75. Cyprinide ... | — | — | — | — | Ailregionsbut Australian and “Neotropical 238 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY, [PART Ill. Sub-regions. Order and Family. 2 [S32 | 3 ul Range beyond the Region, eS |sS]| & | a =i Ose fo} a BH |ee|a}]” GANOIDEI. ; 96. Accipenseride |'— | — | — Nearctic 97. Polydontide ... — | Nearctic INSECTS. _LEPI- DOPTERA (PART). DvRINI (BUTTER- FLIES). 1. Danaide 3) =) = — | All tropical regions 2. Satyride ... | — | — | — | — |Cosmopolite 8. Nymphalide... | — | — | — | — | Cosmopolite 9. Libytheide ... | — | — | All continents but Australia 10. Nemeobeide.. | — | Absent from Nearctic region and Australia 13. Lycenide ... | — | — | — | — | Cosmopolite 14. Pieride ... ... | — | — | — | — | Cosmopolite 15. Papilionide ... | — | — | — | — | Cosmopolite 16. Hesperide ... | — | — ll Cosmopolite SPHINGIDEA. 17. Zygenide ... | — | — | — | — |Cosmopolite 21. Stygiide ..- | — | — | — | — | Neotropical 22. Aigeriide ... | — | — | — | — | Absent only from Australia 23. Sphingide ... | — | — | — | — | Cosmopolite CoLEopTERA.—Of about 80 families into which the Coleoptera are divided, all the more important are cosmopolite, or nearly so. It would therefore unnecessarily occupy space to give tables of the whole for each region. LAND SHELLS.—The more important families being cosmopolite, and the smaller ones being somewhat uncertain in their limits, the reader is referred to the account of the families and genera under each region, and to the chapter on Mollusca in the con- cluding part of this work, for such information as can be given of their distribution. CHAP. X.] THE PALZARCTIC REGION. 239 TABLE Hl. LIST OF THE GENERA OF TERRESTIAL MAMMALIA AND BIRDS INHABITING THE PALAZARCTIC REGION. EXPLANATION. Names in ztalics show genera peculiar to the region. Names inclosed thus (...) show genera which just enter the region, but are not considered properly to belong to it. Genera which undoubtedly belong to the region are numbered consecutively. MAMMALIA. Order, coe aud 33 Range within the Region. Range beyond the Region. : ee mR PRIMATES. SEMNOPITHECID. (Semnopithecus 1 | Eastern Thibet) Oriental genus CYNOPITHECID. 1. Macacus ... ...| 4 | Gibraltar, N. Africa, E. Thibet| Oriental to Japan CHIROPTERA. PTEROPID. (Pteropus ...| 2 | Egypt, Japan) Tropics of the E. Hemis. (Xantharpyia ... | 1 |N. Africa, Palestine) Oriental, Austro-Malayan RHINOLOPHID. 2. Rhinolphus_ ...| 9 |Temperate & Southern parts of Warmer parts E. Hemi- Region sphere (Asellia .| 1 | Egypt) Ethiopian, Java (Rhinopoma ...| 1 | Egypt, Palestine) [?] India (Nycteris... 1 | Egypt) Nubia, Himalaya VESPERTILIONIDE. 3. Vesperugo 1 | Siberia, Amoorland [2] 4. Otonycteris ob 1 | Egypt 2 5. Vespertilio ... | 35 | The whole region Cosmopolite (Kerivoula... 1 | N. China) Oriental, S. Africa 6. Miniopteris 1 |S. Europe, N. Africa, Japan S. Afric. Malaya, Austral. 7. Plecotus ... ...| 1 |S. Europe Himalayas 8. Barbastellus .. 2 | Mid. and S. Europe, Palestine | Darjeeling, Timor NOocTILIONIDZ. 9 Molossus ... ...| 2 |S, Europe, N. Africa Ethiop., Neotrop., Aus- tralian {NSECTIVORA. ERINACEID&. 10. Erinaceus ...! 4 |The wholeregion; excl. Japan | Oriental, Africa. 240 Order, Genus. TALPIDA. 11. Talpa 12. Scaptochirus ii 13. Anurosorex 14. Scaptonyx 15. Myogale ... 16. Nectogale ... 17. Urotrichus 18. Uropsilus... SorIcipz. 19. Sorex 20. Crocidura... CARNIVORA. FELIDA. 21. Felis... 22. Lyncus VIVERRIDS. (Viverra ... 23. Genetta ... (Herpestes HYANID&. 24. Hyena CANIDE. 25. Canis ae 26. Nyctereutes MUSTELIDA. 27. Martes 28. Putorius ... 29. Mustela ... 30. Vison 316 Gulos- 32. Lutra 33. Lutronectes 34. Enhydris 35, Meles JELURID. 36. Alurus .. 37. dluropus URsID&. 38. Thalassarctos ... 39. Ursus Family, and No. of Species. eel a Se ea 12 a — ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART Il], Range within the Region. Range beyond the Region. The whole region N. India N. China N. China N. China S. E. Russia, Pyrenees Thibet Japan N. W. America KE. Thibet The whole region Absent from Australia & S. America W. Europe to N. China 2 The whole region ; excl. extreme All regions but Austral. North S. Europe to Arctic sea America N of 66° N. Lat. N. China) Oriental and Ethiopian S. Europe & N. Africa, Palestine) Ethiopian N. Africa, Spain [?], Palestine) | Oriental and Ethiopian N. Africa and 8. W. Asia Ethiopian, India The whole region All reg. but Austral. [?] Japan, Amoorland, N China N. Europe and Asia, E. Thibet |Oriental, Nearctic W. Europe to N. E. Asia The whole region Nearctic, Ethiop., Hima- layas, Peru Europe and Siberia N. America, N. India, China The Arctic regions Arctic America The whole region Oriental Japan N. Asiaand Japan California Cen. Europe, Palestine, N.China,} China to Hongkong Japan S. E. Thibet Nepal E. Thibet Arctic regions Arctic America The whole region Oriental, Nearctie, Chili a ee CHAP. X.] THE PALZZARCTIC REGION. 241 one ae a 28 Range within the Region. Range beyond the Region 5 Z Ps og = OTARIID. 40. Callorhinus 1 | Kamschatka andBehring’s Straits 41. Zalophus— 1 | Japan California 42. Eumetopias 1 | Japan, Behring’s Straits California TRICHECHID&. 43, Trichechus 1 | Polar Seas Arctic America PHOCIDA. 44, Callocephalus... | 3 | NorthSea, Caspian, Lake Baikal Greenland 45. Pagomys .. 2 | North Sea, Japan N. Pacific 46. Pagophilus 2 | Northern Seas N. Pacific 47. Phoca 2 | Northern Seas N. Pacific 48. Halicherus 1 | North Sea and Baltic Greenland 49. Pelagius ... 2 | Madeira to Black Sea 50. Cystophora 2 |N. Atlantic N. Atlantic SIRENIA. : Tropics & Behring’sStrts. CETACEA. ... ; Oceanic UNGULATA. EQuips. 51. Equus 4 (Cent. & and W. Asia & N. Africa} Ethiopian SuIDz. 52. Sus ... 2 | The whole region Oriental, Austro- Malayan CAMELID&. 53. Camelus ... 2 | Deserts of Cent. and W. Asia and «N. Africa CERVID&. 54. Alces 1 | North Europe and Asia N. America 55. Tarandus 1 | Arctic Europe and Asia Arctic America 56. Cervus 8 | The whole region All regions but Austral. 57. Dama .. 1 | Mediterranean district 58. Hlaphodus 1 |N. W. China 59. Lophotragus 1 | N. China 60. Capreolus 2 | Temp. Europe and W. Asia and N. China 61. Moschus ... 1 |Amoor R., N. China, to Hima- layds 62. Hydropotes 1 | N. China Bovip2. 63. ( Bos 1 | Europe, (not wild) Oriental 64. 4 Bison 1 | Poland and Caucasus Nearctic 65. ( Poephagus 1 | Thibet 66. Addax 1 | N. Africa to Syria 67. Oryx eas 1 |N. Africa to Syria Ethiopian deserts 68. ( Gazella ... 12 | N. Africa to Persia, and Beloo-|S. Africa, India chistan 69. ( Procapra 2 |W. Thibet and Mongolia 242 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. Order, Family, and Genus. 70. | Saiga ... 71. | Pantholops (Alcephalus 72. Budorcas 73. Rupicapra 74. Nemorhedus 75. Capra HYRACOIDEA HYRACIDA. (Hyrax RODENTIA. Murip&. . Mus .. . Cricetus ... . Cricetulus . Meriones . Rhombomys . Psammomys . Sminthus . Arvicola ... . Cuniculus . Myodes . Myospalax SPALACIDA. 87. Ellobius ... 88. Spalax DIpoDIDa&. 89. Dipus MyoxIp&. 90. Myoxus ... CASTORIDA. 91. Castor ScIURIDA. 92. Sciurus 92a. Tamias ... ~ 93. Sciuropterus 94. Pteromys... 95. Spermophilus ne 96. Arctomys... OcTODONTID A. 97. Ctenodactylus ... HystTrIcipD&, 98. Hystrix No. of Species. TROD Hee ~ 4 on = WHE Mw mweo aa vee 1215 > ow Re rFOO 2 [PART III. Range within the Region. E. Europe and W. Asia W. Thibet Syria) E. Himalayas to E. Thibet Pyrenees to Caucasus E.. Himalayas to E. China and Japan Spain to Thibet and N.E. Africa Syria) The whole region The whole region N. China W. and Central Asia to N. China, N. Africa E. Europe, Cent. Asia, N. Africa Egypt and Palestine East Europe, Siberia The whole region N.E. Europe, Siberia North of region Altai Mountains and N. China S. Russia and S. W. Siberia Hungary and Greece to W. Asia, Palestine S. E. Europe and N. Africa to N, China Temperate parts of whole region Temperate zone, from France to Amoorland The whole region All Northern Asia Finland to Siberia and Japan Japan and W. China E. Europe to N. China and Kamschatka Alps to E. Thibet and Kam- schatka N. Africa S. Europe, Palestine, N. China Range beyond the Region. Ethiopian genus. Oriental to Formosa Nilgherries, RockyMtns. Sumatra, Ethiopian genus E. Hemisphere Ethiopian, Indian. Himalayas, Nearctic Arctic America Nearctic Africa, India Ethiopian N. America All regions but Austral. N. America Oriental, Nearctic Oriental Nearctic Nearctic Ethiopian, Oriental CHAP. X.] THE PALAZARCTIC REGION. 243 Order, Family, and Genus. LAGOMYIDA. 99. Lagomys LEPORIDA. 100. Lepus PASSERES. TURDIDA. 1. Turdus 2. Oreocincla 3. Monticola Calliope Erithacus Grandala 23. (Bessornis SYLVUD. 4. Cisticola — ... 5. ( Acrocephalus... 6. | Dumeticola 7. | Potamodus 8. | Lusciniola 9, | Locustella 10. | Bradyptetus ... 11. \ Calamodus 12. { Phylloscopus... 13. | Hypolais 14, | Abrornis 15. | Reguloides 16. \ Regulus TP (OFAC a oer 18. | Pyrophthalma 19. ) Melizophilus ... 20. ae wb 21. | Curruca 22. ( Luscinia | Cyanecula 18 oo mM cw bo co bo ~_ Ob by bo He bo bo v=) m& oo bo “Te Range within the Region. Range beyond the Region. Volga to E. Thibet and Kam- | Nearctic schatka The whole region All regions but Austral. BIRDS. The whole region (excluding | Almost cosmopolite Spitzbergen) N.E. Asia and Japan, straggler | Oriental and Australian to Europe S. Europe, N. Africa, Palestine, | Oriental and S. African N. China Palestine) Tropical and S, Africa S. W. Europe, N. Africa, Japan | Ethiop., Orient., Austral. W. Europe to Japan Orient., Ethiop., Austral. Nepaul, Lake Baikal, E. Thibet, high W. and 8. Europe, N. Africa, E. Thibet S. Europe W. Europe and N. Africa to | India, winter migrants (?) Japan S. Europe and Palestine E. and 8S, Africa Europe, N. Africa, Palestine The whole region (excluding | Oriental western islands) Europe, N. Africa, Palestine, | China, Moluccas, India, China Africa Cashmere, E. Thibet Oriental region Europe and China N. India, Formosa The whole region (excluding | N. and Central America Iceland, &c.) S. Europe, W. Asia, N. Africa | E. and S. Africa E. Europe and Palestine W. and 8, Europe, Sardinia Madeira to W. India, N. Africa |N.E. Africa, Ceylon mi- grants (?) Madeira to India, N. Africa E. Africa, India, mi- grants W. Europe, N. Africa, Persia Europe and N. Africa to Kam-| Abyssinia and India schatka migrants N. Asia, Himalayas, China Centl. India (? migrant) Atlantic Islands to Japan High Himalayas and EK, Thibet 244 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. Order, ‘Family, and Genus. 27. \ Ruticilla 28. ) Larvivora 29. Dromolza 30. Saxicola— 31. Cercomela 32. Pratincola 33. Accentor ... TIMALIID&. 34, Pterorhinus (Malacocercus ... (Crateropus (Trochalopteron (Ianthocincla — PANURID. (Paradoxornis Conostoma Suthora ... 35. 36. 37. 38. Panurus ... 89. Cholorivis... CINCLID&. 40. Cinclus (Myiophonus ... TROGLODYTID&. 41. Troglodytes (Pnoepyga CERTHIID&. 42. Certhia 43. Tichodroma SITTIDA. 44, Sitta PARIDA, 45, Parus 46. Lophophanes ... 47. Acredula ... 48. Agithalus LIOTRICHIDA. (Proparus... Heteromorpha.. wonroc mem bo 20 loner) Range within the Region. [PART III. Range beyond the Region. Eu. to Japan, N. Afr., Himalayas E. Thibet, Amoor, Japan S. Europe, N. Africa, Palestine The whole region Palestine (a desert genus) W. Europe, N. Africa to India W. Europe to Japan; high Himalayas Thibet and N. W. China Palestine) N. Africa, Persia) E. Thibet) E. Thibet) Himalayas and E. Thibet) High Himalayas and E. Thibet E. Thibet W. Europe to W. Siberia Nepaul and E. Thibet, from 10,000 feet altitude E. Thibet The whole region (Atlantic Is- lands excluded) Turkestan, Thian-Shan Moun- tains, 6,000 feet Iceland and Britain to Japan E. Thibet) W. Europe to N. China S. Europe to N. China W. Europe to Himalayas and Japan W. Europe to. Kamschatka, N. Africa Europe and high Himalayas W. Europe to N. China and Kamschatka S. E. Europe Moupin, in E. Thibet) Abyssinia, India Oriental Ethiopian EK. and 8. Africa, India N.E. Africa, N. W. India Ethiopian to Oriental Himalayas (?) in winter Oriental genus Ethiopian genus Oriental genus Oriental genus (?) Oriental genus Himalayas, China, For- mosa American highlands Oriental genus Neotropical and Neare~ tic, Himalayas Oriental genus Himalayas, Nearctic Abyssinia, Nepaul, high India, Nearctic Nearctic, Oriental, Ethi- opian Nearctic Ethiopian Oriental genus and fam. CHAP. X.] THE PALZZARCTIC REGION. enue ce eye ate BS | Range within the Region. enus. ce Ae PYCNONOTIDS. 49. Microscelis 1 | Japan 50. Pyenonotus 2 | Palestine, N. China, Japan ORIOLIDA, 51. Oriolus 2 |S. Europe, China MUSCICAPIDE. 52. Muscicapa 2 | W. and Central Europe 53. Butalis 2 | W. Europe to Japan and China 54. Erythrosterna...| 3 | Central Europe to N. China and Japan (Xanthopygia... | 1 | Japan) (Eumyias— 1 | E. Thibet) (Cyanoptila 1 | Japan and Amoor) (Siphia 1 | Moupin, E. Thibet) #50; Tehitrea!... 2 | N. China and Japan LANIIDA. 56. Lanius 11 | The whole region (excl. Atlantic Islands) (Telephonus 1 | N. Africa) CoRVID. 57. Garrulus ... 7 | W. Europe, N. Africa, to Japan 58. Perisoreus 1 | N. Europe and Siberia (Urocissa ... 2 | Cashinere, Japan) 59. Nucifraga 3 |W. Europe to Japan, and Hima- layas 60. Pica... 5 | W. Europe to China and Japan 61. Cyanopica 2 |Spain, N. E. Asia and Japan 62. Corvus 12 | The whole region 63. Hregilus ... 3 |W. Europe to N. China, Hima- layas NECTARINIID&. (Arachnecthra 1 | Palestine) Dicaipz. (Zosterops 1 | Amoor and Japan) AMPELIDA. 64. Ampelis ... 2 | Northern half of region HIRUNDINIDA. 65. Hirundo ... 2 | The whole region 66. Cotyle 2 | The whole region (excl. Atlan. Is.) 67. Chelidon ... 3 | The whole region FRINGILLIDE. 68. Fringilla ... 6 | The whole region 245 Range beyond the Region. Oriental genus Oriental and Ethiopian Ethiopian and Oriental Ethiopian. E. and S. Africa, Mo- luceas Oriental & Madagascar Oriental genus Oriental genus Oriental genus Oriental genus Ethiopian and Oriental Nearctic, Ethiopian, Oriental Ethiopian genus Himalayas, Formosa N. America Oriental genus Himalayan pine forests S. China and Formosa migrants [?] Cosmopolite(excl.S. Am. ) Abyssinian mountains Oriental genus Ethiop., Orien., Austral. North America Cosmopolite Nearctic, Ethiop., Orien. Oriental Atrica 246 Order, Family, and Genus. en 82. 92. 93. 94. . Acanthis . Procarduelis ... . Chrysowitris... . Dryospiza . Metoponia . Chlorospiza ... » Passer ts . Montifringilla . Fringillauda... . Coccothraustes . Mycerobas Eophona... . Pyrrhula (Crithagra Carpodacus . Erythrospiza ... . Uragus ... . Loxia MO Pinieolaeee ©e2 . Propyrrhula ... . Pyrrhospiza . . Linota . Leucosticte ... Emberizine Euspiza Emberiza Fringillaria... Plectrophanes STURNIDA. 95. 96. 97. 98. Pastor Sturnia ... Sturnus ... (Amydrus Podoces ... ALAUDIDA. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. Otocorys Alauda Galerita ... Calandrella Melanocorypha Pallasia .. (Certhilauda ... (Alaemon ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. No, of Species. [eN) Hm bore _ OHHH oho > Dr co bb eS) et He CO Orr bo bh oF wrre SS el Range within the Region. [PART ll. Rang2 beyond the Region. Europe and N. Africa to Central Asia High Himalayas and E. Thibet W. Europe to Japan Atlantic Islands to Palestine, N. Africa N. E. Europe to W. Himalayas W. Europe, N. Africa to Japan The whole region Europe to Cashmere and Siberia N. W. Himalayas to E. Thibet, high W. Europe, High Himalayas to Japan Central Asia & High Himalayas K. Thibet, China, and Japan Azores to Japan, High Himalayas Palestine) Cent. Eu. to Japan, High Hima- layas N. Africa to Afghanistan and Turkestan Turkestan & E. Thibet to Japan Europe, High Himalayas to Japan N. Europe, Siberia High Himalayas Snowy Himalayas The whole region Turkestan to Kamschatka E. Europe to Japan Europe to Japan S. Europe, N. Africa Northern half of region East Europe, Central Asia Amoor, Japan, N. China The whole region (excl. Atlantic Islands) Palestine) Cen. Asia, Turkestan, Yarkand N. and S. America China, E. Africa Ethiopian, Oriental N. America China Alaska Ethiopian genus India & China, N. Amer. N. America N. America Darjeeling in winter N. America N. W. America N. America N. India, China African genus N. America India Oriental India, China N. E. African genus N. Europe to Japan, N. Africa,|India,N.America, Andes Arabia The whole region (excl. Iceland) Central Europe to N. China, N. Africa Central Europe to N. China, N Africa S. Eu. N. Africa, N. & Cen. Asia Mongolia N. Africa) N. Africa, Arabia) India, Africa India, Central Africa India N. W. India S. African genus Ethiopian genus CHAP. X.] Order, Family, and Genus. THE PALAARCTIC REGION. Range within the Region 105. Ammomanes... MOorACcILLID. 106. Motacilla 107. Budytes 108. Calobates PITTIDZ. (Pitta PICARLA. Picips#. 109. Picoides... 110. Picus 111. Hypopicus (Yungipicus .. 112. 113. Dryocopus Gecinus ... YUNGIDA. 114. Yunx CUCULID&. 115. Cuculus... 116. Coccystes CoORACIID. 117. Coracias... (Eurystomus .. ; MEROPID&, 118. Merops ... ALCEDINID. (Halcyon 119. Alcedo ... 120. Ceryle Uprurpip#. LZ Upupa, -.. CAPRIMULGIDA. 122, Caprimulgus... CYPSELID. 123. Cypselus 124, Chetura... bo em oO mt pet bo bp 0 247 Range beyoad the Region. S. Europe, N. Africa, to Cash-| Africa, India mere The whole region Europe to China Atlantic Is., W. Europe, to China Japan) N. and Cen. Europe to Thibet & E, Asia The whole region (excl. Atlantic Islands) N. China N. China) N. & Cen. Europe to N. China W. Europe to Thibet, Amoor & Japan W. Europe to N. W. Thibet and Japan India, The whole region (excl, Atlantic Islands) S. Europe and N. Africa Cent. Europe to Cent. Asia Amoor in summer) S. Europe to Cashmere, N. Africa W. Asia, N. China, Japan) Europe, N. China S. E. Europe, Japan S. Europe, N. China Europe to Japan The whole region (excl. Iceland) N. China, Dauria Oriental, Ethiopian Oriental, Moluccas Malaisia, Madagascar Oriental & Austral. genus North America India, China, N. and. S8. America Himalayas Oriental genus Neotropical Oriental N. E. Africa, S$. Africa Ethiop. Oriental Austral. Ethiopian and Oriental Ethiopian, Oriental Oriental & Austral. genus Ethiopian and Oriental Ethiop., Orien., Austral. Africa, India, America Ethiop. & Oriental genus Ethiopian and Oriental Ethiopian, America Africa, India 248 Order, Family, and Genus. COLUMB. CoLUMBID&. 125. Columba 26 see Lnrbin ee (Alszecomus fi GALLIN &. PYEROCLIDA. 127. Pterocles 128. Syrrhaptes TETRAONIDA. 129. 130. 131. 132. 133. Perdix ... Coturnix Lerwa Caccabis ... 134. 135. 136., 137. Tetrao Bonasa ... Lagopus... PHASIANID&. 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143. 144, 145. Ceriornis Pucrasia— Phasianus Tthaginis TURNICIDA 146s urnixaesee ACCIPITRES. VULTURIDA. 147. Vultur ... 148. Gyps 149. Otogyps 150. Neophron FALCONIDS. 151. Circus 152. Astur 153. Accipiter 154. Buteo Francolinus ... Tetraogallus ... Crossoptilon ... Lophophorus ... Tetraophasis ... Thaumalea ... ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. No. of bo bp or) Species. eee > ores re Co — NwWowWwrrH bo He bo On Range within the Region. The whole region W. Europe to Japan KE. Thibet) S. Europe, N. Africa, to W. India Central Asia, N. China Borders of Mediterranean Europe to Mongolia Central and S. Europe to Japan Snowy Himalayas to E. Thibet Cen. Europe and N. Africa to N. W. Himalayas Caucasus to E, Thibet and Altai! Mountains Europe and N. Asia Europe and N. Asia Iceland, W. Europe to Japan Thibet, Mongolia, N. China Cashmere to E. Thibet (highest woods) E. Thibet N. W. Himalayas (high) N. W. Himalayas to N. W. China Western Asia to Japan E. Thibet to Amoor, N. China Nepaul to E. Thibet (high) Spain and N. Africa, N. China Spain and N. Africa to N. China S. Europe, Palestine, Cen. Asia S. Europe, N. Africa Atlantic Isds. to Palestine Europe to Japan Europe to N. China Europe to Japan Europe to Japan [PART III. Range beyond the Region. Africa, Asia, America Ethiopian and Oriental Oriental genus Ethiopian genus Ethiopian, Oriental Ethiop., Orien., Austral. Abyssinia, Arabia N. America N. America N. America, Greenland E. Thibet (?) Himalayas to W. China | Himalayas W. Himalayas, Formosa West China Ethiop., Orien., Austral. E. Africa, India 8. Africa, India Africa, India Almost Cosmopolite Almost Cosmopolite Almost Cosmopolite Cosmopolite (excl. Aus- tralia) CHAP. X.] Order, Family, and Genus. 155: 156. 157. 158. 159. 160. 161. 162. 163. 164. 165. 166. Archibuteo Gypaetus Aquila ... Nisaetus... Circaetus Halixetus Milvus ... Elanus .... Pernis Falco Hierofaleo Cerchneis PANDIONID&. 167. Pandion— STRIGID. 168. 169. 170. yale 172. 173. 174, 175. 176. 177. Surnia Nyctea ... Athene ... (Ninox Glaucidium ... Bubo Scops Syrnium... Otus Nyctala . Strix THE PALAARCTIC REGION. Mt bo oe et ie) be Leelee SRE OM No. of Species. Range within the Region. N. Europe to Japan S. Europe, N. Africa Europe to Japan EK. Europe, N. Africa, W. Asia EK. and 8. Europe, N. Africa, W. Asia Iceland and S. Europe to Japan Europe to Japan, N. Africa N. Africa, N. China to Amoor Europe to Jepan The whole region | The whole region Atlantic Islands to Japan Europe to Japan N. Europe and Siberia Arctic regions Central and S. Europe to Japan N. China and Japan) Europe to N. China Europe to N. China S. Europe to Japan Europe to Japan Europe to Japan N. Europe to E. Siberia Europe and N, Africa 249 Range beyond the Region. N. America Abyssinia, Himalayas Nearctic, Ethiop., Orien. India, Australia Africa, India Cosmopolite (excl, Neo- tropical region) The Old World & Austral. Cosmopolite (excl. East U.S.) ‘Ethiopian and Oriental Cosmopolite (excl. Pacific Islands) N. America Cosmop. (excl. Oceania) Cosmopolite North America Arctic America . Ethiop.,Orien., Austral. Oriental genus America Africa, India, America African, Orien., Austral. African, Oriental, Amer. Almost Cosmopolite N. America All warm & temp. regions Peculiar or very characteristic Genera of Wading and Swimming Birds. GRALLA. RALLIDA. Ortygonetra ScoLOPACID, Ibidorhyncha .. Terekia ... Helodromas Machetes... Eurinorhynchus GLAREOLID&. Pluvianus CHARADRIIDA. Vanellus Vou. L—18 a et et et Europe, N. E. Africa Cashmere & Cen. Asia, N. China N. E. Europe and Siberia E. and N. Europe, N. India N. and Cen. Europe, Cen. Asia | N.E. Asia N. Africa, Spain Europe to the Punjaub Himalayan Valleys India, Australia(migrant) India in winter Bengal S. America 250 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. Order, Family, and Genus. OTIDID#. Otis.. ANSERES. ANATIDA. Bucephala Histrionicus ... Harelda ... Somateria (édemia... LARIDS, RISA Meets ose COLYMBIDZ. Colymbus ALCIDZ. Alea Fratercula Uria ane Mergulus Co OO Ht et OOo eR moo Oo bh ———_——_ Range within the Region. W. Europe to Mongolia, N. Africa N. China to Amoor Iceland, N. Eurupe, and Asia Iceland, N. Siberia North of whole region North of whole region North of whole region North coasts of whole region North of whole region North coasts of whole region North coasts of whole region North coasts of whole region Iceland and Arctic coasts Range beyond the Region. N. America N. America N. America Arctic America N. America N. America N. America N. America N. America N. America N. America Arctic America REGION Deri OsPairAwN ~ 4 is Seale | inch=1000 miles 10 oO 10 20 20 = Te ea 10 + Ascension I. = Dd —<$— EXPLANATION Terrestrial Contours Marine Contour of 1000 feet White od z = sSseass SSSss S4Hoss NaASSs as ba SS Vi} 2 re > Ty a mY = a S) iS ies oe 3sssss ZSsgs a AINISS , ~ % 2) o The ts she m by a dotted line Desert The boundari. ve maunbers and reter CAPE TOWN? 10 Greenwich Meridian of O 10 20 30 Stanfords Geographical Estab‘ London New York: Harper & Brothers. 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 added tropical Arabia, Madagascar, and a few other islands, all popu- larly known as African. Some naturalists would extend the region northwards to the Atlas Mountains and include the whole of the Sahara; but the animal life of the northern part of that great desert seems more akin to the Palearctic fauna of North Africa. The Sahara is really a debatable land which has been peopled from both regions; and until we know more of the natural history of the great plateaus which rise like islands in the waste of sand, it will be safer to make the provisional boundary line at or near the tropic, thus giving the northern half to the Palearctic, the southern to the Ethiopian region. The same line may be continued across Arabia. With our present imperfect knowledge of the interior of Africa, only three great continental sub-regions can be well de- fined. The open pasture lands of interior tropical Africa are wonderfully uniform in their productions; a great number of species ranging from Senegal to Abyssinia and thence to the Zambesi, while almost all the commoner African genera extend over the whole of this area. Almost all this extensive tract of country is a moderately elevated plateau, with a hot and dry climate, and characterised by a grassy vegetation interspersed with patches of forest. This forms our first or East African sub-region. The whole of the west coast from the south side of the Gambia River to about 10° or 12° south latitude, is a very 252 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. different kind of country ; being almost wholly dense forests where not cleared by man, and having the hot moist uniform climate, and perennial luxuriance of vegetation, which charac- terise the great equatorial belt of forest all round the globe. This forest country extends to an unknown distance inland, but it was found, with its features well marked, by Dr. Schweinfurth directly he crossed the south-western watershed of the Nile; and far to the south we find it again unmistakably indicated, in the exces- sively moist forest country about the head waters of the Congo, where the heroic Livingstone met his death. In this forest district many of the more remarkable African types are alone found, and its productions occasionally present us with curious similarities to those of the far removed South American or Malayan forests. This is our second or West African sub- region. Extra-tropical South Africa possesses features of its own, quite distinct from those of both the preceding regions (although it has also much in common with the first). Its vegetation is known to be one of the richest, most peculiar, and most remarkable on the globe ; and in its zoology it has a speciality, similar in kind but less in degree, which renders it both natural and convenient to separate it as our third, or South African sub-region. Its limits are not very clearly ascertained, but it is probably bounded by the Kalahari desert on the north-west, and by the Limpopo Valley, or the mountain range beyond, on the north-east, although some of its peculiar forms extend to Mozambique. There remains the great Island of Madagascar, one of the most isolated and most interesting on the globe, as regards its animal produc- tions ; 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 constituting our fourth sub-region. Zoological Characteristics of the Ethiopian Region—We have now to consider briefly, what are the peculiarities and charac- teristics of the Ethiopian Region as a whole,—those which give it its distinctive features and broadly separate it from the other primary zoological regions. CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 253 Mammalia—tThis region has 9 peculiar families of mammalia. Chiromyide (containing the aye-aye) ; Potamogalide and Chry- sochloride (Insectivora); Cryptoproctids and Protelidee (Carni- vora); Hippopotamide and Camelopardalide (Ungulata); and Orycteropodide (Edentata). Besides these it possesses 7 pecu- liar genera of apes, Z’roglodytes, Colobus, Myiopithecus Cerco- pithecus, Cercocebus, Theropithecus, and Cynocephalus; 2 sub- families of lemurs containing 6 genera, confined to Madagascar, with 3 genera of two other sub-families confined to the con- tinent; of Insectivora a family, Centetide, with 5 genera, peculiar to Madagascar, and the genera Petrodromus and Rhyn- chocyon belonging to the Macroscelidide, or elephant-shrews, restricted to the continent ; numerous peculiar genera or sub- genera of civets; Lycaon and Megalotis, remarkable genera of Canide ; Jctonyx, the zorilla, a genus allied to the weasels ; 15 peculiar genera of Muride ; Pectinator, a genus of the South American family Octodontide; and 2 genera of the South American Echimyidée or spiny rats. Of abundant and charac- teristic groups it possesses Macroscelides, Felis, Hyena, Hyracx, Rhinoceros, and Elephas, as well as several species of zebra and a great variety of antelopes. The great speciality indicated by these numerous peculiar families and genera, is still farther increased by the absence of 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 Africa from the rest of the world. These groups are, Urside, the bears ; Talpide the moles; Camelide, the camels; Cervide, the deer ; Caprine, the goats and sheep; and the genera Bos (wild ox); and Sus (wild boar). Combining these striking deficiencies, with the no less striking peculiarities above enumerated, it seems hardly possible to have a region more sharply divided from the rest of the globe than this is, by ils whole assemblage of mammalia, Lirds.—In birds the Ethiopian region is by no means so strikingly peculiar, many of these having been able to pass the ancient barriers which so long limited the range of mammalia. 254 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. It is, however, sufficiently rich, possessing 54 families of land birds, besides a few genera whose position is not well ascertained, and which may constitute distinct families. Of these 6 are peculiar, Musophagidee (the plantain eaters); Coliide (the colies) ; Leptosomide, allied to the cuckoos; Irrisoridx, allied to the hoopoes ; and Serpentaride, allied to the hawks. Only one Passerine family is peculiar—Paictide, while most of the other tropical regions possess several; but Huryceros and Buphaga, here classed with the Sturnide, ought, perhaps, to form two more. It has, however, many peculiar genera, especially among the fruit-thrushes, Pycndénotide ; flycatchers, Muscicapide ; shrikes, Lanide ; crows, Corvide ; starlings, Sturnide ; and weaver-birds, Ploceide; the latter family being very characteristic of the region. It is also rich in barbets, Megaleemide (7 peculiar genera) ; cuckoos, Cuculide; rollers, Coraciide ; bee-eaters, Meropide ; hornbills, Bucerotide ; and goat-suckers, Caprimulgide. It is poor in parrots and rather so in pigeons; but it abounds in Pterocles and Francolinus, genera of Galline, and possesses 4 genera of the peculiar group of the guinea-fowls, forming part of the pheasant family. It abounds in vultures, eagles, and other birds of prey, among which is the anomalous genus Serpentarius, the secretary-bird, constituting a distinct family. Many of the most remarkable forms are confined to Madagascar and the adjacent islands, and will be noticed in our account of that sub- region. Reptiles—Of the reptiles there are 4 peculiar Ethiopian families ;—3 of snakes, Rachiodontidee, Dendraspidee, and Atrac- taspidze and 1 of lizards, Chameesauride. Psammophidee (desert snakes) are abundant, as are Lycodontide (fanged ground-snakes), and Viperide (vipers). The following genera of snakes are peculiar or highly characteristic :—Lepto- rhynchus, Rhamnophis, Herpetethiops and Grayia (Colubride) ; Hopsidrophis and Bucephalus (Dendrophide) ; Langalia (Dryo- phid) ; Pythonodipsas (Dipsadide) ; Boedon, Lycophidion, Holu- ropholis, Simocephalus and Lamprophis (Lycodontide) ; Hortulia and Sanzinia (Pythonidee); Cyrptophis, Elapsoidea and Pecilo- phis (Elapidee) ; and Atheris (Viperide). The following genera CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 255 of lizards are the most characteristic :—Monotrophis (Lepidos- ternidee) ; Cordylus, Pseudocordylus, Platysaurus, Cordylosaurus, Pleurostichus, Saurophis and Zonurus (Zonuride) ; Sphenops, Scelotes, Sphenocephalus and Sepsina (Sepide) ; Pachydactylus (Geckotide) ; Agama (Agamidz) ; and Chameleon (Chameleonide). Of tortoises, Cynyxis, Pyxis and Chersina (Testudinide), and Cycloderma (Trionychidz) are the most characteristic. Amphibia —Of the 9 families of amphibia there is only 1 peculiar, the Dactylethride, a group of toads; but the Alytidee, a family of frogs, are abundant. Fresh-water Fish—Of the 14 families of fresh-water fishes 3 are peculiar: Mormyride and Gymnarchide, small groups not far removed from the pikes ; and Polypteride, a small group of ganoid fishes allied to the gar-pikes (Lepidosteide) of North America. Summary of Ethiopian Vertebrates—Combining the results here indicated and set forth in greater detail in the tables of distribution, we find that the Ethiopian region possesses ex- amples of 44 families of mammalia, 72 of birds, 35 of reptiles, 9 of amphibia, and 15 of fresh-water fishes. It has 23 (or perhaps 25) families of Vertebrata altogether peculiar to it out of a total of 175 families, or almost exactly one-eighth of the whole. Out of 142 genera of mammalia found within the region, 90 are peculiar to it; a proportion not much short of two-thirds. Of land birds there are 294 genera, of which 179 are peculiar; giving a proportion of a little less than three-fifths. Compared with the Oriental region this shows a con- siderably larger amount of speciality under all the heads; but the superiority is mainly due to the wonderful and iso- lated fauna of Madagascar, to which the Oriental region has nothing comparable. Without this the regions would be nearly equal. Insects: Lepidoptera —11 out of the 16 families of butter- flies have representatives in Africa, but none are peculiar. Acreidz is one of the most characteristic families, and there 256 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. are many interesting forms of Nymphalid, Lycznide, and Papilionide. The peculiar or characteristic forms are A mauris (Danaide); Gnophodes, Leptoneura, Bicyclus, Heteropsis and Canyra (Satyride); Acrea (Acreide); Lachnoptera, . Precis, Salamis, Crenis, Godartia, Amphidema, Pseudacrea, Catuna, Euryphene, Romaleosoma, Hamanuwmida, Aterica, Harma, Meneris, Charaxes, and Philognoma (Nymphalidae); Pentila, Liptena, Durbania, Zeritis, Capys, Phytala, Epitola, Hewitsonia and Deloneura (Lycenide); Pseudopontia, Idmais, Teracolus, Callosune (Pieride); Abantis, Ceratrichia and Caprona (Hes- peride). The total number of species known is about 750; which is very poor for an extensive tropical region, but this is not to be wondered at when the nature of much of the country is considered. It is also, no doubt, partly due to our comparative ignorance of the great equatorial forest district, which is the only part likely to be very productive in this order of insects. Coleoptera.—In our first’ representative family, Cicindelidée or tiger-beetles, the Ethiopian region is rather rich, having 13 genera, 11 of which are peculiar to it; and among these are such remarkable forms as Manticora, Myrmecoptera and Dromica ; with Megacephala, a genus only found elsewhere in Australia and South America. In Carabidee or carnivorous ground beetles, there are about 75 peculiar genera. Among the most characteristic are Anthia, Polyrhina, Graphipterus and Pirezia, which are almost all pecuhar; while Orthogonius, Hexagonia, Macrochilus, Thyreopterus, Eudema, and t SCENE IN MADAGASCAR, WITH CUARACTED CHAP, XI. ] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 279 the right hand corner is the Leptosoma discoler, a bird which appears to be intermediate between such very distinct families as the cuckoos and the rollers, and is therefore considered to form a family by itself. It is a coppery-green above and nearly white beneath, with a black bill and red feet. The fan-shaped plant on the left is the traveller's tree (Urania speciosa), one of the peculiar forms of vegetation in this marvellous island. Reptiles.—These present some very curious features, compara- tively few of the African groups being represented, while there are a considerable number of Eastern and even of American forms. Beginning with the snakes, we find, in the enormous family of Colubride, none of the African types; but instead of them three genera—Herpetodryas, Philodryas, and Heterodon— only found elsewhere in South and North America. The Psammophide, which are both African and Indian, are repre- sented by a peculiar genus, Mimophis. The Dendrophide are represented by Ahetulla, a genus which is both African and American. The Dryiophide, which inhabit all the tropics but are most developed in the Oriental region, are represented by a peculiar genus, Langaha. The tropical Pythonide are repre- sented by another peculiar genus, Sanzinia. The Lycodontidee and Viperide, so well developed in Africa, are entirely absent. The lizards are no less remarkable. The Zonuride, abun- dantly developed in Africa, are represented by one peculiar genus, Cicigna. The wide-spread Scincidee by another peculiar genus, Pygomeles. The African Sepside, are represented by three genera, two of which are African, and one, Amphiglossus, peculiar. The Acontiade are represented by a species of the African genus Acontias. Of Scincide there is the wide-spread Huprepes. The Sepidz are represented by the African genera Seps and Scelotes. The Geckotide are not represented by any purely African genera, but by Phyllodactylus, which is American and Aus- tralian ; Hemidactylus, which is spread over all the tropics; by two peculiar genera; and by Uvoplatis, Geckolepis, and Phelswma, confined to Madagascar, Bourbon, and the Andaman Islands. The Agamide, which are mostly Oriental and are represented in 280 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART UI. Africa by the single genus Agama, have here three peculiar genera, Z'racheloptychus, Chalarodon, and -Hoplurus. Lastly, the American Iguanidé are said to be represented by a species of the South American genus Oplurus. The classification of Reptiles is in such an unsettled state that some of these determinations of affinities are probably erroneous; but it is not likely that any corrections which may be required will materially affect the general bearing of the evidence, as indicating a remarkable amount of Oriental and American relationship. The other groups are of less interest. Tortoises are repre- sented by two African or wide-spread genera of Testudinide, Testudo and Chersina, and by one peculiar genus, Pyxis ; and there are also two African genera of Chelydidie. The Amphibia are not very well known. They appear to be confined to species of the wide-spread Ethiopian and Oriental genera—Hylarana, Polypedates, and Rappia (Polypedatide) ; and Pyxicephalus (Ranide). Fresh-water Fishes—These appear to be at present almost unknown. When carefully collected they will no doubt furnish some important facts. The 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 from all these islands (except the Comoros), although Lemur and Cen- tetes are given as natives of Bourbon and Mauritius. They have, however, perhaps been introduced from Madagascar. Lemur mayottensis, a peculiar species, is found in the Comoro Islands, where a Madagascar species of Vaverra also occurs. Bourbon and Mauritius may be taken together, as they much resemble each other. They each possess species of a peculiar genus of Campephagide, or caterpillar shrikes, Oxynotus ; while the remarkable Fvregilupus, belonging to the starling family, inhabits Bourbon, if it is not now extinct. They also have CHAP, XI. ] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION, 281 peculiar species of Pratincola, Hypsipetes, Phedina, Tchitrea, Zosterops, Foudia, Collocalia, and Coracopsis ; while Mauritius has a very peculiar form of dove of the sub-genus Trocaza ; an Alec- trenas, extinct within the last thirty years ; and a species of the Oriental genus of parroquets, Palwornis. The small and remote island of Rodriguez has another Palwornis, as well as a peculiar Foudia, and a Drymeca of apparently Indian affinity. Coming to the Seychelle Islands, far to the north, we find the only mammal an Indian species of bat (Pteropus edwardsii). Of the twelve land-birds all but one are peculiar species, but all belong to genera found also in Madagascar, except one—a peculiar species of Palewornis. This is an Oriental genus, but found also in several Mascarene Islands and on the African continent. A species of black parrot (Coracopsis barklayi) and a weaver bird of peculiar type (Foudia seychellarum) show, however, a decided connection with Madagascar. There are also two peculiar pigeons—a short- winged Zurtur and an Alectrenas. Most of the birds of the Comoro Islands are Madagascar spe- cies, only two being African. Five are peculiar, belonging to the genera Nectarinia, Zosterops, Dicrurus, Foudia, and Alectrenas. Reptiles are scarce. There appear to be no snakes in Mauri- tius and Bourbon, though some African species are said to be found in the Seychelle Islands. Lizards are fairly represented. Mauritius has Cryptoblepharus, an Australian genus of Gymno- pthalmide ; Hemidactytus (a wide-spread genus); Perepus (Oriental and Australian)—both belonging to the Geckotide. Bourbon has Heteropus, a Moluccan and Australian genus of Scincidee ; Phelsuma (Geckotide), and Chameleo, both found also in Madagascar; as well as Pyxis, one of the tortoises. The Seychelles have Theconyx, a peculiar genus of Geckotide, and Chameleo. Gigantic land-tortoises, which formerly inhabited most of the Mascarene Islands, now only survive in Aldabra, a small island north of the Seychelles. These will be noticed again further on, Amphibia seem only to be recorded from the Seychelles, where two genera of tree-frogs of the family Poly- pedatide are found; one (Megalixalus) peculiar, the other (Rappia) found also in Madagascar and Africa, Vou. I.—20 282 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. The few insect groups peculiar to these islands will be noted when we deal with the entomology of Madagascar. Extinct fauna of the Mascarene Islands and Madagascar—Before quitting the vertebrate groups, we must notice the remarkable birds which have become extinct in these islands little more than a century ago. The most celebrated is the dodo of the Mauritius (Didus ineptus), but an allied genus, Pezophaps, in- habited Rodriguez, and of both of these almost perfect skeletons have been recovered. Other species probably existed in Bourbon. Remains of two genera of flightless rails have also been found, Aphanapteryx and Krythromachus; and even a heron (Ardea megacephala) which was short-winged and seldom flew; while in Madagascar there lived a gigantic Struthious bird, the Aipyornis. Some further details as to these extinct forms will be found under the respective families, Didide, Rallide, and Epyornithide, in the fourth part of this work; and their bear- ing on the past history of the region will be adverted to in the latter part of this chapter. Dr. Giinther has recently dis- tinguished five species of fossil tortoises from Mauritius and Rodriguez,—all of them quite different from the living species of Aldabra. Insects—The butterflies of Madagascar are not so remarkable as some other orders of insects. There seems to be only one peculiar genus, Heteropsis (Satyride). The other genera are African, Leptoneuwra being confined to Madagascar and South Africa. There are some fine Papilios of uncommon forms. The most interesting lepidopterous insect, however, is the fine diurnal moth (Urania), as all the other species of the genus inhabit tropical America and the West Indian Islands. The Coleoptera have been better collected, and exhibit some very remarkable affinities. There is but one peculiar genus of Cicindelidze, Pogonostoma, which is allied to the South American genus, Ctenostoma. Another genus, Peridexia, is common to Madagascar and South America. None of the important African genera are represented, except Hurymorpha ; while Meglaomma is common to Madagascar and the Oriental region. In the Carabidz we have somewhat similar phenomena on a CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 283 s wider scale. Such large and important African genera as Polyhirma and Anthia, are absent; but there are four genera in common with South Africa, and two with West Africa; while three others are as much Oriental as African. One genus, Distrigus, is wholly Oriental; and another, Homalosoma, Aus- tralian. Colpodes, well developed in Bourbon and Mauritius, is Oriental and South American. Of the peculiar genera, Sphero- stylis has South American affinities; Microchila, Oriental; the others being related to widely distributed genera. The Lucanidez are few in number, and all have African affini- ties. Madagascar is very rich in Cetoniide, and possesses 20 peculiar genera. Bothrorhina, and three other genera belonging to the Ichnostoma group, have wholly African relations. Dory- scelis and Chromoptila are no less clearly allied to Oriental genera, A series of eight peculiar genera belong to the Schizo- rhinide, a family the bulk of which are Australian, while there are only a few African forms. The remaining genera appear to have African affinities, but few of the peculiarly African genera are represented. Glyciphana is characteristic of the Oriental region. The Buprestide of Madagascar consist mainly of one large and peculiar genus, Polybothris, allied to the almost cosmopolite Psiloptera. Most of the other genera are both Ethiopian and Oriental; but Polycesta is mainly South American, and the remarkable and isolated genus Sponsor is confined to the Mauritius with a species in Celebes and New Guinea. The Longicorns are numerous and interesting, there being no less than 24 peculiar genera. Two of the genera of Prionide are very isolated, while a third, Closterus, belongs to a group which is Malayan and American. Of the Cerambycidee, Philematiwm ranges to Africa and the West Indies; Leptocera is only found eastward in Ceylon and the New Hebrides; while Euporus is African. Of the peculiar genera, 2 are of African type; 3 belong to the Leptura group, which are mostly Palearctic and Oriental, with a few in South Africa ; while Philocalocera is allied to a South American genus. Among the Lamiide there are several wide-ranging and 7 284 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PARTY 111. . =— African genera; but Coptops is Oriental, and the Oriental Praonetha occurs in the Comoro Islands. Among the peculiar genera several have African affinities, but Tropidema belongs to a group which is Oriental and Australian ; Oopsis is found also in the Pacific Islands ; Mythergates, Sulemus, and Coedomca, are allied to Malayan and American genera. General Remarks on the Insect-fauna of Madagascar.—Taking the insects as a whole, we find the remarkable result that their affinities are largely Oriental, Australian, and South American: while the African element is represented chiefly by special South African or West African forms, rather than by such as are widely spread over the Ethiopian region.’ In some families—as Cetoniidee and Lamiide—the African element appears to preponderate ; in others—as Cicindelide—the South American affinity seems strongest; in Carabide, perhaps the Oriental ; while in Buprestide and Cerambycide the African and foreign elements seem nearly balanced. We must not im- pute too much importance to these foreign alliances among insects, because we find examples of them in every country on the globe. The reason they are so much more pronounced in Madagascar may be, that during long periods of time this island has served as a refuge for groups that have been dying out on the great continents; and that, owing to the numerous de- ficiencies of a somewhat similar kind in the series of vertebrata in Australia and South America, the same groups have often been able to maintain themselves in all these countries as well as in Madagascar. It must be remembered too, that these pecu- liarities in the Malagasy and Mascarene insect-fauna are but ex- aggerations of a like phenomenon on the mainland. Africa also has numerous affinities with South America, with the Malay countries, and with Australia; but they do not bear anything like so large a proportion to the whole fauna, and do not, therefore, attract so much attention. The special conditions of existence and the long-continued isolation of Madagascar, will account for much of this difference ; and it. will evidently not be necessary 1 There are also some special resemblances between the plants of Mada- gascar and South Africa, according to Dr. Kirk. CHAP. XI. THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 285 to introduce, as some writers are disposed to do, a special land connection or near approach between Madagascar and alk these countries, independently of Africa; except perhaps in the case of the Malay Islands, as will be discussed further on. Land-shells— Madagascar and the adjacent islands are all ricb in land-shells. The genera of Helicide are Vitrina, Helix, Achatina, Columna (peculiar to Madagascar and West Africa), Buliminus, Cionella (chiefly Oriental and South American, but not African), Pupa, Streptaxis, and Succinea. Among the Oper- culata we have T'’runcatella (widely scattered, but not African) ; Cyclotus (South American, Oriental, and South African) ; Cyelo- phorus (mostly Oriental, with a few South African) ; Leptopoma (Oriental); Megalomastoma (Malayan and South American) ; Lithidion (peculiar to Madagascar, Socotra, and South-West Arabia); Otopoma (with the same range, but extending to West India and New Iveland) ; Cyclostomus (widely spread but not African) ; and Omphalotropis (wholly Oriental and Australian). We thus find the same general features reproduced in the land- shells as in the insects, and the same remarks will to a great extent apply to both. The classification of the former is, how- ever, by no means so satisfactory, and we have no extensive and accurate general catalogues of shells, like those of Lepi- doptera and Coleoptera, which have furnished us with such valuable materials for the comparison of the several faunas. On the probable Past History of the Ethiopian Region. Perhaps none of the great zoological regions of the earth present us with problems of greater difficulty or higher interest than the Ethiopian. We find in it the evidence of several distinct and successive faunas, now intermingled; and it is very difficult, with our present imperfect knowledge, to form an adequate conception of how and when the several changes occurred. There are, however, a few points which seem suffi- ciently clear, and these afford us a secure foundation in our endeavour to comprehend the rest. Let us then consider what are the main facts we have to account for.—1. In Continental Africa, more especially in the south 286 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART. III. and west, we find, along with much that is peculiar, a number of genera showing a decided Oriental, and others with an equally strong South American affinity ; this latter more particularly show- - ing itself among reptiles and insects. 2. All over Africa, but more especially in the east, we have abundance of large ungulates and felines—antelopes, giraffes, buffaloes, elephants, and rhinoceroses, with lions, leopards, and hyenas, all of types now or recently found in India and Western Asia. 3. But we also have to note the absence of a number of groups which abound in the above- named countries, such as deer, bears, moles, and true pigs ; while camels and goats—characteristic of the desert regions just to the north of the Ethiopian—are equally wanting. 4. There is a wonderful unity of type and want of speciality in the vast area of our first sub-region extending from Senegal across to the east coast, and southward to the Zambezi; while West Africa and South Africa each abound in peculiar types. 5. We have the extraordinary fauna of Madagascar to account for, with its evident main derivation from Africa, yet wanting all the larger and higher African forms; its resemblances to Malaya and to South America; and its wonderful assemblage of altogether peculiar types. Here we find a secure starting-point, for we are sure that Madagascar must have been separated from Africa before the assemblage of large animals enumerated above, had entered it. Now, it is a suggestive fact, that all these belong to types which abounded in Europe and India about the Miocene period. It is also known, from the prevalence of Tertiary deposits over the Sahara and much of Arabia, Persia, and Northern India, that during early Tertiary times a continuous sea from the Bay of Bengal to the British Isles completely cut off all land com- munication between Central and Southern Africa on the one side, and the great continent of the Eastern hemisphere on the other. When Africa was thus isolated, its fauna probably had a character somewhat analogous to that of South America at the same period. Most of the higher types of mammalian life were absent, while lemurs, Edentates, and Insectivora took their place. At this period Madagascar was no doubt united with Africa, CHAP. XI. ] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 287 and helped to forma great southern continent which must at one time have extended eastward as far as Southern India and Ceylon; and over the whole of this the lemurine type no doubt prevailed. During some portion of this period, South Temperate Africa must have had a much greater extension, perhaps indicated by the numerous shoals and rocks to the south and east of the Cape of Good Hope, and by the Crozets and Kerguelen Islands further to the south-east. This would have afforded means for that intercommunion with Western Australia which is so clearly marked in the flora, and to some extent also in the insects of the two countries ; and some such extension is absolutely required for the development of that wonderfully rich and peculiar temperate flora and fauna, which, now crowded into a narrow territory, 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 from the incursions of the destructive felines of the north, the Struthious or ostrich type of birds was probably developed into its existing forms. It is not at all necessary to suppose that these three continents were at any time united, in order to account for the distribution of these great terrestrial birds ; as this may have arisen by at least two other easily conceiv- able modes. The ancestral Struthious type may, like the Marsupial, 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 regions where it was free from their attacks. In each of these it would develope into special forms adapted to surrounding conditions; and the large size, great strength, and excessive speed of the ostrich, may have been a comparatively late development caused by its exposure to the attacks of enemies which rendered such modi- fication necessary. This seems the most probable explanation of the distribution of Struthious birds, and it is rendered almost certain by the discovery of remains of this order in Europe in Eocene deposits, and by the occurrence of an ostrich among the fossils of the Siwalik hills; but it is just possible, also, that the 288 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. ancestral type may have been a bird capable of flight, and that it spread from one of the three southern continents to the others at the period of their near approach, and more or less completely lost the power of flight owing to the long continued absence of enemies. During the period we have been considering, the ancestors of existing apes and monkeys flourished (as we have seen in Chapter VI.) along the whole southern shores of the old Pala- arctic continent; and it seems likely that they first entered Africa by means of a land connection indicated by the extensive and lofty plateaus of the Sahara, situated to the south-east of Tunis and reaching to a little north-west of Lake Tchad; and at the same time the elephant and rhinoceros type may have entered. This will account for the curious similarity between the higher faunas of West Africa and the Indo-Malay sub-region, for owing to the present distribution of land and sea and the narrowing of the tropical zone since Miocene times, these are now the only lowland, equatorial, forest-clad countries, which were in connec- tion with the southern shores of the old Palearctic continent at the time of its greatest luxuriance and development. This western connection did not probably last long, the junction that led to the greatest incursion of new forms, and the complete change in the character of the African fauna, having apparently been effected by way of Syria and the shores of the Red Sea at a somewhat Jater date. By this route the old South-Palzarctic fauna, indicated by the fossils of Pikermi and the Siwalik Hills, poured into Africa; and finding there a new and favourable country, almost wholly unoccupied by large Mammalia, increased to an enormous extent, developed into new forms, and finally overran the whole continent. Before this occurred, however, a great change had taken place in the geography of Africa. It had gradually diminished on the south and east; Madagascar had been left isolated; while a number of small islands, banks, and coral reefs in the Indian Ocean alone remained to indicate the position of a once extensive equatorial land. The Mascarene Islands appear to represent the portion which separated earliest, before any carnivora had CHAP, XI. ] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 289 reached the country; and it was in consequence of this total exemption from danger, that several groups of birds altogether incapable of flight became developed here, culminating in the huge and unwieldy Dodo, and the more active Aphanapteryx. To the same cause may be attributed the development, in these islands, of gigantic land-tortoises, far surpassing any others now living on the globe. They appear to have formerly inhabited Mauritius, Bourbon, and Rodriguez, and perhaps all the other Mascarene islands, but having been recklessly destroyed, now only survive in the small uninhabited Aldabra islands north of the Seychelle group. The largest living specimen (54 feet long) is now in our Zoological Gardens. The only other place where equally large tortoises (of an allied species) are found, is the Galapagos islands, where they were equally free from enemies till civilized man came upon the scene ; who, partly by using them for food, partly by the introduction of pigs, which destroy the eggs, has greatly diminished their numbers ‘and size, and will probably soon wholly exterminate them. It is a curious fact, ascertained by Dr. Giinther, that the tortoises of the Galapagos are more nearly related to the extinct tortoises of Mauritius than is the living tortoise of Aldabra. This would imply that several distinct groups or sub-genera of Testudo have had a wide range over the globe, and that some of each have survived in very distant localities. This is rendered quite con- ceivable by the known antiquity of the genus Testudo, which dates back to at least the Eocene formation (in North America) with very little change of form. These sluggish reptiles, so long-lived and so tenacious of life, may have remained un- changed, while every higher animal type around them has become extinct and been replaced by very different forms; as in the case of the living Emys tectum, which is the sole survivor of the strange Siwalik fauna of the Miocene epoch. The ascer- tained history of the genus and the group, thus affords a satis- factory explanation of the close affinity of the gigantic tortoises of Mauritius and the Galapagos. The great island of Madagascar seems to have remained longer united with Africa, till some of the smaller and more active 290 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. carnivora had reached it; and we consequently find there, no wholly terrestrial form of bird but the gigantic and powerful Apyornis, well able to defend itself against such enemies. As already intimated, we refer the South American element in Madagascar, not to any special connection of the two countries independently of Africa, but to the preservation there of a number of forms, some derived from America through Africa, others of once almost cosmopolitan range, but which, owing to the severer competition, have become extinct on the African con- tinent, while they have continued to exist under modified forms in the two other countries. The depths of all the great oceans are now known to be so profound, that we cannot conceive the elevation of their beds above the surface without some corresponding depression else- where. And if, as is probable, these opposite motions of the earth’s crust usually take place in parallel bands, and are to some extent dependent on each other, an elevation of the sea bed could hardly fail to lead to the submergence of large tracts of existing continents; and this is the more likely to occur on account of the great disproportion that we have seen exists between the mean height of the land and the mean depth of the ocean. Keeping this principle in view, we may, with some probability, suggest the successive stages by which the Ethiopian region assumed its present form, and acquired the striking peculiarities that characterise its several sub-regions. During the early period, when the rich and varied temperate flora of the Cape, and its hardly less peculiar forms of insects and of low type mammalia, were in process of development in an extensive south temperate land, we may be pretty sure that the whole of the east and much of the north of Africa was deep sea. At a later period, when this continent sank towards the south and east, the elevation may have occurred which connected Mada- gascar with Ceylon; and only at a still later epoch, when the Indian Ocean had again been formed, did central, eastern, and northern Africa gradually rise above the ocean, and effect a connection with the great northern continent by way of Abys- sinia and Arabia. And if this last change took place with CHAP. XI. ] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 291 * tolerable rapidity, or if the elevatory force acted from the north towards the south, there would be a new and unoccupied territory to be taken possession of by immigrants from the north, together with a few from the south and west. The more highly-organized types from the great northern continent, how- ever, would inevitably prevail; and we should thus have explained the curious uniformity in the fauna of so large an area, together with the absence from it of those peculiar Ethiopian types which so abundantly characterise the other three sub-regions. We may now perhaps see the reason of the singular absence from tropical Africa of deer and bears; for these are both groups which live in fertile or well-wooded countries, whereas the line of immigration from Europe to Africa was probably always, as now, to a great extent a dry and desert tract, suited to antelopes and large felines, but almost impassable to deer and bears. We find, too, that whereas remains of antelopes and giraffes abound in the Miocene deposits of Greece, there were no deer (which are perhaps a somewhat later development); neither were there any bears, but numerous forms of Felide, Viverridze, Mustelide, and ancestral forms of Hyena, exactly suited to be the progenitors of the most prevalent types of modern African Zoology. There appears to have been one other change in the geo- graphy of Africa and the Atlantic Ocean that requires notice. The rather numerous cases of close similarity in the insect forms of tropical Africa and America, seem to indicate some better means of transmission, at a not very remote epoch, than now exists. The vast depth of the Atlantic, and the absence of any corresponding likeness in the vertebrate fauna, entirely negative the idea of any union between the two countries ; but a moderate extension of their shores towards each other is not improbable, and this, with large islands in the place of the Cape Verd group, St. Paul’s Rocks, and Fernando Noronha, to afford resting places in the Atlantic, would probably suffice to explain the amount of similarity that actually exists. Our knowledge of the geology and paleontology of Africa 292 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. being so scanty, it would be imprudent to attempt any more detailed explanation of the peculiarities of its existing fauna. The sketch now given is, it is believed, founded on a sufficient basis of facts to render it not-only a possible but a probable account of what took place ; and it is something gained to be able to show, that a large portion of the peculiarities and anomalies of so remarkable a fauna as that of the Ethiopian region, can be accounted for by a series of changes of physical geography during the tertiary epoch, which can hardly be con- sidered extreme, or in any way unlikely to have occurred. CIIAP. XI. ] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 293 TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION. In drawing up these tables showing the distribution of various classes of animals in the Ethiopian Region, the following sources of information have been chiefly relied on, in addition to the general treatises, monographs, and catalogues, used for the Fourth Part of this work :— Mammalia.—Blanford’s Abyssinia; Peters’s Mozambique ; Heuglin and Schweinfurth for North East Africa ; Grandidier Schlegel, &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 Bovide from Sir Victor Brooke. Birds.—Finsch and Hartlaub for East Africa; Heuglin for North-East Africa; Blanford for Abyssinia; Layard for South Africa; Hartlaub for West Africa; Dohrn for Princes Island ; Andersson 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 Ir 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 properly to belong to it. Numbers are not consecutive, but correspond to those in Part IV. Sub-regions. Order and Family. |e d|pcg|daela 4 Range beyond the Region. Ma lPs les |* & MAMMALIA. PRIMATES. 1. Simiide ae — Oriental 2. Semnopithecide | — | — Oriental 3. Cynopithecide | — | — | — Oriental, Palearctic 6. Lemuride ... | — | — | —-| — | Oriental 8. Chiromyide ... = CHEIROPTERA. 9. Pteropide ... | — | — | — | — | Oriental, Australian 11. Rhinolophide | — | — | — | — | The Eastern Hemisphere 12. Vespertilionide | — | — | — | — | Cosmopolite 13. Noctilionide... | — | — | — | — | All Tropical regions INSECTIVORA. 15. Macroscelidide | — —_ South Palearctic 17. Erinaceide ... — Palearctic, Oriental 18. Centetide ... — | Greater Antilles 19. Potamogalide -- 20. Chrysochloride | — = 22. Soricide... ... | — | — | — | — | All regions but Australian and Neotropical CARNIVORA. 23. Felide ... ... | — | — | — | — | All regions but Australian 24. Cryptoproctide oa 25. Viverride ... | — | — |— | — | Oriental, S. Paleearctic 26. Protelide ... = 27. Hyxnide .f/—-]—|— S. Palearctic, India 28. Canide ... ... | —}|—|— Almost cosmopolite 20. Mustelidae 9) 2/1) a All regions but Australian 33. Otariide... ... — All temperate regions CETACEA,. SOMO Le ees pene Oceanic SIRENIA. 42. Manatide ...| — | — Neotropical, Oriental, Australian UNGULATA. asp hquides sss cena | —— || | Palearctic CHAP. XI. | THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 295 a Sub-regions. Order and Family. 45. 46. 47. 49, 51. 52. Rhinocerotidz Hippopotamide Suidz ... ... Tragulide ... Camelopardide Bovide ... PROBOSCIDEA. 53. Elephantide ... HYRACOIDEA. 54. Hyracidee RopENTIA, - Muride ... Spalacidee . Dipodidee . Myoxidee . Sciuride... ... . Octodontidee ... . Echimyide . Hystricide . Leporidze EDENTATA. 72. Manidide 74. Orycteropodide BIRDS. PASSERES. . Turdide... . Sylviide... . Timaliide . Cinclide ? . Sittide ... Mee arid eu cse yo. . Pyenonotide... Oriolide... : . Campephagide . Dicruride F . Muscicapide ... Laniide ... . Corvide ... : . Nectariniide... . Diceride ' . Hirundinide... . Fringillide . Ploceide . Sturnide . Alaudide } . Troglodytide ~ f Range beyond the Region. Oriental Cosmopolite ; excl. Australia Oriental All regions but Neotrop. and Australian Oriental Syria Cosmopolite ; excl. Oceania Palearctic, Oriental Palearctic, Nearctic Palearctic All regions but Australian N. Africa, Neotropical Neotropical S. Palearctic, Oriental All regions but Australian Oriental Almost Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Oriental, Australian Widely scattered Almost Cosmopolite Palearctic, Oriental, Australian All regions but Australian Oriental Oriental, Australian Oriental, Australian Oriental, Australian The Eastern Hemisphere The Eastern Hemisphere and North America Cosmopolite Oriental, Australian Oriental, Australian Cosmopolite Cosmopolite, except Australian region Oriental, Australian Eastern Hemisphere Eastern Hemisphere and North America 296 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. Order and Family. 38. Motacillide ... A emmbittidee ce. 48, Paictide PICARLA, 51. Picide 52. Yungidee 53. Indicatoride ... 54. Megalemide... 56. Musophagide 57. Coliide ... 58. Cuculide 59. Leptosomide .. 62. Coraciide 63. Meropidee 66. Trogonide 67. Alcedinidee 68. Bucerotide 69. Upupidee 70. Irrisoride 73. Caprimulgide 74, Cypselidee PSITTACI. 78. Paleornithidee 81. Psittacidee CoLUMBA. 84. Columbide 85. Didide ... GALLIN®. 86. Pteroclidse 87. Tetraonide 88. Phasianidee 89. Turnicide ACCIPITRES. 94. Vulturide 95. Falconide 96. Serpentariide 97, Pandionide ... 98. Strigidze GRALL&. 99. Rallide 100. Scolopacide. 103. Parride 104, Glareolide ... 105. Charadriidz Sub-regions. | | [PART lI Range beyond the Region. Slgials| The Eastern Hemisphere Oriental, Australian Cosmopolite, excl. Australian region Palearctic Oriental Oriental, Neotropical Cosmopolite Oriental, Australian Oriental, Australian Oriental, Neotropical Cosmopolite Oriental and to N. Guinea Palearctic, Oriental Cosmopolite Almost Cosmopolite Oriental Neotropical Cosmopolite (Extinct) Palearctic, Oriental Eastern Hemisphere and N. America Old World and N. America Eastern Hemisphere. All the continents but Australia Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Tropical Eastern Hemisphere Cosmopolite CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION: Sub-regions. i a | Order and Family. cpaitegt | eat ese | ediees: | es Range beyond the Region. g2/32|s2|38 Ma lFS (44/28 106. Otididee Eastern Hemisphere 107. Gruide All regions but Neotropical 113. Ardeide Cosmopolite 114. Plataleide ... Almost Cosmopolite 115. Ciconiidee Almost Cosmopolite 117. Pheenicopterid Oriental and Neotropical ANSERES. 118. Anatide Cosmopolite 119. Laride .. Cosmopolite 120. Procellariidie Cosmopolite 121. Pelecanide ... Cosmopolite 122. Spheniscidee South temperate regions 124, Podicipidee Cosmopolite 126. Struthionide Temperate S. America 131, pyornithide (Extinct) REPTILIA. OPHIDIA. 1. Typhlopide ... All regions but Nearctic 5. Calamariide ... Warms parts of all regions 7. Colubridee Almost Cosmopolite 8. Homalopsidee Oriental, and all other regions 9. Psammophide Oriental and 8. Palearctic 10. Rachiodontide 11. Dendrophidee Oriental, Australian, Neotropical 12. Dryiophide ... Oriental, Neotropical 13. Dipsadidee Oriental, Australian, Neotropical 15. Lycodontide... | Oriental 17. Pythonidee _ All tropical regions 18. Erycide ... ... Oriental, S. Palearctic 20. Elapide ... ... Tropical regions, S. U. States and Japan 21. Dendraspidide 22. Atractaspidide 23. Hydrophide ... Oriental, Australian, Panama 25. Viperidee Oriental, Palearctic LACERTILIA. 28. Amphisbenide S. Europe, Neotropical 29. Lepidosternidee N. America 30. Varanidee Warm parts of E. Hemisphere 33. Lacertidee All continents but America 34, Zonuride All America, N. India, S. Europe 40, Chamesauride ereGy eee nals Palearctic, Australian, Netropical 45. Scincidee Almost Cosmopolite 47. Sepide ... South Palearctic 48. Acontiade Ceylon and Moluccas, 49. Geckotide Almost cosmopolite Vou. L—21 ; 298 Order and Family. 51. Agamidee 52. Chameleonide CROCODILIA. 55. Crocodilide ... CHELONIA. 57. Testudinide ... 58. Chelydidee 59. Trionychide ... 60. Cheloniidie AMPHIBIA. PSEUDOPHIDIA. 1. Ceciliade ANOURA. 7. Phryniscide ... 9. Bufonidee 11. Engystomide.. 14, Alytide ... life Polypedatidze g 18. Ranide ... 19. Disvoglossidze 21. Dactylethride FISHES (FRESH- WATER). ACANTHOPTERYGII. 3. Percide ... 12. Scienide 35. Labyrinthici f 38. Mugillide 52. Chromide PHYSOSTOMI. 59. Siluride... 60. Characinide ... 68. Mormyride. ... 69. Gymnarchide 78. Cyprinodontide 75. Cyprinidee 78. Osteoglossidee 82. Notopteride ... GANOIDEIL. 92. Sirenoidei 94. Polypteride ... ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY, [PART 111. Range beyond the Region. Oriental, Australian, 8. Palearctic Oriental, S. Palearctic Oriental, Neotropical All continents but Australia Australia, S. America Oriental, Japan, E. United States Marine Oriental, Neotropical Neotropical, Australia, Java All regions but Australian All regions but Palearctic All regions but Oriental All the regions Almost Cosmopolite All regions but Nearctic All regions but Australian All regions but Australian Oriental, Moluccas Australian, Neotropical Oriental, Neotropical All warm regions Neotropical Palearctic, Oriental, American Absent from Australia and S. America All tropical regions Oriental Neotropical, Australian CHAP. XI.] INSECTS. DOPTERA (PART). DrurNI (BUTTER- Order and Family. FLIES). . Danaide . Satyride . Elymniidee Acreide... . Nymphalide... . Libytheide ... . Nemeobiide .. . Lycenide « Pieride \.. ... . Papilionide ... . Hesperide SPHINGIDEA. afc 19% 20. 22. 23. Zygenide Agaristid Uraniidee Aigeriidee Sphingidee THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. LEPI- Range beyond the Region. All warm countries and Canada Cosmopolite Oriental, Moluccas All tropical regions Cosmopolite Absent from Australia only ; Absent from Australia and Nearctic region Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Cosmopolite — Cosmopolite Australian, Oriental All tropical regions Cosmopolite, excl. Australia Cosmopolite 300 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. TABLE II. LIST OF GENERA OF TERRESTRIAL MAMMALIA AND BIRDS INHABITING THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. EXPLANATION. Names in ?¢falics show genera peculiar to the region. Names inclosed thus (...) show genera which just enter the region, but are not considered properly to belong to it. Genera which undoubtedly belong to the region are numbered consecutively. MAMMALIA. Order, Family, and Genus. PRIMATES. SIMIIDA. 1. Troglodytes SEMNOPITHECID. 2. Colobus CYNOPITHECIDS. . Cercocebus STO OU C9 (Sub-Order) LEMUROIDEA., LEMURIDZ. 8. Indris 9. Lemur : 10. Hapalemur 11. Microcebus 12. Chirogaleus 13. Lepilemur 14. Perodicticus 15. “ i wy 7 _ al age " J rfl - ' . > x . ¥ ‘ . . j D a = ; + F 7 = ' : L ge * > r i i - n 1 : . a " J ; f ‘ ‘ ‘ . f , q 7 Y j rs r ‘ y . ‘ 4 Me w . ay - Ps o . = ‘ 7 “ - y } ( - ; ' f . , - 5 iy as ot r 5 ‘ : . ’ j 1s re 7 , . 4 : ont : | z, 7 Ae : ; : ‘ aie ne? Pr . “oF - ‘ - f \ ' . , i ‘ ‘ 7 , ‘ . . 4 ) ih | « i) , =) f “ cH t * 4 . . ” ” Py 1 \e Se an 5 i : ‘ q ‘ ‘ i ; é ' 7 - : 4 : ’ ' ‘ . mo Caan = 7M : ios ie , ne: ‘ 7 : : D ; : , ‘ hy ; ‘ 7 ' ‘ : * : : J : ’ - ‘ D , é i tev eel ee 1 ic \\ . J ‘ 4 « = oa . aa - F . i} ‘ i y ‘ { ‘ ' , . : ) < PLATE VIL. NEPAUL, WITH CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS. IN SCENE CHAP, XII. ] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 331 and two birds, characteristic of the higher woody region of the Himalayas. The lower figure on the left is the Helictis nepalensis, confined to the Eastern Himalayas, and belonging to a genus of the weasel family which is exclusively Oriental. It is marked with white on a grey-brown ground. Above it is the remark- able Panda (4lurus fulgens), a beautiful animal with a glossy fur of a reddish colour, darker feet, and a white somewhat cat-like face. It is distantly allied to the bears, and more nearly to the American racoons, yet with sufficient differences to constitute it a, distinct family. The large bird on the tree, is the horned Tragopan (Ceriornis satyra), one of the fine Himalayan pheasants, magnificently spotted with red and white, and ornamented with fleshy erectile wattles and horns, of vivid blue and red colours. The bird in the foreground is the Jbidorhynchus struthersii, a rare and curious wader, allied to the curlews and sandpipers but having the bill and feet red. It frequents the river-beds in the higher Himalayas, but has also been found in Thibet. Reptiles—Very few genera of reptiles are peculiar to this sub-region, all the more important ranging into the Malay islands. Of snakes the following are the more characteristic genera :—T'yphline, Cylindrophis, Xenopeltis, Calamaria, Xenela- phis, Hypsirhina, Fordonia, several small genera of Homalop- side (Herpeton and Hipistes being characteristic of Burmah and Siam) Psammodynastes, Gonyosoma, Chrysopelea, Tragops, Dipsas, Pareas, Python, Bungarus, Naja, Callophis, and Trimeresurus. Naja reaches 8,000 feet elevation in the Himalayas, Tropidonotus 9,000 feet, Ablabes 10,000 feet, and Simotes 15,000 feet. Of lizards, Pseudopus has one species in the Khasya hills while the other inhabits South-east Europe; and there are two small genera of Agamide peculiar to the Himalayas, while Draco and Calotes have a wide range and Acanthosaura, Dilo- phyrus, Physignathus, and Liolepis are found chiefly in the Indo-Chinese peninsula. There are several genera of Scincide ; and the extensive genus of wall-lizards, Gecko, ranges over the whole region. Of Amphibia, the peculiar forms are not numerous. Ichthyophis So2 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART Ill. a genus of Ceciliade, is peculiar to the Khasya Hills; Tylo- tritron (Salamandridz) to Yunan in Western China, and perhaps belongs to the Palearctic region. Of the tail-less Batrachians, Glyphoglossus is found in Pegu; Xenophys in the Eastern Himalayas; while Callula, Ixalus, Rhacophorus, Hylurana, Oxyglossus, and. Phrynoglossus, are com- mon to the Himalo-Chinese and Malayan sub-regions. Of the lizards, Colotes, Barycephalus, and Hinulia,—and of the Batrachia, Bufo—are found at above 11,000 feet elevation in the Himalayas. Insects—So little has been done in working out the insect faunas of the separate sub-regions, that they cannot be treated in detail, and the reader is referred to the chapter on the dis- tribution of insects in the part of this work devoted to Geogra- phical Zoology. . A few particulars may, however, be given as to the butterflies, which have been more systematically collected in tropical countries than any other order of insects. The Hima- layan butterflies, especially in the eastern portions of the range— in Assam and the Khasya Hills—are remarkably fine and very ‘abundant; yet all the larger groups extend into the Malayan sub-region, many to Ceylon, and a considerable proportion even to Africa and Austro-Malaya. There are a large number of peculiar types, but most of them consist of few or single species. Such are Neope, Orenoma, and Rhaphicera, genera of Satyride ; Enispe (Morphide) ; Hestina, Penthema, and Abrota (Nympha- lide) ; Dodona (Erycinide) ; Ilerda (Lyceenide) ; Calinaga, Teino- palpus, and Bhutanitis (Papilionide). Its more prominent fea- tures are, however, derived from what may be termed Malayan, or even Old World types, such as Huplea, among Danaide ; Amathusia, Clerome, and Thaumantis, among Morphide ; Euripus, Diadema, Athyma, Limenitis, and Adolias, among Nymphalide, Zemeros and Taxila among Erycinide; Amblypodia, Miletus, Ilerda, and Myrina, among Lycenide ; Thyca, Prioneris, Dercas, Iphias, and Thestias among Pieride; and Papilios of the “ Amphrisius,” “ Coon,” “ Philoxenus,” “ Protenor,’ “ Paris,” and “ Sarpedon” groups. In the Himalayas there is an unusual abundance of large and gorgeous species of the genus Papilio, CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 333 and of large and showy Nymphalide, Morphide, and Danaide, which render it, in favoured localities, only second to South America for a display of this form of beauty and variety in insect life. Among the other orders of insects in which the Himalayas are remarkably rich, we may mention large and brilliant Ce- toniide, chiefly of the genus Rhomborhima ; a magnificent Lamel- licorn, Huchirus macleayii, allied to the gigantic long-armed beetle (£. longimanus) of Amboyna; superb moths of the families Agaristidee and Sesiide; elegant and remarkable Ful- goride, and strange forms of the gigantic Phasmide ; most of which appear to be of larger size or of more brilliant colours than their Malayan allies. Islands of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region—A few important islands belong to this sub-region, the Andamans, Formosa, and Hainan being the most interesting. Andamans.—The only mammalia are a few rats and mice, a Paradoxurus, and a pig supposed to be a hybrid race,—all of which may have been introduced by man’s agency. The birds of the Andaman Islands have been largely collected, no less than 155 species having been obtained; and of these 17, (all land-birds) are peculiar. The genera are all found on the continent, and are mostly characteristic of the Indo-Chinese fauna, to which most of the species belong. Reptiles are also tolerably abundant; about 20 species are known, the majority being found also on the continent, while a few are peculiar. There are also a few Batrachia, and some fresh-water fishes, closely resembling those of Burmah. The absence of such mammalia as monkeys and squirrels, which abound on the mainland, and which are easily carried over straits or narrow seas by floating trees, is sufficient proof that these islands have not recently formed part of the continent. The birds are mostly such as may have reached the islands while in their present geographical position ; and the occurrence of reptiles and fresh-water fishes, said to be identical in species with those of Burmah, must be due to the facilities, which some of these animals undoubtedly 334 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART Ii. possess, for passing over a considerable width of sea. We must conclude, therefore, that these islands do not owe their exist- ing fauna to an actual union with the mainland; but it is pro- bable that they may have been formerly more extensive, and have then been less distant from the continent than at the present time. The Nicobar Islands, usually associated with the Andamans, are less known, but present somewhat similar phenomena. They are, however, more Malayan in their fauna, and seem properly to 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 to Chinese or Himalayan forms. About 30 species of mammalia were found in Formosa, of which 11 are peculiar species, the rest being either Chinese or Himalayan. The peculiar species belong to the genera Talpa, Helictis, Scivropterus, Pteromys, Mus, Sus, Cervus, and Capricornis, A few lizards and snakes of conti- nental species have also been found. These facts clearly indicate the former connection of Formosa with China and Malaya, a connection which is rendered the more probable by the shallow sea 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 col- lected 172 species of birds, of which 130 were land-birds.. Of these about 20 were peculiar species ; the remainder being either Chinese, Himalayan, or Indo-Malayan. Mr. Swinhoe also ob- tained 24 species of mammalia, all being Chinese, Himalayan, or Indo-Malayan species except a hare, which is peculiar. This assemblage of animals would imply that Hainan, as might be anticipated from its position, has been more recently separated from 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 (including only the Malayan peninsula on the continent of Asia), is equal, if CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 335 SS — not superior, in the variety and beauty of its productions, to that which we have just been considering. Like Indo-China, it is a re- gion of forests, but it is more exclusively tropical ; and it is there- fore deficient in many of those curious forms of the temperate zone of the Himalayas, which seem to have been developed from Palearctic rather than from Oriental types. Here alone, in the Oriental region, are found the most typical equatorial forms of life organisms adapted to a climate characterised by uniform but not excessive heat, abundant moisture, and no marked departure from the average meteorological state, throughout the year. These favourable conditions of life only occur in three widely separated districts of the globe—the Malay archipelago, Western Africa, and equatorial South America. Hence perhaps it is, that the tapir and the trogons of Malacca should so closely resemble those of South America ; and that the great anthropoid apes and erested hornbills of Western Africa, should find their nearest allies in Borneo and Sumatra. . Although the islands which go to form this sub-region are often separated from each other by a considerable ex- panse of sea, yet their productions in general offer no greater differences than those of portions of the Indo-Chinese sub- region separated by an equal extent of dry land. The ex- planation is easy, however, when we find that the sea which separates them is a very shallow one, so shallow that an eleva- tion of only 300 feet would unite Sumatra, Java, and Borneo into one great South-eastern prolongation of the Asiatic continent: As we know that our own country has been elevated and de- pressed to a greater amount than this, at least twice in recent geological times, we can have no difficulty in admitting similar changes of level in the Malay archipelago, where the sub- terranean forces which bring about such changes are still at work, as manifested by the great chain of active volcanoes in Sumatra and Java. Proofs of somewhat earlier changes of level are to be seen in the Tertiary coal formations of Borneo, which demonstrate a succession of elevations and subsidences, with as much certainty as if we had historical record of them. Jt is not necessary to suppose, nor is it probable, that all these 336 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. (rsRT III. great islands were recently united to the continent, and that their separation took place by one general subsidence of the whole. It is more consonant with what we know of such mat- ters, that the elevations and depressions were partial, varying in their points of action and often recurring; sometimes ex- tending one part of an island, sometimes another; now joining an island to the main land, now bringing two islands into closer proximity. There is reason to believe that sometimes an inter- vening island has sunk or receded and allowed others which it before separated to effect a partial union independently of it. If we recognise the probability that such varied and often-renewed changes of level have occurred, we shall be better able to under- stand how certain anomalies of distribution in these islands may have been brought about. We will now endeavour to sketch the general features of the zoology of this interesting district, and then proceed to discuss some of the relations of the islands to each other. Mammalia—We have seen that the Indo-Chinese sub-region possesses 13 species of mammalia in common with the Indo- Malay sub-region, and 4 others peculiar to itself, besides one Ethiopian and several Oriental and Palearctic forms of wide range, Of this latter class the Malay islands have compara- tively few, but they possess no less than 14 peculiar genera, viz. Simia, Siamanga, Tarsius, Galeopithecus, Hylomys, Ptilocerus, Gymnura, Cynogale, Hemigalea, Arctogale, Barangia, Mydaus, Hélarctos, and Tapirus. The islands also possess tigers, deer, wild pigs, wild cattle, elephants, the scaly ant-eater, and most of the usual Oriental genera; so that they are on the whole fully as rich as, if not richer than, any part of Asia; a fact very unusual in island faunas, and very suggestive of their really continental nature. Plate VIII. Scene in Borneo with Characteristic Malayan Quadrupeds.—The Malayan fauna is so rich and peculiar that we devote two plates to illustrate it. We have here a group of mammalia, such as might be seen together in the vast forests of Borneo. In the foreground we have the beautiful deer-like Chevrotain (Zragulus javanicus). These are delicate little PLATE VIII. MAMMALIA, ISTIC ER. CT CHARA BORNEO, WITH A FOREST IN CHAP. XII. ] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 337 animals whose body is not larger than a rabbit’s, thence often called “mouse-deer.” They were formerly classed with the “ musk-deer,” owing to their similar tusk-like upper canines ; but their anatomy shows them to form quite a distinct family, having more resemblance to the camels. On the branch above is the curious feather-tailed Tree-Shrew (Ptilocerus lowit), a small insectivorous animal altogether peculiar to Borneo. Above this is the strange little Tarsier (Tarsius spectrum), one of the lemurs confined to the Malay islands, but so distinct from all others as to constitute a separate family. The other small animals are the Flying Lemurs (Galeopithecus volans) formerly classed with the lemurs, but now considered to belong to the Insectivora, They have a very large expansion of the skin connecting the fore and hind limbs and tail, and are able to take long flights from one tree to another, and even to rise over obstacles in their course by the elevatory power of the tail-membrane. They feed chiefly on leaves, and have a very soft and beautifully marbled fur. In the distance is the Malayan tapir (Zapirus indicus), a representative of a group of animals now confined to the larger Malay islands and tropical America, but which once ranged over the greater part of temperate Europe. Birds—Owing to several of the families consisting of very obscure and closely allied species, which have never been criti- cally examined 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 somewhat less than 630 species of land-birds actually known, or exclud- ing the Philippine Islands somewhat less than 600. The larger part of these are peculiar species, but mostly allied to those of Indo-China; 36 of the genera, as already stated, being common to these two sub-regions. There are, however, no less than 46 genera which are peculiarly or wholly Indo Malayan and, in many cases, have no close affinity with other Oriental groups. These peculiar genera are as follows:—T7imalia, Mala- copteron, Macronus, Napothera, Turdinus, and Trichixos—genera 338 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. of Timaliide ; Hupetes,a most remarkable form, perhaps allied to Enicurus, and Cinelus ; Rhabdornis (Certhiide) found only in the Philippines; Psaltria, a diminutive bird of doubtful affinities, provisionally classed among the tits (Paride); Setornis (Pycnono- tide) ; Lalage (Campephagidee) extending eastward to the Pacific Islands ; Pycnosphrys, Philentoma (Muscicapide) ; Laniellus, a beautiful bird doubtfully classed with the shrikes (Laniide) ; Platylophus and Pityriasis, the latter a most anomalous form— perhaps a distinct family, at present classed with the jays, in Corvide ; Prionochilus, a curious form classed with Diczide ; Erythrura (Ploceide), extending eastwards to the Fiji Islands ; Gymnops, Calornis, (Sturnide); Hurylemus, Corydon, and Calyp- tomena (Eurylemide) ; Hucichla, the longest tailed and most elegantly marked of the Pittide ; Reinwardtipicus and Miglyptes (Picidee) ; Pstlopogon and Calorhamphus, (Megalemide) ; Rhino- coccyx, Dasylophus, Lepidogrammus, Carpococcyx, Zanclostomus, Poliococeyx, Rhinortha, (Cuculidee) ; Berenicornis, Caldo, Cranor- hinus, Penelopides, Rhinoplux, (Bucerotidee) ; Psittinus, (Psitta- cide); Ptilopus, Phapitreron, (Columbide); Rollulus, (Trero- nide); Macherhamphus, (Falconide). Many of these genera are abundant and wide-spread, while some of the most characteristic Himalayan genera, such as Larvivora, Garrulax, Hypsipetes, Pomatorhinus, and Dendrocitta, are here represented by only a few species. Among the groups that are characteristic of the Malayan sub-region, the Timalide and Pycnonotide stand pre-eminent; the former represented chiefly by the genera 7imalia, Malacopteron, Macronus, and Trichastoma, the latter by Criniger, Microscelis, and many forms of Pycnonotus. The Muscicapide, Dicruride, Campephagide, Ploceide, and Nectariniide are also well developed ; as well as the Pittidse, and the Eurylemide, the limited number of species of the latter being compensated by a tolerable abundance of individuals. Among the Picariz are many conspicuous groups; as, woodpeckers (Picide) ; barbets (Megalemide); trogons (Trogonide); kingfishers (Alcedinide) ; and hornbills (Bucerotide) ; five families which are perhaps the most conspicuous in the whole fauna. Lastly come the pigeons CHAP. XII. ]} THE ORIENTAL REGION, 339 (Columbidze), and the pheasants (Phasianide), which are fairly represanted by such fine genera as 7reron, Ptilopus, Euplocamus, and Argusianus. A few forms whose affinities are Australian rather 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 fruit- doves (Ptilopus); and the mound-makers (Megapodius), are the chief of these. There are a few curious examples of remote geographical alliances that may be noted. First, we have a direct African connection in Macherhamphus, a genus of hawks, and Berenicornis, a genus of hornbills; the only close allies being, in the former case in South, and in the latter in West Africa. Then we have a curious Neotropical affinity, indicated by Carpococcyx, a large Bornean ground-cuckoo, whose nearest ally is the genus WNeo- morphus of South America; and by the lovely green-coloured Calyptomena which seems unmistakably allied to the orange- coloured Lupicola, or “ Cock of the rock,” in general structure and in the remarkable form of crest, a resemblance which has been noticed by many writers. In the preceding enumeration of Malayan genera several are included which extend into the Austro-Malay Islands, our object, at present, being to show the differences and relations of the 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 its bird-life ; and for this purpose we place our scene in the Malay peninsula, where birds are perhaps more abundant and more interesting, than in any other part of the sub-region. Con- spicuous in the foreground is the huge Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), one of the most characteristic birds of the Malayan forests, the flapping of whose wings, as it violently beats the air to support its heavy body, may be heard a mile off. On the ground behind, is the Argus pheasant (Argus- ianus giganteus) whose beautifully ocellated wings have been the subject of a most interesting description in Mr. Darwin’s Descent of Man. The wing-feathers are here so enormously 340 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PARY II. developed for display (as shown in our figure) that they become almost, if not quite, useless for their original purpose of flight ; yet the colours are so sober, harmonizing completely with the surrounding vegetation, and the bird is so wary, that in the forests where it abounds an old hunter assured me he had never been able to see a specimen till it was caught in his snares. It is interesting to note, that during the display of the plumage the bird’s head is concealed by the wings from a spectator in front, and, contrary to what usually obtains among pheasants, the head is entirely unadorned, having neither crest nor a particle of vivid colour,—a remarkable confirmation of Mr. Darwin’s views, that gayly coloured plumes are developed in the male bird for the purpose of attractive display in the breeding season. The long-tailed bird on the right is one of the Drongo-shrikes (Bhringa remifer), whose long bare tail-feathers, with an oar-like web at the end, and_ blue- black glossy plumage, render it a very attractive object as it flies after its insect prey. On the left is another singular bird the great Broad-bill (Corydon swmatranus), with dull and sombre plumage, but with a beak more like that of a boat-bill than of a fruit-eating passerine bird. Over all, the white-handed Gibbon (Hylobatcs lar) swings and gambols among the topmost branches of the forest. Reptiles and Amphibia.—These are not sufficiently known to be of much use for our present purpose. Most of the genera belong to the continental parts of the Oriental region, or have a wide range. Of snakes Rhabdosoma, Typhlocalamus, Tetragono- soma, Acrochordus, and Atropos, are the most peculiar, and there are several peculiar genera of Homalopside. Of Oriental genera, Cylindrophis, Xenopeltes, Calamaria, Hypsirhina, Psammody- nastes, Gonyosoma, Tragops, Dipsas, Pareas, Python, Bungarus, Naja, and Callophis are abundant; as well as Simotes, Ablabes, Tropidonotus, and Dendrophis, which are widely distributed. Among lizards Hydrosaurus and Gecko are common; there are many isolated groups of Scincide; while Draco, Calotes, and many forms of Agamide, some of which are peculiar, abound. Among the Amphibia, toads and frogs of the genera Micrhyla, AT Ee PL A MALAYAN FOREST, WITH SOME OF ITS PECULIAR BIRDS. CHAP. XII. ] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 341 Kalophrynus, Ansonia, and Pseudobufo, are peculiar: while the Oriental Megalophrys, Ixalus, Rhacophorus, and Hylorana are abundant and characteristic. : Fishes——The fresh-water fishes of the Malay archipelago have been so well collected and examined by the Dutch naturalists, that they offer valuable indications of zoo-geo- graphical affinity ; and they particularly well exhibit the sharply defined limits of the region, a large number of Oriental and even Ethiopian genera extending eastward as far as Java and Borneo, but very rarely indeed sending a single species further east, to Celebes or the Moluccas. Thirteen families of fresh-water fishes are found in the Indo-Malay sub-region. Of these the Scienide and Symbranchide have mostly a wide range in the tropics. Ophiocephalide are exclusively Oriental, reaching Borneo and the Philippine islands. The Mastacem- belide are also Oriental, but one species is found as far as Ceram. Of the Nandidz, 3 genera range over the whole region. The Labyrinthici extend from Africa through the Oriental region to Amboyna. The single species constituting the family Lucio- cephalide is confined to Borneo and the small islands of Biliton and Banca. Of the extensive family Siluride 17 genera are Oriental and Malayan, and 11 are Malayan exclusively; and not one of these appears to pass beyond the limits of the sub- region. The Cyprinide offer an equally striking example, 23 genera ranging eastward to Java and Borneo and not one beyond; 14 of these being exclusively Malayan. It must be remembered that this is not from any want of knowledge of the countries farther east, as extensive collections have also been made in Celebes, the Moluccas, and Timor; so that the facts of distribution of fresh-water fishes come, most unexpectedly, to fortify that division of the archipelago into two primary regions, which was founded on a consideration of mammalia and birds only. Insects —Few countries in the world can present a richer and more varied series of insects than the Indo-Malay islands, and we can only here notice a few of their more striking peculiarities and more salient features. 342 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. * “(PART dit: The butterflies of this sub-region, according to the best esti- mate that 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 H7ites (Saty- ride) ; Zeuxidia (Morphide) ; Amnosia, Xanthotenia, and Tanecia (Nymphalide). The groups which are most charac- teristic of the region, either from their abundance in individuals or species, or from their size and beauty, are—the rich dark- coloured Huplwa ; the large semi-transparent Hestia; the plain- coloured Mycalesis, which replace our meadow-brown butterflies (Hipparchia) ; the curious Hlymnias, which often closely resemble Eupleas; the large and handsome Thamantis and Zeuxidia, which take the place of the giant Morphos of South America ; the Cethosia, of the brightest red, and marked with a curious zigzag pattern ; the velvety and blue-glossed Terinos; the pale and delicately-streaked Cyrestis; the thick-bodied and boldly coloured Adolias ; the small wine-coloured Taxila ; the fine blue Amblypodia; the beautiful Zhyca, elegantly marked under- neath with red and yellow, which represent our common white butterflies and are almost equally abundant; the pale blue Eronia, and the large red-tipped Jphias. The genus Papilio is represented by a variety of fine groups; the large Ornithop- tera, with satiny yellow under-wings; the superb green-marked “brookeana ;” the “paradoxa” group, often closely resembling the Eupleas 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 black and crimson “ polydorus” group; the “memnon” group, of the largest size and richly-varied colours; and the “ eurypilus” group, elegantly banded or spotted with blue or green: all these are so abundant that some of them are met with in every walk, and are a constant delight to the naturalist who has the privilege of observing them in their native haunts. The Coleoptera are far less prominent and require to be care- fully sought after; but they then well repay the collector. As affording some measure of the productiveness of the tropics in insect life it will not be out of place to give a few notes of the CHAP. XII. THE ORIENTAL REGION. 343 number of species collected by myself in some of the best localities. At Singapore 300 species of Coleoptera were col- lected in 15 days, and in a month the number had increased to 520; of which 100 were Longicorns and 140 Rhyncophora. At Sarawak in Borneo I obtained 400 species in 15 days, and 600 ina month. In two months this number had increased to about 850, and in three months to 1,000 species. This was the most prolific spot I ever collected in, especially for Longicorns which formed about one-fifth of all the species of beetles. In the Aru Islands in one month, I obtained only 235 species of Coleoptera, and about 600 species of insects of all orders; and this may be taken as a fair average, in localities where no specially favourable conditions existed. On the average 40 to 60 species of Coleoptera would be a good day’s collecting; 70 exceptionally good; while the largest number ever obtained in one day was 95, and the majority of these would be very minute insects. It must be remembered, however, that many very common species were passed over, yet had every species met with. been collected, not much more than i100 species would ever have been obtained in one day’s collecting of four or five hours. These details may afford an interesting standard of comparison for collectors in other parts of the world. Of Cicindelide the most peculiarly Malayan form is Therates, found always on leaves in the forests in the same localities as the more widely spread Collyris. Five genera of this family are Indo-Malayan. The Carabide, though sufficiently plentiful, are mostly of small size, and not conspicuous in any way. But there is one striking exception in the purely Malayan genus Mormolyce, the largest and most remarkable of the whole family. It is nocturnal, resting during the days on the under side of large boleti in the virgin forest. Pericallus and Catascopus are among the few genera which are at all brillantly coloured. Buprestidee are abundant, and very gay; the genus Belionota being perhaps one of the most conspicuous and characteristic. The giant Catoxantha is, however, the most peculiar, though comparatively scarce. Chrysochroa and Chalcophora are also 344 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. abundant and characteristic. Out of the 41 Oriental genera 21 are Malayan, and 10 of these are not found in the other sub- regions. In Lucanide the Malay islands are rich, 14 out of the 16 Oriental genera occurring there, and 3 being peculiar. There are many fine species of Odontolabris, which may be considered the characteristic genus of the sub-region. The Cetoniide are well represented by 16 genera and about 120 species. The genera Mycteristes, Phaedimus, Plectrone, Huremina, Rhagopteryz and Centrognathus are peculiar, while Agestrata, Chalcothea, and Macronota are abundant and characteristic. The Longicorns, as in all continental forest regions near the equator, are very abundant and in endlessly varied forms. No less than 55 genera containing about 200 species are peculiar to this sub-region, the Cerambycidze being much the most numerous. Euryarthrum, Celosterna, Agelasta, and Astathes may be consi- dered as most characteristic ; but to name the curious and in- teresting forms would be to give a list of half the genera. For the relations of the Longicorns of the Indo-Malay, and those of the Austro-Malay region, the reader is referred to the chapter on the distribution of insects in the succeeding part of this work. Terrestrial Mollusca——The Philippine islands are celebrated as being one of the richest parts of the world for land shells, about 400 species being known. The other islands of the sub- region are far less rich, not more than about 100 species having yet been described from the whole of them. Helix and Buli- mus both abound in species in the Philippines, whereas the latter genus is very scarce in Borneo and Java. Ten genera of Helicide inhabit the sub-region; Pfeifferia is found in the Philippines and Moluccas, while the large genus Cochlostyla is almost peculiar to the Philippines. Of the Operculata there are representatives of 20 genera, of which Dermatoma and Pupi- nella are peculiar, while Registoma and Callia extend to the Australian region. Cyclophorus, Leptopoma, and Pupina are perhaps the most characteristic genera. CHAP. XII. ] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 345 The Zoological Relations of the Several Islands of the Indo-Malay Sub-region. Although we have grouped the Philippine islands with the Indo-Malay sub-region, to which, as we shall see, they un- doubtedly belong, yet most of the zoological characteristics we have just sketched out, apply more especially to the other groups of islands and the Malay peninsula. The Philippine islands stand, to Malaya proper, in the same relation that Madagascar does to Africa or the Antilles to South America; that is, they are remarkable for the absence of whole families and genera which everywhere characterise the remainder of the district. They are, in fact, truly insular, while the other islands are really continental in all the essential features of their natural history. Before, therefore, we can conveniently compare the separate islands of Malaya! with each other, we must first deal with the Philippine group, showing in what its speciality consists, and why it must be considered apart from the sub-region to which it belongs. Mammals of the Philippine Islands—The only mammalia re- corded as inhabiting the Philippine Islands are the following :— QuapRUMANA. 1. Macacus cynomoigus. 2. Cynopithecus niger. Dr. Semper doubts this being a 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. Uneuata. 8. Sus (species). On Dr. Semper’s authority. 9, Cervus mariannus. 10. Cervus philippensis. 11. Cervus alfredi. 12. Bos (species). Wild cattle ; perhaps intro- duced. RODENTIA. 13. Phleomys cummingii. 14. Scuirus philippinensis. Also 24 species, belonging to 17 genera, of bats. 1 As so many typical Malay groups are absent only from the Philippines, I have adopted the term “ Malaya,” to show the distribution of these, using the term “ Indo-Malaya” when the range of the group includes the Philippines. This must be remembered when consulting the tables of dis- tribution at the end of this chapter. VoL. I.—24 346 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. The foregoing list, although small, contains an assemblage of species which are wholly Oriental in character, and several of which (Zarsius, Galeopithecus, Tupaia) are characteristic and highly peculiar Malayan forms. At the same time these islands are completely separated from the rest of Malaya by the total absence of Semnopithecus, Hylobates, Felis, Helarctos, Rhinoceros, Manis, and other groups constantly found in the great Indo- Malay islands and peninsula of Malacca. We find apparently two sets of animals: a more ancient series, represented by the deer, Galeopithecus, and squirrel, in which the species are distinct from any others; and a more recent series, represented by Macacus cynomolgus, and Viverra tangalunga, identical with common Malayan animals. The former indicate the earliest period when these volcanic islands were connected with some part of the Malayan sub-region, and they show that this was not geologically remote, since no peculiar generic types have been preserved or differentiated. The latter may indicate either the termination of the period of union, or merely the effects of introduction by man. The reason why a larger number of mammalian forms were not introduced and established, was probably because the union was effected only with some small islands, and from these communicated to other parts of the archipelago ; or it may well be that later subsidences extin- guished some of the forms that had established themselves. Lirds of the Philippine Islands.—These have been carefully investigated by Viscount Walden, in a paper read before the Zoological Society of London in 1873, and we are thus furnished with ample information on the relations of this important portion of the fauna. The total number of birds known to inhabit the Philippines is 219, of which 106 are peculiar. If, however, following our usual plan, we take only the land-birds, we find the numbers to be 159 species, of which 100 are peculiar ; an unusually large proportion for a group of islands so comparatively near to various parts of the Oriental and Australian regions. The families of birds which are more especially characteristic of the Indo-Malay sub-region are about 28 in number, and examples CHAP. XII. ] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 347 - of all these are found in the Philippines except four, viz., Cin- clidee, Phyllornithidee, Eurylemidx, and Podargide. The only Philippine families which are, otherwise, exclusively Austro- Malayan are, Cacatuidee and Megapodiide. Yet although the birds are unmistakably Malayan, as a whole, there are, as in the mammalia (though in a less degree), marked deficiencies of most characteristic Malayan forms. Lord Walden gives a list of no less than 69 genera thus absent ; but it will be sufficient here to mention such wide-spread and specially Indo-Malay groups as,—Hurylemus, Nyctiornis, Arachnothera, Geocichla, Malacopteron, Timalia, Pomatorhinus, Phyllornis, Lora, Criniger, Enicurus, Chaptia, Techitrea, Dendrocitta, Eulabes, Paleornis, Miglyptes, Tiga, and Euplocamus. These deficiencies plainly show the isolated character of the Philippine group, and imply that it has never formed a part of that Indo-Malayan extension of the continent which almost certainly existed when the pecu- liar Malayan fauna was developed ; or that, if it has been so united, it has been subsequently submerged and broken up to such an extent, as to cause the extinction of many of the absent types. It appears from Lord Walden’s careful analysis, that 31 of the Philippine species occur in the Papuan sub-region, and 47 in Celebes ; 69 occur also in India, and 75 in Java. This last fact is curious, since Java is the most remote of the Malayan islands, but it is found to arise almost wholly from the birds of that island being better known, since only one species, Yantholema rosea, is confined to the Philippine Islands and Java. The wading and swimming birds are mostly of wide-spread forms, only 6 out of the 60 species being peculiar to the Philippine archipelago. Confining ourselves to the land-birds, and com- bining several of the minutely subdivided genera of Lord Wal- den’s paper so as to agree with the arrangement adopted in this work, we find that there are 112 genera of land-birds repre- sented in the islands. Of these, 50 are either cosmopolitan, of wide range, or common to the Oriental and Australian regions, and may be put aside as affording few indications of geographical affinity. Of the remaining 62 no less than 40 are exclusively 348 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. or mainly Oriental, and most of them are genera which range widely over the region, only two (Philentoma and Rollulus) being exclusively Malayan, and two others (Megalurus and Malacocireus) more especially Indian or continental. Five other genera, though having a wide range, are typically Palearctic, and have reached the islands through North China. They are, Monticola, Acro- cephalus, Phylloscopus, Calliope, and Passer ; the two first having extended their range southward into the Moluccas. The pecu- liarly Australian genera are only 12, the majority being charac- teristic Papuan and Moluccan forms; such as—Campephaga, Alcyone, Cacatua, Tanygnathus, Ptilopus, Janthenas, Phlogenas, and Megapodius. One is peculiar to Celebes (Prioniturus); one ° to the Papuan group (Cyclopsitta) ; and one is chiefly Australian (Gerygone). The beautiful little parroquets forming the genus Loriculus, are characteristic of the Philippines, which possess 5 species, a larger number than occurs in any other group of islands, though they range from India to New Guinea. There re- main six peculiar genera—fhabdornis, an isolated form of creep- ers (Certhiidee): Gymmnops, a remarkable bareheaded bird belong- ing to the starlings (Sturnidz); Dasylophus, and Lepidogrammus, remarkable genera of cuckoos (Cuculidee); Penelopides, a pecul- iar hornbill, and Phapitreron, a genus of pigeons. Besides these there are four other types (here classed as sub-genera, but con- sidered to be distinct by Lord Walden) which are peculiar to the Philippines. These are Pseudoptynx, an owl of the genus Athene ; Pseudolalage, a sub-genus of Lalage ; Zeocephus, a sub- genus of Tchitrea ; and Ptilocolpa, included under Carpophaga. When we look at the position of the Philippine group, con- nected by the Bashee islands with Formosa, by Palawan and the Sooloo archipelago with Borneo, and by the Tulour’ and other islets with the Moluccas and Celebes, we have little difficulty in accounting for the peculiarities of its bird fauna. The absence of a large number of Malayan groups would indicate that the actual connection with Borneo, which seems necessary for the introduction of the Malay types of mammalia, was not of long duration ; while the large proportion of wide-spread continental genera of birds would seem to imply that greater facilities had CHAP, XII. ] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 349 once existed for immigration from Southern China, perhaps by a land connection through Formosa, at which time the ancestors of the peculiar forms of deer entered the country. It may in- deed be objected that our knowledge of these islands is far too imperfect to arrive at any satisfactory conclusions as to their former history; but although many more species no doubt remain to be discovered, experience shows that the broad cha- racters of a fauna are always determined by a series of collections made by different persons, at various localities, and at different times, even when more imperfect than those of the Philippine birds really are. The isolated position, and the volcanic struc- ture of the group, would lead us to expect them to be somewhat less productive than the Moluccas, close to the rich and varied Papuan district,—or than Celebes, with its numerous indications of an extensive area and great antiquity; and taking into account the excessive poverty of its mammalhan fauna, which is certain to be pretty well known, I am inclined to believe that no future discoveries will materially alter the character of Philippine ornithology, as determined from the materials already at our command. Java.—Following the same plan as we have adopted in first discussing the Philippine islands, and separating them from the body of the sub-region on account of special peculiarities, we must next take Java, as possessing marked individuality, and as being to some extent more isolated in its productions than the remaining great islands. Java is well supplied with indigenous mammalia, possessing as nearly as can be ascertained 55 genera and 90 species. None of these genera are peculiar, and only about 5 of the species, —3 quadrumana, a deer and a wild pig. So far then there is nothing remarkable in its fauna, but on comparing it with that of the other great islands, viz., Borneo and Sumatra, and the Malay peninsula, we find an unmistakable deficiency of characteristic forms, the same in kind as that we have just commented on in the 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 III. localities and which must therefore be held to be typical Ma- layan groups, the following are absent from Java: Viverra, Gymnopus, Lutra, Helarctos, Tapirus, Elephas, and Gymnura ; while of those known to occur in two, and which, owing to our imperfect knowledge, may very probably one day be discovered in the third, the following are equally wanting : Simia, Siamanga, Hemigalea, Paguma, Rhinosciwrus, and Rhizomys. It may be said this is only negative evidence, but in the case of Java it is much more, because this island is not only the best known of any in the archipelago, but there is perhaps no portion of British India of equal extent so well known. It is one of the oldest of the Dutch possessions and the seat of their colonial government ; good roads traverse it in every direction, and ex- perienced naturalists have been resident im various parts of it for years together, and have visited every mountain and every forest, aided by bands of diligent native collectors. We should be almost as likely to find new species of mammalia in Central Europe as in Java; and therefore the absence of such animals as the Malay bear, the elephant, tapir, gymnura, and even less conspicuous forms, must be accepted as a positive fact. In the other islands there are still vast tracts of forest in the hands of natives and utterly unexplored, and any similar absence in their case will prove little; yet on making the same com- parison in the case of Borneo, the most peculiar and the least known of the other portions of the sub-region, we find only 2 genera absent which are found in the three other divisions, and only 3 which are found in two others. ¥ Vanikoro > { i et { / 3” = | Espfrita Santofy der | a fall nh A ides Saas Leeu |: ve i, __ Kandavu™ "|" a a g SYDNEY ? > \\ ] ) EXPLANATION Tasmania z uy S / f / Terrestrial Contours Hblarton ‘ | } / / From Sea level to L000 teet White vr \ pata a / F _ 1000 feet to 2,500 . } 7 / _ 2500 . . 5000 . 5000 10,000 . _ 10000 20,000 The Marine Contour of L000 feet is shewn by a dotted line Pasture lands shewn this 1 Forest Desert The boundaries and reference raumbers of the Subregions are shewn in Red eae —— : 50 Long 6O E. of 70Green.s80 : = = SS SSS Stanfords Geographical Estab! London New York: Hatper & Brothers. CHAPTER XIII. THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. Tue Australian is the great insular region of the earth. Asa whole it is one of the best marked, and has even been considered to be equal in zoological value to all the rest of the globe; but its separate portions are very heterogeneous, and their limits sometimes ill-defined. Its central and most important masses consist of Australia and New Guinea, in which the main features of the region are fully developed. To the north-west it extends to Celebes, in which a large proportion of the Australian characters have disappeared, while Oriental types are mingled with them to such an extent that it is rather difficult to determine where to locate it. To the south-east it includes New Zealand, which is in some respects so peculiar, that it has even been proposed to constitute it a distinct region. On the east it embraces the whole of Oceania to the Marquesas and Sandwich Islands, whose very scanty and often peculiar fauna, must be affiliated to the general Australian type. Australia is the largest tract of land in the region, being several times more extensive than all the other islands combined, and it is here that the greatest variety of peculiar types have been developed. This island-continent, being situated in the track of the southern desert zone, and having no central moun- tains to condense the vapours from the surrounding ocean, has a large portion of its interior so parched up and barren as to be almost destitute of animal life. The most extensive tract of fertile and well-watered country is on the east and south-east, 388 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART U1, where a fine range of mountains reaches, in the Colony of Vic- toria, the limits of perpetual snow. The west coast also possesses mountains of moderate height, but the climate is very dry and hot. The northern portion is entirely tropical, yet it nowhere presents the luxuriance of vegetation characteristic of the great island of New Guinea immediately to the north of it. Taken as a whole, Australia is characterized by an arid climate and a de- ficiency of water ; conditions which have probably long prevailed, and under which its very peculiar fauna and flora have been de- veloped. This fact will account for some of the marked differ- ences between it and the adjacent sub-regions of New Guinea and the Moluccas, where the climate is moist, and the vegetation luxuriant; and these divergent features must never be lost sight of, in comparing the different portions of the Australian region. In Tasmania alone, which is however, essentially a detached portion of Australia, a more uniform and moister climate pre- vails; but it is too small a tract of land, and has been too recently severed from its parent mass to have developed a special fauna. The Austro-Malay sub-region (of which New Guinea is the central and typical mass) is strikingly contrasted with Australia, being subjected to purely equatorial conditions,—a high, but uniform temperature, excessive moisture, and a luxuriant forest vegetation, exactly similar in general features to that which clothes the Indo-Malay Islands, and the other portions of the ereat equatorial forest zone. Such a climate and vegetation, being the necessary result of its geographical position, must have existed from remote geological epochs with but little change, and must therefore have profoundly affected all the forms of life which have been developed under their influence. Around New Guinea 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 we place the Aru Islands, Mysol and Waigiou, with Jobie and the other Islands in Geelvinck Bay, all of which are connected with it by shallow seas ; they possess one of its most characteristic groups, the Birds of Paradise, and have no doubt only recently Gn CHAP, XIII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 389 a geological sense) been separated from it. In the next rank come the large islands of the Moluccas on the west, and the range terminating in the Solomon Islands on the east, both of which groups possess a clearly Papuan fauna, although deficient in many of the most remarkable Papuan types. All these islands agree closely with New Guinea itself in being very mountainous, and covered with a luxuriant forest vegetation ; but to the south-west we find a set of islands ex- tending from Timor to Lombock, which agree more nearly with Australia, both in climate and vegetation; being arid and abounding in eucalypti, acacias, and thickets of thorny shrubs. These, like the Moluccas, are surrounded by deep sea, and it is doubtful whether they have either of them been actually con- nected with New Guinea or Australia in recent geological times; but the general features of their zoology oblige us to unite all these islands with New Guinea as forming the Austro-Malay sub-division of the Australian region. Still further west how- ever, we have the large island of Celebes, whose position is very difficult to determine. It is mountainous, but has also extensive plains and low lands. Its climate is somewhat arid in the south, where the woods are often scattered and thorny, while in the north it is moister, and the forests are luxuriant. It is surrounded by deep seas, but also by coralline and volcanic islets, indicating former elevations and subsidences. Its fauna presents the most puzzling relations, showing affinities to Java, to the Philippines, to the Moluccas, to New Guinea, to continental India, and even to Africa; so that it is almost impossible to decide whether to place it in the Oriental or the Australian region. On the whole the preponderance of its relations appears to be with the latter, though it is undoubtedly very anomalous, and may, with almost as much propriety, be classed with the former. This will be better understood when we come to discuss its zoological pecu- harities. The next sub-region consists of the extensive series of islands scattered over the Pacific, the principal groups being the Sand- wich Islands, the Marquesas and Society Islands, the Naviga- tors’, Friendly, and Fiji Islands. New Caledonia and the New 390 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART 11. Hebrides have rather an uncertain position, and it is difficult to decide 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 to the Philippines ; but as the fauna of all these small islets is very scanty, and very little known, they are not at present of much importance. There remains the islands of New Zealand, with the surround- ing small islands, as far as the Auckland, Chatham, and Nor- folk Islands. These are situated in the south temperate forest-zone. They are mountainous, and have a moist, equable, and temperate climate. They are true oceanic islands, and the total absence of mammalia intimates that they have not been connected with Australia or any other continent in recent geolo- gical times. The general character of their zoology, no less than their botany, affiliates them however, to Australia as por- tions of the same zoological region. General Zoological Characteristics of the Australian Region.— For the purpose of giving an idea of the very peculiar and striking features which characterise the Australian region, it will be as well at first to confine ourselves to the great central land masses of Australia and New Guinea, where those features are manifested in their greatest force and purity, leaving the various peculiarities and anomalies of the outlying islands to be dealt with subsequently. Mammalia—tThe Australian region is broadly distinguished from all the rest of the globe by the entire absence of all the orders of non-aquatic mammalia that abound in the Old World, except two—the winged bats (Chiroptera), and the equally cosmopolite rodents (Rodentia). Of these latter however, only one family is represented—the Muridee—(comprising the rats and mice), and the Australian representatives of these are all of small or moderate size—a suggestive fact in appreciating the true character of the Australian fauna. In place of the Quadrumana, Carnivora, and Ungulates, which abound in endless variety in all the other regions under equally favourable conditions, Australia possesses two new orders (or perhaps sub-classes)— CHAP, XIII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 391 Marsupialia and Monotremata, found nowhere else on the globe except a single family of the former in America. The Marsu- pials are wonderfully developed in Australia, where they exist in the most diversified forms, adapted to different modes of life. Some are carnivorous, some herbivorous; some arboreal, others terrestrial. There are insect-eaters, root-gnawers, fruit-eaters, honey-eaters, leaf or grass-feeders. Some resemble wolves, others marmots, weasels, squirrels, flying squirrels, dormice or jerboas. They are classed in six distinct families, comprising about thirty genera, and subserve most of the purposes in the economy of nature, fulfilled in other parts of the world by very different groups; yet they all possess common peculiarities of structure and habits which show that they are members of one stock, and have no real affinity with the Old-World forms which they often outwardly resemble. The other order, Monotremata, is only represented by two rare and very remarkable forms, Ornithorhynchus and Echidna, pro- bably the descendants of some of those earlier developments of mammalian life which in every other part: of the globe have long been extinct. The bats of Australia all belong to Old-World genera and possess no features of special interest, a result of the wandering habits of these aerial mammals. The Rodents are more interest- ing. They are all more or less modified forms of mice or rats. Some belong to the widely distributed genus Jus, others to four allied genera, which may be all modifications of some common Old-World form. They spread all over Australia, and allied species occur in Celebes and the Papuan Islands; so that al- though not yet known from the Moluccas, there can be little doubt that some of them exist there. Birds.—The typical Australian region, as above defined, is almost as well characterized by its birds, as by its mammalia; but in this case the deficiencies are less conspicuous, while the peculiar and characteristic families are numerous and important. The most marked deficiency as regards wide-spread families, is the total absence of Fringillide (true finches), Picidee (wood- peckers), Vulturide (vultures), and Phasianide (pheasants) 392 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. and among prevalent Oriental groups, Pycnonotide (bulbuls), Phyllornithide (green bulbuls), and Megalewmid (barbets) are families whose absence is significant. Nine families are peculiar to the region, or only just pass its limits in the case of single species. These are Paridiseide (paradise-birds), Meliphagide (honey-suckers), Menuride (lyre-birds), Atrichide (scrub-birds), Cacatuidee (cockatoos), Platycercide (broad-tailed and grass- paroquets), Trichoglosside (brush-tongued paroquets, Megapo- diide (mound-makers), and Casuariide (cassowaries). There are also eight very characteristic families, of which four——Pachy- cephalide (thick-headed shrikes), Campephagide (caterpillar shrikes), Diceeidee (flower-peckers), and Artamide (swallow- shrikes)—are feebly represented elsewhere, while the other four —Ploceidie (weaver-finches), Alczedinidee (kingfishers), Podargidee (frog-mouths), and Columbide (pigeons)—although widely dis- tributed, are here unusually abundant and varied, and (except in the case of the Ploceide) better represented in the Australian than in any other region. Of all these the Meliphagide (honey- suckers) are the most peculiarly and characteristically Australian. This family abounds in genera and species ; it extends into every part of the region from Celebes and Lombock on the west, to the Sandwich Islands, Marquesas, and New Zealand on the east, while not a single species overpasses its Jimits, with the excep- tion of one (Ptilotis limbata) which abounds in all the islands of the Timorese group, and has crossed the narrow strait from Lombock to Baly ; but this can hardly be considered to impugn the otherwise striking fact of wide diffusion combined with strict limitation, which characterizes it. This family is the more important, because, like the Trichoglosside or brush-tongued paroquets, it seems to have been developed in co-ordination with that wealth of nectariferous flowering shrubs and trees which is one of the marked features of Australian vegetation. It probably originated in the extensive land-area of Australia itself, and thence spread into all the tributary islands, where it has become variously modified, yet always in such close adaptation to the other great features of the Australian fauna, that it seems unable to maintain itself when subject to the competition of the more CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 393 varied forms of life in the Oriental region ; to which, possessing great powers of flight, some species must occasionally have emi- grated. Its presence or absence serves therefore to define and limit the Australian region with a precision hardly to be equalled in the case of any other region or any other family of birds. The Trichoglossid, as already intimated, ave another of these peculiarly organized Australian families,—parrots with an ex- tensile brush-tipped tongue, adapted to extract the nectar and pollen from flowers. These are also rigidly confined to this region, but they do not range so completely over the whole of it, being absent from New Zealand (where however they are repre- sented by a closely allied form Nestor), and from the Sandwich Islands. The Paradiseide (birds of paradise and allies) are another remarkable family, confined to. the Papuan group of Islands, and the trepical parts of Australia. The Megapodiide (or mound-builders) are another most remarkable and anomalous eroup of birds, no doubt specially adapted to Australian con- ditions of existence. Their peculiarity consists in their laying enormous eggs (at considerable intervals of time) and burying them either in the loose hot sand of the beach above high-water mark, or in enormous mounds of leaves, sticks, earth, and refuse of all kinds, gathered together by the birds, whose feet and claws are enlarged and strengthened for the work. The warmth of this slightly fermenting mass hatches the eggs; when the young birds work their way out, and thenceforth take care of themselves, as they are able to run quickly, and even to fly short distances, as soon as they are hatched. This may perhaps be an adaptation to the peculiar condition of so large a portion of Australia, in respect to prolonged droughts and scanty water- supply, entailing a periodical scarcity of all kinds of food. In such a country the confinement of the parents to one spot during the long period of incubation would often lead to starvation, and the consequent death of the offspring. But the same birds with free power to roam about, might readily maintain themselves. This peculiar constitution and habit, which enabled the Megapodii to maintain an existence under the unfavourable conditions of their Vou. L—27 394 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. original habitat gives them a great advantage in the luxuriant islands of the Moluccas, to which they have spread. There they abound to a remarkable extent, and their eggs furnish a luxurious repast to the natives. They have also reached many of the smallest islets, and have spread beyond the limits of the region to the Philippines, and North-Western Borneo, as well as to the remote Nicobar Islands. The Platycercide, or broad-tailed paroquets, are another wide-spread Australian group, of weak structure but gorgeously coloured, ranging from the Moluccas to New Zealand and the Society Islands, and very characteristic of the region, to which they are strictly confined. The Cockatoos have not quite so wide a range, being confined to the Austro-Malayan and Austra- lian sub-regions, while one species extends into the Philippine Islands. The other two peculiar families are more restricted in their range, and will be noticed under the sub-regions to which they respectively belong. Of the characteristic families, the Pachycephalide, or thick- headed shrikes, are especially Australian, ranging over all the region, except New Zealand; while only a single species has spread into the Oriental, and one of doubtful affinity to the Ethiopian region. The Artamidée, or swallow-shrikes, are also almost wholly confined to the region, one species only extending to India. They range to the Fiji Islands on the east, but only to Tasmania on the south. These two families must be con- sidered as really peculiar to Australia. The Podargide, or frog- mouths—large, thick-billed goat-suckers—are strange birds very characteristic of the Australian region, although they have representatives in the Oriental and Neotropical regions. Cam- pephagide (caterpillar-shrikes) also abound, but they are fairly represented both in India and Africa. The Ploceide, or weaver- birds, are the finches of Australia, and present a variety of interesting and beautiful forms. We now come to the kingfishers, a cosmopolitan family of birds, yet so largely developed in the Australian region as to deserve special notice. Two-thirds of all the genera are found here, and no less than 10 out of the 19 genera in the family are CHAP. XUI.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 395 peculiar to the Australian region. Another of the universally dis- tributed families which have their metropolis here, is that of the Columbidz or pigeons. Three-fourths of the genera have represen- tatives inthe Australan region, while two-fifths of the whole are confined to it; and it possesses as many species of pigeons as any other two regions combined. It also possesses the most remark- able forms, 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 those of the gayest parrots or chatterers. This enormous development of a family of birds so defenceless as the pigeons, whose rude nests 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 eggs and young birds. The very prevalent green colour of the upper part of their plumage, may be due to the need of concealment from their only enemies,—birds of prey; and this is rendered more probable by the fact that it is among the pigeons of the small islands of the Pacific (where hawks and their allies are ex- ceedingly scarce) that we alone meet with species whose entire plumage is a rich and conspicuous yellow. Where the need of concealment is least, the brilliancy of colour has attained its maximum. We may therefore look upon the genus Ptilopus, with its fifty species whose typical coloration is green, with patches of bright blue, red, or yellow on the head and breast, as a special development suited to the tropical portion of the Australian region, to which it is almost wholly confined. It will be seen from the sketch just given, that the ornitho- logical features of the Australian region are almost as remark- able as those presented by its Mammalian fauna; and from the fuller development attained by the aérial class of birds, much more varied and interesting. None of the other regions of the earth can offer us so many families with special points of interest in structure, or habits, or general relations. The paradise-birds, the honeysuckers, the brush-tongued paroquets, the mound-builders, and the cassowaries—all strictly peculiar 396 ZOOLOGICAL. GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. to the region—with such remarkable developments as we have indicated in the kingfishers and pigeons, place the Australian region in the first rank for the variety, singularity, and interest of its birds, and only second to South America as regards numbers and beauty. Reptiles—In Reptiles the peculiarity of the main Australian region is less marked, although the fauna is sufficiently distinct. There is no family of snakes confined to the region, but many peculiar genera of the families Pythonide and Elapide. About two-thirds of the Australian snakes belong to the latter family, and are poisonous; so that although the Crotalide and Viperidee are absent, there are perhaps a larger proportion of poisonous to harmless snakes than in any other part of the world. Accord- ing to Mr. Gerard Krefft the proportion varies considerably in the different colonies. In Victoria, New South Wales, and Queens- land the proportion is about two to one; in West Australia three to one; and in South Australia six to one. In Tasmania there are only 3 species and all are poisonous. The number of species, as in other parts of the world, seems to increase with temperature. The 3 in Tasmania have increased to 12 in Victoria, 15 in South Australia and the same in West Australia; 31 in New South Wales, and 42 in sub-tropical Queensland. The lizards of Australia have lately been catalogued by Dr. Giinther in the concluding part of the “Voyage of the Erebus and Terror,” issued in 1875. They belong to 8 families, 3 of which are peculiar; 57 genera of which 36 are peculiar; and about 140 species, all but 2 or 3 of which are peculiar. The scinks and geckoes form the great bulk of the Australian lizards, with a few Agamide, Gymnopthalmide, and Varanide. The three peculiar families are the Pygopodide, Aprasiide and Lialide ; comprising only + genera and 7 species. The above all belong to Australia proper. Those of the other sub-regions ure few in number and will be noticed under their respective localities. They will perhaps bring up the number of genera to 70. West and South Australia seem to offer much peculiarity in their hzards; these districts possessing 12 peculiar genera, CHAP. XIII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 397 while a much smaller number are confined to the East and South-East, or to the North. Among the fresh-water turtles of the family Chelydide there are three peculiar genera—Chelodina, Chelemys, and Elseya, all from Australia. Amphibia.—No tailed amphibians are known from the whole region, but no less than eleven of the families of tail-less Batra- chians (toads and frogs) are known to inhabit some part or other of it. A peculiar family (Xenorhinide), consisting of a single species, is found in New Guinea; the true toads (Bufonide) are only represented by a single species of a pecu- liar genus in Australia, and by a Bufo in Celebes. Nine of the families are represented in Australia itself, and the following genera are peculiar to it:—Pseudophryne (Phryniscidee), Pachy- batrachus, and Chelydobatrachus (Engystomyde) ; Helioporus (Alytidee) ; Pelodyras and Chirodyras (Pelodryade); Notaden (Bufonidee). Fresh-water Fish—There is only one peculiar family of fresh- water fishes in this region—the Gadopsidee—represented by a single genus and species. The other species of Australia belong to the families Trachinide, Atherinide, Mugillide, Siluridee, Homalopterz, Haplochitonidz, Galaxide, Osteoglosside, Sym- branchide, and Sirenoidei; most of the genera being peculiar. The large and widely-distributed families, Cyprinodontide and Cyprinide, are absent. The most remarkable fish is the recently discovered Ceratodus, allied to the Lepidosiren of Tropical America, and Protopterus of Tropical Africa, the three species constituting the Sub-class Dipnoi, remains of which have been found fossil in the Triassic formation. Summary of Australian Vertebrata.—In order to complete our general sketch of Australian zoology, and to afford materials for comparison with other regions, we will here summarize the distribution of Vertebrata in the entire Australian region, as given in detail in the tables at the end of this chapter. When an undoubted Oriental family or genus extends to Celebes only we do not count it as belonging to the Australian region, that island being so very anomalous and intermediate in character. 398 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART Ill. The Australian region, then, possesses examples of 18 families of Mammalia, 8 of which are peculiar ; 71 of Birds, 16 being peculiar; 31 of Reptiles, 4 being peculiar; 11 of Amphibia, with 1 peculiar ; and 11 of Fresh-water fish, with 1 peculiar. In all, 142 families of Vertebrates, 30 of which are almost or quite confined to it, or between one-fourth and one-fifth of the whole number. The genera of Mammalia occurring within the limits of this region are 70, of which 45 are almost, or quite, confined to it. Of Land-Birds there are 296 genera, 196 of which are equally limited. The proportion is in both cases very nearly five- eighths. This shows a considerable deficiency both in families of Ver- tebrates and genera of Mammalia, as compared with the Oriental and Ethiopian regions; while in genera of Birds it is a little superior to the latter in total numbers, and considerably so in the proportion of peculiar types. Supposed Land Connection between Australia and South America. We may now consider how far the different classes and orders of vertebrates afford indications that during past ages there has been some closer connection between Australia and South America than that which now exists. Among Mammalia we have the remarkable fact of a group of marsupials inhabiting South America, and extending even into the temperate regions of North America, while they are found in no other part of the globe beyond the limits of the Australian region ; and this has often been held to be evidence of a former connection between the two countries. A prelimi- nary objection to this view is, that the opossums seem to be rather a tropical group, only one species reaching as far as 42° south latitude on the west coast of South America; but what- ever evidence we have which seems to require a former union of these countries shows that it took place, if at all, towards their cold southern limits, the tropical faunas on the whole showing no similarity. This is not a very strong objection, since climates may have changed in the south to as great an extent as we CHAP. XIII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 399: know they have in the north. Perhaps a more important con- sideration is, that Didelphys is a family type unknown in Aus- tralia; aud this implies that the point of common origip is very remote in geological time. But the most conclusive fact is that in the Eocene and Miocene periods this very family, Didel- phyide, existed in Europe, while it only appeared in America in the Post-pliocene or perhaps the Pliocene period; so that it is really an Old-World group, which, though long since extinct in its birthplace, has survived in America, to which country it is a comparatively recent emigrant. Primeval forms of marsu- pials we know abounded in Europe during much of the Secondary epoch, and no doubt supphed Australia with the ancestors of the present fauna. It is clear, therefore, that in this case there is not a particle of evidence for any former union between Australia and South America; while it is almost demonstrated that both derived their marsupials from a common source in the northern hemisphere. Birds offer us more numerous but less clearly defined cases of this kind. Among Passeres, the wonderful lyre bird (Menwra) is believed by some ornithologists to be decidedly allied to the South American Pteroptochide, while others maintain that it is altogether peculiar, and has no such affinity. The Aus- tralian Pachycephalide have also been supposed to find their nearest allies in the American Vireonide, but this is, perhaps, equally problematical. That the mound-makers (Megapodiide) ‘of the Australian region are more nearly allied to the South American curassows (Cracide) than to any other family, is per- haps better established; but if proved, it is probably due, as in the case of the marsupials, to the survival of an ancient and once wide-spread type, and thus lends no support to the theory of a land connection between the two regions. A recent author, Professor Garrod, classes Phaps and other Australian genera of pigeons along with Zenaida and allied South American forms ; but here again the affinity, if it exists, is so remote that the ex- planation already given will suffice to account for it. There remain only the penguins of the genus Hudyptes; and these have almost certainly passed from one region to the other, but 400 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. no actual land connection is required for birds which can cross considerable arms of the sea. Reptiles again seem to offer no more support to the view than do mammalia or birds. Among snakes there are no families in common that have not a very wide distribution. Among lizards the Gymnopthalmide are the only family that favour the notion, since they are feund in Australia and South America, but not in the Oriental region. Yet they occur in both the Palearctic and Ethiopian regions, and their distribution is alto- gether too erratic to be of any value in a ease of this kind; and the same remarks apply to the tortoises of the family Chelydide. The Amphibia, however, furnish us with some more decided facts. We have first the family of tree-frogs, Pelodryade, con- fined to the two regions , Zitoria, a genus of the family Hylidee peculiar to Australia, but with one species in Paraguay ; and in the family Discoglosside, the Australian genus Chiroleptes has its nearest ally in the Chilian genus Calyptocephalus. Fresh-water fishes give yet clearer evidence. Three groups are exclusively found in these two regions; Ap/ritis, a fresh-water genus of Trachinide, has one species in Tasmania and two others in Patagonia; the Haplochitonide inhabit only Terra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands and South Australia; while the genus Galaxias (forming the family Galaxide) is confined to South Temperate America, Australia, and New Zealand. We have also the genus Osteoglossum confined to the tropical rivers of Eastern South America, the Indo-Malay Islands and Australia. It is important here to notice that the heat-loving Reptilia afford hardly any indications of close affinity between the two regions, while the cold-enduring amphibia and_ fresh-water fish, offer them in abundance. Taking this fact in con- nection with the absence of all indications of close affinity among the mammalia and terrestrial birds, the conclusion seems inevitable that there has been no land-connection between the two regions within the period of existing species, genera, or families. Yet some interchange:of amphibia and fresh-water CHAP. XII. | THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 401 fishes, as of plants and insects, has undoubtedly occurred, but this has been effected by other means. If we look at a globe we see at once how this interchange may have taken place. Immediately south of Cape Horn we have the South Shetland Islands and Graham’s land, which is not improbably continuous, or nearly so, with South Victoria land immediately to the south of New Zealand. The intervening space is partly occupied by the Auckland, Campbell, and Macquaries’ Islands, which, there is reason to believe are the relics of a great southern ex- tension of New Zealand. At all events they form points which would aid the transmission of many organisms ; and the farthest of the Macquaries’ group, Emerald Island, is only 600 miles from the outlying islets of Victoria land. The ova of fish will survive a considerable time in the air, and the successful transmission of salmon ova to New Zealand packed in ice, shows how far they might travel on icebergs. Now there is evidently some means by which ova or young fishes are carried moderate distances, from the fact that remote alpine lakes and distinct river systems often have the same species. Glaciers and icebergs generally have pools of fresh water on their surfaces ; and whatever cause transmits fish to an isolated pond might occasionally stock these pools, and by this means introduce the fishes of one southern island into another. Batrachians, which are equally patient of cold, might be transported by similar means; while, as Mr. Darwin has so well shown, (Origin of Species, 6th Ed. p. 345) there are various known modes by which plants might be transmitted, and we need not therefore be surprised that botanists find a much greater similarity between the production of the several Southern lands and islands, than do zoologists. It is important to notice that, however this intercommunication was effected, it has con- tinued down to the epoch of existing species; for Dr. Giinther finds the same species of fresh-water fish (Galaxias attenuatus) inhabiting Tasmania, New Zealand, the Falkland Islands, and Temperate South America ; while another species is common to New Zealand and the Auckland Islands. We cannot believe that a land connection has existed between all these remote lands within the period of existence of this one species of fish, 402 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART ILI, not only on account of what we know of the permanence of continents and deep oceans, but because such a connection must have led to much more numerous and important cases of simi- larity of natural productions than we actually find. And if within the life of species such interchange may have taken place across seas of greater or less extent, still more easy is it to understand, how, within the life of genera and families, a num- ber of such interchanges may have occurred ; yet always limited to those groups whose conditions of life render transmission possible. Had an actual land connection existed within the temperate zone, or during a period of warmth in the Antarctic regions, there would have been no such strict limitations to the inter-migration of animals. It may be held to support the view that floating ice has had some share in the transmission of fish and amphibia, when we find that in the case of the narrow tropical sea dividing Borneo from Celebes and the Moluccas, no proportionate amount of transmission has taken place, but numerous species, genera, and whole families, terminate abruptly at what wé have other reasons for believing to be the furthest limits of an ancient continent. We can hardly suppose, how- ever, that this mode of transmission would have sufficed for such groups as tree-frogs, which are inhabitants of the more temperate or even warm portions of the two southern lands. Some of these cases may perhaps be explained by the supposi- tion of a considerable extent of land in the South-Temperate and Antarctic regions now submerged, and by a warm or temperate climate analogous to that which prevailed in the Arctic regions during some part of the Miocene epoch; while others may be due to cases of survival in the two areas of once wide-spread groups, a view supported in the case of the Amphibia by the erratic manner in which many of the groups are spread over the globe. From an examination of the facts presented by the vari- ous classes 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 the various scattered resemblances in their natural productions CHAP. XIII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 403 that undoubtedly occur, are probably due to three distinct causes. First, we have the American Didelphyide, among Mammals, and the Cracide, among birds, allied respectively to the Marsu- pials and the Megapodiid of Australia. This is probably more a coincidence than an affinity, due to the preservation of ancient wide-spread types in two remote areas, each cut off from the ereat northern continental masses, in which higher forms were evolved leading to the extinction of the lower types. In each of these southern isolated lands the original type would undergo a special development; in the one case suited to an arboreal existence, in the other to a life among arid plains. The second case is that of the tree-frogs, and the genus Ostco- glossum among fishes; and is most likely due to the extension and approximation of the two southern continents, and the exist- ence of some intermediate lands, during a warm period when facilities would be afforded for the transmission of a few or- ganisms by the causes which have led to the exceptional diffusion of fresh-water productions in all parts of the world. As however Osteoglossum occurs also in the Sunda Islands, this may be a case of survival of a once wide-spread group. The third case is that of the same genera and even specics of fish, and perhaps of frogs, in the two countries ; which may be due to transmission from island to island by the aid of float- ing ice, with or without the assistance of more intervening lands than now exist. Having arrived at these conclusions from a consideration of the vertebrata, we shall be in a position to examine how far the same causes will explain, or agree with, the distribution of the invertebrate groups, or elucidate any special difficulties we may meet with in the relations of the sub-regions. Insects. The insects of the Australian region are as varied, and in some respects as peculiar as its higher forms of life. As we have already indicated in our sketch of the Oriental region, a vast number of forms inhabit the Austro-Malay sub-region 404 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. which are absent from Australia proper. Such of these as are common to the Malay archipelago as a whole, have been already noted; we shall here confine ourselves more especially to the groups peculiar to the region, which are almost all either Australian or A . ii ¢ . / oe , P - ? _ < a i ‘i pe. A Nat 4 x. o ne , 9 a =. f j . . a - ; : . = 7 % >- Z ‘ aps ; 5 3 : . : : * « ' 4 r | F i Pus 4 a ; , s + i - a : ; hs F ; ” he — a . ; ra i 7 ’ a . + e : ‘ : . ' ae : j : 2 * = = i . ~ : ‘ ; : . 7 A “et. a _ —. ; . : i: i] sy . -* 7 - = * = : = r <= 5 : : a ; 5 : J ; | : : f ¥ . ul : > wa ’ “ 7 - m # i ; : Jom * ‘. rd : : y \ | a a é " ‘ ; e : al ‘ « “ haat i Es ; CHAP. X111.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 443 For the purpose of zoological comparison, we may class them in four 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 third division ; and it will be well to describe this first, and then show how the other islands diverge from it, and approximate other sub-regions. Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa Islands——The land-birds inhabiting these islands belong to 41 genera, of which 17 are characteristic of the Australian region, and 9 more peculiarly Polynesian. The characteristic Australian genera are the following: Petroica (Sylviide) ; Zalage (Campephagide) ; Monarcha, Myiagra, Rhipi- dura (Muscicapide); Pachycephala (Pachycephalide) ; Rectes (Laniide) ; Myzomela, Ptilotis, Anthochera (Meliphagide) ; Ama- dina, Eythrura, (Ploceide) ; Artamus (Artamide) ; Lorivs (Tri- choglosside) ; Ptilopus, Phlogenas (Columbide); Megapodius (Megapodiide). The peculiar Polynesian genera are :-—Tature, Lamprolia (Sylviidee) ; Aplonis, Sturnodes (Sturnide); Todiramphus (Alcedinide) ; Pyrhulopsis, Cyanoramphus, (Platycercide) ; Cori- philus (Trichoglossidee) ; Diduneulus (Didunculide). The wide-spread genera are Turdus, Zosterops, Hirundo, Hal- cyon, Collocalia, Eudynamis Cuculus, Ianthenas, Carpophaga, Turtur, Haliceetus, Astur, Circus, Strix, Asio. The aquatic birds are fifteen in number, all wide-spread species except one—a form of moor-hen (Gallinulide), which has been constituted a new genus Pareudiastes. Society, and Marquesas Islands—Here, the number of genera of land-birds has considerably diminished, amounting only to 16 in all. The characteristic Australian genera are 5 ;—Monarcha, Anthochera, Trichoglossus, Ptilopus, and Phlogenas. The Poly- nesian genera are 4;—Tatare, Todiramphus, Cyanoramphus, Coriphilus, and one recently described genus, Serresius, an ex- traordinary form of large fruit pigeon, here classed under Car- pophaga. These remote groups have thus all the character of Oceanic islands, even as regards the rest of Polynesia, since they 444 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART II. possess hardly anything, but what they might have received by immigration over a wide extent of ocean. Ladrone, and Caroline Islands—These extensive groups of small islands are very imperfectly known, yet a considerable number of birds have been obtained. They possess two peculiar Polynesian genera, Zatare and Stwrnodes ; one peculiar sub-genus, Psammathia (here included under Acrocephalus) ; and ten of the typical Australian genera found in Polynesia,— Lalage, Monarcha, Myiagra, Rhipidura, Myzomela, Erythrura, Artamus, Phlogenas, Ptilopus, and Megapodius, as. well as the Papuan genus Rectes, and the Malayan Calornis ;—so that they can be certainly placed in the sub-region. Genera which do not occur in the other Polynesian islands are, Acrocephalus, (s.g. Psammathia) originally derived perhaps from the Philippines ; and Caprimulgus, a peculiar species, allied to one from Japan. New Caledonia, and the New Hebrides—Although these islands seem best placed with Polynesia, yet they form a transition to Australia proper, and to the Papuan group. They possess 30 genera of land-birds, 18 of which are typical of the Australian region ; but while 13 are also Polynesian, there are 5 which do not pass further east. These are Acanthiza, Hopsaltria, Gliet- phila, Philemon, and Ianthenas. The peculiar Polynesian genus, Aplonis, of which three species inhabit New Caledonia, link it to the other portions of the sub-region. The following are the genera at present known from New Caledonia :—TZurdus, Acan- thiza, Campephaga, Lalage, Myiagra, Rhipidura, Pachycephala, Eopsaltria, Corvus, Physocorax (s.g. of Corvus, allied to the jack- daws), Glicphila, Anthochera, Philemon, Zosterops, Erythrura, Aplonis, Artamus, Cuculus, Haleyon, Collocalia, Cyanoramphus, Trichoglossus, Ptilopus, Carpophaga, Macropygia, Lanthanas, Chalcophaps, Haliastur, Accipiter. The curious Rhinochetus jubatus, forming the type of a distinct family of birds (Rhino- chetidee), allied to the herons, is only known from New Cale- donia. It thus appears, that not more than about 50 genera and 150 species of land-birds, are known from the vast number of islands that are scattered over the Central Pacific, and it is not probable CHAP. XIII. THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 445 that the number will be very largely increased. Some of the species, as the Hudynamis taitensis and Tatare longirostris, range over 40° of longitude, from the Fiji Islands to the Marquesas. In other genera, as Cyanoramphus and Ptilopus, each important island or group of islands, has its peculiar species. The connec- tion of all these islands with each other, on the one hand, and their close relation to the Australian region, on the other, are equally apparent; but we have no sufficient materials for specu- lating with any success, on the long series of changes that have brought about their existing condition, as regards their peculiar forms of animal life. Sandwich Islands—This somewhat extensive group of large islands, is only known to contain 11 genera and 18 species of indigenous land-birds ; and even of this small number, two birds of prey are wide ranging species, which may well have reached the islands during their present isolated condition. These latter are, Strix delicatula, an ow] spread over Australia and the Pacific ; and Asio accipitrinus,a species which has reached the Galapagos from S. America, and thence perhaps the Sandwich Islands. Of the remaining 8 genera, one is a crow (Corvus hawaiensis), and another 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 Muscicapide, containing two species (which may however belong to distinct genera) ; and as the entire family is unknown on the American continent these birds must almost certainly be allied to some of the numerous Muscicapine forms of the Australian region. Next we have the purely Australian family Meliphagide, represented by two genera,—Moho, an isolated form, and Chetoptila, a genus established by Mr. Sclater for a bird before classed in Entomyza, an Australian group. The four remaining genera are believed by Mr. Sclater to belong to one group, the Drepanidide, altogether confined to the Sandwich Islands. Two of them, Drepanis and Hemignathus, with three species each, are undoubtedly allied ; the other two, Loxops and Psitlirostra, have usually been classed as finches. The former seem to approach the Diczeide ; and all resemble this group in their coloration. 446 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART HI. The aquatic birds and waders all belong to wide-spread genera, and only one or two are peculiar species. The Sandwich Islands thus possess a larger proportion of peculiar genera and species of land-birds than any other group of islands, and they are even more strikingly characterised by what seems to be a peculiar family. The only other class of terrestrial animals at all adequately represented on these islands, are the land shells; and here too we find a peculiar family, sub- family, or genus (Achatinella or Achatinellidz) consisting of a number of genera, or sub-genera,— according to the divergent views of modern conchologists,—and nearly 300 species. The Rev. J. T. Gulick, who has made a special study of these shells on the spot, considers that there are 10 genera, some of which are con- fined to single islands. The species are so restricted that their average range is not more than five or six square miles, while some are confined to a tract of only two square miles in extent, and very few range over an entire island. Some species are confined to the mountain ridges, others to the valleys; and each ridge or valley possesses its peculiar species. Considerably more than half the species occur in the island of Oahu, where there is a good deal of forest. Very few shells belonging to other groups occur, and they are all small and obscure; the Achatinellz almost monopolising the entire archipelago. Remarks on the probable past history of the Sandwich Islands. —The existence of these peculiar groups of birds and land- shells in so remote a group of volcanic islands, clearly indicates that they are but the relics of a more extensive land; and the reefs and islets that stretch for more than 1,000 miles in a west- north-west direction, may be the remains of a country once sufficiently extensive to develope these and many other, now extinct, forms of life. Some light may perhaps be thrown on the past history of the 1 A new genus of Beetles (Apterocyclus) of the family Lucanide, has recently been described from the Sandwich Islands, and it is said to be most nearly related to a group inhabiting Chili,—an indication either of the great antiquity of the fauna, or of the varied accidental migrations from which it has had its origin. CHAP. XIII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 447 Sandwich Islands, by the peculiar plants which are found on their mountains. The peak of Teneriffe produces no Alpine plants of European type, and this has been considered to prove that it has been always isolated ; whereas the occurrence of North Temperate forms on the mountains of Java, accords with other evi- dence of this island having once formed part of the Asiatic con- tinent. Now on the higher summits of the Sandwich Islands, nearly 30 genera of Arctic and North Temperate flowering plants have been found. Many of these occur also in the South Temperate zone, in Australia or New Zealand; but there are others which seem plainly to point to a former connection with some North Temperate land, probably California, as a number of islets are scattered in the ocean between the two countries. The most interesting genera are the following :—Silene, which is wholly North Temperate, except that it occurs in S, Africa; Vicza, also North Temperate, and in South Temperate America; Fragaria, with a similar distribution; Aster, widely spread in America, otherwise North Temperate only ; Vaccinium, wholly confined to the northern hemisphere, in cold and temperate climates. None of these are found in Australia or New Zealand ; and their presence in the Sandwich Islands seems clearly to indicate a former approximation to North Temperate America, although the absence of any American forms of vertebrata renders it certain that no actual land con- nection ever took place. Recent soundings have shown, that the Sandwich Islands rise from asea which is 3,000 fathoms or 18,000 feet deep ; while there is a depth of at least 2,000 fathoms all across to California on one side, and to Japan on the other. Between the Fiji Islands, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, and Australia, the depth is about 1,300 fathoms, and between Sydney and New Zealand 2,600 fathoms; showing, in every case, a general accordance between the depth of sea and the approxi- mation of the several faunas. In a few more years, when it is to be hoped we shall know the contour of the sea-bottom better than that of the continents, we shall be able to arrive at more definite and trustworthy conclusions as to the probable changes 448 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. of land and sea by which the phenomena of animal distribution in the Pacific have been brought about. Reptiles of the Polynesian Sub-region—The researches of Mr. Darwin on Coral Islands, proved, that large areas in the Pacific Ocean have been recently subsiding; but the peculiar forms of life which they present, no less clearly indicate the former existence of some extensive lands. The total absence of Mammalia, however, shows either that these lands never formed part of the Australian or Papuan continents, or if they did, that they have been since subjected to such an amount of subsidence as to exterminate most of their higher terrestrial forms of life. It is a remarkable circumstance, that although Mammalia (except bats) are wanting, there are a considerable number of reptiles ranging over the whole sub-region. Lizards are the most numerous, five families and fourteen genera being represented, as follows :— 1. Cryptoblepharus (Gymnopthalmide) Fiji Islands. 2. Ablepharus ... All the islands. 3. Lygosoma__.... (Seincidee) ... Pelew Islands, New Caledonia. 4, Mabouya see 5 ... Samoa Islands. 5, Euprepes “Ae ¥ ... Pacific Islands. 6. Dactyloperus ... (Geckotid) ... Sandwich Islands. 7. Doryura ... (Geckotide) ... Pacific Islands. 8. Gehyra sae “6 ... Fiji Islands. 9. Amydosaurus ... Fs ... Tahiti. 10. Heteronota ... a ... Fiji Islands. 11. Correlophus ... 5 ... New Caledonia. 12. Brachylophus ... (Iguanide) ... Fiji Islands. 13. Lophura ... (Agamidee) ... Pelew Islands. 14. Chioroscartes ... 3 ... Fiji Islands. The first five are wide-spread genera, represented mostly by peculiar species; but sometimes the species themselves have a wide range, as in the case of Ablepharus paciloplewrus, which | (according to Dr. Giinther) is found in Timor, Australia, New Caledonia, Savage Island (one of the Samoa group), and the Sandwich Islands! Gehyra and Heteronota are Australian genera; while Lophura has reached the Pelew Islands from the Moluccas. The remainder (printed in italics), are peculiar genera ; Brachylophus being especially interesting as an example of an _ CHAP. XIU. | THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 449 otherwise peculiar American family,*occurring so far across the Pacific. Snakes are much less abundant, cnly four genera being repre- sented, one of them marine. They are, Anoplodipsas, a peculiar genus of Amblycephalide from New Caledonia; Enygrus, a genus of Pythonide from the Fiji Islands; Ogmodon, a peculiar genus of Elapide, also from the Fiji Islands, but ranging to Papua and the Moluccas ; and Platurus, a wide-spread genus of sea-snakes (Hydrophid). In the more remote Sandwich and Society Islands there appear to be no snakes. This accords with our conclusion that lizards have some special means of ‘dispersal over the ocean which detracts from their value as indicating zoo-geographical affinities ; which is further proved by the marvellous range of a single species (referred to above) from Australia to the Sandwich Islands. A species of Hyla is said to inhabit the New Hebrides, and several species of Platymantis (tree-frogs) are found in the Fiji Islands; but otherwise the Amphibians appear to be unrepre- sented in the sub-region, though they will most likely be found in so large an island as New Caledonia. From the foregoing sketch, it appears, that although the reptiles present some special features, they agree on the whole with the birds, in showing, that the islands of Polynesia all belong to the Australian region, and that in the Fiji Is- lands is to be found the fullest development of their peculiar fauna. IV. New Zealand Sub-region. The islands of New Zealand are more completely oceanic than any other extensive tract of land, being about 1,200 miles from Australia and nearly the same distance from New Caledonia and the Friendly Isles. There are, however, several islets scattered around, whose productions show that they belong to the same sub-region ;—the principal being, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe’s Island, and the Kermadec Isles, on the north ; Chatham Island on the east ; the Auckland and Mac- quarie Isles on the south;—and if these were once joined to 450 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART IL. New Zealand, there would have been formed an island-con- tinent not much inferior in extent to Australia itself. New Zealand is wholly situated in the warmer portion of the Temperate zone, and enjoys an exceptionally mild and equable climate. It has abundant moisture, and thus comes within the limits of the South-Temperate forest zone; and this leads to its productions often resembling those of the tropical, but moist and wooded, islands of the Pacific, rather than those of the temperate, but arid and scantily wooded plains of Aus- tralia. The two islands of New Zealand are about the same extent (approximately) as the British Isles, but the difference in the general features of their natural history is very great. There are, in the former, no mammalia, less than half as many birds, very few reptiles and fresh-water fishes, and an excessive and most unintelligible poverty of insects; yet, considering the situation of the islands and their evidently long-continued isolation, the wonder rather is that their fauna is so varied and interesting as it is found to be. Our knowledge of this fauna, though no doubt far from complete, is_ sufficiently ample; and it will be well to give a pretty full account of it, in order to see what conclusions may be drawn as te its origin. Mammalia—The only mammals positively known as indi- genous to New Zealand are two bats, both peculiar to i1t,—/Scoto- philus tuberculatus and Mystacina tuberculata. The former is allied to Australian forms; the latter is more interesting, as being a peculiar genus of the family Noctilionide, which does not exist in Australia; and in having decided resemblances to the Phyllostomide of South America, so that it may almost be considered to be a connecting link between the two families. A forest rat is said to have once abounded on the islands, and to have been used for food by the natives ; but there is much doubt as to what it really was, and whether it was not an introduced species. The seals are wide-spread antarctic forms which have no 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- CHAP. XIII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 451 ing to 34 genera. Of this latter number, 16, or nearly half, are peculiar; and there are also 5 peculiar genera of waders and aquatic birds, making 21 in all. Of the remaining genera of land-birds, four are cosmopolite or of very wide range, while the remainder are characteristic of the Australian region. The following is a list of the Australian genera found in New Zealand: Spheneacus, Gerygone, Orthonyx (Sylviide); Graucalus (Campephagidee) ; Rhipidura (Muscicapide) ; Anthochera (Meli- phagide) ; Zosterops (Diceide); Cyanoramphus (Platycercide) ; Carpophaga (Columbidx); Hieracidea (Falconide) ; Tribonya (Rallide). Besides these there are several genera of wide range, as follows:—Anthus (Motacillide); Hirundo (Hirun- dinide) ; Chrysococcyx, Hudynamis (Cuculidee) ; Halcyon (Alce- dinidz) ; Cotwrniz (Tetraonidee); Circus (Falconidee) ; Athene (Strigidze). Most of the above genera are represented by peculiar New Zealand species, but in several cases the species are identical with those of Australia, as in the following: Anthochera carun- culata, Zosterops lateralis, Hirundo nigricans, and Chrysococcyx lucidus ; also one—Hudyndmis taitensis—which is Polynesian. We now come to the genera peculiar to New Zealand, which are of especial interest : . List oF GENERA OF Birps Precutiar to NEw ZEALAND, No. of Family and Genus. Species. Remarks. SYLVIID®. 1, Myiomoira... 60 3 Alliedto Petroica,an Australian genus 2. Miro ... ae ot 2 it i if ‘ TIMALIIDE (?) 3. Turnagra sae oe 2 Of doubtful affinities. Sirrip#. 4. Xenicus Mic wes 8 Of doubtful affinities. 5. Acanthisitta ... sere 1 Of doubtful affinities. PARID. m4 6. Certhiparus ... a 2 Of doubtful affinities. MELIPHAGID. 7. Prosthemadera Ae 1 Peculiar genera of honeysuckers, a — 8. Pogonornis Boe family which is confined to the 9. Anthornis... eee 3 Australian Region. 452 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. _ [part It, No of Family and Genus, Species, Remarks. STURNIDE. 10. Creadion oe see 2 These three genera are probably 11. Heterolocha ... oak 1 allied, and perhaps form a dis- 12. Calleas aes ist 2 tinct family. NESTORIDZ. 13. Nestor... She ens 3 A peculiar family of Parrots. STRINGOPIDE. 14. Stringops _... ah 1 A peculiar family of Parrots. STRIGID. 15. (Sceloglaux) ... ak 1 s.g. of Athene. RALuip#. 16. Ocydromus ... Ae 6 Allied to Hulabeornis, an Australian genus. 17. Notornis eA wn 1 Allied to Porphyrio, a genus of wide range, CHARADRIID&. 18. Thinornis ar as 1 19. Anarhynchus ... as Ih ANATIDE. 20. Hymenolzemus ae 1 Allied to Malacorhynchus, an Aus- tralian genus. APTERYGIDE. 21. Apteryx oan eee 4 Forming a peculiar family. We have thus a wonderful amount of speciality; yet the afti- nities of the fauna, whenever they can be traced, are with Aus- tralia or Polynesia. Nine genera of New Zealand birds are characteristically Australian, and the eight genera of wide range are Australian also. Of the peculiar genera, 7 or 8 are undoubtedly allied to Australian groups. There are also four Australian and one Polynesian species. Even the peculiar family, Nestoride, is _ allied to the Australian Trichoglossidee. We have therefore every gradation of similarity to the Australian fauna, from identical species, through identical genera, and allied genera, to distinct but allied families; clearly indicating very long continued yet rare immigations from Australia or Polynesia; immigrations which are continued down to our day. For resident ornithologists be- lieve, that the Zosterops lateralis has found its way to New Zea- land within the last few years, and that the two cuckoos now migrate annually, the one from Australia, the other from some CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 453 part of Polynesia, distances of more than 1,000 miles! These facts seem, however, to have been accepted on insufficient evidence and to be in themselves extremely improbable. It is observed that the cuckoos appear annually in certain districts and again disappear ; but their course does not seem to have been traced, still less have they ever been actually seen arriving or departing across the ocean. In a country which has still such wide tracts of unsettled land, it is very possible that the birds in question may 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 sub- region, as it is chiefly their birds that possess any interest. Norfolk Island.—The land-birds recorded from this island amount to 15 species, of which 8 are Australian, viz.: Climac- teris scandens, Symmorphus leucopygius, Zosterops tenuirostris and Z. albogqularis, Haleyon sanctus, Platycercus pennanti, Carpophaga spadicea, Phapspicata and P. chalcoptera. Of the peculiar species three belong to Australian genera ; Petroica, Gerygone, and Rhipidura ; one to a cosmopolitan genus, Turdus. So far the affinity seems to be all Australian, and there remain only three birds which ally this island to New Zealand,—Nestor productus, Cyanoramphus rayneri, and Notornis alba. The former inhabited the small Phillip Island (close to Norfolk Island) but is now extinct. Being a typical New Zealand genus, quite incapable of flying across the sea, its presence necessitates some former connexion between the two islands, and it is therefore perhaps of more weight than all the Australian genera and species, which are birds capable of long flights. The Cyanoramphus is allied to a New Zealand broad-tailed parroquet. The Notornis alba is extinct, but two specimens exist in museums, and it is even a stronger case than the Nestor, as showing a former approximation or union of this island with New Zealand. A beautiful figure of this bird is given in the Jbis for 1873. Lord Howe's Island.—This small island, situated half-way between Australia and Norfolk Island, is interesting, as contain- ing a peculiar species of the New Zealand genus Ocydromus, or 454 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. wood-hen (0. sylvestris), There is also a peculiar thrush, Zurdus vinitinctus. Its other birds are wholly of Australian types, and most of them probably Australian species. The following have been observed, and no doubt constitute nearly its whole indigen- ous bird fauna. Acanthiza sp., Rhipidura sp., Pachycephala gut- twralis, Zosterops strennuus and Z. tephropleurus, Strepera sp., Halcyon sp., and Chalcophaga chrysochlora. The two species of Zosterops are peculiar. The Ocydromus is important enough to ally this island to New Zealand rather than to Australia; and if the white bird seen there is, as supposed, the Votornis alba which is extinct in Norfolk Island, the connection will be rendered still more clear. Chatham Islands —These small islands, 450 miles east of New Zealand, possess about 40 species of birds, of which 13 are land- birds, All but one belong to New Zealand genera, and all but five are New Zealand species. The following are the genera of the land-birds: Spheneacus, Gerygone, Myiomoira, Rhipidura, Zosterops, Anthus, Prosthemadera, Anthornis, Chrysococcyx, Cyano- ramphus, Carpophaga, Cireus. The peculiar species are An- thornis melanocephala, Myiomoira, diffenbachit and M. traversi, Rhipidura flabellifera, and a peculiar rail incapable of flight, named by Captain Hutton Cabalus modestus. It is stated that the Zosterops differs from that of New Zealand, and is also a migrant; and it is therefore believed to come every year from Australia, passing over New Zealand, a distance of nearly 1,700 ° miles! Further investigation will perhaps discover some other explanation of the facts. It is also stated, that the pigeon and one of the small birds (? Gerygone or Zosterops) have arrived at the islands within the last eight years.. The natives further de- clare, that both the Stringops and Apteryx once inhabited the islands, but were exterminated about the year 1835. The Auckland Islands.—These are situated nearly 300 miles south of New Zealand, and possess six land-birds, of which three are peculiar— Anthus aucklandicus, Cyanoramphus aucklandicus, and C. malherbii, the others being New Zealand species of Myiomoira, Prosthemadera, and Anthornis. It is remarkable that two peculiar parrots of the same genus should inhabit these PLATE XIII. li sf Hi | Wy All / y NEW ZEALAND, WITH SOME OF ITS REMARKABLE BIRDS, SCENE IN CHAP, XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION, 455 small islands; but such localities seem favourable to the Platy- cercidee, for another peculiar species is found in the remote Mac- quarie Islands, more than 400 miles farther south. A peculiar species and genus of ducks, Nesonetta aucklandica,is also found here, and as far as yet known, nowhere else. A species of the northern genus Mergus is also found on these islands, and has been recently obtained by Baron von Hiigel. Plate XIII. Illustrating the peculiar Ornithology of New Zea- land.—Our artist has here depicted a group of the most remark- able and characteristic of the New Zealand birds. In the middle foreground 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 fly ; and 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 useless for want of -exercise. This would imply, that these birds have not long been inhabitants of New Zealand only, but were deve- loped in other countries (perhaps Australia) where their wings were of use to them. Beyond the Kakapoe are a pair of the large rails, Notornis mantelli; heavy birds with short wings quite useless for flight, and with massive feet and bill of a red colour. On the right is a pair of Kiwis (Apteryx australis), one of the queerest and most unbird-like of living birds. It has very small and rudimentary wings, entirely concealed by the hair-like plumage, and no tail. It is nocturnal, feeding chiefly on worms, which it extracts from soft earth by means of its long bill. The genus Apteryx forms a distinct family of birds, of which four species are now known, besides some which are extinct. They are allied to the Cassowary and to the gigantic extinct Dinornis. On the wing are a pair of Crook-billed Plovers (Anarhynchus frontalis), remarkable for being the only birds known which have the bill bent sideways. This was at first thought to be a malformation ; but it is now proved to be a constant character of the species, as it exists even in the young chicks; yet the pur- pose served by such an anomalous structure is not yet discovered. 456 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III, No country on the globe can offer such an extraordinary set of birds as are here depicted. Reptiles.—These consist almost wholly of lizards, there being no land-snakes and only one frog. Twelve species of lizards are known, belonging to three genera, one of which is peculiar, as are all the species. Hinulia, with two species, and Mocoa, with four species (one of which extends to the Chatham Islands), belong to the Scincide ; both are very wide-spread genera aud occur in Australia. The peculiar genus Vauwltinus, with six species, belongs to the Geckotide, a family spread over the whole world. The most extraordinary and interesting reptile of New Zea- land is, however, the Hatteria punctata, a lizard-like animal living in holes, and found in small islands on the north-east coast, and more rarely on the main land. It is somewhat inter- mediate in structure between lizards and crocodiles, and also has bird-like characters in the form of its ribs. It constitutes, not only a distinct family, Rhyncocephalide, but a separate order of reptiles, RHYNCOCEPHALINA. It is quite isolated from all other members of the class; and is probably a slightly modified repre- sentative of an ancient and generalised form, which has been superseded in larger areas by the more specialized lizards and saurians. The only representatives of the Ophidia are two sea-snakes of Australian and Polynesian species, and of no geographical interest. . Amphibia.—The solitary frog indigenous to New Zealand, belongs to a peculiar genus, Liopelma, and to the family Bom- buratoride, otherwise confined to Europe and temperate South America. Fresh-water Fishes—There are, according to Captain Hutton, 15 species of fresh-water fish in New Zealand, belonging to 7 genera; six species, and one genus (Retropinna), being peculiar. Retropinna vichardsont belongs to the Salmonide, and is the only example of that family occurring in the Southern hemi- sphere, where it is confined to New Zealand and the Chatham Islands. The wide distribution of Galaxias attenwatus—trom the CHAP. XII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 457 Chatham Islands to South America—has already been noticed ; while another species, G. fasciatus, is found in the Chatham and Auckland Isles as well as New Zealand. A second genus peculiar to New Zealand, Neochanna, allied to Galaxias, has recently been described. Prototroctes oxyrhynchus is allied to an Australian species, but belongs to a family (Haplochitonide) which is otherwise South American. An eel, Anguilla latirostris, is found in Europe, China, and the West Indies, as well as in New Zealand! while the genus Agonostoma ranges to Australia, Celebes, Mauritius, and Central America. Insects—The great poverty of this class is well shown by the fact, that only eleven species of butterflies are known to inhabit New Zealand. Of these, six are peculiar, and one, Argyrophenga (Satyridz), is a peculiar genus allied to the Northern genus Erebia. The rest are either of wide range, as Pyrameis cardut and Diadema bolina ; or Australian, as Hamdyaas zoilus ; while one, Danais erippus,is American, but has also occurred in Australia, and is no doubt a recent introduction into both countries. Only one Sphinax is recorded, and no other species of the Sphin- gina except the British currant-moth, geria tipuliformis, doubtless imported. Coleoptera are better represented, nearly 300 species having been described, all or nearly all being pecu- liar. These belong to about 150 genera, of which more than 50 are peculiar. No less than 14 peculiar genera belong to the Carabide, mostly consisting of one or two species, but Demetrida has 3, and Metaglymma 8 species. Other important genera are Dicrochile, Homalosoma, Mecodema, and Scopodes, all in common with Australia. Mecodema and Metaglymma are the largest genera. Even the Auckland Islands have two small genera of Carabide found nowhere else. Cicindelidz are represented in New Zealand by 6 species of Cicindela, and 1 of Dystipsidera, a genus. peculiar to the Austra- lian region. The Lucanide are represented by two peculiar genera, Den- droblax and Oxyomus; two Australian genera, issotes and Ceratognathus ; and by the almost cosmopolite Dorecus. The Scarabeide consist of ten species only, belonging to four Vou. L—31 458 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. * [parr 111, genera, two of which are peculiar (Odontria and Stethaspis) ; and two Australian (Pericoptus and Calonota). There are no Cetoniide. There is only one Buprestid, belonging to the Australian genus Cisseis. The Elateride, (about a dozen species,) belong mostly to Australian genera, but two, Metablax and Ochosternus, are peculiar. There are 30 species of Curculionide, belonging to 22 genera. Of the genera, 12 are peculiar; 1 is common to New Zealand and New Caledonia; 5 belong to the Australian region, and the rest are widely distributed. Longicorns are, next to Carabide, the most numerous family, there being, according to Mr. Bates (Ann. Nat. Hist., 1874), about 35 genera, of which 26 are peculiar or highly characteristic, and 7 of the others Australian. The largest and most character- istic genera are mona and Xyloteles, both being peculiar to New Zealand; few of the remainder having more than one or two species. Demonaz extends to the Moluccas and 8. E. Asia. A dozen of the genera have no near relations with those _ of any other country. Phytophaga are remarkably scarce, only two species of Colaspis being recorded; and there is only a single species of — Coccinella. The other orders of Insects appear to be equally deficient. Hymenoptera are very poorly represented, only a score of species being yet known; but two of the genera are peculiar, as are all the species. The Neuroptera and Heteroptera are also very scarce, and several of the species are wide-spread forms of the Australian region. The few species of Homoptera are all peculiar. The Myriapoda afford some interesting facts. There are 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 found in Australia. Henicops occurs elsewhere only in Tasmania and Chili. Cryptops, only in the north temperate zone; while two others, Cermatia and Cormocephalus, both occur in Australia. CHAP, XIII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 459 Land-Shells—Of these, 114 species are known, 97. being peculiar. Three species of Helix are also found in Australia, _ and five more in various tropical islands of the Pacific. Manina, Lymnea, and Assiminea, are found in Polynesia or Malaya, but not in Australia. Amphibola is an Australian genus, as is Janella. Testacella and Limax belong to the Palearctic region. From the Chatham Islands, 82 species of shells are known, all being New Zealand species, except nine, which are peculiar. The Ancient Fauna of New Zealand—One of the most re- markable features of the New Zealand fauna, is the existence, till quite recent times, of an extensive group of wingless birds, —called Moas 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 these singular remains, is that by Dr. Haast, who, from a study of the extensive series of specimens in the Canterbury museum, believes, that they belong to two families, distinguished by important differences of structure, and constitute four genera,— Dinornis and Miornis, forming the family Dinornithide ; Palapteryx and Euryapteryx, forming the family Palapterygide. These were mostly larger birds than the living Apteryx, and some of them much larger even than the African ostrich, and were more allied to the Casuariide and Struthionide than to the Apterygide. No less than eleven species of these birds have been discovered; all are of recent geological date, and there are indications that some of them may have been in existence less than a century ago, and were really exter- minated by man. Remains have been found (of apparently the same recent date) of species of Apteryx, Stringops, Ocydro- mus, and many other living forms, as well as of Harpagornis, a large bird of prey, and Cnemiornis, a gigantic goose. Bodies of the Hatteria punctata have also been found along with those of the Moa, showing that this remarkable reptile was once more abundant on the main islands than it is now. The Origin of the New Zealand Fauna.—Having now given 460 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. an outline sketch of the main features of the New Zealand fauna and of its relations with other regions, we may consider what conclusions are fairly deducible from the facts. As the outlying Norfolk, Chatham, and Lord Howe's Islands, are all inhabited (or have recently been so) by birds of New Zealand type or even identical species, almost incapable of flight, we may infer that these islands show us the former minimum extent of the land-area in which the peculiar forms which characterise the sub-region were developed. If we include the Auckland and Macquarie Islands to the south, we shall have a territory of not much less extent than Australia, and separated from it by per- haps several hundred miles of ocean. Some such ancient land must have existed to allow of the development and specialization of so many peculiar forms of birds, and it probably remained with but shght modifications for a considerable geological period. During all this time it would interchange many of its forms of life with Australia, and there would arise that amount of identity of genera between the two countries which we find to exist. Its extension southwards, perhaps considerably beyond the Mac- - quaries, would bring it within the range of floating ice during colder epochs, and within easy reach of the antarctic continent during the warm periods ; and thus would arise that interchange of genera and species with South America, which forms one of the characteristic features of the natural history of New Zealand. Captain F. W. Hutton (to whose interesting paper on the Geographical relations of the New Zealand Fauna we are indebted for some of our facts) insists upon the necessity of former land-connections in various directions, and especially of 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 birds in all these countries, and for the various other groups of birds, reptiles, fishes, or insects which have no obvious means of traversing the ocean,—and this union must have occurred before mammalia existed in any of these countries. But such a supposition is quite unnecessary, if we consider that all wingless land-birds and some water-birds (as the Gare-fowl CHAP. XIII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 461 and Steamer Duck) are probably cases of abortion of use- less organs, and that the common ancestors of the various forms of Struthiones may have been capable of a moderate degree of flight ; or they may have originated in the northern hemisphere, as already explained in Chap. XI. p. 287. The exis- tence of two, if not three, distinct families of these birds in New Zealand, proves that the original type was here isolated at a very early date, and being wholly free from the competition of mammalia, became more differentiated than elsewhere. The Hatteria is probably coeval with these early forms, and is the only relic of a whole order of reptiles, which once perhaps ranged tar over the globe. Still less does any other form of animal inhabiting New Zea- land, require a land connection with distant countries to account for its presence. With the example before us of the Bermudas and Azores, to which a great variety of birds fly annually over vast distances, and even of the recent arrival of new birds in New Zealand and Chatham Island, we may be sure that the ancestors of every New Zealand bird could easily have reached its shores during the countless ages which elapsed while the Dinornis and Apteryxz were developing. The wonderful range of some of the existing species of lizards and fresh-water fish, as already given, proves that they too possess means of dispersal which have sufficed to spread them, within a comparatively recent period, over countries separated by thousands of miles of ocean; and the fact that a group like the snakes, so widely distributed and for which the climate of New Zealand is so well adapted, does not exist there, is an additional proof that land connection had nothing to do with the introduction of the existing fauna. We have already (p. 398), discussed in some detail the various modes in which the dispersal of animals in the southern hemisphere has been effected ; and in accordance with the principles there estab- lished, we conclude, that the New Zealand fauna, living and extinct, demonstrates the existence of an extensive tract of land in the vicinity of Australia, Polynesia, and the Antarctic con- tinent, without having been once actually connected with either of these countries, since the period when mammalia had peopled 462 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART III. all the great continents, That event certainly dates back to Secondary, if not to Paleozoic, times, because so dominant a group must soon have spread over the whole continuous land- area of the globe. We have no reason for believing that birds were an earlier development; and certainly cannot, with any probability, place the origin of the Struthiones before that of Mammals. Causes of the Poverty of Insect-life in New Zealand: its Influ- ence on the Character of the Flora.—The extreme paucity of in- sects in New Zealand, to which we have already alluded, seems to call for some attempt at explanation. No other country in the world, in which the conditions are equally favourable for insect- life, and which has either been connected with, or is in proximity to, any of the large masses of land, presents a similar pheno- menon. The only approach to it is in the Galapagos, and in some of the islands of the Pacific; and in each of these cases the absence of mammals leads us to infer, that no connection with a continent has ever taken place. Yet the fauna‘of New Zealand evidently dates back to a remote geological epoch, and it seems strange that an abundance of indigenous insects have not been developed, especially when we consider the vast antiquity that most of the orders and families, and many of the genera, of insects possess (see p. 166), and that they must always have reached the country in greater numbers and variety than any of the higher animals. The undoubted fact that such an indigenous insect- fauna has not arisen, would therefore lead us to conclude, that insects find the conditions requisite for their development only in the great continental masses of land, in strict adaptation to, and dependance on, a varied fauna and flora of ever-increasing richness and complexity. A small number of widely-separated forms, intro- duced into a country where the fauna and flora are alike scanty and. unrelated to them, seem to have little tendency to vary and branch out into that vast network of insect-life which enriches all the great continents and their once connected islands, Itis a striking confirmation on a large scale, of Mr. Darwin’s beautiful theory—that the gay colours of flowers have mostly, or CHAP, XIII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 463 perhaps, wholly been produced, in order to attract insects which aid in their fertilization—that in New Zealand, where insects are so strikingly deficient in variety, the flora should be almost as strik- ingly deficient in gaily-coloured blossoms. Of course there are some exceptions, but as a whole, green, inconspicuous, and imperfect flowers prevail, to an extent not to be equalled in any other part of the globe ; and affording a marvellous contrast to the general brilliancy of Australian flowers, combined with the abundance and variety of its insect-life. We must remember, too, that the few gay or conspicuous flowering-plants possessed by New Zea- land, are almost all of Australian, South American, or European genera ; the peculiar New Zealand or Antarctic genera being almost wholly without conspicuous flowers. In the tropical Galapagos the same thing occurs. Mr. Darwin notices the wretched weedy appearance of the vegetation; and states that it was some time before he discovered that most of the plants were in flower at the time of his visit! And the insect-life was correspondingly deficient, consisting mainly of a few terrestrial beetles. The poverty of insect-life in New Zealand must, therefore, be a very ancient feature of the country ; and it furnishes an addi- tional argument against the theory of land-connection with, or even any near approach to, either Australia, South Africa, or South America. For in that case numbers of winged insects would certainly have entered, and the flowers would then, as in every other part of the world, have been rendered attractive to them by the development of coloured petals ; and this character once 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 to be also deficient in scented flowers ; because it is a part of the same theory, that the odours of flowers have, like their colours, been developed to attract the insects required to aid in their fer- tilization. I therefore at once applied to my friend Dr. Hooker, as the highest authority on New Zealand botany ; simply asking whether there was any such observed deficiency. His reply was:— 464 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART II “ New Zealand plants are remarkably scentless, both in regard to the rarity of scented flowers, of leaves with immersed glands containing essential oils, and of glandular hairs.” There are a few exceptional cases, but these seem even more rare than might be expected, so that the confirmation of theory is very complete. The circumstance that aromatic leaves are also very scarce, sug- gests the idea that these, too, serve as an attraction to insects. Aromatic plants abound most in arid countries, and on Alpine heights ; both localities where winged insects are comparatively scarce, and where it may be necessary to attract them in every possible way. Dr. Hooker also informs, me that since his [ntro- duction to the New Zealand Flora was written, many plants with handsome flowers have been discovered, especially among the Ranunculi, shrubby Veronicas, and herbaceous Composit. The two former, however, are genera of wide range, which may have originated in New Zealand by the introduction of plants with handsome flowers, which the few indigenous insects would be attracted by, and thus prevent the loss of their gay corollas; so that these discoveries will not much affect the general character of the flora, and its very curious bearing on the past history of the islands through the relations of flowers and insects. In judging of the relation here supposed to exist, it must be remembered, that if the New Zealand insects have been intro- duced from the surrounding countries by chance immigrations at distant intervals, then, as we go back into the past the insect fauna will become poorer and poorer, and still more inadequate than at present to lead to the development of attractive flowers and odours. This quite harmonizes with the fact of the ancient indigenous flora being so remarkably scentless and inconspi- cuous, while a few of the more recently introduced genera of plants have retained their floral attractions. Concluding Remarks on the Early History of the Australian Region. We have already discussed in some detail, the various relations of the Australian sub-regions to the surrounding Regions, and the geographical changes that appear to have taken place. A very CHAP. XIIL. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 465 few observations will therefore suffice, on the supposed early history of the Australian region as a whole. It was probably far back in the Secondary period, that some portion of the Australian region was in actual connection with the northern continent, and became stocked with ancestral forms of Marsupials; but from that time till now there seems to have been no further land connection, and the Australian lands have thenceforward gone on developing the Marsupial and Monotre- mate types, into the various living and extinct races we now find there. During some portion of the Tertiary epoch Australia pro- bably comprised much of its existing area, together with Papua and the Solomon Islands, and perhaps extended as far east as the ‘Fiji Islands ; while it might also have had a considerable exten- sion to the south and west. Some light has recently been thrown on this subject by Professor McCoy’s researches on the Pale- ontology of Victoria. He finds abundant marine fossils of Eocene and Miocene age, many of which are strikingly similar to those of Europe at the same period. Among these are Ceta- ceans of the genus Sgualodon ; European species of Plagiostom- ous fishes; mollusea and corals closely resembling those of Europe and North America of the same age,—such as numerous Volutes closely allied to those of the Eocene beds of the Isle of Wight, and the genus Dentaliwm in great abundance, almost or quite identical with European tertiary species. Along with these, are found some living species, but always such as now live farther north in tropical seas. The Cretaceous and Meso- zoic marine fossils are equally close to those of Europe. The whole of these remains demonstrate that, as in the northern so in the southern hemisphere, a much warmer climate prevailed in the Eocene and Miocene periods than at the present time. This is amost important result, and one which strongly supports Mr. Belt’s view, before referred to, that the warmer climates in past geological epochs, and especially that of the Miocene as compared with our own, was caused by a diminution of the obliquity of the ecliptic, leading to a much greater uniformity of the seasons for a considerable distance from the equator, and oreatly reducing the polar area within which the sun would ever 466 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PART 11. disappear during an entire rotation of the earth. During such a period, tropical forms of marine animals would have been able to spread north and south, into what are now cool latitudes; and identical genera, and even species, might then have ranged along the southern shores of the old Palearctic continent, from Britain to the Bay of Bengal, and southward along the Malayan coasts to Australia. Numerous Miocene plant-beds have also been found in Vic- toria, containing abundance of Dicotyledonous leaves, which are said generally to resemble those of the Asiatic flora, and of the Miocene plant-beds of the Rhine. Itis to be hoped these beds will be more closely examined for remains of insects, land-shells, and vertebrates, and that the plants will be carefully preserved and critically studied ; for here probably lies hidden the key, that will solve much of the mystery that attaches to the past history of the Australian fauna. CHAP, XII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 467 TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION In drawing up these tables, showing the distribution of the various classes of animals in the Australian region, the following sources of information have been relied on, in addition to the general treatises, monographs, and catalogues used in compiling the 4th Part of this work. Mammalia.—Gouid, Mammals of Australia; Waterhouse on Marsupials ; Dr. J. E. Gray’s List of Mammalia of New Guinea ; Miiller, Temminck and Schlegel on Mammals of the Moluccas; papers by Dr. Gray ; and personal observations by the Author. Birds.—Gould’s Birds of Australia; Buller’s Birds of New Zealand; G. R. Gray’s Lists of Birds of Moluccas, &c.; Hart- laub and Finsch on Birds of Pacific Islands; Sclater on Birds of Sandwich Islands ; papers by Haast, Hutton, Meyer, Salvin, Schlegel, Sclater, Trav ers, Lord Walden and the Author. Reptiles.—Krefft, Catalogue of Snakes; Gunther, List of Lizards in Voyage of Erebus and Terror (1875); and numerous papers. 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 are not considered properly to belong to it. Numbers correspond to the series of numbers to the families in Part IV. Sub-regions. Order and Family. oe g 2 a Range beyond the Region. BElasd| asl oS sal sal/soaulas Bela cte | a S =| MAMMALIA. PRIMATES. 3. Cynopithecide CHIROPTERA. 9. Pteropide 11. Rhinolophide 12. Vespertilionide 13. Noctilionide... CARNIVORA. 25. (Viverride) 33. Otariide... 35. Phocide... Oriental and Ethiopian Oriental and Ethiopian The Eastern Hemisphere Cosmopolite All tropical regions Oriental N. and 8. temperate zones N. and S. temperate zones CETACEA. 36 to 41. Oceanic SIRENIA. 42. Manatide — Ethiopian, Oriental UNGULATA. 47. Suide .. = All other regions but Nearcticz 50. (Cervide) = All other regions but Ethiopian 52. (Bovide) = All other regions but Neotropical RODENTIA. 55. Muride ... —|— All other regions 61. (Scuiride) = All other regions MARSUPIALIA. 77. Dasyuride 78. Myrmecobiide 79. Peramelide ... 80. Macropodide.. CHAP, XIII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. Sub-regions. | ily. |oe|a | z Order and Family £58 e .|e&E | aa |u| ps) oS sa) s4| oa |24’'s 221, 222. 223. 224. 225. 226. 227. 228. 229, 230. 231. 232. Prioniturus ... Geoffroyus Tanygnathus .. Eclectus .., Cyclopsitta Loriculus Trichoglossus Nanodes... Charmosyna ie Hos... Lorius Coriphilus NEsTORIDE 233. 234. Nestor Dasyptilus Range within the Region. No. of Species. Aru Islands and Australia Celebes) He bo Celebes to N. Guinea Celebes to Pacific Islands Australia Celebes, Australia be Pb 17 | Celebes and Lombok, to Solo- mon Islands and Tasmania Australia Australia and Tasmania Papuan Islands and: N. Austral. Austr., Solmn. Ids., & N.Guin.? Papuan and Solomon Islands oo 09 bo CO Austral., Tasmania, Norfolk Id. Australia Australia Australia and N. Caledonia Moluccas, Timor, Papuan Is- lands, Australia Tonga to Fiji Islands N. Zealand, Norfolk. Island, N. Caledonia, Society Islands Australia Australia : Australia and Tasmania W. Australia He OO Set Oo OD 1 ee ee Celebes Borneo to Timor & Solomon Ids. Celebes to New Guinea Moluceas and Papuan Islands Papuan Ids. and N.E. Austral. Celebes to Mysol, Flores The whole region, excl. Sandwich Islands, and N. Zealand 1 | Australia and Tasmania 1 | New Guinea y |Sanguir Ids. and Moluccas to Solomon Ids. Bouru and Gilolo to Solomon Ids. 4 | Samoan to Marquesas Islands ONN OP Orb 5 | New Zealand and Norfolk Ids. 1 | New Guinea [PART 111, Range beyond the Region. Oriental genus Onental Oriental Pale., Orien., Ethiopian Ethio., Orien., American Philippines Philippines Philippines Philippines Oriental CHAP. XII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. Order, Family, and Genus. STRINGOPIDA. 235. Stringops COLUMB. CoLUMBIDA, 236. 237. 238. 239. 240. 241. 242. 243. 244. 245. 246. 247. 248. 249. 250. 251. 252. 253. 254. 255. 256. 257. 258. 259. Treron a Ptilopus... Carpophaga ... lanthenas Leucomelena... Lopholemus ... Geopelia... Macropygia ... Turacena Reinwardtenas Turtur :. Ocyphaps Petrophassa ... Chalcophaps ... Trugon ... ... Henicophaps ... Phaps Leucosarcia ... Geophaps ee Lophophaps ... Calenas ... Otidiphaps Phlogcenas Goura DIDUNCULID2. 260. Diduneulus ... GALLINA. TETRAONID&. 261. Coturnix PHASIANIDA. (Gallus ... TURNICID. 262. Turnip: MEGAPODIIDA. 263. 264. 265. 266. Talegallus Megacephalon Lipoa re Megapodius ... No. of Species, 1 nr mo ON i Qo Od ST HEHE OO DD OD Ee DD OD OV bee Cc) 1 Range within the Region. N. Zealand, Chatham Islands ? Celebes, Bouru, and Ceram, Flores and Timor The whole region; excl. N. Zealand The whole region Gilolo, Timor, Papuan Ids. to Samoan Islands Australia Australia Lombok to Tasmania Austro-Malaya, Australia Celebes, Timor, Solomon Ids. Celebes to New Guinea Austro-Malaya Australia N. W. Australia Austro-Malaya, Australia N. Guinea Papuan Islands Australia and Tasmania Australia Australia ‘Australia Austro-Malaya N. Guinea Celebes, N.Guinea to Madagascar Papuan Islands Samoan Islands Celebes, Timor, Australia, N. Zealand Celebes to Timor) Celebes & Moluccas to Tasmania Papuan Islands and Australia Celebes S. Australia Celebes to Austral. & Samoan Ids. Range beyond the Region. Oriental, Ethiopian Indo-Malaya Oriental Japan, Philippines, An- daman Islands Malaya, China Indo-Malaya Palearc., Orien., Ethiop. Oriental Indo-Malaya Philippine Islands Palearc., Orien., Ethiop. Oriental genus Palearc., Orien., Ethiop. Philippines, Nicobar Ids, 483 484 Order, Family, and Genus. ACCIPITRES. FALCONIDA. 267. 268. 269. 270. 271. 272. Circus Astur Accipiter Urospiz Uroaétus Nisaétus... 273. 274. 275. Neopus ... Spizaétus Circaetus ‘(Spilornis Butastur Halizetus 276. 277. 278. 279. 280. 281. 282. 283. Haliastur Milvus ... Gypoictinia Elanus ... (Pernis ... Baza Harpa Falco Hieracidea Cerchneis 284. 285. 286. 287. 288. PANDIONIDA. 289. Pandion... 290. Polioaétus STRIGIDA. 291. Athene ... 292. Scops (Asio 293. Strix Lophoictinia ... Henicopernis ... ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. No. of Species. bo eS ee Oe ee Oe oll tet NWNWaQH O- Range within the Region. Celebes, S. and E. Austral The region, to Fiji Islands The whole region, to Fiji Islands Australia Australia and Tasmania Australia Celebes and Ternate Celebes and N. Guinea Timor and Flores Celebes and Sulla Islands) Celebes to New Guinea The whole region Australia and N. Caledonia Celebes to Australia Australia Australia Celebes and Australia Papuan Islands Celebes) Moluccas and Australia N. Zealand and Auckland Ids, Austro-Malaya and Australia Australia and Tasmania Austro-Malaya and Australia The whole region Celebes and Sandwich Islands The whole reg., excl. Pacific Ids. Celebes, Moluccas, N. Zealand Sandwich Islands) The whole region [PARY 111, Range beyond the Region. Almost Cosmopolite Almost Cosmopolite Almost Cosmopolite S. Paleare., Ethiopian, Oriental Oriental Neotrop., Ethiop., Orien. Palearc., Ethiop., Orien. Oriental genus Oriental, N. E. Africa Cosmop., excl. Neotrop. region Oriental Palearc., Orien., Ethiop. Oriental, Ethiopian Palearctic, Oriental, and Ethiopian Oriental Almost Cosmopolite Almost Cosmopolite Cosmopolite Oriental Paleare. , Orien., Ethiop. Almost Cosmopolite Almost Cosmopolite, excl. Australian region Cosmopolite Peculiar or very Cheracteristic Genera of Wading and Swimming Birds. GRALLA. RALLIDA. ~ Ocydromus Cabalus ... Notornis... Tribonyx Habroptila PDE or : “ted New Zealand Chatham Islands New Zealand, Norfolk and Lord Howe’s Islands Australia and N. Zealand Moluccas CHAP. XIII. ] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 485 Order, Family, and Genus. Rallina ... Pareudiastes ... ScoLOPACID. Cladorhynchus CHARADRIIDS. Esacus ... .«:. Erythrogonys... Thinornis Anarhynchus Pedionomus ... RHINOCHETID. Rhinochetus ... ANATIDE. Nesonetta - Malacorhynchus Hymenolemus Biziura ... Anseranas Cercopsis PROCELLARIIDS. Prion SPHENISCIDE. Eudyptes STRUTHIONES. CASUARIIDA. 294. Dromeus 295. Casuaruis APTERYGID&. 296. Apteryz ... DINORNITHIDS. 297. Dinornis... 298. Mionornis PALAPTERYGIDA. 299. Palapteryx 300. Huryapteryz ... No. of Species. meebo et et on a bS bo Range within the Region. Austro-Malaya Samoan Islands Australia Austro-Malaya, Australia Australia New Zealand New Zealand Australia New Caledonia Auckland Islands — Australia New Zealand Australia: Australia Australia and Tasmania New Zealand Australia and N. Zealand Australia Ceram to New Britain, N.Austrl. New Zealand (Extinct) N. Zealand N. Zealand (Extinct) N. Zealand N. Zealand Range beyond the Region. Oriental Orietita.t Antarctic Seas Antarctic shores H ua eee 1 TUT Sent Re hip rite a eff Pye 4 F © (boas ae 1 s = . UE 7 ; et, Dacteiic Ais | to < 1) eat ‘ “4 hs q ob - - oO Pe See es i — i a ’ cop (iat soayhe " Me & ; 2 > th F ‘ ; aoe ; e ‘ t 2 1 r F : INDEX TO VOL. I. ae i a! ris if aa : 7 ieee te ion : i n 1@° 7 . e-: a a é . ~— . . . : ; ‘ 7 * cy . - . . - a ae . { 7 ‘ 7 ig , aia Fa a a ver | wOoOYy a 5 a epee 8 tii i ; : le Baie 6 v aps Sa ieeer Gh SRR. 8 Fb dot rate 7 7 —— INDEX TO VOL. I. + Norr.—In this Index the names in Italics all refer to fossil genera or families mentioned in Part II. The systematic names of genera and families occurring in almost every page of Part III. are not given, as they would unnecessarily swell the Index ; but they can be readily referred to by the Class or Order, or by the Geographical Division (Region or Sub-region) under which they occur. They will, however, all be found in the General Index, with a reference to the page (in Vol. Il., Part IV.) where a systematic account of their distribution is given. AS Aardvark of East Africa, figure of, 261 Accipitres, European Eocene, 163 Accipitres, classification of, 97 range of Palearctic genera of, 248 range of Ethiopian genera of, 312 range of Oriental genera of, 385 range of Australian genera of, 486 Acerotherium, European Miocene, 119 N. American Tertiary, 136 Achenodon, N. American Tertiary, 138 Acotherium, European Eocene, 126 : Adapis, European Eocene, 125 A‘lurogale, European Eocene, 125 A pyornis, of Madagascar, 164 Aishna, from the Lias, 167 Agnopterus, European Eocene, 163 Agriocherus, N. American Tertiary, 138 Agrion, from the Lias, 167 Alcephalus, Indian Miocene, 122 Aldabra Islands, land-tortoises of, 289 Aletornis, N. American Eocene, 163 Algeria, Post-Pliocene deposits and caves of, lll Allen, Mr. J. A., on Zoological regions, 61 objections to his system of circumpolar zones, 67 objections to his zoo-geographical nomen- elature, 68 Altai mountains, fossils in caves, 111 Amblyrhiza, Pliocene of Antilles, 148 America, recent separation of North and South, 40 extinct mammalia of, 129 North, Post-Pliocene fauna of, 129 Amomys, N. American Tertiary, 134 Amphechinus, European Miocene, 117 Amphibia, means of dispersal of, 28 classification of, 100 peculiar to Palearctic region, 186 of Central Eurape, 196 of the Mediterranean sub-region, 205 of Siberian sub-region, 220 Vou. L—33 Amphibia, of the Manchurian sub-region, 226 table of Palearctic families of, 237 of the Ethiopian region, 255 of West Africa, 264 South African, 268 of Madagascar, 280 table of Ethiopian families of, 298 of the Oriental region, 317 of the Indian sub-region, 326 of Ceylon, 327 of Indo-Chinese sub-region, 331 of Indo-Malay sub-region, 340 table of Oriental families of, 369 of the Australian region, 397 resemblances of Australian and South- American, 400 of New Guinea, 416 . of New Zealand, 457 Amphibos, Indian Miocene, 122 Amphicifon, European Miocene, 118 Indian Miocene, 121 N. American Tertiary, 134 Amphimericide, European Miocene, 119 Amphimoschus, European Miocene, 120 Amphisorex, European Miocene, 118 Amphitragulus, European Miocene, 120 Anastoma, European Tertiary, 169 Anchilophus, European Eocene, 125 Anchippodus, N. American Eocene, 139 Anchippus, N. American Tertiary, 135 Anchitheride, N. American Tertiary, 135 Anchitherium, European Miocene, 119 European Eocene, 125 N. American Tertiary, 135 Ancient fauna of New Zealand, 459 Ancylotherium, Miocene of Greece, 116 European Miocene, 121 Andaman Islands, zoology of, 333 probable past history of, 334 Andreas, European Miocene, 165 Animal kingdom, primary divisions of, 85 Animals, development of, affecting distribu- tion, 7 dispersal and migration of, 10 490 Animals, rapid multiplication of, 10 Anisacodon, N. American Tertiary, 137 Anoa of Celebes, peculiarities of, 428 Anoplotheriidw, European Miocene, 119 Anoplotherium, European Miocene, 119 European Hocene, 126 S. American Eocene, 148 Anseres, arrangement of, 98 peculiar Palearctic genera, 250 peculiar Ethiopian genera of, 313 peculiar Australian genera of, 487 Antelopes in the Indian Miocene deposits, 122 birthplace and migrations of, 155 Palearctic, 182 Antelotherium, Indian Miocene, 122 Anthracotheride, N. American Tertiary, 137 Anthracotheriwm, European Miocene, 119 Antiucodon, N. American Tertiary, 133 Antilles, Pliocene Mainmalia of, 148 Antilope, Post-Pliocepe, 112 in Brazilian caves, 144 Antiquity of the genera of insects, 166 of the genera of land and freshwater shells, 168 Aphanapteryx of Mauritius, 164 Aphelotheriwm, European Eocene, 125 Aquila, European Miocene, 161 Archeopteryx, Bavarian Oolite, 163 Arctic zone not a separate region, 68 Arctocyon, European Eocene, 125 Arctodus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 Arctomys, European Pliocene, 113 Arctotherium in Brazilian caves, 144 8. American Pliocene, 146 Argus pheasant, figure of, 339 peculiarity in display of plumage, and confirmation of Mr. Darwin's views, 340 Artiodactyla, European Eocene, 126 N. American Tertiary, 137 S. American Pliocene, 146 Arvicola, European Pliocene, 113 in Brazilian caves, 145 S. American Pliocene, 147 S. American Eocene, 148 Auchena, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 Auckland Islands, birds of, 455 Australia, physical features of, 387 Australia and 8. America, supposed land con- nection between, 398 Australian region, description of, 387, zoological characteristics of, 390 mammalia of, 390 birds of, 391 reptiles of, 396 amphibia of, 397 fresh-water fish of, 397 summary of vertebrata of, 297 supposed land-connection vf with 8. Ame- Tica, 398 insects of, 403 lepidoptera of, 404 coleoptera of, 405 land shells of, 407 sub-regions of, 408 early history of, 465 Australian sub-region, mammalia of, 438 illustration of mammialia of, 439 birds of, 440 ; illustration of fauna of, 441 Austro-Malayan sub-region, physical features of, 388 zoology of, 409 Aye-aye, figure of, 278 Azores, visited by European birds, 17 birds of, 207 ° INDEX. Azores, butterflies of, 207 beetles of, 207, 209 peculiarly modified birds of, 207 stragglers to, 208 how stocked with animal life, 208 B Babirusa of Celebes, peculiarities of, 425 Badger, figure of, 195 Balena, European Pliocene, 112 Balwnodon, European Pliocene, 112 Baly, Mr., on Phytophaga of Japan, 230 Banca, its pecnliar species and solution of a problem in distribution, 356 Barriers, as affecting distribution, 6 permanence of, as affecting distribution, 7 to the dispersal of birds, 17 Bates, Mr., on Carabide of Japan, 228 on Longicorns of Japan, 230 Bathmodon, N. American Tertiary, 13€ Bathrodon, N. American Tertiary, 133 Batrachia, Tertiary, 165 Bats, powers of flight of, 15 classification of, 87 of New Zealand, 450 Bears, probable cause of absence of, from tropical Africa, 291 Beaver, N. American Tertiary, 140 ~ Beetles, families selected for study, 103 from the Lias, 167 of Azores, 207 of Japan, 228 Belemnoziphius, European Pliocene, 112 Belt, Mr., his theory of a great Siberian lake during the glacial epoch, 218 on change of climate caused by diminu- tion of obliquity of ecliptic, 466 Birds, means of dispersal of, 15 dispersal of by winds, 16 American, found in Enrope, 16 reaching the Azores, 17 barriers to dispersal of, 17 limited by forests, 17 classification of, 93 Miocene of Greece, 116 extinct, 160 fossil of Palearctic region, 161 European of Miocene period, 161 Eocene of Europe, 162 relations of, 162 extinct of North America, 163 recently extinet in New Zealand, 164 Cretaceous of N. America, 164 remains of in Brazilian caves, 164 recently extinct in Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands, 164 cosmopolitan groups of, 176 numerous genera, Palearctic, 183 of the European sub-region, 193 northern range of in Europe, 193 of the zone of pine forests, 194 of Iceland, 198 of the Mediterranean sub-region, 208 of Malta, 206 (note) oil of Azores, 207 of the Cape Verd Islands, 215 of Siberian sub-region, 219 Oriental found in Siberia, 219 extreme northern Asiatic, 219 of northern Asiatic forests, 220 of the Manchurian sub-region, 223 Palearctic genera of, in the Manchurian sub-region, 224 INDEX. 491 Birds, Oriental genera of, in the Manchurian sub-region, 224 characteristic of N.W. China and Mon- golia, 226 table of Palearctic families of, 235 of West Atrica, 243 list of Paleearctic genera of, 243 of the Ethiopian region, 253 of the East African sub-region, 260 8. African, 267 genera of, peculiar to Madagascar, 275 common to Madagascar and Oriental or Ethiopian regions, 276 species common to Madagascar and Africa or Asia, 277 table of Ethiopian families of, 295 table of Ethiopian genera of, 306 of the Oriental region, 316 of the Indian sub-region, 323 Oriental genera of in Central India, 324 Palearctic and Ethiopian genera in Central India, 325 of Ceylon, 327 of Indo-Chinese subr egion, 330 of Indo-Malayan sub-region, 337 illustration of peculiar Malayan, 339 of the Philippine Islands, 346 table of Oriental families of, 366 table of Oriental genera of, 375 of Australian region, 391 specially organized Australian families of, 392 of the Papuan Islands, 410 peculiarities of, 413 brilliant colours of, 413 remarkable forms of, 414 of the Moluccas, 418 peculiarities of, 421 of Timor group, 423 of Celebes. 428 of Australia, 440 of New Zealand, 451 peculiar to New Zealand, 452 of Norfolk Island, 453 of Lord Howe’s Island, 453 of the Chatham Islands, 454 of the Auckland Islands, 455 table of families of Australian, 471 table of genera of Australian, 478 Black ape of Celebes, 427 Blanford, Mr. W. T., on the ‘“ Indian” region, 60 on relations of Indian sub-region with Africa, 321 Blapsidium, Oolitic insect, 167 Blyth, Mr., on zoological regions, 60 on the relations of Indian sub-region with Africa, 221 Borneo, probable recent changes in, 357 Bos, Post-Pliocene, 112 Indian Miocene, 122 Bourbon, zoology of, 280 reptiles of, 281 Bovide, European Miocene, 120 Brachymys, European Miovene, 120 Bramatherium, Miocene of Perim Island, 122 Brazilian cave-fauna, 143 remarks on, 145 Breyeria borinensis, carboniferous insect, 168 Britain, peculiar species in, 197 British Isles, zoology of, 197 Broad-bill, Malayan, figure of, 340 Brontotheride, N. American Tertiary, 137 Brontotheriwm, N. American Tertiary, 137 Bubo, European Miocene, 162 Bulimus, Eocene, 169 Bunelurus, N. American Tertiary, 134 Buprestidium, Oolitic insect, 167 Buttertlies, arrangement of, 103 Palearctic, 187 of Central Europe, 196 of the Mediterranean sub-region, 205 of Azores, 207 peculiar to Siberian sub-region, 220 of Japan and North China, 227 of the tthiopian region, 255 nuinber of Ethiopian species, 256 ot Indo-Malay sub-region, 342 of the Australian region, 404 of the Austro-Malay sub-region, 404 of the Moluccas, 419 of Celebes, peculiarities of, 434 of New Zealand, 457 C. Cadurcotherium, European Eocene, 125 Celodon, in Brazilian caves, 145 Ceelogenys, in Brazilian caves, 144 Cenopithecus, European Eocene, 124 Cainotherium, European Miocene, 120 European Eocene, 126 Calamodon, N, American Eocene, 139 Callithriz in Brazilian caves, 184 Canaries, birds of, 208 beetles of, 209 Canide, European Miocene, 118 European Eocene, 125 N. American Tertiary, 134 remarkable 8. African, 267 Canis, European Pliocene, 112 Post-Pliocene, 112 European Miocene, 118 Indian Miocene, 121 European Eocene, 125 N. American Post-Pliocene, 129 N. American Tertiary, 134, 135 in Brazilian caves, 144 S. American Pliocene, 146 Camel, fossil in Indian Miocene, 122 birth-place and migrations of, 155 Falexarctic, 182 Camelide, essentially extra-tropical, 112 N. American Tertiary, 158 Cumelopardalis, Miocene of Greece, 116 Indian Miocene, 122 Camelotherium, S. American Pliocene, 147 Cape of Good Hope, peculiar flora and fauna of, 266 Cape Verd Islands, zoology of, 214 Cape-hare, 8. African, 267 Cardiodus, S. Americau Pliocene, 147 Cariama, Brazilian caves, 164 Carnivora of European Pliocene, 112 Miocene of Greece, 115 European Miocene, 118 Indian Miocene, 121 European Eocene, 125 N. American Post-Pliocene, 129 N. American Tertiary. 154 of Brazilian caves, 144 S. American Pliocene, 146 Carnivora, classification of, 88 antiquity of, 153 of the Palearctic region, 182 list of Palwarctic genera of, 240 list of Ethiopian genera of, 302 range of Oriental genera of, 273 list of Australian genera of, 476 Caroline Islands, bixds of, 444 Carterodon in Brazilian caves, 145 492 INDEX. Carus, and Gerstaeker on classification of animals, 85 Professor, on classification of the Cetacea, Castor, European Pliocene, 113 European Miocene, 120 Casoryx, N. American Tertiary, 138 Cathartes, Brazilian caves, 164 Cave-fauna of Brazil, 143 Cavia, European Miocene, 121 in Brazilian caves, 144 8S. American Pliocene, 147 Cebocherus, European Eocene, 126 Cebus in Brazilian caves, 144 Celebes, physical features of, 389 mammalia of, 426 birds of, 428 insects of, 484 origin of fauna of, 436 Centetide, European Miocene, 118 ° Ceratodus, remarkable Australian fish, 397 Cercolabes in Brazilian caves, 145 Cercopithecus in European Pliocene, 112 Cervide, European Miocene, 120 birth-place and migrations of, 155 Cervus, European Pliocene, 113 Indian Pliocene and Miocene, 122 N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 N. American Tertiary, 138 in Brazilian caves, 144 S. American Pliocene, 147 Cetacea, European Pliocene, 112 European Miocene, 119 N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 N. American Tertiary, 140 Cetacea, classification of, 89 range of Oriental genus, 374 Ceylon and Malaya, resemblance of insects of, 327 Ceylonese sub-region, 326 mammalia of, 327 birds of, 327 reptiles of, 327 amphibia of, 327 insects of, 327 past history of, as indicated by its fauna, 328 Chalicomys, European Pliocene, 113 Chalicotherium, European Miocene, 119 Indian Miocene, 122 fossil in N. China, 123 Chameeleo, N. American Eocene, 165 Chamois, figure of, 195 Chatham Islands, birds of, 454 Chelonia, classification of, 100 Chelydra, European Pliocene, 165 Chevrotain of Malaya, figure of, 336 Chili should not be placed in the Palea or Nearctic regions, 63 China, fossil mammals in, resembling those of Indian and European Miocene, 362 North, mammalia of, 222 Chinchillide in Brazilian caves, 145 S. American Pliocene, 147 Pliocene of Antilles, 148 Chiroptera, classification of, 87 list of Palearctic genera of, 239 list of Ethiopian genera of, 300 range of Oriental genera of, 371 list of Australian genera of, 475 Chiroptera, European Eocene, 125 in Brazilian caves, 144 Chlamydotherium in Brazilian caves, 145 Cheromorus, European Miocene, 119 Cheropotumus, European*EKocene, 126 Cherotheriwm, Indian Miocene, 122 Choneziphius, European Pliocene, 112 Chough, Alpine, figure of, 195 Circumpolar zones, objections to system of, 67 Classification as affecting the study of distri- bution, 83 Clausilia, Kocene, 169 Climate, as a limit to the range of mammalia, ll gradual change of, before the glacial epoch, 41 Coleoptera, families selected for study, 103 Palearctic, 188 number of Palearctic species, 189 of Central Europe, 196 of the Mediterranean sub-region, 205 of the Cape Verd Islands, 215 of the Ethiopian region, 256 8. African, 268 of Madagascar, 282, 283 of the Oriental region, 319 of Indo-Malay sub-region, 342 of the Australian region, 405 affinity of Australianand South Amerivan, 406, 407 of Celebes, 435 of New Zealand, 457 Collocalia, European Miocene, 161 Colobus, European Miocene, 117 Colonoceras, N. American Tertiary, 136 Colossochelys of Indian Miocene, 123,§165 Columbe, classification of, 96 range of Palearctic genera of, 248 range of Ethiopian genera of, 311 range of Oriental genera of, 384 range of Australian genera of, 485 Comoro islands, zoology of, 281 Continents, distribution of, 37 recent changes of, 38 Continental extension in Mesozoic times, 156 Corvus, Wuropean Miocene, 161 Coryphodon, European Eocene, 126 Cosmopolitan groups enumerated, 175 Cricetodon, European Miocene, 120 Cricetus, European Pliocene, 113 Crocodiles, Eocene, 165 Crocodilia, classification of, 100 Crook-billed plovers of New Zealand, 456 Crotch, Mr., on beetles of the Azores, 209 Crowned-pigeon, figure of, 415 Cryptornis, European Eocene, 163 Ctenomys, 8S. American Pliocene, 147 Cuba, extinct mammalia of, 148 Curculionidium, Oolitic insect, 167 Cyclostoma, Eocene, 169 Cyllo sepulta, European Cretaceous, 167 Cynelurus, in Brazilian caves, 144 Cynopithecus of Celebes, affinities of, 427 Cyotherium, European Eocene, 125 D. Daptophilus, N. American Tertiary, 134 Darwin, Mr., his explanation of the cause of the abundance of apterous insects in Medeira, 211 on the relation of flowers and insects, 463 Dasyprocta, European Miocene, 121 in Brazilian caves, 144 Dasypus, in Brazilian caves, 145 S$. American Pliocene, 147 Dasyurus, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157 David, Pére, his researches in China and Thi- het, 221, 222 on birds of N. China, 226 INDEX. 493 Deer, fossil in N. American Tertiary forma- tions, 148 Palearctic, 182 probable cause of absence of from tropical Africa, 291 Delphinus, European Pliocene, 112 Dendrocygna, European Miocene, 162 Desman of 8. Russia, figure of, 219 Diceratherium, N. American Tertiary, 137 Dichobune, European Eocene, 126 Dicotyles, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 N. American Tertiary, 137 in Brazilian caves, 144 S. American Pliocene, 146 birthplace and migrations of, 155 Dicrocerus, Enropean Miocene, 120 Didelphys, European Eocene, 126 N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 in Brazilian caves, 145 Didide, 164 Dinocerata, N. American Tertiary, 139 Dinoceras, N. American Eocene, 139 Dinornis, allied form in European Eocene, 163 of New Zeaiand and Australia, 164 Dinornithide of New Zealand, 164 Dinotherium, Miocene of Greece, 116 European Miocene, 120 Miocene of Perim Island, 123 Dinyctis, N. American Tertiary, 134 Dinylus, European Miocene, 117 Diplacodon, N. American Tertiary, 136 Diprotodon, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157 Dispersal of animals, 10 of mammalia, 10 of reptiles and amphibia, 28 Distribution, attected by climate, 5 affected by physical features, 5 contrasts of, in similar climates, 5 similarities of, in diverse climates, 6 barriers as affecting, 6 study of, dependent on a good classifica- tion, 83 of animals an adjunct to geology, 8 of animals requires certain preliminary studies, S of animals dependent on physical geo- graphy, 35 of animals, as affected by the glacial epoch, 40 of animals, as affected by changes of vegetation, 43 of animals, as affected by organic changes, of animals, hypothetical illustration of, 46 of animals, complexity of the causes af- fecting the, 49 of animals, problems in, 51 of plants, as affected by the glacial epoch, 42 Dodo of Mauritius, 282 Dolichopterus, European Miocene, 162 Dommina, N. American Tertiary, 134 Dorcatherium, European Miocene, 120 Dremotherium, Miocene of Greece, 116 European Miocene, 120 Dresser, Mr. H. E., on northern range of European birds, 193 Dromatherium, N, American Triassic, 134 oldest American mammal, 160 Drongo-shrike, Malayan fignie of, 340 Dryopithecus European Miocene, 117 L E. East Africa, geographical features of, 258 wide range of genera and species over, 259 few special types in, 260 East African sub-region, description of, 258 genera and species ranging over the whole of, 259 mammalia of, 260 birds of, 260 reptiles of, 260 amphibia and fishes of, 260 insects of, 260 few peculiar types in, 260 illustration of zoology of, 261 East Australia, peculiar birds of, 440 East Thibet, mammalia of, 222 Eaton, Rev. A. E., on insects of Kerguelen Island, 211 Echimyide, in Brazilian caves, 145 Echinogale, European Miocene, 118 Ectognathus, N. American Eocene, 139 Edentata, Miocene of Greece, 116 European Miocene, 121 N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 N. American Pliocene, 140 of Brazilian caves, 145 S. American Pliocene, 147 Edentata, classification of, 90 probable birthplace of, 155 range of Ethiopian genera of, 305 range of Oriental genus of, 375 Elephants, fossil of Indian Miocene, 123 fossil in N. American Post-Pliocene for- mations, 130 birthplace and migrations of, 155 Elephant shrews, 8. African, 267 Elephas, Post-Pliocene, 112 fossil in N. China, 123 N. American Tertiary, 138 Elliot, Mr., his great work on the birds 0 paradise, 415 Elornis, European Miocene, 162 Elotherium, N. American Tertiary, 137, 139 Elwes, Mr., on birds of Persia, 204 on true relations of the birds of Central India, 323 Embasis, N. American Tertiary, 134 Emu, figure of, 441 Emys, Indian Miocene, 123 Miocene and Eocene, 165 Emydida, Indian Miocene, 123 Enhydrion, Indian Miocene, 121 Eobasileus, N. American Eocene, 139 Eocene period, 124 fauna of S. America, 148 Ephemera, from the Lias, 167 Eporeodon, N. American Tertiary, 138 Equide, European Pliocene, 112 Miocene of Greece, 115 European Eocene, 125 Equus, European Pliocene, 112 Post-Pliocene, 112 Indian Miocene, 121 N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 N. American Tertiary, 135 Brazilian caves, 144 S. American Pliocene, 146 Ereptodon, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 Erinaceus, European Miocene, 117 Erythromachus of Rodriguez, 164 Esthonyx, N. American Eocene, 139 Ethiopian region should not include any part of India, 63 defined, 73 subdivisions of, 73 494 INDEX. Ethiopian region, general features of, 251 zoological characteristics of, 25” manumalia of, 253 great speciality of, 253 birds of, 253 reptiles of, 254 amphibia of, 255 fresh-water fish of, 255 suminary of vertebrates of, 255 insects of, 255 coleoptera of, 256 terrestrial mollusea of, 257 sub-regions of, 258 Atlantic islands of, 269 the probable past history of, 285 tables of distribution of animals of, 293 Eumys, N. American Tertiary, 140 Euphractus, S. American Pliocene, 147 Europe, recent changes in physical geography of, 39 Miocene fauna of Central, 117 Miocene fauna of, allied to existing fauna of tropical Asia and Africa, 124 European sub-region, description of, 191 forests of, 192 mammalia of, 192 birds of, 193 reptiles and amphibia of, 195 fresh-water fish of, 196 insects of, 196 islands of, 197 Euryceros of Madagascar, figure of, 278 Eurydon, in Brazilian caves, 145 Eurytherium, European Eocene, 126 Eutatus, 8. American Pliocene, 147 Eutelodon, Kuropean Eocene, 126 Eutemnodus, 8. American Hocene, 148 Extinct mammalian fauna of Europe, general considerations on, 126 mammalia of N. America and Europe, comparison of, 140 mammalia of the Antilles, 148 mammalia of Old and New Worlds, general remarks on, 148 fauna of New Zealand, 459 Extinction of large animals, causes of, 158 F. Fauna of Japan, general character and affini- ties of, 230 of Palearctic region, general conclusions as to, 231 extinct, of Madagascar and Mascarene Islands, 282 Malayan, probable origin of, 359 Molucean, peculiarities of, 419 Timorese, origin of, 422 of Celebes, origin of, 436 of New Zealand, origin of, 460 Felis spelcea, 110 Felis, Miocene of Greece, 115. European Miocene, 118 Indian Miocene, 121 N. American Post-Pliocene, 129 in Brazilian caves, 144 Fernando Po, zoological features of, 265 Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa Islands, birds of, 443 Fishes, means of dispersal of, 29 classification of, 101 cosmopolitan groups of, 176 of the Palearctic region, 186 of the European sub-region, 196 of the Mediterranean sub-region, 205 of the Manchurian sub-region. 227 Fishes, fresh-water,table of Palearctic families of, 227 of the Ethiopian region, 255 of South Africa, 268 fresh-water, table of Ethiopian families of, 298 fresh-water, of the Oriental region, 318 of the Indo-Malay sub-region, 341 fresh-water, table of Oriental families of, 369 fresh-water, of the Australian region, 397 fresh-water,resemblance of Australian and 8S. American, 400 how the transmission may have taken place, 401 fresh-water, of New Zealand, 457 Flamingoes, European Miocene, 162 Flora, of New Zealand, as influenced by scar- city of insects, 462 fossil of Australia, 467 Flower, Professor, on classification of mam- malia, 85 classification of carnivora, 87 Flying Lemur, Malayan, figure of, 337 Flying Opossum, figure of, 442 Formosa, zoology of, 332 Forests, essential to existence of many Euro- pean animals, 192 Siberian, greatest extent of, 216 G. Galapagos, scarcity of insects in, 463 Galecynus, in European Pliocene, 112 Galera, N. American Post-Pliocene, 13 Galeospalax, European Miocene, 118 Galeotherium, Post-Pliocene, 111 Galethylax, European Eocene, 125 Galictis, in Brazilian caves, 144 Gallinz, classification of, 96 range of Palzarctic genera of, 248 range of Ethiopian genera of, 311 range of Oriental genera of, 384 range of Australian genera of, 485 Gallus, Miocene of Greece, 116 Gallus bravardi, European Pliocene, 161 Gastornis, European Eocene, 163 Genera common to Post-Pliocene and Pliocene faunas of N. America, 132 Geological history of Oriental region, 362 Gibraltar, cave fauna of, 114 Glacial epoch, as affecting the distribution of animals, 40 as a cause of the great change in the fauna of the temperate zones, since Pliocene times, 151 probably simultaneous in both hemi- spheres, 151 causing a general subsidence of the ocean, 152 Glandina, Eocene, 169 Glossotheriwm, in Brazilian eaves, 145 8S. American Pliocene, 147 Glyptodon, 8. American Pliocene, 147 Gnathopsis, 8. American Pliocene, 147 Goats, Palearctic, 182 Godman, Mr., on Natural History of the Azores, 207 Golden Moles, 8. African, 267 Graculavus, N. American Cretaceous, 164 Grallie, arrangement of, 97 peculiar or characteristic Palearctic ge- nera, 249 peculiar Ethiopian genera of, 313 INDEX. 495 Grallz, peculiar Oriental genera of, 386 peculiar Australian genera of, 486 Gray, Dr. J. E., on classification of Cetacea,88 Greece, Upper Miocene deposits of, 115 summary of Miocene fauna of, 116 Groups peculiar to a region, how defined, 184 Gulick, Rev. J. T., on Achatinellide of the Sandwich Islands, 446 Giinther, Dr., his classification of reptiles, 98 his classification of fishes, 101 on gigantic tortoises of Galapagos and the Mascarene Islands, 289 on range of Indian reptiles in the Hima- layas, 329 H. Haast, Dr., on extinct birds of New Zealand, 460 Habitat, definition of, 4 Hainan, zoology of, 334 Halcyornis, European Eocene, 103 Halitherium, European Pliocene, 112 European Miocene, 119 Helladotherium, Miocene of Greece, 116 European Miocene, 120 Hatteria of New Zealand, 456 Helictis, Himalayan, figure of, 331 Helix, Eocene, 169 Hemibos, Indian Miocene, 122 Hemicyon, European Miocene, 118 Herpetotherium, N. American Tertiary, 134 Hesperomys, N. American Tertiary, 140 in Brazilian caves, 145 S. American Pliocene, 147 Hesperornis, N. American Cretaceous, 164 Heterodon, in Brazilian caves, 145 Hexaprotodon, Indian Miocene, 122 Hickman, Mr. John, on a cause of the extinc- tion of large animals, 158 Hjmalayas, altitude reached by various groups in the, 329, 333 Hipparion, European Pliocene, 112 Miocene of Greece, 115 European Miocene, 119 N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 N. American Tertiary, 135 Hippopotamus, Post-Pliocene, 112 Europe in Pliocene, 113 Indian Pliocene, 122 Hipposyus, N. American Tertiary, 133 Hippotheriwm, European Miocene, 119 Indian Miocene, 122 Hippotragus, European Miocene, 120 Homalodontotherium, 8S. American Pliocene, 146 Homalophus, European Miocene, 161 Homocamelus, N. American Tertiary, 138 Honeysuckers, birds specially adapted to Australia, 392 Hooker, Dr., on deficiency of odours in New Zealand plants, 464 Hoplocetus, European Pliocene, 112 Hoplophoneus, N. American Tertiary, 134 Horses, fossil, in Indian Miocene, 121 perfect series of ancestral, in N. America, 136 probable birthplace of, 154 Hutton, Capt. F. W., on origin of New Zealand fauna, 461 Huxley, Professor, on zoological regions, 59 division of aniinal kingdom by, $5 Hycena, Post-Pliocene, 112 Miocene of Greece, 115 European Miocene, 118 Hycena, Indian Miocene, 121 fossil in N. China, 123 Hyenarctos in European Pliocene, 112 European Mivcene, 118 Indian Miocene, 121 8S. American Pliocene, 146 Hyeenictis, Miocene of Greece, 115 European Miocene, 118 Hyenide, European Miocene, 118 Hycenodon, European Miocene, 118 European Eocene, 125 N. American Tertiary, 134 Hyenodontide, European Miocene, 118 Aydrocherus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 Hydrornis, European Miocene, 162 Hyohippus, N. American Tertiary, 135 Hyomoschus, European Miocene, 120 Hyopotumus, European Miocene, 119 N. American Tertiary, 137 Hyopsodus, N. American Tertiary, 133 Hyotherium, European Miocene, 119 Hypertragulus, N. American Tertiary, 138 Hypisodus, N. American Tertiary, 138 Hu psiprymnus, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157 Hyrachyus, N. American Tertiary, 136 Hyracodon, N. American Tertiary, 136 Hyracoidea, classification of, 90 Palearctic, 242 Ethiopian, 304 Hyracotherium, supposed, in European Eo- cene, 125 European Eocene, 126 Hystrix, European Pliocene, 113 Miocene of Greece, 116 N. American Tertiary, 140 1h Ibidipodia, European Miocene, 162 Ibidorhynchus, figure of, 331 Iceland, zoology of, 198 Icthyornis, N. American Cretaceous, 164 Icticyon in Brazilian caves, 144 . Ictitherium, Miocene of Greece, 115 European Miocene, 118 Ictops, N. American Tertiary, 133 India, Miocene fauna of, allied to that of Europe, 123 geological features of, 328 Indian, sub-region, description of, 321 supposed relation to Ethiopian region, 321 mammalia of, 322 birds of, 323 reptiles and amphibia of, 326 Indo-Chinese, sub-region, description of, 329 zoological characteristics of, 330 illustration of, 331 reptiles of, 331 amphibia of, 331 insects of, 332 islands belonging to, 333 Indo-Malayan sub-region, description of, 334 mammalia of, 336 illustrations of, 336, 339 birds of, 337 remote geographical relations of, 339 reptiles and amphibia of, 340 fishes of, 341 insects of, 341 coleoptera of, 342 terrestrial mo!lusea of, 343 zoological relations of islands of, 345 recent geographical changes in, 357 probable origin of fauna of, 359 Insects, means of dispersal of, 32 496 Insects, tenacity of life of, 33 adapted to special conditions, 33 groups selected for the study of their geographical distribution, 102 antiquity of the genera of, 166 fossil of European Miocene, 166 European Cretaceous, 167 European Wealden, 167 Palozoic, 168 Palearctic, 187 of Central Europe, 196 of the Mediterranean sub-region, 205 of the Siberian sub-region, 220 of the Manchurian sub-region, 227 of the Ethiopian region, 255 of the East African sub-region, 260 of West Africa, 265 8. African, 268 of Madagascar, 282 general remarks on, 284 of tropical Africa and America, probable eause of similarities in, 291 of Indo-Chinese sub-region, 332 of the Oriental region, 318 of Ceylon, 327 of Indo-Malay sub-region, 341 statistics of collecting in the various islands of the Malay Archipelago, 343 of the Australian region, 403 of New Guinea, 417 of the Moluccas, 420 of Timor group, 426 of Celebes, 454 of New Zealand, 458 searcity of, in New Zealand, 462 influence of on the flora, 463 Insectivora, European Miocene, 117 N. American Post-Pliocene, 129 N. American Tertiary, 133 Insectivora, classification of, 87 of the Palearctic region, 181 of N. China and E. Thibet, 222 range of Palearctic genera of, 239 of Madagasear, 273 range of Ethiopian genera of, 301 of the Oriental region, 315 _ range of Oriental genera of, 372 range of Australian genera of, 476 Tsacis, N. American Tertiary, 133 Ischyromys, N. American Tertiary, 140 Islands, N. European, zoology of, 197 of the Mediterranean sub-region, 206 of the West African sub-region, 265 of Ethiopian region, 269 Mascarene, 280 of the Indo-Chinese sub-region, 333 of Indo-Malay sub-region, 345 Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa, 443 Society and Marquesas, 444 New Caledonia and New Hebrides, 445 Sandwich, 446 of New Zealand sub-region, 453 Norfolk, 453 Lord Howe’s, 454 Chatham, 454 Auckland, 455 Issiodromys, European Pliocene, 113 J. Jacchus, in Brazilian eaves, 144 Japan and North China, physical features of, 221 a southern extremity of perhaps belongs to the Oriental region, 226 INDEX. Japan, general character of the fauna of, 230 former land-connexions of, 231 Java, mammalia of, 349 productions of, well-known, 350 birds of, 351 representative species of birds in, 352 origin of the anomalous features of its fauna, 352 Sumatra and Borneo, their geographical contrasts and zoological peculiarities explained, 357 Junonia, European Miocene, 167 K. Kakapoe, of New Zealand, 455 Kangaroos, extinct in Australia, 157 Kerguelen sia ie apterous insects of, 211 (note Kerodon, in Brazilian caves, 144 8S. American Pliocene, 147 King-fisher, racquet-tailed, of New Guinea, figure of, 415 Kiwi of New Zealand, 455 Koodoo antelope, figure of, 261 L. Lacertilia, classification of, 99 Ladrone Islands, birds of, 444 Lagomys, European Pliocene, 113 European Miocene, 120 Lagostomus, in Brazilian caves, 145 S. American Pliocene, 147 Lake Baikal, seals of, 218 Land and water, proportions of, 35 Land and fresh-water shells, antiquity of the genera of, 168 Land-shells, Paleozoic, 169 Palearctic, 190 of Madeira, 209 _ of the Cape Verd Islands, 215 of the Ethiopian region, 257 of W. Africa, 265 of Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands, 285 of Indo-Malay sub-region, 344 of the Australian region, 407 of Sandwich Islands, 446 of New Zealand, 459 Lanius, European Miocene, 161 Laopithecus, N .American Tertiary, 133 Laornis, N. American Cretaceous, 164 Lemuria, a hypothetical land, 76 Lamuravide, N. American Tertiary, 133 Lemuravus, N. American Tertiary, 133 Lemuride, European Eocene, 124 Lemuroidea, range of Ethiopian genera of, 300 range of Oriental genera of, 371 Lepictis, N. American Tertiary, 133 Lepidoptera, cosmopolitan families of, 177 table of Palearctic families of, 238 S. African, 268 table of Ethiopian families of, 299 of the Oriental region, 318 table of Oriental families of, 369 of the Australian region, 404 table of Australian families of, 472 Leptarchus, N. American Tertiary, 135 Leptauchenia, N. American Tertiary, 138 Leptochwrus, N. American Tertiary, 137 Leptodon, Miocene of Greece, 116 Leptomeryx, N. American Tertiary, 138 Leptoptilus, European Miocene, 162 INDEX. Leptosomus, allied form in European Eocene,168 Leptosomus of Madagascar, 278 figure of, 279 Leptotherium, in Brazilian caves, 144 Lepus, in Brazilian caves, 145 _$. American Pliocene, 147 Lestodon, 8. American Pliocene, 147 Lewis, Mr. George, his collection of Japan insects, 228 Lebellula, from the Lias, 167 Lilljeborg, Professor, on classification of the Rodentia, 90 Limnea, Eocene, 169 European Secondary, 169 Limnatornis, European Miocene, 161 Limnocyon, N. American Tertiary, 134 Limnohyus, N. American Tertiary, 136 Limnotheride, N. American Tertiary, 133 Limnotherium, N. American Tertiary, 133 Listriodon, European Miocene, 119 Lithomys, European Miocene, 120 Lithornis, European Eocene, 163 Lizards, classification of, 99 Tertiary, 165 wide range of a species in Polynesia, 448 Loncheres, in Brazilian caves, 145 Lonchophorus, in Brazilian caves, 145 Lophiodon, European Eocene, 125 N. American Tertiary, 136 Lophiotherium, N. American Tertiary, 136 Lord Howe’s Island, birds of, 453 Loxomylus, Pliocene of Antilles, 148 Lund, Dr., his researches in caves of Brazil, 143 Lutra, European Miocene, 118 Indian Miocene, 121 Iycena, Miocene of Greece, 115 Lyre-bird, figure of, 441 M. Macacus, European Pliocene, 112 Miocene of Greece, 115 Indian Miocene, 121 supposed in European Eocene, 125 Machairodus, 110, 111 Miocene of Greece, 115 European Miocene, 118 Indian Miocene, 121 N. American Tertiary, 134 in Brazilian caves, 144 S. American Pliocene, 146 Macrauchenia, 8S. American Pliocene, 146 Macrotherium, Miocene of Greece, 116 European Miocene, 121 Madagascar, extinct birds of, 164 description of, 272 mammalia of, 272 birds of, 274 reptiles of, 279 amphibia of, 280 extinct fauna of, 282 general remarks on insect fauna of, 284 Madeira, birds of, 208 land shells of, 208 beetles of, 210 wingless insects numerous in, 21 how stocked with animals, 213 Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo, zoological unity of, 353 comparison of mammalia, 354 of birds, 355 Malagasy sub-region, description of, 272 mammalia of, 272 birds of, 274 illustration of zoology of, 278 497 Malagasy sub-region, reptiles of, 279 amphibia of, 280 extinct fauna of, 282, 289 insects of, 282 early history of, 286 Malaya ea Indo-Malaya, terms defined, 345 (note Malavan forms of life reappearing in West Africa, 263 fauna, probable origin of, 359 resemblances to that of Madagascar aud Ceylon explained, 361 Malta, Post-Pliocene fauna of, 114 formerly joined to Africa, 201 fossil elephants of, 201 birds of, 206 (note) Mammalia, means of dispersal of, 10 as limited by climate, 11 as limited by rivers, 12 how far limited by the sea, 13 dispersed by ice-floes and drift-wood, 14 means of dispersal of aquatic, 15 of most importance in determining zoo- logical regions, 57 classification of, 85 birthplace and migrations of some families of, 142, 153 cosmopolitan groups of, 176 of the Palearctic region, 181 of the European sub-region, 192 of the Mediterranean sub-region, 202 of the Siberian sub-region, 217 characteristic of Western Tartary, 218 of the Manchurian sub-region, 222 Palearctic genera of, in the Manchurian sub-region, 222 Oriental genera of, on borders of same sub-region, 223 peculiar to Japan, 223 characteristic of N. W. China and Mongolia, 226 table of Palearctic families of, 234 range of Palearctic genera of, 239 of the Ethiopian region, 253 absence of certain important groups, 253 of the East African sub-region, 260 of West Africa, 262 of S. Africa, 267 of Madagascar, 272 table of Ethiopian families of, 294 table of Ethiopian genera of, 300 of the Oriental region, 315 range of the genera inhabiting the Indian sub-region, 322 of Ceylon, 327 of the Indo-Chinese sub-region, 330 of the Indo-Malayan sub-region, 336 illustration of characteristic Malayan, 336 of the Philippine Islands, 345 table of Oriental families of, 365 table of Oriental genera of, 371 of Australian region, 390 of the Papuan Islands, 410 of the Molueeas, 417 of Timor group, 422 of Celebes, 427 of Australia, 439 illustration of, 439 of New Zealand, 450 table of families of Australian, 470 table of genera of Australian, 475 Mammal, the most ancient American, 134 Mammalia, extinct, of Old World, 107 extinct, of historic period, 110 extinct, comparative age of in Europe, 127 498 INDEX. Mammalia, extinct, of the New World, 129 extinct, of N. America and Europe, com- pared, 141 original birth-place of some families and genera, 142, 153 of the secondary period, 160 Manatus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 Manchurian sub-region, description of, 220 mammalia of, 222 birds of, 223 reptiles and amphibia of, 227 fresh-water fish of, 227 insects of, 227 coleoptera of, 228 Marquesas Islands, birds of, 443 . Marsh, Mr., on improvability of Asiatic and African deserts, 200 on camels and goats as destructive to vegetation, 200 Marsupials, classification of, 91 N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 European Miocene, 121 first migration to America, 155 diversified forms of, 391 of America prove no connexion with Australia, 399 list of Australian genera of, 476 Martes, N. American Tertiary, 135 Mascarene Islands, zoology of, 280 extinct fauna of, 282 gigantic land-tortoises of, 289 Mastodon, European Pliocene, 113 Miocene of Greece, 116 European Miocene, 120 in Brazilian caves, 144 S. American Pliocene, 147 Indian Miocene, 123 N American Post-Pliocene, 130 N. American Tertiary, 138 Mauritius, zoology of, 280 reptiles of, 281 McCoy, Professor, on Victoria, 466 Mediterranean, recent changes in, 39 sub-region, description of, 199 mammalia of, 202 birds of, 203 reptiles and amphibia of, 204 fresh-water fish of, 205 insects of, 205 islands of, 206 sea not separating distinct faunas, 201 Megacerops, N. American Tertiary, 137 Megalomeryv, N. American Tertiary, 138 Megalocnus, fossil in Cuba, 148 Megalonyx, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 in Brazilian eaves, 145 S. American Pliocene, 147 Megalostoma, Eocene, 169 Megamys, S. Ainerican Eocene, 148 Meguspira, European Tertiary, 169 Megatheride, in Brazilian caves, 145 Megatheriwm, N. American Post-Pliocene, 139 in Brazilian caves, 145 S. American Pliocene, 147 Melania, European secondary, 169 Meleagris, N. American Miocene, 163 Mellivora, Indian Miocene, 121 : Melolonthidium, Oolitic insect, 167 Meniscotherium, N. American Tertiary, 138 Menotherium, N. American Tertiary, 133 Mephitis, in Brazilian eaves, 144 Merycnus, N. American Tertiary, 138 Merychippus, N. American Tertiary, 135 Merychocherus, N. American Tertiary, 138 Merycodus, N. American Tertiary, 138 Paleontology of Merycopotamus, Indian Miocene, 122 Merycotherium of Siberian drift, 112 Mesacodon, N. American Tertiary, 133 Mesohippus. N. American Tertiary, 135 Mesonyzx, N. American Tertiary, 134 Mesopithecus, Miocene of Greece, 115 Meyer, Dr. A. B., on reptiles and amphibia ot New Guinea, 415 ‘ Microlestes, oldest European mammal, 160 Micromeryzr, European Miocene, 120 Microsyops, N. American Tertiary, 133 Microtheriuwm, European Miocene, 120 Middendorf, on extreme northern birds, 219 Migrating birds, in which region to be placed, 185 Migration of animals, 10 general phenomena of, 18 of birds, 19 of birds in Europe, 19 probable origin of, 22 of birds in India and China, 23 of birds in N. America, 23 changes in extent of, 24 of birds in 8S. Temperate America, 25 general remarks on, 25 Milvus, European Miocene, 162 Miocene fauna of the Old World, 114 fauna of Greece, 115 fauna of Greece, summary of, 116 fauna of Central Europe, 117 deposits of Siwalik Hills, 121 faunas of Europe and Asia, general obser- vations on, 123 Miohippus, N. American Tertiary, 135 Mivart, Professor, on classification of primates, 86 on classification of insectivora, 87 on classification of amphibia, 101 Moles almost wholly Palearctic, 181 Mole-rat, of W. Tartary, 218 Mollusea, means of dispersal of, 30 classification of, 104 groups selected for study, 104 Molnueeas, zoology of, 417 birds of, 419 reptiles of, 420 insects of, 420 peculiarities of fauna of, 421 Monkeys on the high Himalayas, 12 fossilin N. American Miocene in E. Thibet, 222 abundance of in the Oriental region, 315 Monotremata, classification of, 91 list of Australian genera of, 477 ‘‘More-pork” of Australia, figure of, 442 Morotherium, N. American Pliocene, 140 Motacilla, European Miocene, 161 Mound -builders, peculiar Australian birds, 393 Moupin, position and zoology of, 221 Muride, 8. American Pliocene, 147 Murray, Mr. Andrew, on zoolozical region, 6) Mustela, Miocene of Greece, 115 European Miocene, 118 S. American Pliocene, 146 Mustelidmw, in Brazilian eaves, 144 Mylodon, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 S. American Pliocene, 147 Myogale, European Miocene, 118 Myomorphus, fossil in Cuba Myopotamus, in Brazilian caves, 145 Myoxus, European Miocene, 120 European Eocene, 126 Mysarachne, Buropean Miocene, 118 Mysops, N. American Eocene, 140 Myaophagus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 INDEX. 499 N. Nanohyus, N. American Tertiary, 137 Nosua, in Brazilian caves, 144 Nearctic region, defined, 79 subdivisions of, 80 distinct from Palearctic, 79 Necrornis, European Miocene, 161 Neotropical region, defined, 78 subdivisions of, 78 relations of W. African sub-region with, 265 Nesodon, S. American Piiocene, 147 Newton, Professor, on position of Menuride and Atrichiide, 95 on birds of Iceland, 198 New Caledonia, birds of, 444 New Guinea, zoology of, 409 mammalia of, 410 birds of, 411 peculiarities of its ornithology, 413 illustration of ornithology of, 414 reptiles and amphibia of, 415 insects of, 416 New Zealand, objections to making a primary zoological region, 62 extinct birds of, 164 sub-region, description of, 449 compared with British Isles, 449 mammalia of, 451 islets of, 453 illustration of ornithology of, 455 reptiles of, 456 amphibia of, 457 fresh-water fish of, 457 insects of, 458 Longicorns of, 458 Myriapoda of, 458 land-shells of, 459 ancient fauna of, 460 origin of fauna of, 460 poverty of insects in, 462 relations of insect-fauna and flora, 472 Nicobar Islands, their zoological relations, 332 Nightingale, migration of the, 21 Norfolk Island, birds of, 453 North America, remarks on Post-Pliocene fauna of, 130 Post-Pliocene fauna of, partly derived from 8S. America, 131 extinct birds of, 163 North Africa, zoological relations of, 202 Notharctos, N. American Tertiary, 133 Notornis of New Zealand, 455 Nototheriwm, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157 oO. Ochotherium, in Brazilian caves, 145 Octodontide, S. American Pliocene, 147 Ophidia, classification of, 99 Opisthocomus, Brazilian caves, 164 Opossum, extinct, in European Miocene, 121 Oreodon, N. American Tertiary, 138 Oreodontide, N. American Tertiary, 138 Oriental region, defined, 75 subdivisions of, 75 description of, 314 zoological features of, 315 mammialia of, 315 birds of, 316 reptiles of, 317 amphibia of, 317 fresh-water fishes of, 318 summary of vertebrata, 318 insects of, 318 sub-regions of, 321 Oriental region, concluding remarks on, 362 tables of distribution of animals of, 364 Oriental relations of W. African sub-region, 265 Oriental and Palearctic faunas once identical, 362 . Oriental and Ethiopian faunas, cause of their resemblances, 363 Orohippus, N. American Tertiary, 136 Ostrich, Miocene of N. India, 162 Vtaria, Kuropean Miocene, 118 Ovibos, N. American’ Post-Pliocene, 130 Oxen, birthplace and migrations of, 155 Palearctic, 182 Oxyena, N. American Tertiary, 134 Oxygomphus, European Miocene, 118 Oxymycterus, in Brazilian caves, 145 S. American Pliocene, 147 Ps Pachyena, N. American Tertiary, 134 Pachynolophus, European Eocene, 126 Pachytherium, in Brazilian caves, 145 Palearctic region, defined, 71 subdivisions of, 71 general features of, 180 zoological characteristics of, 181 has few peculias families, 181 mammalia of, 181 birds of, 182 high degree of speciality of, 184 reptiles and amphibia of, 186 fresh-water fish of, 186 summary of vertebrata of, 186 insects of, 186 coleoptera of, 187 number of coleoptera of, 189 land-shells of, 190 sub-regions of, 190 general conclusions on the fauna of, 231 tables of distribution of animals of, 233 Paleeucodcn, N. Arcerican Tertiary, 133 Palewetus, European Miocene, 162 Paleegithalus, European Eocene, 162 Palelodus, European Miovene, 162 Paleocastor, N. American Tertiary, 140 Paleocercus, European Miocene, 162 Paleochwrus, European Miocene, 119 Paicwohierax, European Miocene, 162 Palwolagus, N. American Tertiary, 140 Paleolama,S, American Pliocene, 147 Palewomephitis, European Miocene, 118 Paleomeryx, Europear Miocene, 120 Poleomys, European Miocene, 121 Paleontina oolitica, Oolitic insect, 167 Paleontology, 107 how best studied in its bearing on geo- graphical distribution, 168 as an introduction to the study of geo- graphical distribution, concluding re- marks on, 169 Paleonyctis, European Eocene, 125 Paleoperdiz, European Miocene, 161 Paleophrynus, European Miocene, 166 Palworeas, Miocene of Greece, 116 Palwortyx, European Miocene, 161 Palworyx, Miocene of Greece, 116 Paleospalax, 111 European Miocene, 117 Paleosyops, N. American Tertiary, 136 Paleotheridw, European Eocene, 12£ Palewotherium, European Eocene, 125 S. American Eocene, 148 Palewotragus, Miocene of Greece, 116 Paleotringa, N. American Cretaceous, 164 500 Palapterygide of New Zealand, 164 Palestine, birds of, 203 Paloplotheriwm, European Miocene, 119 European Eocene, 125 Paludina, Eocene, 169 European Secondary, 169 Pampas, Pliocene deposits of, 146 Panda, of Nepaul and E. Thibet, 222 Himalayan, figure of, 331 Panolax, N. American Tertiary, 140 Papuan Islands, zoology of, 409 Paradise-bird, twelve-wired, figure of, 414 Parahippus, N. American Tertiary, 136 Paramys, N. American Eocene, 140 Parroquet, Papuan, figure of, 415 Parrots, classification of, 96 Passeres, arrangement of, 94 range of Palearctic genera of, 243 range of Ethiopian genera of, 306 range of Oriental genera of, 375 range of Australian genera of, 478 Patriofelis, N. American Tertiary, 134 Peculiar groups, geographically, how defined, 184 Pelagornis, European Miocene, 162 Pelonax, N. American Tertiary, 138 Peratherium, European Miocene, 121 European Eocene, 126 Percherus, N. American Tertiary, 137 Perim Island, extinct mammalia of, 122 probable southern limit of old Palearctic land, 362 Perissodactyla, N. American Tertiary, 135 Persia, birds of, 204 Phascolomys, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157 Phasianus, Miocene of Greece, 116 European Post-Pliocene, 161 Pheasants, in European Miocene, 161 golden, of N. China, 226 eared, of Mongolia, 226 Phenacodus, N. American Tertiary, 138 Philippine Islands, mammals of, 345 birds of, 346 origin of peculiar fauna of, 348 Phocidew, N. American Tertiary, 140 Phyllomys, in Brazilian caves, 145 Phyllostomide, in Brazilian caves, 144 Physical changes affecting distribution, 7 Physeter, European Pliocene, 112 Picarie, arrangement of, 95 range of Palearctic genera of, 247 range of Ethiopian genera of, 309 range of Oriental genera of, 381 range of Australian genera of, 482 Picus, European Miocene, 161 Pigeons, classification of, 96 remarkable development of, in the Aus- tralian region, 395 crested, of Australia, figure of, 441 Pigs, power of swimming, 13 Pikermi, Miocene fauna of, 115 Pittide, abundant in Borneo, 355 Plagivlophus, European Eocene, 126 Planorbis, Europeau Secondary, 169 Eocene, 169 Platycercidew, gorgeously-coloured Australian parrots, 394 Platygonus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 Plesiarctomys, European Eocene, 126 Plesiomeryx, European Eocene, 126 Plesiosorex, European Miocene, 118 Pliocene period, Old World, mammalia of, 112 Pliocene and Post-Pliocene faunas, of Europe, general conclusions from, 113 of N. America, 132 of S. America, 146 INDEX. Pliocene and Post-Pliocene faunas of Aus- tralia, 157 Pliohippus, N. American Tertiary, 135 Pliolophus, European Eocene, 126 Pliopithecus, European Miocene, 117 Pabrotheriwm, N. American Tertiary, 138 Polynesian sub-region, description of, 442 birds of, 443 reptiles of, 447 Post-Pliocene, mammalia of Europe, 110 remains imply changes of physical geo- graphy in Europe, 111 fauna of N. America, 129 fauna of N. America, remarks on, 130 Potamogale of West Africa, figure of, 264 Potamotherium, European Miocene, 118 Potto of West Africa, figure of, 264 Praotherium, N. American Post-Pliovene, 130 Primates, classification of, 86 probable birthplace of, 153 range of Palearctic genera of, 239 range of Ethiopian genera of, 300 range of Oriental genera of, 371 range of Australian genera of, 475 Primates, European Pliocene, 112 Miocene of Greece, 115 European Miocene, 117 Indian Miocene, 121 European Eocene, 124 N. American Tertiary, 132 of Brazilian caves, 144 Prince’s Island, birds of, 266 Prionidium, Oolitic insects, 167 Pristiphoca, in European Pliocene, 112 Proboscidea, classification of, 90 range of Ethiopian genus, 303 range of Oriental genus, 374 Proboscidea, European Pliocene, 113 Miocene of Greece, 116 European Miocene, 120 Indian Miocene, 122 N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 N. American Tertiary, 138 of Brazilian caves, 144 8. American Pliocene, 147 Procamelus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 N. American Tertiary, 138 Procyon, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 Procyonide, in Brazilian caves, 144 Promephitis, Miocene of Greece, 115 European Miocene, 118 Promerops of Hast Africa, figure of, 261 Propaleotherium, European Eocene, 126 Protemnodon, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157 Protohippus, N. American Tertiary, 135 Protomeryx, N. American Tertiary, 138 Protopithecus, in Brazilian caves, 144 Prototomus, N. American Tertiary, 134 Protornis, European Kocene, 162 Pseudelurus, Furopean Miocene, 118 Pseudocyon, European Miocene, 118 Psittaci, classification of, 96 range of Ethiopian genera of, 311 range of Oriental genera of, 383 range of Australian genera of, 484 Psittacus, European Miocene, 161 Pterocles, European Miocene, 161 Pterodon, European Eocene, 125 Pupa, Eocene, 169 Pupa vetusta, Paleozoic, 169 Pythonide, European Miocene, 165 % R. Racoon-dog of N. China, 226 Rana, European Miocene, 166 INDEX. 501 Region, the best term for the primary z0o- logical divisions, 68 Arctic, why not adopted, 69 Palearctic, defined, 71 Palzarctic, subdivisions of, 71 Ethiopian, defined, 73 Ethiopian, subdivisions of, 73 Oriental, defined, 75 Oriental, subdivisions of, 75 Australian, defined, 77 Australian, subdivisions of, 77 Neotropical, defined, 78 Neotropical, subdivisions of, 78 Nearctic, defined, 79 Nearctic, distinct from Palearctic, 79 Nearctic, subdivisions of, 80 Regions, zoological, 50 és zoological, how they should be formed, 53 zoological, may be defined by negative or positive characters, 54 zoological, by what class of animals best determined, 56 for each class of animals, not advisable, 58 zoological, proposed since 1857, 58 zoological, Mr. Sclater’s, 59 zoological, discussion of those proposed by various authors, 61 zoological, proportionate richness of, 64 temperate and tropical, well marked in northern hemisphere, 65 and zones, table of, 66 comparative richness of, 81 and sub-regions, table of, 81 order of succession of the, 173 Representative species, 4 Reptiles, means of dispersal of, 28 classification of, 98 Miocene of Greece, 116 of Indian Miocene deposits, 123 extinct Tertiary, 165 cosmopolitan groups of, 176 peculiar to Palearetic region, 186 of Central Europe, 195 of the Mediterranean sub-region, 204 of Siberian sub-region, 220 of the Manchurian sub-region, 227 table of Palearctic families of, 236 of the Ethiopian region, 254 of the East African sub-region, 260 of West Africa, 264 8. African, 268 of Madagascar, 279 table of Ethiopian families of, 297 of the Oriental region, 317 ofthe Indian sub-region, 326 of Ceylon, 327 of Indo-Chinese sub-region, 331 of Indo-Malay sub-region, 340 table of Oriental families of, 368 of the Australian region, 396 of New Guinea, 415 of the Moluceas, 420 of the Polynesian sub-region, 447 of New Zealand, 456 table of Australian families of, 472 Rhea, in Brazilian caves, 164 Rhinoceros, Post-Pliocene, 112 European Pliocene, 113 Miocene of Greece, 116 Indian Miocene, 122 fossil remains of, at 16,000 feet elevation in Thibet, 122 fossil in N. China, 123 N. American Tertiary, 136 Rhinoceros-hornbill, figure of, 339 Rhinocerotide, N. American Tertiary, 136 River-hog, of West Africa, figure of, 264 of Madagascar, figure of, 278 Rivers, limiting the range of mammalia, 12 limiting the range of birds, 17 River-scene. in West Africa, 264 Rodentia, classification of, 90 range of Palearctic genera of, 242 range of Ethiopian genera of, 304 range of Oriental genera of, 374 range of Australian genera of, 476 Rodentia, European Pliocene, 113 Miocene of Greece, 116 European Miocene, 120 European Eocene, 126 N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 N. American Tertiary, 139 a of Brazilian caves, 144 S. American Pliocene, 147 of S. American Eocene, 148 Ruff, figure of, 195 8. Sahara, a debatable land, 251 Saiga, antelope of W. Tartary, 218 Samoa Islands, birds of, 443 Sandwich Islands, birds of, 445 probable past history of, 446 mountain plants of, 446 depth of ocean around, 447 Sand grouse, Pallas, of Mongolia, 226 Sutyrites Reynesii, European Cretaceous In- sect, 167 Saunders, Mr. Edward, on the Buprestide of Japan, 229 Scelidotherium, in Brazilian caves, 145 S. American Pliocene, 147 Schistopleurwm, S. American Pliocene, 147 Schweinfurth, Dr., on natural history of Cen- tra] Africa, 252 on limits of W. African sub-region, 262 (note) Sciurus, European Miocene, 120 European Eocene, 126 Sciuravus, N. American Eocene, 140 Selater, Mr., on zoological regions, 59 why his six regions are adopted, 63 on birds of Sandwich Islands, 445 Sea, as a barrier to mammalia, 13 Seals, fossil in European Miocene, 118 of Lake Baikal, 218 Secondary formations, mammalian remains in, 159 Secretary-bird of Africa, figure of, 261 Semnopithecus, European Pliocene, 112 Miocene of Greece, 115 European Miocene, 117 Indian Miocene, 121 Semper, Dr., on Philippine mammalia, 345 Serpentarius, European Miocene, 162 Seychelle Islands, zoology of, 281 amphibia of, 281 Sharp, Dr., on Japan beetles, 229 Sharpe, Mr. R. B., his arrangement of Accipi- tres, 97 on birds of Cape Verd Islands, 215 Sheep, Palzarctic, 182 Siberia, climate of. 217 Siberian sub-region, description of, 216 mammalia of, 217 birds of, 219 reptiles and amphibia of, 220 insects of, 220 Simocyon, Miocene of Greece, 115 ‘ 502 Sinopa, N. American Tertiary, 134 Sirenia, classification of, 89 range of Ethiopian genera of, 303 range of Oriental genus, 374 range of Australian genus of, 476 Sirenia, European Pliocene, 112 European Miocene, 119 Sivatherium, Indian Miocene, 122 Siwalik Hills, Miocene deposits of, 121 Smith, Mr. Frederick, on Hymenoptera of Japan, 230 Snake, at great elevation in Himalayas, 220 Snakes, classification of, 99 Eocene, 165 large proportion of venomous species in Australia, 396 of New Zealand, 457 Society Islands, birds of, 443 Soricictis, European Miocene, 118 Soricide, European Miocene, 118 South African sub-region, description of, 266 mammialia of, 267 birds of, 267 reptiles of, 268 amphibia of, 268 fresh-water fish of, 268 butterflies of, 268 coleoptera of, 268 summary of its zoology, 269 South America, fossil fauna of, 143 Pliocene deposits of, 146 supposed land connection with Australia, 398 South Australia, peculiar birds of, 441 Species, representative, 4 Speothos, in Brazilian caves, 144 Spermophilus, European Miocene, 120 Sphenodon, in Brazilian caves, 145 Sphinx, in European Oolite, 167 St. Helena, zoological features of, 269 coleoptera of, 270 landshells of, 271 St. Thomas’ Island, birds of, 266 Stations, definition of, 4 Steneofiber, European Miocene, 120 Sthenurus, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157 Strix, European Miocene, 162 Struthiones, arrangement of, 98 range of Ethiopian genera of, 313 range of Australian genera of, 487 Struthious birds, probable origin of, 287 Stylinodontide, N. American Eocene, 139 Stylinodontia, N. American Eocene, 139 Sub-regions, on what principle formed, 80 Palearctic, 191 Ethiopian, 258 Oriental, 321 Australian, 408 Suide, European Miocene, 119 Sula Islands, fauna of, 433 Sus, European Pliocene, 113 Miocene of Greece, 116 European Miocene, 119 Indian Miocene, 122 Swinhoe, Mr, on zoology of Formosa and Hainan, 332 Symborodon, N. American Tertiary, 137 Synaphodus, European Miocene, 119 Synoplotherium, N. American Tertiary, 134 uu Tables of distribution of families and genera explained, 177 Talpa, European Miocene, 117 INDEX. Tupir, fossilin N. China, 123 Tapirs, birthplace and migrations of, 154 Tapir, Malayan, figure of, 337 Japiride, European Eocene, 125 Yapirus, European Pliocene, 113 Indian Miocene, 122 in Brazilian caves, 144 Tarsier, Malayan, tigure of, 337 Tasmania, comparative zoological poverty of, 441 Taxodon, European Miocene, 118 Telmatobius, N. American Cretaceous, 164 Telmatolestes, N. American Tertiary, 133 Testudo, Miocene of Greece, 116 Indian Miocene, 123 Testudo, great antiquity of the genus, 289 Tetrachus, European Miocene, 117 Tetrao albus, in Italian caverns, 161 Thalassictis, Miocene of Greece, 115 European Miocene, 118 Theridomys, European Miocene, 126 European Eocene, 126 S. American Eocene, 148 Thinohyus, N. American Tertiary, 137 Thinolestes, N. American Tertiary, 133 Thylacinus, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157 Thylacoleo, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157 Tillodontia, N. American Eocene, 159 Tillotheride, N. American Eocene, 139 Tillotherium, N. American Eocene, 139 Timor, physical features of, 389 group, mammialia of, 422 birds of, 422 origin of fauna of, 424 insects of, 426 Tinoceras, N. American Eocene, 139 Titanomys, European Miocene, 121 Titanotherium, N. American Tertiary, 137 Tomarctos, N. American ‘Tertiary, 135 Tonga Islands, birds of, 443 Tortoises, classification of, 100 of Mascarene Islands and Galapagos, 289 Touraco of W. Africa, figure of, 264 Toxodon, 8. American Pliocene, 137 Toxodontide, 8. American Pliocene, 147 Trachytherium, European Miocene, 119 Tragocerus, Miocene of Greece, 116 European Miocene, 120 Tragopan, Himalayan, figure of, 331 Tree-shrew of Borneo, figure of, 337 Tree-kangaroo, figure of, 415 Trichechus, N American Post-Pliocene, 130 Trichoglosside, birds specially adapted to Australia, 393 Trionyx, Indian Miocene, 123 Miocene and Eocene, 165 Tristan d’Acunha, zoology of, 271 Tristram, Canon, summary of the birds of Palestine, 203 Trogon, European Miocene, 161 Trogontherium, Post-Pliocene of Europe, 11] Trucijelis, N. American Post-Pliocene, 129 Tundras of Siberia, greatest extent of, 216 Tupaiide, European Miocene, 118 Turner, Mr., on classification of Edentata, 90 Tylodon, European Eocene, 125 Typotherium, 8. American Pliocene, 147 U. Uintacyon, N. American Tertiary, 134 Uintatherium, N. American Eocene, 139 Uintornis, N. American Eocene, 163 Unio, European Secondary, 169 Ungulata, classification of, 89 INDEX. 508 Ungulata, antiquity of, 15t of the Palearctic region, 182 range of Palearctic genera of, 241 range of Ethiopian genera of, 303 range of Oriental genera of, 374 range of Australian genera of, 476 Ungulata, Kuropean Pliocene, 112 Miocene of Greece, 115 European Miocene, 119 Indian Miocene, 121 European Eocene, 125 N. American Post-Pliocene, 130 N. American Tertiary, 135 of Braziliau caves, 144 S. American Pliocene, 146 Urania of Madagascar, 282 Urside, N. American Tertiary, 135 in Brazilian caves, 144 Ursitaxus, Indian Miocene, 121 Ursus, Post-Pliocene, 112 Indian Miocene, 121 . A Vanga of Madagascar, figure of, 278 Varanus, Miocene of Greece, 116 Indian Miocene, 123 Vertebrata, summary of Palearctic, 186 summary of Ethiopian, 255 summary of Oriental, 318 summary of Australian, 397 Vespertilio, European Eocene, 125 Viperus, European Miocene, 165 Viverra, European Pliocene, 112 European Miocene, 118 Viverride, European Miocene, 118 European Eocene, 125 W. Walden, Viscount, on birds of Philippine Islands, 346 ou birds of Celebes, 428 Washakius, N. American Tertiary, 134 Waterhouse, Mr. G. R., on classification ot rodentia, 90 on Classification of marsupials, 91 West African sub-region, description of, 262 mammalia of, 262 birds of, 262 Oriental or Malayan element in, 263 river scene with characteristic animals, 264 reptiles of, 264 amphibia of, 264 Oriental and Neotropical relations of, 265 insects of, 265 land-shells of, 265 islands of, 265 West Australia, peculiar birds of, 441 Whydah finch of W. Africa, tigure of, 264 Wollaston, Mr. T. V., on the coleoptera of the Atlantic Islands, 209 on the wings of the Madeiran beetles, 211 on the origin of the insect fauna of the Atlantie Islands, 214 on coleoptera of the Cape Verd Islands, 215 on beetles of St. Helena, 270 X. Xenurus, in Brazilian caves, 145 Xiphodontide, European Miocene, 119 Z. Zeuglodontide, N. American Tertiary, 140 Zonites priscus, Paleozoic, 169 Zoological characteristics of Palearctic region, 181 Ethiopian region, 252 Oriental region, 315 Australian region, 390 Zoological regions, discussion on, 50 END OF VOL. If, via 9088 01348 8432