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THE GEOGRAPHICAL
DISTRIBUTION^ OF ANIMALS.
50«
VOL. L
rilK WOiUJ) ..« MliKCA'I'Oli'S I'UU.IECTIOX
ZOOC.EOCHAl'llK'Al. RKGIONS, ,r.i. Tin: APPROXIMATE liNtU'LATIONS ». tue OCEAN BEl).
THE GEOGEAPHICAL
DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS
WITH A STUDY OF
THE RELATIONS OF LIVING AND EXTINCT FAUNAS
AS ELUCIDATING THE
PAST CHANGES OF THE EARTHS SURFACE.
ALFEED RUSSEL WALLACE, '^>i/'
AUTHOR OF "THP; IIALAV ARCHIPELAGO," ETC.
WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
IN TWO VOLUMES.— VOLUME L
MACMILLAN AND CO.
187H ^^^ '^°'-'-^«E LIBRARY
CHKTNUT HILL, MASS,
[The Eight of Translation and llqn-odaction is Eeserved.]
bbl32
10
LONDON :
R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAVLOK, PRINTEUS
BREAD STREET HILL.
PREP ACE.
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 G-eography 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 Eoyal 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 PEEFACE.
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 myself 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
soon 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. JSTeither
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 vahiable work on the Geographical Distribution of
Mammalia, in which an immense number of coloured maps are
PREFACE.
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
hygenas, and the bears ; others to portions of families, — as the
flying squirrels, and the oxen with the bisons ; others to families,
—as the Mustelidse, and the Hystricidse ; 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
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-
graphy— 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 af&nities of many
of the fossils, and my want of practical acquaintance with
Palaeontology; 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 conveyed 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
PKEFACE,
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. I 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 a map, 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 effects 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
PKEFACE.
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
PEEFACE.
had put the final touches to the proofs. He is known to many
readers by his vigorous ilhistrations 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 lias
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 tliis 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 II., 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, altliough it is necessarily
crowded with scientific names (without which the inferences
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 iise nearly half a
PREFACE.
century, and which is to be found under the letter E, in Jerdon's
Birds of India, Blyth's Catalogue, Bonaparte's Conspectus, and
the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London down to
1865. Classicists now write Henicurus 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
assistance 1 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.
PREFACE.
Professor Jlower 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 Bovidse, 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, — Sylviidae :
To Viscouut Walden, for notes on the systematic arrangement
of the Pycnonotidse and Timaliidse, 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.
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.
March, 1876.
CONTENTS OE THE EIEST VOLUME.
PART I.
THE PEINCIPLES AND GENEKAL PHENOMENA OF DISTRIBUTION.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
CHAPTER II.
THE MEANS OF DISPERSAL AND THE MIGRATIONS OF ANIMALS.
Means of Dispersal of Mammalia (p. 10) — Climate as a Limit to the Range of
Mammals (p. 11) — VaUeys 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) . 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) . 35 — 49
b
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
CHAPTER IV.
ON ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS,
Principles upon which Zoological Eegions should be formed (p. 53) — Which class
of Animals is of most importance in determining Zoological Eegions (p. 56) —
Various Zoological Regions proposed since 1857 (p. 58) — Discussion of proposed
Eegions (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) — Paleearctic 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) 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) 83—104
PAET 11.
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) . . ... . . 107 128
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. xix
CHAPTER VII.
EXTINCT MAMMALIA OP THE NEW WORLD.
North America — Post-pliocene Period (p. 129) — Eemarks on tlie Post-pliocene
Fauna of North America (p. 130)— Tertiary Period (p. 132)— Primates (p. 32)
Insectivora (p. 133) — Carnivora (p, 134) — Ungulata (p. 135) — Proboscidea
(p.l38)— Tillodontia (p. 139)— Eodentia (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 AntUles (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.
VAKIOTJS 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)— Palasarctic 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) 157-170
PART III.
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) —
Tablesof Distributions of Families and Genera (p. 177) . . 173—179
XX CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
CHAPTER X.
THE PALiEARCTIC REGION.
Zoological Characteristics of the Palsearctic Region (p. 181) — Summary of Palae-
arctic Vertebrata (p. 186)— Insects (p. 187)— Land-shells (p. 190)— The Palse-
arctic Sub-regions (p. 190) — 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 Palse-
arctic Region (p. 231) — Table I. Families of Animals inhabiting the Palse-
arctic Region (p. 234) — Table II. List of the Genera of Terrestrial Mammalia
and Birds of the Palsearctic Eegion (p. 239) .... 181—250
CHAPTER XL
THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. J
Zoological Characteristics of the Ethiopian Region (p. 252) — Summaiy of Ethio-
pian Vertebrates (p. 255) — -The Ethiopian Sub-regions (p. 258) — The East
African Sub-regiou, 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 11. 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-regioji (p. 321) — Range of the Genera of Mammalia which inhabit the Sub-
region of Hindostan (p. 322) — Oriental, Palsearctic, and Ethiopian Genera of
Birds in Central India (p. 224) — Sub-region of Ceylon and South India
(p. 326) — 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
CONTENTR OF THE FIRST VOLUME. xxi
Indo-Chinese Sub-region (p. 333)— Indo-Malaya, or the Malayan Sub-region
(p. 334) — Malayan Insects (p. 341) — The Zoological Kelations 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 Eemarks on the Oriental Region (p. 362)
— Table I. Families of Animals inhabiting the Oriental Eegion (p. 365) —
Table II. Genera of Terrestrial Mammalia and Birds in the Oriental Re-
gion (p. 371) 314—386
CHAPTER XIII.
THE AUSTRALIAN EEGION.
General Zoological Characteristics of the Australian Region (p. 390) — Summary
of the Australian Vertebrata (p. 397) — Supposed Land-connection between
Austi-alia 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 Kew 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) 387—485
Index to Vol. I , . 489—503
MAPS AND ILLUSTEATIONS IN VOL. I.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
Map of the World, showing the Zoo-Geographical Eegions and the
contour of the Ocean-bed Frontispiece
To face -page
Map of the Palsearctic Eegion . . . , . . .181
Plate I. The Alps of Central Europe with Characteristic Animals 195
Plate II. Characteristic Mammalia of Western Tartary .
Plate III. Characteristic Animals of North China .
Map of the Ethiopian Eegion ......
Plate IV. Characteristic Animals of East Africa .
Plate Y. Scene in West Africa with Characteristic Animals
Plate VI. Scene in Madagascar with Characteristic Animals
Map of the Oriental Eegion ......
Plate VII. Scene in Nepaul with Characteristic Animals .
Plate VIII. A Forest in Borneo with Characteristic Mammalia
Plate IX. A Malacca Forest with some of its Peculiar Birds
Map of the Australian Eegion ......
Plate X. Scene in New Guinea with Characteristic Animals
Plate XI. The Characteristic Mammalia of Tasmania
218
226
251
261
264
278
315
331
337
340
387
415
439
Plate XII. The Plains of New South Wales with Characteristic Ani-
mals .......... 442
18. Plate XIII. Scene in New Zealand with some of its Eemarkable Birds 455
EKEATA IN VOL. I.
I have detected several mispriuts and small errors in the final impression, and
Dr. Meyer, who has translated the work into German, has kindly communicated all
that he has noticed. It is not thought necessary to give here all the smaller ortho-
graphical errors, most of which will be corrected in the Index. The following seem,
however, to be of sufficient importance to justify me in asking my readers to
correct them in their copies.
Page 93, 12 lines from foot, /or Hocco reac2 Hoazin.
97, line 2, for Hocco read Hoazin.
147, 13 lines from foot, for three-handed read, three-banded.
177, line 6, for Lycfenidse rmd Zygeenidse.
183, line 20, for third read fourth.
238, line 18, for Spirigidea read Sphingidea.
242, insert \ 92a | Tamias j 1 | All Northern Asia | N, America.
245, last line, insert in 2nd column (6).
309, line 20, for Motacilla read Budytes.
327, 12 lines from foot, after Hindostan read and.
331, last line, for Idhyopsis read Icthyophis.
340, line 15, for Edolius read Bhrincja.
348, line 17, for Flores read New Guinea.
371, 11 lines from foot, for and Borneo read Borneo and Philippines.
391, 10 lines from foot, after Celebes add and the Papuan Islands.
391, 9 lines from foot, omit New Guinea or.
414, 6 lines from foot, for Epimachus read Seleucides.
415, line 10 for ditto read ditto.
427, line 20, after Celebes add and on some of the Philippine Islands.
427, 5 lines from foot, for tusks read^aM.
462, 15 lines from foot, for p. 156 read p. 166.
474, 9 lines from foot, after Celebes add Papua.
THE
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
OF ANIMALS.
PART I.
THE PRINCIPLES AND GENERAL PHENOMENA
OF DISTRIBUTION
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
It is a fact withiu 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
B 2
DISTKIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.
the soil, tlie 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 difference 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.
CHAP. I.] INTRODUCTOEY. 6
Having thus defined our subject, let us glance at tlie 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 w^hoUy due to diversities 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, giiinea-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-
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 Eocky Mountains in America, almost all the mammalia, 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 to a less degree in the West India islands. But shallow
straits, like 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
great 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.
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 epoch
8 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part t.
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 lajids 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.
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 efl'ectively 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.
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. Jiiocks 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. 11
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
great 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 weU 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 moimtains of the globe ; of which the
European ibex and mouflon are striking examples. Eivers 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 Kve 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 existingf
tropical species ; and we must always bear in mind that similar
changes may have acted upon other species 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
vaUey must often prove an efiectual 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.] DISPEESAL 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 Eio 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 Pithecia is alone found. Higher up Ateles
paniscus extends to the north bank of the river while Lagothrix
humholcUii 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, Eio 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. — Very few mammals
can swim over any considerable extent of sea, although many can
swim weU 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 LyeU 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.
Ice-fioes and Driftwood as Aiding 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 Martins 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 0. 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, &c., which swim. Ths former are capable of traversing
considerable spaces of sea, since 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 Hmit 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. Tliis, 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 i.
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 (Procellariidce) and the gulls
(Laridce) 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 smaU islands of a few square
miles in extent, or to single valleys or mountains on the main-
land.
Dispersal of Birds hy 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 prevaihng 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.
Barriers 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
c
18 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [part i.
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. Eor 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
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 Eev. 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,-7r- which stay to build th«ir 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.
Europe. — 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
c 2
20 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [part i.
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
neiohbourhood 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 applies
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 of 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, &c.
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 larvae, 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 Paissia 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
stUl 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 Ehone Valley from the Gulf
of Lyons.
CHAP. II.] BIRDS. 23
India and China. — In tlie peninsula of India and in China
great numbers of northern birds arrive during September and
October, and ].eave 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-
pacidce 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 Dendro&ca, and other Ameri-
can fiycatching warblers {Mniotiltidm), 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
Eocky 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 qubted
by American writers as extending its annual migrations to
Hudson's Bay. An American wren {^Troglodytes ludovicianus)
is another bird which has spread considerably northwards since
CHAP. II.] BIEDS. 25
. '. i
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.
S07UJ1 Te7ivpcTate 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 Tceni-
optera, Cindodes, and Gentritcs, 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 hona-
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 HemarJcs 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 ah-eady 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
26 DISPEESAL AND MIGKATION. [part i.
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 epoc;h, 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
BOSTON CL^LLSyiE :JU^<M-M)t.
©H16TKUT HILL, EviASS. ..
CHAP. II.] 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 larvae are
there abundant at the proper time, while in their winter home the
28 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [part i.
larvje 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 all the 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, hov/ever, 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 mouniains, 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 man^^ islands where there
are neither mammalia nor snakes.
CHAP. II.] 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 Dispersed 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. I'he many
authentic accounts of fish falling from the atmosphere, indicate
one of the means by wiiich 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 volcanic 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 migfations feed on the
eggs of fish, and that some of these pass through their bodies
with their vitality unimj)aired.' Even water-beetles fiying from
one pond to another might occasionally carry with them some of
the smaller eggs of fishes. But it is 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
Amien. Acad. Essay 75.
30 DISPERSAL AND MIGRATION. [part i.
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
"■^slrallows ; 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 northern 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 MoUusca.^Tlie 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 Fteropoda, the lanthma, and other groups of
floating molluscs, 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. 11.] LAND-SHELLS AND INSECTS. 31
due to tlie 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 liable 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 laad-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 DISPEESAL AND MIGKATION. [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 jjopulation of land shells.
Means of Disjjersal of Insects and the Barriers loliich Limit
their Range. — Winged insects, as a whole, have perhaps more
varied means of dispersal over the globe than any other 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 a long 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 larvpe, eggs,
CHAP. II.] • DISPEESAL AND MIGRATION. 33
and pupae of insects have their abode in solid timber, that they
might survive being floated immense distances. Great numbers
of tropical insects have been captiired 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 surviv^e 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 insects 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
D
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.
CHAPTEE III.
DISTRIBUTION AS AFFECTED BY THE CONDITIONS AND CHANGES OF
THE EAKTH'S SUEFACE.
The distribution of animals over the earth's surface, is 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
D 2
36 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.
which greatly increases its importance, namely, that the mean
height of the land is very small 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 -^-^ 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 weie 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
^ This estimate has teen 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. III.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 37
modifications of pre-existing land, tlian 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 upbeaval, 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 a.pproximately 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. III.] 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
Eev. H. B. Tristram discovered a new j&sh, in a salt lake nearly
300 miles inland, but which has since been found to inhabit th&
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 antiqims and of two
species of Hi-ppopotamus. In Malta, three species of elephant
have been discovered by Captain Spratt ; a large one closely allied
to JE. antiquus and two smaller ones not exceeding five feet high
when adult. These facts clearly indicate, that when ISTorth
Africa was separated by a broad arm of the sea from the rest of
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. [pakt i.
nature to affect tlie 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
moUusca.
The Glacial E;poch as affecting the Distribution of Animals. —
The remarkable refrigeration of chmate 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 Eecent 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. III.] 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 debris 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 ijidicate 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
42 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i
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, Eed, 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-Pliocene 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 sauth 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. III.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTEIBUTION. 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 he 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 Eomans. In the peat-bogs, however, are found
deposits of oak trees ; and deeper still pines alone occur. Kow
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, moUusca, 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. III.] 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
Origin 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. Eats, 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 stingiess 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 DISTEIBUTION 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
modified 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. III.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 47
families) 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, by 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 range, 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 sea a
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. [fart 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 ndght 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 tbus 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, in.] CONDITIONS AFFECTING DISTRIBUTION. 49
adapted organisms. In the actual state of things, the physical
changes that occur and have occurred through all geological epochs
are 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
tlie 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
land-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 gaess, 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 pro-
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 ^Dast 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 tlie 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-failinc
source of surprise, that under climates and conditions sc
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 tlie 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
aUied 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 in common. 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, j)resents 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 anomalies 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 jSTorth 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 Mammalia,
all of small size and allied to those of America, except one
E 2
52 DISTKIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.
genus ; and that belongs to an Order, " Insectivora," entirely
absent from South America, and to a family, " Centetidse," 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 Eegions," 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 di^dsions
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 a ^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 Begions should he 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, — Istly, 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
Avill 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. [pakt i.
and tills, it may be said, proves tlieir fundamental unity an<l
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 ns.
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. Wliat 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 de^Jend on unsuitahility to the siLp2oort of the grov}^,
and especially ivhen there is no'iv no 'physical harrier freventiing
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. .'>5
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, h, 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, c, and d, on the other,
and then, by another division, make h, an area of the second,
and e, 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.
ill tlieir organization or mode of life. These act mainly in
two ways, — Istly, by affecting tlie 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 man}'
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 veiy 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 iviportancc 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
ph}'sical 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 EEGIONS. 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 Eegions 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. Eegions so established will be most closely in 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
58 DISTIUBUTION OF ANIMALS. [paut i.
maintained. For tliey will find, that a careful consideration of
ihe e.xceptional 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 tKe cole-
opterist and the lepidopterist each with his own Geography. And
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
Staphylinidse or the Carabidse which abound in many of the
most barren regions, or with that of the Scarabeidse, largely de-
pendent on the presence of herbivorous mammalia. And when
each of these enquirers had settled a division of the earth into
" regions " 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 M^ork 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 iiroposed 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. 50
one, should very nearly represent the distribution of the other.
Mr. Sclater's regions are as follows : —
1. The Palfearctic Eegion ; including Europe, Temperate Asia,
and N". Africa to the Atlas mountains.
2. The Ethiopian Eegion ; Africa south of the Atlas, Mada-
gascar, and the Mascarane Islands, with Southern Arabia.
3. The Indian Eegion ; including India south of the Hima-
layas, to South Cliina, and to Borneo and Java.
4. The Australian Eegion ; including Celebes and Lombock,
eastward to Australia and the Pacific Islands.
5. The ISTearctic Eegion ; including Greenland, and IST.
America, to ISTorthern Mexico.
6. The Neotropical Eegion ; 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 Eeptiles
agreed with it very closely, the principal difference being tliat
the reptiles of Japan have a more Indian character than the
birds, this being especially tlie 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 (Arctogaea
and Notogaea), the former, however, embracing all Africa, while
the latter includes only Australasia and tlie Neotropical or
Austro-Columbian region. ]\Ir. Sclater had grouped his regions
primarily into Palteogaea and Neogsea, 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 mammalia or reptiles. Professor Huxley points
out that the Nearctic, Palsearctic, 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 Soutli
America ; and he further suggests that New Zealand alone has
peculiaiities which might entitle it to rank as a primary region
GO DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.
along with Australasia and South America ; and that a Circum-
polar Province might be conveniently recognised as of equal
rank with the Palrearctic and Nearctic provinces.
In 1866, Mr. Andrew Murray published a large and copiously
illustrated volume on the Geograpliical Distribution of Mam-
mals, in which he maintains that the great and primary
mammalian regions are only four : 1st. The Palsearctic region
of Mr. Sclater, extended to include the Sahara and Nubia ;
2nd. the Tndo- 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 Eegions " shows
all Arctic America to a little south of the Isothermal of 32°
Pahr. 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 tlie
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 Eegions," 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
Palsearctic 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 Lenmrian 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 Melanesiaa
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, Cavibridge, 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 Europteo-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 Eegion, or that comprising New Zealand
alone (as hinted at by Professor Huxley and since adopted by
62 DISTRIBUTION OF ANBFALS. [pakt i.
Mr. Sclatei- 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 tlierefore 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 tlie 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 (Apterygidae living, Dinornithidee and
Palapterygidpe extinct), and a peculiar lizard-like reptile,
Hatteria, which has to be classed ia a distinct order, Ehyncho-
cephalina, that the rank of a Eegion 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 Apterygidse or Palapterygidse should
be found to have inha1)ited Australia in Post-Pliocene times,
(as Diuornithidtie have already been proved to have done) the
claims 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 Apterygidee 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
CHAr. IV.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 63
primary divisions of tlie 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 Palaearctic and Nearctic regions was much greater than it
is, this mode of dealing with it M^ould be objectionable ; but it
is stiH 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 Eodentia, 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.
Tor 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 Palsearctic 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 hy 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. [paut 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. ISTeither 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 Kegion 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 palseontological, 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 IsTeotropical regions are undoubtedly each com-
parable with the rest of the earth (Arctogsea). 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. Palsearctic region has 31 families of terrestrial maiimialia.
II. Ethiopian „ „ 40 „
III. Indian „ „ 31 „
IV. Australian „ ,,14 „
"V. Neotropical „ „ 26 „
VI, Nearctic „ ,, 23
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 Palaearctic, 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 eacli ;
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 Palasarctic should
be separated from the Oriental region, with which it has un-
doubtedly much in common ; but there are many and powerl'ul
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 Palsearctic 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
F
66 DISTKIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.
inconvenient. Tiie one question tlien remains, whetlier the
Nearctic region should be l^ept separate, or whether it should
form part of the Palaearctic or of the Neotropical regions. Pro-
fessor Huxley and Mr. Blyth advocate the former course ; Mr.
Andrew Murray (for mammalia) and Professor ISTewton (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 Palsearctic, 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.
N^eogfiea ]
Regions.
Neotropical ... Austral zone Notoggea.
^^^^^''^^ boreal zone
Pal/earotic .
I ^^^^■^'^'^ '■'■'-' •••J ^Arctogsea.
\ Australian . . . Austral zone Notogtea.
Pcilseogsea^ thiopian ' Palseotropical zone
° ^ Oriental \ ^
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 Palsearctic and termin-
ates with the Nearctic region.
Objections to the system of Circumpolar Zones. — Mr. 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.
Tlie 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 circumpolar distribution " leads to the division of
F 2
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, fatma and jlora ; 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 ]\Iammals ; 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 indejoendent 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 why an " Arctic Eegion " 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 Palsearctic 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, MyocUs, and Bangifer. Two species of widely
dispersed genera are also exclusively arctic, Ursus maritimus
and Vulpes lagoims.
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 Uriidse,
Uria, Gatarrades, and Mergulus ; and the small family Alcidse,
consisting of the genera Alca 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 single genus
AjJtenodytes 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
conveuience 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 Palse-
arctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental regions, and contains a mimber
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. At a 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 individuahty
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 EEGIONS. 71
are, for our present purpose, of much less importance. As a
primary division the "Arctic region" would he 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.
Palceardic Begion. — 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 Palsearctic region is well
characterized by possessing 3 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 asTearctic 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 Palsearctic is almost as strongly marked and well defined as
any other.
Sub-divisions of the Palcear die Begion. — These are by no means
72 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 iirst, 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-giacial 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.] ZOOLO:>ICAL EEGIONS. 73
Etliiopian Region. — The limits of this region have been indi-
cated by the definition of the Palsearctic 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 b}^ 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.
Suh-divisions of the Fthiojncin 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-
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
JSTuhia 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 Eodriguez 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 Begion. — 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 Palsearctic 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 Groa 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 ]\Ialay 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. 77
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. Tlie 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.
iSub-divisio7is 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 rnajority 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 Region. — ]\ir. 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 " Dendrogsea,"
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 Camelidge and Chin-
ehillidse.
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 abseuce 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.
Neardic Begion. — 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 Palsearctic
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 Eio 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 Palcearctic 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 rs in the Palsearctic 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 Pala^arctic, while Pro-
fessor Newton, in his article on birds in the new edition of the
80 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [paut r.
Encyclopaedia 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.
Stcbdivisions of the Nearctic Region. — The sub-regions here
depend on the great physical features of the country, and have
been in some cases 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 Eocky 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 seines of Suh-regions. — The twenty-four sub-
regions here adopted were arrived at by a careful 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.
Vertebeata.
Mammalia
Birds.
Eegions.
Fami-
Peculiar
Genera.
Peculiar
Per
Genera.
Peculiar
Per
lies.
families^
genera.
centage.
genera.
centage.
Palsearctic...
136
3
100
35
35
174
57
33
Ethiopian . . .
174
22
140
90
64
294
179
60
Oriental
164
12
118
55
46
340
165
48
Australian...
141
30
72
44
61
298
189
64
Neotropical..
168
44
130
103
79
683
576
86
Nearctic
122
12
74
24
32
169
52
31
Table of Regions and Sub-regions.
Regions.
Sub-regions.
Remarks.
I. Palsearctic...
1.
2.
3.
4.
North Europe.
Mediterranean (or S. En.)
Siberia.
Manchuria (or Japan)
Transition to Ethiopian.
Transition to Nearctic.
Transition to Oriental.
II. Ethiopian . . .
1.
2.
3.
4.
East Africa.
West Africa.
South Africa.
Madagascar.
Transition to Palsearctic.
82
DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS.
[part. I.
Table of Regions and Sub-regions — continued.
Regions.
Sub-regions.
Remarks.
m. Oriental.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hindostan (or Central Ind.)
Ceylon.
Indo-China (or Himalayas)
Indo-Malaya.
Transition to Ethiopian.
Transition to Palsearctic.
Transition to Australian.
IV. Australian...
1.
2.
3.
4.
Austro- Malaya.
Australia.
Polynesia.
New Zealand.
Transition to Oriental.
Transition to Neotropical.
V. Neotropical.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Chili (or S. Temp. Am.)
Brazil.
Mexico (or Trop. N. Am.)
Antilles.
Transition to Australian.
Transition to Nearctic.
VI. Nearctic
1.
2.
3.
4.
California.
Eocky Mountains.
Alleghanies (or IJast TJ. S.)
Canada.
Transition to Neotropical.
Transition to Palsearctic.
CHAPTEE V.
CLASSIFICATION AS AFFECTING THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHICAL
DISTEIBUTIOK
A LITTLE consideration will convince us, that no inquiry into
the causes and laws which determine the geographical distribu-
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, h, 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 h
inhabit the same or adjacent districts, while c 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 c to a and h is only superficial,
while their internal structure exhibits marked and important
differences ; and that c really belongs to another group of
animals, d, which inhabits the A^ery region in which c 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 (Viverridse), a group entirely con-
G 2
84 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.
fined to Africa and Asia ; but it has now been conclusively
shown by Professor Flower that its real affinities are with the
racoons (Procyonidae), a group confined to North and South
America. In another case, however, an equally carefnl exami-
nation shows, that an animal peculiar to the Himalayas {^lurus
fulgens) has its nearest ally in the CercoU'pUs 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 tlie 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 EngUsh
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 :
Huxley.
Classification of Animals (1869).
1. Protozoa
2. 'Infusoria
3. Ccelenterata
4. Annuloida
5. Annulosa
6. Molluscoida
7. MoUu&ca
8. Vertebrata
Cabus and Gerstaeker.
Handbuch der Zoologie (1868).
1. Protozoa.
2. Ccelenterata.
3. Echiuodermata.
( 4. Vermes.
\ 5. Arthropoda.
6. Molluscoida.
7. Mollusca.
8. Vertebrata.
For reasons already stated it is only with the fifth, seventh,
and eighth of these groups that the present work proposes 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. Eeptilia. 4.
Amphibia. 5. Pisces, in which order they will be taken here.
The sub-classes and orders of mammalia are as follows :
MAMMALIA.
Huxley (1869), Flower (1870).
1. Primates
2. Chiroptera
3. Insectivora
4. Carnivora
Monodelphia...^ e! sJeT }
7. LTngulata
8. Proboscidea
9. Hyracoidea
10. Rodentia
U]. Edentata
Didelphia 12. Marsupialia
Ornithodelphia 13. Monotremata
Cards (1868).
I 1. Primates.
( 5. Prosimii.
2. Chiroptera.
3. Insectivora.
i 6. Carnivora.
\ 7. Pinnipedia.
12. Natantia.
j 10. Artiodactyla.
I 11. Perissodactyla.
9. Proboscidea.
8. Lamnungia.
4. Eodentia.
13. Bnita.
14. Marsupialia.
15. Monotremata.
86 DISTKIBUTION 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-
paars 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 g(30graphical 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.
Por 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 Encydopcedia Britannica, and
in his paper in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London,
1865, p. 547. It is as follows :
Order— PEIMATES, divided iato two Sub-orders :
I. Anthropoid ea.
II. Lemuroidea.
Sub-order — Antiiropoidea.
Fani.
Hominidse Man.
1. Simiidse Anthropoid Apes.
Cebii
Simii -| 2. Semnopithecidee ... Old-world Monkeys.
3. Cynopithecidse . . . Baboons and Macaques.
4. Cebidse American Monkeys.
5. Hapalidas Marmosets.
Sub-order- Lemuroidea.
Fam.
6. Lemuridse Lemurs.
7. Tarsiidae Tarsiers.
8. Chiromyidse Aye-ayes.
Omitting man (for reasons stated in the preface) the three
first families are considered by Professor Mivart to be sub-
families of Simiidse; but as the geographical distribution of
the Old World apes is especially interesting, it is thought
CHAP, v.] CLASSIFICATION.
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 J\Ir. 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.
Fani.
Frugivora ... ... ... 9. Pteropidse ... Fniit-eating Bats.
ilstiophora ( 10. PhyllostomidEe ... Leaf-nosed Bats.
I 11. Ehinolopliidas ... Horse-shoe Bats.
Gymnorhini ( 12. Vespertilionidte ... True Bats.
I 13. Noctilionidse ... 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 lusectivora has been very carefully
worked out by Professor Mivart in the Jounral of Anatomy
and Physiology (Vol. ii., p. 380), and I follow his classification
as given there, and in the Froceedings of the Zoological Society
(1871).
Order-INSECTIVOEA.
Fam.
14. Galeopithecidee
15. Macroscelididte
16. Tupaiidee
17. Erinaceidoe ...
18. Centetidse
19. Potamogalidfe
20. Chrysochlorid<£
21. Talpidge
22. Soricidee
Flying Lemnrs.
Elei^hant Shrews.
Squirrel Shrews.
Hedgehogs.
Tenrecs.
Otter Shrew.
Golden Moles,
Moles.
Shrews.
The next order, Carnivora, has been studied in detail by
Professor Flower ; and I adopt the classification given by him m
the Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 18G9, p. 4.
88
DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS.
[part
Order— CARNIVORA.
' ^luroidea
Fissipedia :
Cynoidea
. Arctoidea
Pinnipedia
Fuiu.
23. Felidee ...
24. Cryptoproctidse.
25. Viverridte
I 26. Protelidse
^27. HyEenidse
28. Canidffi ...
'29. Mustelidse
I 30. Procyonidse
I 31. ^luridge...
32. Ursidfe ...
'33. Otariidaj...
34. Trichechidge
'35. Phocidce....
Cats, Lion, &c.
Cryptoprocta.
Civets.
Aard-wolf.
Hygenas.
Dogs, Foxes, &c.
Weasels.
Racoons.
Pandas.
Bears.
Eared Seals.
Walrus.
Seals.
The Cetacea is one of those orders the classifi cation 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-
glodontidse, 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.
80
Order- GET ACEA.
Fam. (Carus).
Sub-order I.— | Balsenidae
Mystaceti. ( Balcenopteridee
[ Catodontidse . . .
Sub-order II.-
Odontoceti.
Hyperoodontidoe
Monodontidce
I. Delphinidag . . .
Extinct family Zeuglodontidse.
Fam. (Gray).
36. Balaenidas.
37. Baleenopteridas.
38. Catodoritid^.
rHyperoodontidse.
39. Epiodontidte.
(Xiphiadse.
40. (Part of Delphinidee.)
Platanistidse.
Iniadse.
DelphinidcB.
41.^ Globiocephalidse.
Orcadse.
Belugidse.
^Pontoporiadse.
Order— SIEENIA.
The order Sirenia, comprising the sea-cows, consists of a single
family :
Family 42. Manatid*.
The extensive order Ungulata comprises the three orders
Pachydermata, Solidungula, and Paiminantia 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 :
Perissodactyla or
Odd-toed Ungulates
Artiodactyla or
Even-toed Ungulates
Order— UNGULATA.
Fam.
43. Equidaj
44. Tapiridte .-.. ...
45. Ithinocerotidse . . .
Suina I fj Hippopotamid^
( 47. Suidae
Tylopoda 48. Camelidse
Tragulina 49. Tragulidae
50. Cervidse
Pecora } b\. Camelopardida?
52. Bovidse
Horses.
Tapirs.
Ehinoceros.
Hippopotamus.
Swine.
Camels.
CheA^rotains.
Deer.
Giraffes,
j Cattle, Sheep,
( Antelopes, &c.
90
DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS.
[part I.
The two next orders consist of bub a single family each, viz. :
Order Fain.
PROBOSCIDEA ... 53. Elephantidifi Elephants.
HYRACOIDEA ... 64. HyracidEe Eock-rabbits.
We now come to the Eoclentia, 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 j\lr. G. E. 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. {Si/stematisk 0/versigt af de Gnaganch
Ddggdjuren, Glires. Upsala, 1866.) 1 follow this arrangement
with a few slight modifications suggested by other naturalists,
and which make it better adapted for the purposes of this work.
Sinipliciclentati
I Murina
(Waterhouse)
Hystriciiia
(Waterhouse)
Duplicidentati | (^^SoTse)
Order— RODENTIA.
Fani.
55. Muridte
56. Spalacidfe
57. Dipodidae
58. Myoxidee
59. Saccomyida; ...
60. Castoridse
61. Sciuridse
62. Haploodontidee
63. Chinchillidffi . .
64. Octodontida; ..
65. Echimyidte
66. Cercolabidse ..,
67. Hystricidae
68. Caviidee
5 69. Lagomyidse
I 70. Leporidee
Eats.
Mole-rats.
Jerboas.
Dormice.
Pouched Eats.
Beavers.
Squirrels.
Sewellels.
Chinchillas.
Octodous.
Spiny Eats.
Ti'ee Porcupines.
Porcupines.
Cavies.
Pikas.
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 HancTbuch. The former takes a middle course between
CKAP. 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.
Bradypoda . .
Entomophaga
Order -EDENTATA.
Fain.
71. Bradypodidae
'72. Manididge
73. Dasypodidaj
74. Orj^cteropodidse...
75. Myrmecophagidfe
Sloths.
Scaly Ant-eaters.
Armadillos.
Ant-bears.
Ant-eaters.
The Marsupials have been well classified and described by
Mr. WaterhoLise in the first volume of his Natural History of
Mamnialia, and his arrangement is here followed. The sub-
orders adopted by Professor Cams are also given.
Rapacia (Wagner)
Poephaga (Owen)
Carpophaga (Owen)
Ehizophaga (Owen)
Order— MARSUPIALIA.
Fam.
i 7«. Didelphidffi ...
W7. Dasyuridse ...
Sis. Myrmecobiidse
' 79. Peramelidse . . .
80. Macropodidte
81. Phalangistidae
82. Phascoloniyidie
Opossums.
Native Cats.
Native Ant-eater.
Bandicoots.
Kangaroos.
Phalangers.
Wombats.
Order— MONOTEEMATA.
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. OrnithorhynchidiB
81 Echidnidaj
Duckbill.
Echidna.
92 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. [part i.
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 lung 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 In'glily 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 Picariffi, 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 Picariee 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 Grallse 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
jrders and families of birds adopted in this work :
Class— AVES.
Orders.
1 Passeres \ Including the great mass of the smaller birds — Crows,
"'\ Finches, Flycatchers, Creepers, Honeysuckers, &c., &c.
9 PiVqi-;«. I Including Woodpeckers, Cuckoos, Toucans, Kingfishers,
( bwiItS, &C., &C.
3. Psittaci .... Parrots only.
4. Cohimbfe . . . Pigeons and the Dodo.
5. Galliuc-e ... Grouse, Pheasants, Curassows, Mound-builders, &c.
6. Opisthocomi The Hocco only.
7. Accipitres . . . Eagles, Owl?, and Vultures.
8. Grallte ... Herons, PloA^ers, Bails, &c.
9. Anseres ... Gulls, Ducks, Divers, &c
10. Struthiones ... Ostrich, Cassowary, Apteryx, &c.
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 sei-ies.
94
DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS.
[PAUT I.
A. — Typical or Turdoid Passeres.
1. Turdidee
2. Sylviidse
3. Timaliidoe
4. Panuridse
5. Cinclida}
6. Troglodytidfe ...
7. Chamseidfe
8. CerthiidEe
9. SittidjB
10. Paridse
il. Liotrichidse
12. Phyllornithidfe . . .
13. PycnonotidiB ...
14. Oriolidfie
1 5. Cam]3ephagidfe . . .
16. Dicruridse
17. Muscicapidse ...
18. Pachyceplialidse
19. Laniidse
20. Corvidse
21. Paradiseidae
22. Meliphagidge ...
23. Nectarineidne ...
Thrashes.
Warblers.
Babblers.
Reedlings.
Dippers.
Wrens.
Creepers.
Nuthatches.
Tits.
Hill-tits.
Green Bulbuls.
Bulbuls.
Orioles.
Caterpillar-shrikes.
Drongos.
Flycatchers.
Thick-heads,
Shrikes.
Crows.
Paradise-birds.
Honey-suckers.
Sun-birds.
B. — TANAGRaiD Passeres.
24. Dicseidse ... Flower-peckers.
25. Drepanididse ...
26. Cserebida^ Sugar-birds.
27. Mniotiltidse Wood-warblers.
28. Vireonidse Greenlets.
29. AmpelidiB Waxwings.
30. Hirundinidre Swallows.
31. Icterid£e Hangnests.
32. Tanagridfie Tanagers.
Fringillidte
Finches.
34.
35.
36.
37.
Ploceidfe
Sturnidse
Artamidse
Alaudidse
38. Motacillidse
C. — Sturnoid Passeres.
Weaver-birds.
Starlings.
.\
Swallow-shrikes.
Larks.
Wagtails.
D. — FoRMicAROiD Passeres.
39. Tyrannidte ... Tyrants.
40. Piprid^ Manakins.
41. Cotingidee Chatterers.
42. Phytotomid£e Plant-cutters,
43. Eurylaemidse Broad-bills.
44. Dendrocolaptidse American Creepei^,
45. Formicariidse Ant-thrushes.
CHAP, v.]
CLASSIFICATION.
95
D. — FoRMTCARoiD Passeres — Continued.
46. Pteroptochids
47. Pittid^
48. Paictidte
Pittas.
49. Menuridce
50. Atrichidje
E. — Anomalous Passsres.
Lyre-birds.
Scrub-birds.
The preceding arrangement is a modification of that proposed
by myself in the Ihis (1874, p. 406). The principal altera-
tions are adding the families Panuridfe and Sittidse in series
A, commencing series B with Dicseidse ; bringing Vireonidse
next to the allied American family Mniotiltidte ; and placing
Motacillidifi in series C next to Alaudidse. At the suggestion of
Professor ISTewton I place Menuridse and Atrichidfe apart from
the other Passercs, as they both possess striking peculiarities of
anatomical structure.
The heterogeneous families constituting the order Picariae may
be conveniently arranged as follows :
Sub-ordci- —
Scansores.
Intermediate
Sub-order — ■
Fissirostres.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
^60.
6L
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
7L
72.
73.
74.
75.
Picidfe
Yungidae
Indicatoridse
MegalEemidse
Rhampliastidse
Musophagidfe
Coliidee
Cuculidse
Leptosomidse
Bucconidse ...
Galbulidfe . . .
Coraciid£e . . .
Meroijidfe . . .
Todida3
Momotidse ...
TrogonidDs . . .
Alcedinidee ...
Bucerotidfce ...
Upupidas
Irrisoridas ...
Podargidse . . .
Steatornithidae
Caprimulgidfe
Cypselidee . . .
Trochilidaj ...
Woodpeckers.
Wrynecks.
Honey-guides.
Barbets.
Toucans.
Plantain-eaters,
Colies.
Cuckoos.
The Leptosoma.
Puff-birds.
Jacamars.
Rollers.
Bee-eaters.
Todies.
Motmots.
Trogons.
Kingfishers.
Hornbills.
Hoopoes.
Promerops.
Frog-mouths.
The Guacharo.
Goatsuckers.
Swifts.
Humming-birds.
96
DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS.
[part I.
The Psittaci or parrot tribe are still in a very unsettled state
of classification ; that recently proposed by Professor G-arrod
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. Cacatuidne ...
77. Platycercid;Te
78. Palfeornithidae
79. Trichoglossida?
80. Conuridse ...
81. Psittacidfe ...
82. Nestoridse ...
83. Stringopiilre
The Cockatoos.
The Broad-tailed Paroquets of Australia.
The Oriental Parrots and Paroquets.
The Brush-tongued Paroquets and Lories.
The Macaws and their allies.
The African and South American Parrots.
The Nestors of New Zealand.
The Owl-parrots of NeAV Zealand.
Tlie Columbse, 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. E. Gray's hand-
list for the genera, except where trustworthy authorities exist
for a different arrano-ement. The families are :
84. Columbidce
85. Dididfe
Pigeons and Doves.
The extinct Dodo and allies.
The GalliuEe, or . game-birds, may be di\'ided into seven
families :
Fam.
86. Pteroclidffi
87. Tetraonidse
88. Phasianida3 ..
89. Turnicidse
90. Megapodiidae
91. Cracidse
92. Tinamidse
Sub-fam.
Pavoninte .
Lophophorin
Phasianinte .
Euplocaminje
Gallinae
Meleagrinoe
, Numidinaj
{Cracinse
Penelopinae .
Oreophasinse
Sand-grouse,
Partridges and Grouse.
Peafowl.
Tragopans, &c.
Pheasants.
Fire-backed Pheasants, &c.
Jungle-fowl.
Turkeys.
Guinea-fowl.
Hemipodes.
Mound- ID akers.
Curassows.
Guans.
]Mountain-pheasant.
Tiiiamous.
CHAP, v.]
CLASSIFICATION.
07
The Opisthocomi consist of one family containing a single
species, the " Hocco " of Guiana.
Family 93. Opisthocomidse.
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.
(91 Vulturidaj
Falcones 95. Serpentariidse
196. Falconid^
Pandiones...97. Pandionidse
Strides ...98. Strigidse
Sub-families.
J Vulturinse ..
\ Sarcorliamphinge
, Polybornise
j Accipitrinae
Buteoninae
Aquilinse ...
Falconinfe
Vultures.
Turkey-buzzards.
Caracaras.
Hawks.
Buzzards.
Eagles.
Falcons.
Fishing-eagles.
Owls.
The Grallse or Grail atores 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, EaUidse ...
100. Scolopacid;3e
101. Chionididse
102. Thinocoridce
103. Parridag ...
104. Glareolidae
105. Charadriidee
106. Otididse ...
107. Gruidge ...
108. Cariamidee
109. Aramidae...
110. Psophiidae
111. Eurypygidae
112. Ehinochoetidse
113. Ardeidfe ...
114. Plataleidfe
115. Ciconiidfe
116. Palamedeidae
117. Phaenicopteridse
Rails, &c.
Sandpipers and Snipes
Sheath-bills.
Quail-snipes.
Jacanas.
Pratincoles.
Plovers.
Bustards.
Cranes.
(yariamas.
Guaraunas.
Trumpeters.
Sun-bitterns,
Kagus.
Herons.
Spoonbills and Ibis.
Storks.
Screamers.
Flamingoes.
98
DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS.
[part I.
The Anseres or Natatores are almost equally unsettled. The
flamingoes are usually placed in this order, but their habits best
assort with those of the waders.
Fam.
118. Anatidse
119. Laridse
120. Procellariidge
121. Pelecanidse ..
122. Spheuiscidse
123. Colymbidse
124. Podicipidse ..
125. Alcidse
Duck and Geese.
Gulls.
Petrels.
Pelicans,
Penguins.
Divers,
Grebes.
Auks.
The last order of birds is the Struthiones or Eatitffi, considered
by many naturalists to form a distinct sub-class. It consists of
comparatively few species, either living or recently extinct.
{126. Struthionidaj
127. Casuariidi« ...
128. Apterygidse ...
!129. Diuornithidse
130. Palapterygidse
131. ^pyornithidae
Ostriches.
Cassowaries.
Apteryx.
Diuornis.
Palapteryx.
-(Epyornis.
REPTILES.
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
Orders.
1. Ophidia
2. Lacertilia
3. Ehyncoceplialina
4. Crocodilia
5. 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 : —
Innocuous Snakes <
1. Typhiopidse
2. Tortricidss ...
3. Xenopeltidse
4. Uropeltidae
5. Calamaridse
6. OligodontidBe.
7. Colubridee ...
8. Homalopsidae .
9. Psammophidse .
10. Eachiodontidee.
11. Dendropliidse
12. Dryiophidte
13. Dipsasidse
14. Scytalidas.
15. Lycodontidte
16. Amblycephalidae
17. Pytlionidse
18. Erycidge
. 19. Acrochordidge ..
^20. Elapidse ...
Venomous Colubrine 1 21. Dendraspididse.
Snakes ) 22. Atractaspididse.
' 23. Hydrophidse
Viperine Snakes
•{
24. Crotalidse
25 Viperidse
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, &c.
Sea-snakes.
Pit-vipers.
True vipers
The second order, Lacertilia, are arranged as follows : —
Fam.
26-. Trogonophidse ...
27. Chirotidae
28. Amphisbsenidse
29. Lepidosternidas
30. Varanidse
31. Helodermidag.
32. Teidse
33. Lacertidse
34. Zonuridee
35. Chalcidse.
36. Anadiadee.
37. Chirocolidse.
38. Iphisadee.
39. Cercosauridse.
40. Chamsesauridae.
41. Gymnopthalmidae
42. Pygopodidse
43. Apjrasiadae.
Amphisbsenians.
Water Lizards.
Teguexins.
Land Lizards
Gape-eyed Scinks.
Two-legged Lizards.
H 2
100
DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS.
[part I,
Fam.
44. Lialidee.
45. Scincidae
46. Ophiomoridaj
47. Sepidee ...
48. Acontiadse.
49. Geckotidse
50. Iguanidas
51. Agamidse
52. Chameleonidse
Scinks.
Snake-lizards.
Sand-lizards.
Geckoes.
Iguanas.
Fringed Lizards.
Chameleons.
The third order, Ehyncocephalina consists of a single family : — ■
53. Khyncocephalidse Tlie Hatteria of New Zealand.
The fourth order, Crocodilia or Loricata, consists of three
families : —
54. Gavialidse
55. Crocodilid£e
56. Allisatoridse
Gavials.
Crocodiles.
Alligators.
The fifth order, Chelonia, consists of four families : —
57. Testudinidse
58. Chelydidse
59. Trionychidse
60. Cheloniidse
Land and fresh-water Tortoises.
Fresh-water Turtles.
Soft Turtles..
Sea Turtles.
AMPHIBIA.
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. Glinther, 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.]
CLASSIFICATION. 101
Order I.-
-PSEUDOPHIDIA.
Fam.
1. CseciliadEe
Csecilia.
Order II.— BATEACHIA URODELA.
2. Sirenidre ...
Siren.
3. Proteidse ...
Proteus.
4. Amphiumidse
Amphiuma.
6. Menopomidae
Giant Salamanders.
6. Salamandridas
Salamanders and Newts.
Order III. BATEACHIA ANOUEA.
Fam.
Fam.
7.
Ehinophrynidse
16. Pelodryadee ... ")
8.
Phryniscidse . . .
17. Hylidse V Tree Frogs.
9.
Hylaplesidee . . .
^.T^o,^ =
18. Polypedatidse ... j
10.
Bufonidse r --"--.
19. Eanidse \ t^^^„„
21 Discoglossidge ... ] *^°°^-
11.
Xenorhinidse . . .
12.
Engystomidee ... j
21. Pipidae ) Tongueless
22. Dactylethridse . . . ] Toads.
13.
Bombinatoridse j
14.
Plectromantidse > Frogs.
15.
Alytidse J
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.
'1 ^
47
Peinarks.
f 1-
j\cantliopterygii ...
GasterosieidEe to Notacanthi.
2.
Do. Phaiyncognatbi
5
Pomacentridse to Chromidse.
■Teleostei ...'
3.
i\caBthini
6
Cadopsidaj to PleurouectidsR.
4.
Physostomi
29
Siluridpe to Pegasidse.
OJ
6.
Lophobraneliii
2
Solenostomidfe and Syngnathidse.
1 ;
fi.
Plectognathi
2
Sclerodermi and Gymnodontes.
Dipnoi
7.
Sireiioidei
1
Sirenoidei.
c
Gaiioidei
1 8-
Holostei
3
Amiidee to Lepidosteidfe.
1 9.
C'hoiidrostei.
2
Accippnseridse and Polydontidse.
Chondropte-
10.
Holocephala
1
Chimseridfc.
rysii
11.
Plagiostoniata
15
Carchariidse to Myliobatidse.
Cyclostoinata
12.
Marsipobrauehii ...
2
Petromyzontidfe and Myxinidse.
Leptocardii
13.
Cirrhostomi
1
Cirrhostomi.
Total ...
116
families.
Il^SECTS.
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 equall}^ ineligible. I have therefore selected a few of
the largest and most conspicuous families, which have been so
assiduously collected 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 knoM^n 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 tlie 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,
LBPIDOPTEEA DIUENA, OR BUTTERFLIES.
Fam.
1. Danaidse.
2. Satyridse.
3. Elymniidae.
4. Morpliidse.
5. Brapsolidse.
6. Acrseidse.
7.. Heliconidse.
8. Nymphalidse.
Fam.
9. Libythffiidse.
10. Nemeobiidse.
11. Eurygonidse.
12. Erycinidse.
13. Lycsenida;.
14. Pieridse.
15. Papilionidse.
16. Hesperidse.
COLEOPTERA, '
OR
BEETLES.
1.
2.
3.
Fam.
Cicindelidffi . . . Tiger-beetles.
Carabidse ... Ground-beetles.
Lucanidse ... Stag-beetles.
4.
5.
6.
Fam.
Cetoniidse ... Rose-chafers.
Buprestidse . . . Metallic Beetles.
Longicornia . . . Long-horned Beetles.
The above families comprise the extensive series of ground
beetles (Carabidas) 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 Cetoniidse and
Buprestidse are among the largest and most brilliant of beetles ;
the Lucanidse are pre-eminent for remarkable form, and the
Cicindelidse for elegance; and all the families are especial
favourites with entomologists, so that the whole earth has been
ransacked to procure fresh species.
Eesults 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
DISTEIBUTION OF ANIMALS.
[part I.
m:ollusca.
The Mollusca are usually divided into five classes as
follows : —
Classes.
I. Cephalopoda
II. Gasteropoda
III. Pteropoda
IV. Bracliiopoda
V. Conchifera
Cuttle-fish.
Snails and aquatic Univalves.
Oceanic Snails.
Symmetrical Bivalves.
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 Helicidse. The
families chiefly referred to are : —
In- operculata
Operculata ...
Class II.— GASTEEOPODA.
Order 2. — Pulmonifera.
Fair.
1. Helicidse.
2. Limacidse.
3. Oncidiadee.
4. Limnseidge.
5. Auriculidse.
6. Aciculidse.
7. Diplommatinidse.
8. Cyclostomidse.
9. Helicinidse.
PAET IT.
ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS.
CHAPTER yi.
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 Palseontology
would be hopeless, since the past would show us the same
puzzling diversities of faunas and floras that now exist. "\Ve
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 ii.
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 Palaeontology 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 fuUer
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 v/hose 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-
sented by tlie 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 cKmate prevailed in Europe, and the whole
fauna and flora were very diff"erent. 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 Imck 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 DISTEIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
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 so in 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 spelc&a), others of alto-
gether extinct type (Machairodus) and forming the extreme de-
velopment of the feline race ; — hysenas ; 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 WOELD. Ill
the musk-slieep, 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. AVe 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, wdiere wild
sheep and goats and the chamois were then found, together with
several species of deer, of bear, and of hysena. A few extinct
genera even come down to this late period, such as the great
sabre-toothed tiger, MacJiairodus ; Galeotherium, a form of Viver-
ridse ; Palceospalax, allied to the mole ; and Trogoiithcrium, a
gigantic form of beaver.
We find then, that even at so early a stage of our inquiries we
meet with a problem in distribution by no means easy to solve.
How are we to explain the banishment from Europe in so short
a space of time (geologically speaking) of so many forms of life
now characteristic of warmer countries, and this too during a
period when the climate of Central Europe was itself becoming
warmer ? Such a change must almost certainly have been due
to changes of physical geography, which we shall be better able
to understand when we have examined the preceding Pliocene
period. "We may here notice, however, that so far as we yet
know, this great recent change in the character of the fauna is
confined to the western part of the Palsearctic region. In caves
in the Altai Mountains examined by Prof. Brandt, a great col-
lection of fossil bones was discovered. These comprised the
Siberian rhinoceros and mammoth, and the cave hysena ; but all
the others, more than thirty distinct species, are now living in
or near the same regions. We may perhaps impute this dif-
ference to the fact that the migration of Southern types into
this part of Siberia was prevented by the great mountain and
desert barrier of the Central Asiatic plateau ; whereas in Europe
there was at this time a land connection with Africa. Post-
pliocene deposits and caverns in Algeria have yielded remains
resembling the more southern European types of the Post-
pliocene period, but vrithout any admixture of Arctic forms ;
showing, as we might expect, that the glacial cold did not
112 DISTEIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
extend so far south. We have here remains of Equus, Bos,
Antilope, Hii^po'potamus, Eleplias, Bhinoceros, Ursus, Canis,
and HycBna, together with Bhacochmrus, an African type of
swine which has not occurred in the European deposits.
It is perhaps to the earlier portion of this period that the
Merycotherium of the Siberian drift belongs. This was an
animal related to the living camel, thus supporting the view that
the Canielidce are essentially denizens of the extra-tropical zone.
Pliocene Peeiod.
Primates. — We here first meet with evidence of the existence
of monkeys in Central Europe. Species of Macacus have left
remains not only in the Newer Pliocene of the Val d'Arno in
Italy, but in beds of the same age at Grays in Essex ; while
Semnopithecus and Gercopithecus, genera now confined to the
Oriental and Ethiopian regions respectively, have been found in
the Pliocene deposits of the South of Erance and Italy.
Carnivora. — Most of the genera which occurred in the Post
Pliocene are found here also, and many of the same species. Few
new forms appear, except Hycenardos, a large bear with characters
approaching the hysenas, and Pristiphoca, a new form of seal,
both from the Older Pliocene of France ; and Galecynus, a fox-
like animal intermediate between Canis and Viverra, from the
Pliocene of Q^^ninghen in Switzerland.
Cetacea. — Species of Balcena, Physeter, and Delphinus occur in
the Older Pliocene of England and France, and with these the
remains of many extinct forms, Balcenodon and Hoplocetus
(Balsenidse) ; Belemnoziphius and CJionezipMus (Hyperoodontidse),
and Halithermm, an extinct form of the next order — Sirenia,
now confined to the tropics, although the recently extinct ^?/^ma
of the N. W. Pacific shows that it is also adapted for tem-
perate climates.
Ungulata. — The Pliocene deposits are not very rich in this
order. The horses (Bquidce) are represented by the genus Equus ;
and here we first meet with Hipparion, in which small lateral
toes appear. Both genera occur in British deposits of this age.
CHAP. VI.] MAMxMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 113
A more interesting fact for us is the occurrence of the genus
Tapirus in the Newer Pliocene of France and in the older beds
of both France and England, since this genus is now isolated
in the remotest parts of the eastern and western tropics. The
genera Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, and >SVs, occur here as in the
preceding epoch.
We next come to the deer genus {Cervus), which appears to
have been at its maximum in this period, no less than eight
species occurring in the Norwich Crag, and Forest-beds. Among
the Bovidse, the antelopes, ox, and bison, are the only forms repre-
sented here, as in the Post- Pliocene period. Passing on to the
Proboscidea, we find three species of elephants and two of Mas-
todon preserved in European beds of this period, all distinct from
those of Post-Pliocene times.
Rodentia. — In this order we find representatives of many
living European forms ; as Cricetus (hamster), Arvicola (vole),
Castor (beaver), Arctoniys (marmot), Hystrix (porcupine),
Lepus (hare), and Lagomys (pika) ; and a few that are extinct,
the most important being Chalicomys, allied to the beaver ;
and Issiodromys, said to come nearest to the remarkable
Pedetes of South Africa, both found in the Pliocene formations
of France.
General Conclusions as to Pliocene and Post-Pliocene Faunas of
Europe. — This completes the series of fossil forms of the Pliocene
deposits of Europe. They show us that the presence of numer-
ous large carnivora and ungulates (now almost wholly tropical) in
the Post- Pliocene period, was due to no exceptional or temporary
cause, but was the result of a natural succession from similar
races which had inhabited the same countries for long preceding
ages. In order to understand the vast periods of time covered
by the Pliocene and Post-PJiocene formations, the works of Sir
Charles Lyell must be studied. We shall then come to see, that
the present condition of the fauna of Europe is wholly new and
exceptional. For a long succession of ages, various forms of
monkeys, hyasnas, lions, horses, hipparions, tapirs, rhinoceroses,
hippopotami, elephants, mastodons, deer, and antelopes, together
I
114 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part it.
with almost all the forms now living, produced a rich and varied
fauna such as we now see only in the open country of tropical
Africa. During all this period we have no reason'to believe that
the climate or other physical conditions of Europe were more
favourable to the existence of these animals than now. We must
look upon them, therefore, as true indigenes of the country, and
their comparatively recent extinction or banishment as a remark-
able phenomenon for which there must have been some adequate
cause. What this cause was we can only conjecture ; but it
seems most probable that it was due to the combined action of
the Glacial period, and the subsidence of large areas of land once
connecting Europe with Africa. The existence, in the small
island of Malta, of no less than three extinct species of elephant
(two of very small stature), of a gigantic dormouse, an extinct
hippopotamus, and other mammalia, together with the occurrence
of remains of hippopotamus in the caves of Gibraltar, indicate
very clearly that during the Pliocene epoch, and perhaps during
a considerable part of the Post-Pliocene, a connection existed
between South Europe and North Africa in at least these two
localities. At the same time we have every reason to believe
that Britain was united to the Continent, what is now the German
Ocean constituting a great river-valley. During the height of
the Glacial epoch, these large animals would probably retire into
this Mediterranean land and into North Africa, making annual
migrations northwards during the summer. But as the connect-
ing land sank and became narrower and narrower, the migrating
herds would diminish, and at last cease altogether ; and when the
glacial cold had passed away would be altogether prevented from
returning to their former haunts.
Miocene Pekiod.
We now come to a period which was wonderfully rich in all
forms of life, and of which the geological record is exceptionally
complete. Various lacustrine, estuarine, and other deposits in
^Europe, North India, and North America, have furnished such a
CHAr. VI.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 115
vast number of remains of extinct mammalia, as to solve many-
zoological problems, and to throw great light on the early distri-
bution and centres of dispersal of various groups of animals. In
order to show the bearing of these remains on our special sub-
ject, we will first give an account of the extinct fauna of Greece,
of the Upper Miocene period ; since this, being nearest to Africa
and Asia, best exhibits the relations of the old European fauna
to those countries. "We shall then pass to the Miocene fauaa of
France and Central Europe ; and conclude with the remarkable
Siwalik and other Indian extinct faunas, which throw an addi-
tional light on the early history of the animal life of the great
old-world continents.
Extinct Anwnals of Greece.
These are from the Upper Miocene deposits at Pikermi, near
Athens, and were collected by M. Gaudry a few years ago.
They comprise ten living and eighteen extinct genera of mam-
malia, with a few birds and reptiles.
Primates. — These are represented by Mesopithecus, a genus
believed to be intermediate betw^een the two Indian genera of
monkeys, Semnopithecus and Macacus.
Carnivora. — These were abundant. Of Felis there were four
species, ranging from the size of a cat to that of a jaguar, a large
hycena, and a large weasel (Mustela). Besides these there were
the huge Machairochcs, larger than any existing lion or tiger, and
with enormously developed canine teeth ; Hycenictis and Lycmna,
extinct forms of Hysenidai ; Thalassictis=Ictitherium, an extinct
genus of Viverridge but with resemblances to the hysenas, repre-
sented by three species, some of which were larger than any
existing Viverridse ; Promephytis, an extinct form of Mustelidae,
having resemblances to the European marten, to the otters, and
to the S. African Zorilla ; and lastly, Simocyon, an extraordinary
carnivore of the size of a small panther, but having the canines
of a cat, the molars of a dog, and the jaws shaped like those of
a bear,
Ungulata. — These are numerous and very interesting. The
Equidse are represented by the three-toed Hipparion, which con-
I 2
116 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
tinued to exist till the Older Pliocene period. There are three
large species of Rhinoceros, as well as a species of the extinct
genus Leptodon of smaller size. Eeniains of a very large wild
boar (Sus) were found. Very interesting is the occurrence of a
species of giraffe {Camelopardcdis) as tall as the African species
but more slender ; and also an extinct genus Helladotherium, not
quite so tall as the giraffe but much more- robust, and showing
some approach to the Antilopidee in its dentition. Antelopes
were abundant, ranging from the size of the gazelle to that of
the largest living species. Three or four seem referable to living
genera, but the majority are of extinct types, and are classed
in the genera Palceotragus, Palceoryx, Tragocerus, and Palceoreas ;
while Dremotherium is an ancient generalized form of CervidcB
or deer.
Proloscidea. — These are represented by two species of Masto -
don, and two of Dinotherium, an extraordinary extinct form
supposed to be, to some extent, intermediate between the
elephants and the aquatic manatees [Sirenia^
Rodentia. — This order is represented by a species of Rystrix,
larger than living porcupines.
Edentata. — This order, now almost confined to South America,
was represented in the Miocene period by several European
species. Ancylotherium and Macrotherium, belonging to an extinct
family but remotely allied to the African ant-bear (Orycteropus),
occur in Greece.
Birds. — Species of Phasianus and Gallus were found ; the
latter especially interesting as being now confined to India.
Reptiles. — These are few and unimportant, consisting of a
tortoise {Testudo) and a large lizard allied to Varanus.
Summary of the Miocene Fauna of Greece. — Although we can-
not consider that the preceding enumeration gives us by any
means a complete view of the actual inhabitants of this part
of Europe during the later portion of the Miocene period, we
yet obtain some important information. The resemblance that
appeared in the Pliocene fauna of Europe, to that of the open
country of tropical Africa, is now still more remarkable. We
CHAP. VI.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 117
not only find great felines, surpassing in size and destructive
power the lions and leopards of Africa, with hyaenas of a size
and in a variety not to be equalled now, but also huge rhino-
ceroses and elephants, two forms of giraffes, and a host of
antelopes, which, from the sample here obtained, w^ere probably
quite as numerous and varied as they now are in Africa.
Joined with this abundance of antelopes we have the absence
of deer, which probably indicates that the country was open
and somewhat of a desert character, since there were deer in
other parts of Europe at this epoch. The occurrence of but a
single species of monkey is also favourable to this view, since
a well-wooded country would most likely have supplied many
forms of these animals.
Miocene Fauna of Central and Western Europe.
We have now to consider the Miocene fauna of Europe
generally, of which w^e have very full information from nu-
merous deposits of this age in France, Switzerland, Italy,
Germany, and Hungar3^
Primates. — Three distinct forms of monkeys have been found
in Europe — in the South of France, in Switzerland, and Wurtem-
berg ; one was very like Colohus or Semnopithecus ; the others — -
Pliopithecus and Dryopithecus — were of higher type, and be-
longed to the anthropomorphous apes, being nearest to the genus
Hylolates or gibbons. Both have occurred in the South of France.
The Dryojjithecus was a very large animal (equal to the gorilla),
and M. Lartet considers that in the character of its dentition it
approached nearer to man than any of the existing anthropoid
apes.
Insectivora. — These small animals are represented by numerous
remains belonging to four families and a dozen genera. Of
Erinaceus (hedgehog) several species are found in the Upper
Miocene ; and in the Lower Miocene of Auvergne two extinct
genera of the same family — Amphechinus and Tetracus — have
been discovered. Several species of Taljoa (mole) occur in the
Upper Miocene of France, while the extinct Dinylus is from Ger-
many, and Falceospalax from the Lower Miocene of the Isle of
118 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
Wight. The Malayan family Tupaiidae or squirrel-shrews, is
believed to be represented by Oxygomjjlms, a fossil discovered in
South Germany (Wiesenau) by H. von Meyer. The Soricidse or
shrews, are represented by several extinct genera — Flesiosorex,
Mysarachne and Qaleospalax ; as well as hj Amphisorex and Myo-
gale still living. Echinogale, a genus of Centetidse now confined
to Madagascar, is said to occur in the Lower Miocene of Auvergne,
a most interesting determination, if correct, as it would form a
transition to the Solenodon of the Antilles belonging to the same
family ; but I am informed by Prof. Flower that the affinities of
the animals described under this name are very doubtful.
Carnivora. — Besides Felis and Machaircd^is, which extend back
to the Upper Miocene, there are two other genera of Felidse,
Pseudcelurus in the Upper Miocene of France, and Hycenodon,
which occurs in the Upper and Lower Miocene of France, named
from some resemblance in its teeth to the hyaenas, and considered
by some Palseontologists to form a distinct family, Hypenodontidge.
The Viverridte, or civets, were very numerous, consisting of the
living genus Viverra, and three extinct forms — Thalassictis=
Ictitherium, as large as a panther, and Soricictis, a smaller form,
occurring both in France and Hungary. Of Hycenidce, there was
the living genus Hycena, and the extinct Hymnidis, which has
occurred in Hungary as well as in Greece. The Canidse, or
wolf and fox family, were represented by Pseudocyon, near to
Canis ; Hemicyon, intermediate between dogs and gluttons ;
and Amjphicyon, of which several species occur in the Upper
and Lower Miocene of France, some of them larger than a
tiger. The Mustelidse, or weasels, were represented by five
genera, the existing genera Lutra (otter) and Musiela (weasel) ;
Potamothermm, an extinct form of otter ; Taxodon, allied to the
badger and otter; Palmoviephitis in Germany, and the Prorae-
phytis (already noticed) in Greece. The bears were represented
only by Hyccnardos, which has been noticed as occurring in
the Pliocene, and first appears in the Upper Miocene of France.
Seals are represented by a form resembling the Antarctic
Otaria, remains of which occur in the Upper Miocene of
France.
CHAP. VI.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WOELD. 119
Cetacea (whales). — These occur frequently in the Miocene de-
posits, four living, and five extinct genera having been described ;
but these marine forms are not of much importance for our
purpose.
Sirenia (sea-cows). — These are represented by two extinct
genera, Halitherium and Trachytherium. Several species of the
former have been discovered, but the latter has occurred in
France only, and its affinities a,re doubtful.
Ungidata. — Horses are represented by Hipparion and Anchi-
therium, the latter occurring in both Upper and Lower Miocene
and Eocene ; while Hipparion, which is more nearly allied to
living horses, first appears in the Upper Miocene and continues
in the Pliocene.
Hi'ppotJierium, in the Upper Miocene of the Vienna basin,
forms a transition to Paloplotherium, an Eocene genus of Tapi-
ridse or Palseotheridse. Tapirs, allied to living forms, occur in
both Upper and Lower Miocene. Ehiuoceroses are still found
in the Upper Miocene, and here first appear the four-toed horn-
less rhinoceros, Acerotherium. The Suidse (swine) are rather
numerous. Sus (wild boar) continued as far back as the Upper
Miocene ; but now there first appear a number of extinct forms
which have been named Hyotlurium, Palceochcerus, Chceromorus,
all of a small or moderate size ; Hyopotmnus, nearly as large as a
tapir ; and Anthracotherium, nearly the size of a hippopotamus
and, according to Dr. Leidy, the type of a distinct family.
Listriodon, from the Upper Miocene of the Vienna basin, is
sometimes classed with the tapirs.
We now come to a well-marked new family of Artiodactyle
or even- toed Ungulata, the Anoplotheriidce, which consisted of
more slender long-tailed animals, allied to the swine but with
indications of a transition towards the camels. The only genera
that appear in the Miocene formation are, Ghalicotherium, nearly
as large as a rhinoceros, of which three species have been found
in Germany and France ; and Synaphodus, known only from its
teeth, which differ somewhat from those of the Anoplotherium
which appears earlier in the Eocene formation. Another extinct
family, AmpJiimericidce or XipJiodontidce, is represented by two
120 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
genera, Cawotlurivm and Microtherm?^, in the Miocene of
France. They were of very small size, and are supposed to be
intermediate between the Suidfle and Tragulidee.
The Camelopardalidas, or giraffes, were represented in Europe
in Miocene times by the gigantic Helladotherium, which has
been found in the south of France, and in Hungary, as well as
in Greece. The chevrotains (Tragulidse) are represented by
the extinct genus Hyomosclius.
The Cervidas do not seem to have appeared in Europe before
the Upper Miocene epoch, when they were represented by
Dorcatliermm and Amphimosclms, allied to Mosclnis, and also by
true Cervus, as well as by small allied forms, Drcmotlierium,
Amphitra gains (in the Lower Miocene), Micromeryx, Palmomeryx,
and Dicroceriis.
The Bovidse, or hollow-horned ruminants, were not well
represented in Central Europe in Miocene times. There were
no sheep, goats, or oxen, and only a few antelopes of the genus
Tragocerus, and one allied to Hif'potrogxis ; and these all lived
in the Upper Miocene period, as did the more numerous
forms of Greece.
Proboscidca. — The true elephants do not extend back to the
Miocene period, but they are represented by the Mastodons,
which had less complex teeth. These first appear in the Upper
Miocene of Europe, five species being known from France,
Germany, Switzerland, and Greece. Dinotheriicm, already
noticed as occurring in Greece, extended also to Germany and
France, where remains of three species have been found.
Rodentia. — A considerable number of generic forms of this
order have been obtained from the Miocene strata. The prin-
cipal genera are Cricetodon, allied to the hamsters, numerous in
both the Upper and Lower Miocene period of France ; Myoxus
(the dormice) in France, and an allied genus, Brachymys, in Ger-
many. The beavers were represented by the still living genus
Castor, and the extinct Steneofiher in France. The squirrels by
the existing Scuirus and SjJermophilus ; and by extinct forms,
Lithomys and Aulacodon, in Germany, the latter resembling the
African genus Aulacodes. The hares, by Lagomys and an
CHAP. VI.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 121
extinct form Titanomys. Besides these, remains referred to the
South American genera, Cavm (cavy) and Dasyproda (agouti),
have been found, the former in the Upper Miocene of Switzer-
land, the latter in the Lower Miocene of Auvergne. Palceomys,
allied to the West Indian Cainomys, has been found in the same
deposits ; as well as Titer icloviys, said by Gervais to be allied to
Anomalurus and Echiwys, the former now living in W. Africa^
the latter in S. America.
Edentata. — These are only represented by the MacrotJierium
and Ancylothermm of the Grecian deposits, the former occurring
also in France and Germany in Upper Miocene strata.
Marsv.pials. — These consist of numerous species related to
the opossums {Didelphys), but separated by Gervais under the
name PeratJuriuin. They occur in both Upper and Lower
Miocene beds.
Upper Miocene Deposits of the Siwalik Hills and other Localities
in JSf. W. India.
These remarkable fresh-water deposits form a range of hills
at the foot of the Himalayas, a little south of Simla. They
were investigated for many years by Sir P. Cautley and Dr.
Falconer, and add greatly to our knowledge of the early faima
of the Old World continent.
Primates. — Remains of the genera Sevinopithecus and Macacus
were found, with other forms of intermediate character; and
some teeth indicated animals allied to the orang-utan of Borneo,
and of similar size.
Carnivora. — These consisted of species of Felis and Machai-
Q^odns of large size ; Hycena, Canis, Mellivora, and an allied genus
Ursitaxus; JJrsus, in the deposits of the Nerbudda valley (of
Pliocene age) ; Bycenarct'-.s as large as the cave bear ; A7?iphicyon .
of the size of a polar bear (in the deposits of the Indus
valley, west of Cashmere) ; Lutra, and an extinct allied genus
Enhydrion.
Ungulata.— These are very numerous, and constitute the most
important feature of this ancient fauna. Horses are represented
by a species of Equus from the Siwalik Hills and the Trawaddy
122 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [paet ir.
deposits in Burmah, and by two others from the Pliocene of the
Nerbudda Valley ; while Hipjootherium — a slender, antelope-like
animal, found in the Siwalik Hills and in Europe — is supposed
to form a transition from the Equidse to the Tapiridse. These
latter are found in the Upper Indus deposits, where there is a
species of Tafirus, and one of an extinct genus Antelotherium.
Of Rhinoceros, five extinct species have been found — in the
Siwalik Hills, in Perim Island, and one at an elevation of 16,000
feet in the deserts of Thibet. Hippopotamus occurs in the Plio-
cene of the Nerbudda, and is represented in the older Miocene
deposits by Hexaprotodon, of which three species have been
found in various parts of India. Another remarkable genus,
Merycopotamus, connects Hippopotamus with Anthracotherium,
one of the extinct European forms allied to the swine. These
last are represented by several large species of 8us, and by the
extinct European genus Cheer otherium.
The extinct Anoplotheridse are represented by a species of
the European genus Chalicotherium, larger than a horse.
An extinct camel, larger than the living species, was found
in the Siwalik Hills.
Three species of deer {Cervus) have been found in the
Siwaliks, and one in the Nerbudda deposits.
A large and a small species of giraffe (Camelopardalis) were
found in the Siwalik Hills and at Perim Island.
The Bovidse are represented by numerous species of Bos, and
by the extinct genera Hemihos and Amphihos. There are also
three species of antelopes, one of which is allied to the African
Alcephalus.
We now come to an extraordinary group of extinct animals,
probably forming a new family intermediate between the
antelope and the giraffe. The Sivatheriiim was an enormous
four-horned ruminant, larger than a rhinoceros. It had a short
trunk like a tapir, the lower horns on the forehead were simple,
the upper pair palmated. The Bramatherium, an allied form
from Perim Island, showed somewhat more affinity for the
giraffe.
Prdboscidea. — No less than seven species of elephants and four
CHAP. VI.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 123
of mastodons ranged over India, their remains being found in all
the deposits from the Siwalik Hills to Burmah. A large Dino-
tJierium has also been found at Perim Island.
Reptiles. — Many remains of birds were found, but these have
not been determined. Eeptiles were numerous and interesting,
the most remarkable being the huge tortoise, Colossochelys, whose
shell was twelve feet long and head and neck eight feet more.
Other small tortoises of the genera Testudo, Emys, Trionyx
and Emydida were found, the Emys being a living species.
There were three extinct and one living species of crocodile,
and one of them was larger than any now living. The only
other reptile of importance was a large lizard of the genus
Varanus.
General Observations on the Mioce7ie faunas of Europe and
Asia. — Comparing the three faunas of approximately the same
period, and allowing for the necessarily imperfect record of
each, we find a wonderful similarity of general type over the
enormous area between France on the west and the Irawaddy
liver in Burmah on the east. We may even extend our com-
parison to Northern China, where remains of Hycena, Ta.pir,
Rhinoceros, Chalicotheriutn, and Elephas, have been recently
found, closely resembling those from the Miocene or Pliocene
deposits of Europe or India, and showing that the Palasarctic
region had then the same great extent from west to east
that it has now. Of about forty genera comprised in the
Indian Miocene fauna, no less than twenty-seven inhabited
Central and Western Europe during the same epoch. The Indian
Miocene fossils are much what we should expect as the fore-
runners of the existing fauna, the giraffes and hippopotami
being the only additions from the present Ethiopian fauna.
The numerous forms of the restricted bovine type, show that
these probably originated in India; while the monkeys appear
to be altogether of Oriental types.
In Europe, however, we meet with a totally different assem-
blage of animals from tliose that form the existing fauna. We
find apes and monkeys, many large Felidae, numerous civets
124 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
and hysenas, tapirs, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephants, giraffes,
and antelopes, such as now characterise the tropics of Africa
and Asia. Along with these we meet Muth less familiar types,
showing relations with the Centetidse of Madagascar, the
Tupaiidae of the Malay Islands, the Gapromys, of the West Indies,
and the Echimys of South America. And besides all these
living types we have a host of extinct forms, — ten or twelve
genera allied to swine ; nine genera of tapir-like animals ; four
of horses ; nine of wolves ; with many distinct forms of the
long-extinct families of Anoplotheridee, Xiphodontidse, and the
edentate Macro theridae. It is almost certain that during the
Miocene period Europe was not only far richer than it is now
in the higher forms of life, but not improbably richer than any
part of the globe now is, not excepting tropical Africa and
tropical Asia.
Eocene Period.
The deposits of Eocene age are less numerous, and spread
over a far more limited area, than those of the Miocene period,
and only restricted portions of them furnish any remains of
land animals. Our knowledge of the Eocene mammalian fauna
is therefore very imperfect and will not occupy us long, as
most of the new types it furnishes are of more interest to the
zoologist than to the student of distribution. Some of the
Eocene mammalia of Europe are, however, of interest in com-
parison with those of North America of the same age ; while
others show that ancestral types of groups now confined to
Australia or to South America, then inhabited Europe.
Primates. — The only undoubted Eocene examples of this
order, are the Cwnopithecus lemuroicles from the Jura, which has
points of resemblance to the South American marmosets and
howlers, and also to the Lemuridse ; and a cranium recently dis-
covered in the Department of Lot (S.W. France), undoubtedly
belonging to the Lemuridse, and which most resembles that of
the West African " Potto " (Ferodiciims). This discovery has
led to another, for it is now believed that remains formerly
CHAP. VI.] MAMMALIA OF THE OLD AVORLD. 125
referred to the Anoplotlieridpe (Adcqns and Aphelotlieriutn
from the Upper Eocene of Paris) were also Lemurs. Some
remains from the Lower Eocene of Suffolk v/ere at first supposed
to be allied to Macacus, but were subsequently referred to the
Ungulate, Syracothcrium. There is still, however, some doubt
as to its true affinities.
ChiroiDtera. — In the Upper Eocene of Paris remains of bats
have been found, so closely resembling living forms as to be
referred to the genus Ves-pertilio.
Carnivora. — The only feline remains, are those of HycBnoclon
in the Upper Eocene of Hampshire, and Pterodon, an allied form
from beds of the same age in France ; with jElurogcde, found
in the South of France in deposits of phosphate of lime of
uncertain age, but probably belonging to this period. Viverridse
(civets) are represented by two genera, Tylodon, the size of a
glutton from the Upper Eocene, and Palceonyctis, allied to
Viverra, from the Middle Eocene of France. The Canidae
(wolves and foxes) appear to have been the most ancient of
the existing types of Carnivora, five genera being represented
by Eocene remains. Of these, Galethylax and Cyotherium were
small, and with the existing genus Ganis are found in the Upper
Eocene of France. Ardocyon, about the size of a wolf, is
a very ancient and generalised form of carnivore which can
not be placed in any existing family. It is found in the Lower
Eocene of France, and is thus the oldest known member of
the Carnivora.
Ungulata. — These are more numerous. Equidte (horses) are
represented by the Miocene Anchitherium in the Lower, and by a
more ancient form, Anchilophus, in the Middle Eocene of France.
Tapiridse and Palseotheridse were very namerous. Palceotherium
and the allied genus Pcdo'plothermifn, were abundant in France and
England in Upper Eocene times. They somewhat resembled
the tapir, with affinities for the horse and rhinoceros. A new
genus, Cadurcotherium, allied to the rhinoceros and equally
large, has been found in the same deposits of phosphate of lime
as the lemur and J^llurogale. In the Middle Eocene of both
England and France are found Lophiodon allied to the tapir,
126 DISTEIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part n.
but in some of the species reaching a larger size ; Propalceothe-
rium and ParJiynolophus of smaller size and having affinities
for the other genera named ; and Plagiolopkus. a small, slender
animal which Professor Huxley thinks may have been a direct
ancestor of the horse. In the Lower Eocene we meet with
Corypliodon, much larger than the tapir, and armed with large
canine teeth ; Pliolophus, a generalised type, allied to the tapir
and horse; and Hyracotherium, a small animal from the Lower
Eocene of England, remotely allied to the tapir.
Among the Artiodactyla, or even-toed ungulates, the swine
are represented by several extinct genera, of moderate or small
size — Acotherium, Choeropotamus, Gehochmrus and Dicliobune, all
from the Upper and the last also from the Middle Eocene of
France ; but Eatelodon, from the phosphate of lime deposits is
large. The Dicliobune was the most generalised type, pre-
senting the characters of many of the other genera combined,
and was believed by Dr. Ealconer to approach the musk-deer.
The Cainotherium of the Miocene also occurs here, and an allied
genus Plesio7iieryx from the same deposits as Euteledon.
The Eocene Anoplotheridse were numerous. The Anoplothe-
rium was a two-toed, long-tailed Pachyderm, ranging from the
size of a hog to that of an ass ; the allied Eurytherium was
four-toed ; and there are one or two others of doubtful affinity.
All are from the Upper Eocene of France and England.
Rodentia. — Eeraains referred to the genera Myoxus (dormouse)
and Sciurus (squirrel) have been found in the Upper Eocene
of France ; as well as Plesiarctornys, an extinct genus between
the marmots and squirrels. The Miocene Theridomys is also
found here.
Marsupials. — The Didelphys (opossum) of Cuvier, now referred
to an extinct genus Peratherium, is found in the Upper Eocene
of France and England.
General Considerations on the Extinct Mammalian Fauna of
Europe. — It is a curious fact that no family, and hardly a genus,
of European mammalia occurs in the Pliocene deposits, without
extending back also into those of Miocene age. There are, how-
CHAP. VI.] , MAMMALIA OF THE OLD WORLD. 127
ever, a few groups which seem to be late developments or recent
importations into the Paltearctic region, as they occur only in
Post-Pliocene deposits. The most important of these are the
badger, glutton, elk, reindeer, chamois, goat, and sheep, which
only occur in caves and other deposits of Post-Pliocene age.
Camels only occur in the Post-Pliocene of Siberia {Merycotlieriuin),
although a true Canielus of large size appears to have inhabited
some part of Central Asia in the Upper Miocene period, being
found in the Siwalik beds. The only exclusively Pliocene
genera in Europe are Ursus, Eqims, Hippopotamus, Bos, Elephas,
Arvicola, Trogontherium, Ardomys, Hystrix and Lepus ; but of
these Uquus, Hijjpopotamus, Bos, and Elephas are found in the
Miocene deposits of India. Owing, no doubt, in part to the
superior productiveness of the various Miocene beds, large
numbers of groups appear to have their origin or earliest appear-
ance here. Such are Insectivora, Felidge, Hysenidse, Mustelidte,
Ursus, Equidse, Tapirus, Ehinocerotidse, Hippopotamidse, An-
thracotheridse (extinct), Sus, Camelopardidae, Tragulidse, Cervidse,
Eovidse, Elephantidas, and Edentata.
Groups which go back to the Eocene period, are, Primates
allied to South American monkeys, as well as some of the
Lemuridae ; bats of the living genus Vespertilio ; Hysenodon-
tidse, an ancestral form of Carnivore ; Viverridse ; Canidse (to the
Upper Eocene), and the ancestral Arctocyonidse to the Lower
Eocene; Hycenarctos, an ancestral type of bears and hyaenas;
Anchitheridte, ancestral horses, to the Middle Eocene ; Palseo-
theridse, comprising numerous generalised forms, ancestors of the
rhinoceros, horse, and tapir ; Suidoe, with numerous generalised
forms, to the Middle Eocene ; Anoplotheridse and Xiphodontidae,
ancestral families of even-toed Ungulates, connecting the rumi-
nants with the swine ; and lastly, several gToups of Rodents,
and a Marsupial, in the Upper Eocene. We thus jfind all
the great types of Mammalia well developed in the earliest
portion of the tertiary period ; and the occurrence of Quadru-
mana, of the highly specialized bats (Vespertilio), of various
forms of Carnivora, and of Ungulates, clearly differentiated into
the odd and even-toed series, associated with such lower forms as
128 DISTEIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
Lemurs and Marsupials — proves, that we have here hardly made
an approach towards the epoch when the mammalian type itself
began to diverge into its various modifications. Some of the
Carnivora and Ungulates do, indeed, exhibit a less specialised
structure than later forms ; yet so far back as the Upper
Miocene the most specialised of all carnivora, the great sabre-
toothed Macliairodus, makes its appearance.
The Miocene is, for our special study, the most valuable and
instructive of the Tertiary periods, both on account of its
superior richness, and because we here meet with many types
now confined to separate regions. Such facts as the occurrence
in Europe during this period of hippopotami, tapirs, giraffes,
Tragulidse, Edentata, and Marsupials — will assist us in solving
many of the problems we shall meet with in reviewing the
actual distribution of living forms of those groups. Still more
light will, however, be thrown on the subject by the fossil forms
of the American continent, which we will now proceed to
examine.
CHAPTER VII.
EXTINCT MAMMAJ.IA OF THE NEW WORLD.
The discoveries of very rich deposits of mammalian remains in
various parts of the United States have thrown great light on
the relations of the faunas of very distant regions. North
America now makes a near approach to Europe in the number
and variety of its extinct mammalia, and in no part of the world
have such perfect specimens been discovered. In what are called
the "Mauvaises terres " of Nebraska (the dried-up mud of an
ancient lake), thousands of entire crania and some almost entire
skeletons of ancient animals have been found, their teeth abso-
lutely perfect, and altogether more resembling the preparations
of the anatomist, than time-worn fossils such as we are accus-
tomed to see in the museums of Europe. Other deposits have
been discovered in Oregon, California, Virginia, South Carolina,
Texas, and Utah, ranging over all the Tertiary epochs, from
Post-Pliocene to Eocene, and furnishing a remarkable picture
of the numerous strange mammalia which inhabited the ancient
North American continent.
North America — Post-Pliocene Period.
Insectivora. — The only indications of this order yet discovered,
consists of a single tooth of some insectivorous animal found
in Illinois, but which cannot be referred to any known group.
Carnivora. — These are fairly represented. Two species of
Fdis as large as a lion ; the equally large extinct Trucifelis,
found only in Texas ; four species of Canis, some of them larger
130 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
than wolves ; two species of Gcthra, a genus now confined to the
Neotropical region ; two bears, and an extinct genus, Ardodus ;
an extinct species of racoon {Procyon), and an allied extinct
genus, Myxophagiis — show, that at a very recent period North
America was better supplied with Carnivora than it is now.
Eemains of the walrus (Trichechus) have also been found as far
south as Virginia.
Cetacea. — Three species of dolphins belonging to existing
genera, have been found in the Eastern States ; and two species
of Manatus, or sea-cow, in Florida and South Carolina.
Ungulata. — Six extinct horses (Equus), and one Hipparion ;
the living South American tapir, and a larger extinct species ; a
Dicotyles, or peccary, and an allied genus, Platygonus ; a species
of the South American llamas {Auchenia), and one of a kind of
camel, Procamelus ; two extinct bisons ; a sheep, and two musk-
sheep {Ovihos) ; with three living and one extinct deer {Cervus),
show an important increase in its Herbivora.
Proboscidea. — Two elephants and two mastodons, added to this
remarkable assemblage of large vegetable-feeding quadrupeds.
Modentia. — These consist mainly of genera and species still
living in North America ; the only important exceptions being a
species of the South American capybara {Hydrochmrus) in South
Carolina ; and Praotherium, an extinct form of hare, found in a
bone cave in Pennsylvania.
Edentata. — Here we meet with a wonderful assemblage, of six
species belonging to four extinct genera, mostly of gigantic size.
A species of Megatherium, three of Megolonyx, and one of
Mylodon — ^huge terrestrial sloths as large as the rhinoceros
or even as the largest elephants — ranged over the Southern
States to Pennsylvania, the latter {Mylodon) going as far as the
great lakes and Oregon. Another form, Ereptodon, has been
found in the Mississippi Valley.
Marswpialia. — The living American genus of opossums, Didel-
jphys, has been found in deposits of this age in South Carolina.
PemarJcs on the Post-Pliocene fauna of North America. — The
assemblage of animals proved, by these remains, to have
CHAP, vii.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 131
inhabited North America at a comparatively recent epoch, is
most remarkable. In Europe, we found a striking change
in the fauna at the same period; but that consisted almost
wholly in the presence of animals now inhabiting countries
immediately to the north or south. Here we have the appear-
ance of two new assemblages of animals, the one now con-
fined to the Old World — horses, camels, and elephants ; the
other exclusively of South American type — llamas, tapirs,
capybaras, Galera, and gigantic Edentata. The age of the
various deposits in which these remains are found is somewhat
uncertain, and probably extends over a considerable period of
time, inclusive of the Glacial epoch, and perhaps both anterior
and subsequent to it. "VVe have here, as in Europe, the presence
and apparent co-existence in the same area, of Arctic and
Southern forms — the walrus and the manatee — the musk-
sheep and the gigantic sloths. Unfortunately, as we shall see,
the immediately preceding Pliocene deposits of ISTorth America
are rather poor in organic remains ; yet it can hardly be owing
to the imperfection of the record of this period, that not one of
the South American types above numerated occurs there, while
a considerable number of Old World forms are represented.
Neither in the preceding wonderfully rich Miocene or Eocene
periods, does any one of these forms occur ; or, with the exception
of Morotherium, from Pliocene deposits west of the Eocky
Mountains, any apparent ancestor of them ! We have here
unmistakable evidence of an extensive immigration from South
into North America, not very long before the beginning of the
Glacial epoch. It was an immigration of types altogether new
to the country, which spread over all the southern and central
portions of it, and established themselves sufficiently to leave
abundance of remains in the few detached localities where they
have been discovered. How such large yet defenceless animals
as tapirs and great terrestrial sloths, could have made their way
into a country abounding in large felines equal in size and
destructiveness to the lion and the tiger, with numerous wolves
and bears of the largest size, is a great mystery. But it is
nevertheless certain that they did so ; and the fact that no such
K 2
132 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii
migration had occurred for countless preceding ages, proves that
some great barrier to the entrance of terrestrial mammalia
which had previously existed, must for a time have been re-
moved. "We must defer further discussion of this subject till
we have examined the relations of the existing faunas of North
and South America. ^
Tertiary Period.
When we get to remains of the Tertiary age, especially those
of the Miocene and Eocene epochs, we meet with so many
interesting and connected types, and such curious relations with
living forms in Europe, that it will be clearer to trace the
history of each order and family throughout the Tertiary period,
instead of considering each of the subdivisions of that period
separately.
It will be well however first to note the few American Post-
Pliocene or living genera that are found in the Pliocene beds.
These consist of several species of Canis, from the size of a fox
to that of a large wolf; a Felis as large as a tiger; an Otter
{Lutra) ; several species of Hipparion ; a peccary (Dicotyles) ;
a deer {Cervus) ; several species of Procamelus ; a mastodon ;
an elephant ; and a beaver {Castor). It thus appears that out
of nearly forty genera found in the Post-Pliocene deposits, only
ten are found in the preceding Pliocene period. About twelve
additional genera, however, appear there, as we shall see in
going over the various orders.
Frimates. — Among the vast number of extinct mammalia
discovered in the Tertiary deposits of North America, no
example of this order had been recognized up to 1872, when
the discovery of more perfect remains showed, that a number
of small animals of obscure affinities from the Lower Eocene
of Wyoming, were really allied to the lemurs and perhaps
also to the marmosets, the lowest form of American monkeys,
but having a larger number of teeth than either. A number of
other remains of small animals from the same formation, pre-
viously supposed to be allied to the Ungulata, are now shown tp
CHAP. VII.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WOELD. 133.
"belong to the Primates ; so that no less than twelve genera of these
animals are recognized by Mr. Marsh, who classes them in two
families — Limnotheridise, comprising the genera Limnotherium,
(which had larger canine teeth), Thinolestes, Tehnatolestes, Mesa-
codon, Bathrodon, and Antiacodon of Marsh, with Notharctos,
Hipposyus, Microsyops, and Faloeacodon previously described by
Leidy ; — and Lemuravidse, consisting of the genera Zemuravus
(Marsh) and Hyoptsodus (Leidy). The animals of the latter
family were most allied to existing lemurs, but were a more
generalized form, Lemuravus having forty-four teeth, the greatest
number 'known in the order. These numerous forms ranged from
the size of a small squirrel to that of a racoon. It is especially
interesting to find these peculiar lemuroid forms in America,
just when a lemur has been discovered of about the same age
in Europe ; and as the American forms are said to show an
affinity with the South American marmosets, while the European
animal is most allied to a West African group, we have
evidently not yet got back far enough to find the primeval
or ancestral type from which all the Primates sprang.
About the same time, in the succeeding Miocene formation,
true monkeys were discovered. Mr. Marsh describes Laopithe-
cus as an animal nearly the size of the largest South American
monkeys, and allied both to the Cebidse and the Eocene Limno-
theridse. Mr. Cope has described Menotlierium from the Mio-
cene of Colorado, as a lemuroid animal, the size of a cat, and
perhaps allied to Limnotherium. More Miocene remains will,
no doubt, be discovered, by which we shall be enabled to trace
the origin of some of the existing forms of South American
monkeys ; and perhaps help to decide the question (now in dis-
pute among anatomists) whether the lemurs are really Primates,
or form an altogether distinct and isolated order of mammalia.
Insectivora. — This order is represented by comparatively few
forms in the tertiary beds, and these are all very different from
existing types. In the Upper Miocene of Dakota are found
remains indicating two extinct genera, Lepidis and Ictops. In
the Miocene of Colorado, Professor Cope has recently discovered
four new genera, Isacis ; allied to the preceding, but as large as a
134 DISTEIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
Mephiiis or skunk ; Herjjetotheriwm, near the moles ; JEmbasis,
more allied to the shrews ; and Dommina, of uncertain affinities.
Two others have been found in the Eocene of Wyoming ; Amomys,
having some resemblance to hedgehogs and to the Eastern Tupaia;
and Wasliakius, of doubtful affinities.
Far back in the Triassic coal of North Carolina has been found
the jaw of a small mammal {Dromotlierium), the teeth of which
somewhat resemble those of the Australian Myrmecohius, and
may belong either to the Insectivora or Marsupials ; if indeed, at
that early period these orders were differentiated.
Carnivora. — The most ancient forms of this order are some
remains found in the Middle Eocene of Wyoming, and others
recently described by Professor Cope (1875) from the Eocene of
New Mexico, of perhaps earlier date. The former consist of three
genera, Patriofelis, Vintacyon, and Sinopa, — animals of large size
but which cannot be classed in any existing family ; and two
others, Mesonyx and Synoplothermm, believed by Mr, Cope to be
allied to Hyoinodon. The latter consist of four genera, — Oonjcena,
consisting of several species, some as large as a jaguar, was
allied to Hyccnoclon and Pterodon ; Pacliycena, allied to the last ;
Prototomus, allied to Amphicyon and the Viverridee ; and Lim-
nocyon, a civet-like carnivore with resemblances to the Canidse.
In the Miocene formations we find the Feline type well deve-
loped. The wonderful Machairodus, which in Europe lived down
to Post-Pliocene times, is found in the Upper Miocene of Dakota ;
and perfect crania have been discovered, showing that the chin
was lengthened downwards to receive and protect the enormous
canines. Dinyctis was allied both to Macliairodus and to the
weasels. Three new genera have been lately described by Professor
Cope from the Miocene of Colorado, — Buncclurus, with characters
of both cats and weasels ; Daptophilus, allied to Dinyctis ; and
Iloplophoneus, more allied to Macliairodus. The Canidse are re-
presented by Amphicyon, which occurs in. deposits of the same
age in Europe ; and by Canis, four species of which genus are
recorded by Professor Cope from the Miocene of Colorado, and it
also occurs in the Pliocene. The Hycenodon is represented by
three species in the Miocene of Dakota and Colorado, It occurs
CHAP. VII.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 135
also in the European Miocene and Upper Eocene formations, and
constitutes a distinct family Hyaenodontidse, allied, according to
Dr. Leidy, to wolves, cats, liysenas and weasels. The Ursidse
are represented by only one species of an extinct genus, Leptar-
elms, from the Pliocene of Nebraska, From the Pliocene of
Colorado, Prof. Cope has recently described Tomardos, as a
" short-faced type of dog ;" as well as species of Caiiis and
Maries.
Ungulata. — The animals belonging to this order being usually
of large size and accustomed to feed and travel in herds, are
liable to wholesale destruction by floods, bogs, precipices, drought
or hunger. It is for these reasons, probably, that their remains
are almost always more numerous than those of other orders of
mammalia. In America they are especially abundant ; and the
number of new and intermediate types about whose position
there is much difference of opinion among Palaeontologists, ren-
ders it very difficult to give a connected summary of them with
any approach to systematic accuracy.
Beginning with the Perissodactyla, or odd-toed ungulates, we
find the Equine animals remarkably numerous and interesting.
The true horses of the genus Uquus, so abundant in the Post-
Pliocene formations, are represented in the Pliocene by several
ancestral forms. The most nearly allied to Fquus is Pliohippiis,
consisting of animals about the size of an ass, with the lateral
toes not externally developed, but with some differences of denti-
tion. Next come ProtohiiJiJus and Hipparion, in which the
lateral toes are developed but are small and functionless. Then
we have the allied genera, Anchippus, Merychippus, and Hyohip-
jms, related to the European Hippotherium, which were all still
smaller animals, ProtoMppus being only 2| feet high. In the
older deposits we come to a series of forms, still unmistakably
equine, but with three or more toes used for locomotion and with
numerous differentiations in form, proportions, and dentition.
These constitute the family Anchitheridse. In the Miocene we
have the genera Anehitherium (found also in the European
Miocene), Iliohipjnis and Mesoliippius, all with three toes on each
foot, and about the size of a sheep or large goat. In the Eocene of
136 DISTEIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
Utah and Wyoming, we get a step further back, several species
having been discovered about the size of a fox with four toes in
front and three behind. These form the genus Oro]ii;ppus, and
are the oldest ancestral horse known. Prof. Marsh points out the
remarkably perfect series of forms in America, which, beginning
with this minute ancient type, is gradually modified by gaining
increased size, increased speed by concentration of the limb-bones,
elongation of the head and neck, the canine teeth decreased in
size, the molars becoming longer and being coated with cement —
till we at last come to animals hardly distinguishable, specifically,
from the living horse.
Allied to these, are a series of forms showing a transition to the
tapirs, and to the Palceotherium of the European Eocene. In the
Pliocene we have Paraliippus ; in the Miocene Lophiodon, found
in the same formation and in the Eocene of Europe, and allied
to the tapir ; and in the Eoceile, Palceosyo'ps, as large as a rhino-
ceros, which had large canines and was allied to the tapir and
PalcBotheriuin ; LiTnnohyus, forming the type of a family Limno-
hyidse, which included the last genus and some others mentioned
further on ; and Hyracliyus, allied to Lophiodon, and to Hyracodon
an extinct form of rhinoceros. Besides these we have Lophiothe-
rium (also from the Eocene of Europe) ; Dijplacodon allied to
LimnohyuSj'bu.t with affinities to modern Perissodactyla and nearly
as large as a rhinoceros ; and Colonoceras, also belonging to the
Limnohyidae, an animal which was the size of a sheep, and had
divergent protuberances or horns on its nose. A remarkable
genus, Pathmodon, lately described by Professor Cope, and of
which five species have been found in the Eocene of New Mexico
and Wyoming, is believed to form the type of a new family,
having some affinity to Palmosyops and to the extinct Bronto-
theridee. It had large canine tusks but no horns.
The Ehinocerotidse are represented in America by the genus
Rhinoceros in the Pliocene and Miocene, and by Aceratheriu7n
and Hyracodon in the Miocene. Both the latter were hornless,
and Hyracodon was allied to the Eocene Hyrachyus, one of the
Lophiodontidse. In the Eocene and Miocene deposits of Utah,
and Oregon, several remarkable extinct rhinoceroses have been
CHAP, vii.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. ' 137
recently discovered, forming the genus Diceratherium. These had
a pair of nasal horns placed side by side on the snout, not behind
each other as in existing two-horned rhinoceroses, the rest of
their skeleton resembling the hornless Aceratherium. They were
of rather small size.
Next to these extinct rhinoceroses come the Brontotheridae,
an extraordinary family of large mammalia, some of which
exceeded in bulk the largest living rhinoceros. They had four
toes to the front and three to the hind feet, with a pair of large
divergent horns on the front of the head, in both sexes. Professor
Marsh and Dr. Leidy have described four genera, Brontotherium,
Titanotherium, Megacerops, and Anisacodon, distinguished by
peculiarities of dentition. Though most nearly allied to the
rhinoceroses, they show some affinity for the gigantic Dino-
cerata of the Eocene to be noticed further on. Professor Cope
has since described another genus, Symhorodon, from the Mio-
cene of Colorado, with no less than seven species, one nearly
the size of an elephant. He thinks they had a short tapir-like
proboscis. The species differ greatly in the form of the cranium
and development of the horn-bearing processes.
We commence the Artiodactyla, or even-toed Ungulates, with
the hog tribe. These are represented by species of peccaries,
{DicotyUs) from the Pliocene of Nebraska and Oregon ; and by
an allied form Thinohyus, very like Dicotyles, but having an
additional premolar tooth and a much smaller brain-cavity.
Prom the Miocene are three allied genera, Nanoliyus, Lepto-
choerus, and Perchoerus. Professor Cope, however, thinks Lepto-
chcerus may be Lemuroid, and allied to Menotherium. The
Anthracotheridse, a family which connects the Hippopotamidse
and Euminants, and which occurs in the Miocene of Europe
and India, are represented in America by the genus Hyopotamtts
from the Miocene of Dakota, and Elotheriiim from the Miocene of
Oregon and the Eocene of Wyoming; the latter genus being some-
times classed with the preceding family, and lately placed by
Professor Marsh, in the new order, Tillodontia. Professor Cope
has since described three other genera from the Eocene of New
138 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
Mexico : Meniscotherium, having resemblances to Palceosi/ojjs,
Hyopotamus, and the Limnotheridse ; Phcnacodus, the size of a
hog, of doubtful position, but perhaps near Motherium ; and
Achcenodon, as large as a cow, but more hog-like than the pre-
ceding. Another new genus from the Miocene of Colorado —
Pelonax — is said by Professor Cope to come between Elotherium
and Hippopotamus.
The Camelidse are very abundant, and form one of the most
striking features of the ancient fauna of America. Procamelus,
ITomocamelus, and Megalomeryx, are extinct genera found in the
Pliocene formation ; the first very closely allied to the Old
World camel, the last smaller and more sheep-like. In the
Miocene two other genera occur, Pcebrotherium and Protomeryx,
the former allied to both the camel and the llama.
Deer are represented by a single species of Cervus in the
Pliocene, while two extinct genera, Leptomeryx and Merycodus,
are found in the Miocene deposits, the latter indicating a tran-
sition between camels and deer. Two other genera, Hypisodus
and Hypertragulus, of very small size, are said by Professor
Cope to be allied to the Tragulidse and to Leptomeryx.
The Bovidse, or hollow-horned ruminants, are only represented
in the Newer Pliocene by a single species of an extinct genus,
Casoryx, said to be intermediate between antelopes and deer.
We now come to an exclusively American family, the Oreo-
dontidce, which consisted of small animals termed by Dr. Leidy,
"ruminating hogs/' and which had some general structural
resemblances to deer and camels. They abounded in North
America during the Pliocene, and especially during the Miocene
epoch, no less than six genera and twenty species having been
discovered, Meryclius contains the Pliocene forms ; while
Oreodon, Eporeodon, Merycliochoerus, Leptauchenia, and Agrio-
chcerus are Miocene. The last genus extends back into the
Eocene period, and shows affinity to the European Anoplothe-
ridae of the same epoch,
Prohoscidea. — The Elephantidas are only represented in
America by one species of Mastodon and one of Plephas, in
the Newer Pliocene deposits. In the Older Pliocene, Miocene,
CHAP. VII.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WOELD. 139
and Upper Eocene, no remains of this order liave been found ;
and in 1869, Dr. Leidy remarked on the small average size of
the extinct North American mammalia, which were almost all
smaller than their living analogues. Since then, however, won-
derful discoveries have been made in deposits of Middle Eocene
age in Wyoming and Colorado, of a group of huge animals not
only rivalling the elephants in size, but of so remarkable and
peculiar a structure as to require the formation of a new order of
mammals — Dinocerata — for their reception.
This order consists of animals with generalised Ungulate and
Proboscidean affinities. The lower jaw resembles that of the
hippopotamus ; they had five toes on the anterior feet and four on
the posterior ; three pairs of horns, the first pair on the top of the
head, large and perhaps palmated, the second pair above the eyes,
while the third and smallest stood out sideways on the snout.
They had enormous upper canines, of which the roots entered
the middle horn cores, no upper incisors, and small molars.
Professor Marsh believes that they had no trunk. The remains
discovered indicate four genera, Dinoceras (3 sp.), Tinoceras
(2 sp.), Uintatlierium (1 sp.), and Uohasileus (2 sp.). Many other
names have been given to fragments of these animals, and even
those here given may not be all distinct.
Another new order, Tillodontia, recently established by Pro-
fessor Marsh, is perhaps yet more remarkable in a zoological
point of view, since it combines the characters of Carnivora,
Ungulata, and Piodents. These animals have been formed into
two families, Tillotherida3 and Stylinodontida3; and three genera,
Tillotheriuw,, AncMppodus, and Stylinodontia. All are from the
Eocene of Wyoming and New Jersey. Perhaps to these must be
added Elotherium from the Miocene of Dakota, the other forms
being all Eocene. They were mostly animals of small size,
between that of the capybara and tapir. The skull resembled in
form that of a bear ; the molar teeth were of Ungulate type, and
the incisors like those of a Eodent; but the skeleton was more
that of the Ursidse, the feet being plantigrade. Professor Cope
has since described three new genera from the Eocene of
New Mexico, Edoganus, Calamodon, and Esthonyx, comprising
140 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
seven species allied to Tillotherium and Anchippodus, and having
also relations, as Professor Cope believes, with the South American
Toxodontidse.
Bodeniia. — This order is represented in the Pliocene by a
beaver, a porcupine, and an American mouse [Hesperomys), all
extinct species of living genera, the Rystrix being an Old World
type ; and Professor Cope has recently described Panolax, a
new genus of hares from the Pliocene of New Mexico. The
Miocene deposits have furnished an extinct genus allied to the
hares — Falceolagus ; one of the squirrel family — Ischyromys ;
a small extinct form of beaver — Palceocastor ; and an extinct
mouse — Eumys. The Eocene strata of Wyoming have lately
furnished two extinct forms of squirrel, Paramys and Sciuravus ;
and another of the Muridse (or mouse family), Mysops.
Cetacea. — Numerous remains of dolphins and whales, be-
longing to no less than twelve genera, mostly extinct, have been
found in the Miocene deposits of the Atlantic and Gulf States,
from New Jersey to South Carolina and Louisiana; while seven
genera of the extinct family, Zeuglodontidse, have been found in
Miocene and Eocene beds of the same districts. Some remains
associated with these are doubtfully referred to the Seal family
(Phocidse) among the Carnivora.
Edentata. — Till quite recently no remains of this order have
occurred in any North American deposits below the Post- Plio-
cene ; but in 1874 Prof. Marsh described some remains allied to
Megaionyx and Mylodon, . from the Pliocene beds of California
and Idaho, and forming a new genus, Morotherium. As these
remains have only occurred to the west of the Eocky Mountains,
and in Pliocene deposits whose exact age is not ascertained, they
hardly affect the remarkable absence of this group from the
whole of the exceedingly rich Tertiary deposits in all other parts
of North America.
General Relations of the extinct Tertiary Mammalia of North
America and Europe. — Having now given a sketch of the ex-
tinct Mammalia which inhabited Europe and North America
during the Tertiary period, we are enabled by comparing them.
CHAP. VII.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 141
to ascertain their relations to each other, and to see how far
they elucidate the problem of the birth-place and subsequent
migrations of the several families and genera. We have already
pointed out the remarkable features of the Quaternary (or Post-
Pliocene) fauna of North America, and now proceed to discuss
that of the various Tertiary periods, which is closely connected
with the extinct fauna of Europe.
The Tertiary Mammalia of North America at present de-'
scribed belong to from eighty to one hundred genera, while
those of Europe are nearly double that number; yet only
eighteen genera are common to the two faunas, and of these
eight are living and belong chiefly to the Pliocene period.
Taking first, the genera which in America do not go back beyond
the Pliocene period (ten in number), we find that eight of them
in Europe go back to the Upper Miocene. These are Felis,
Pseudcdwus, Hi'p'parion, Gervus, Mastodon, ElepJias (in India),
Castor and Hystrix ; while another, Canis, goes back to the
Upper Eocene and the tenth, Equus, confined to the newer
Pliocene or perhaps to the Post-Pliocene in America, extends
back to the older Pliocene in Europe. Of the seven European
genera which are confined to the Miocene period in America,
three, Hycenodon, Anchitherium, and Lophiodon go back to the
Eocene in Europe; three others, Machairodus, Rhinoceros, and
AceratheriuTYi, are also of Miocene age in Europe ; AmpMcyon goes
back to the Lower JNliocene of Europe. LopMotherium belongs
to the Eocene of both countries.
If we turn now to families instead of genera, we find that the
same general rule prevails. Mustelidse (weasels), Ursidse (bears),
true Equidse (horses), and Bovidse (oxen &c.), go no further back
in America than the Pliocene, while they all go back to the
Miocene in Europe. Suidse (swine) and Anoplotheridse (extinct)
are found in the American Miocene and in the European Eocene.
Anchitheridse (extinct) reach the Upper Eocene in America,
while in Europe they range through Upper, Middle, and Lower
Eocene. Cervidse (deer) alone are Miocene in both countries.
There remain two families in which America has the pre-
eminence. Camelidse (camels) were wonderfully developed in
142 DISTEIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part it.
the American Pliocene and Miocene periods, abounding in
genera and species ; whereas in Europe the group only exists in
the Post-Pliocene or Lower Pliocene, with one Upper Miocene
species of Gamelus in K India. The Anthracotheridse (extinct),
found only in the Upper Miocene of France and India, reach
even the Lower Eocene in America.
These facts may be due, in part, to a want of strict co-ordina-
tion between the Tertiary deposits of Europe and North America,
— in part to the imperfection of the record in the latter country.
Yet it does not seem probable that they are altogether due to
these causes, because the Miocene beds, which are by far the
best known in America as in Europe, exhibit deficiencies of the
same kind as the less known Eocene deposits. The fossil fauna
of both countries is so rich, that we can hardly impute great and
well marked differences to imperfect knowledge; yet we find
such important families as the Civets, Hysenas, Giraffes, and
Hippopotami absent from America, with the Weasels, and Ante-
lopes almost so ; while America possesses almost all the Camelidse,
two peculiar orders, Dinocerata and Tillodontia, and four remark-
ably peculiar families, Limnotheridae, Lemuravidae, Oreodontidse
and Brontotheridse. If then the facts at present known represent
approximately the real time-relations of the groups in question
on the two continents, they render it probable that weasels, bears,
true horses, swine, oxen, sheep and antelopes, originated on the
Old World continent, and were transmitted to America during
some part of the Miocene period ; while camels originated in the
New World, and somewhere about the same time passed over to
Europe. Of the extinct families common to the two hemi-
spheres, the Anthracotheridse alone seem to have had an
American origin. Of the genera common to the two countries,
almost all seem to have had a European origin, the only genera
of equal date being the two rhinoceroses and three Anchi-
theridte ; but if the Brontotheridse are allied to the Ehinocerotidse,
these latter may have originated in America, although now an
exclusively Old World type. These conclusions are not im-
probable when we consider the much greater size of the Old
World continents, extending far into the tropics and probably
CHAP. VII.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WOELD. * 143
always more or less united to the tropical areas ; while the
evidence of the extinct mammalia themselves shows, that South
America has been for the most part isolated from the northern
continent, and did not take part in the development of its
characteristic Tertiary fauna.
Before speculating further on this subject, it will be well to
lay before our readers a summary of South American palaeon-
tology, after which we shall be in a better position to draw
correct inferences from the whole body of the evidence.
South America.
Unfortunately, our knowledge of the interesting fossil fauna
of this continent, is almost wholly confined to the Post-Pliocene
and Pliocene periods. A few remains have been discovered in
deposits believed to be of Eocene age, but nothing whatever
representing the vast intervening period, so rich in peculiar
forms of animal life both in North America and Europe.
Fauna of the Brazilian caves. — What we know of the Post-
Pliocene period is chiefly due to the long-continued researches
of Dr. Lund in the caves of Central Brazil, mostly situated in
a district near the head waters of the San Francisco river
in the Province of Minas Geraes. The caves are formed in
limestone rocks, and are so numerous that Dr. Lund visited
thousands, but only sixty contained bones in any quantity.
These caves have a floor of reddish earth, often crowded with
bones. In one experiment, half a cubic foot of this earth
contained jaws of 400 opossums, 2,000 mice, besides remains
of bats, porcupines and small birds. In another trial, the
whole of the earth in a cavern was carried out for examin-
ation, amounting to 6,552 firkins ; and, from a calculation
made by measured samples, it was estimated to contain
nearly seven millions of jaw-bones of cavies, opossums, por-
cupines, and mice, besides small birds, lizards, and frogs. This
immense accumulation is believed to have been formed from
the bodies of animals brought into the cavern by owls ; and,
as these are unsocial birds, the quantity found implies an
144 DISTEIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
immense lapse of time, probably some thousands of years.
More than 100 species of Mammalia, in all, were obtained
in these caves. Some were living species or closely allied
to such; but the majority were extinct, and a considerable
number, about one-fourth, belonged to extinct genera, or
genera not now inhabiting South America. Stone implements
and human remains were found in several of the caves with
extinct animals. The following enumeration of these remains
is from the corrected list of M. Gervais.
Pi'imates. — Extinct species of Cehus, Gallithrix, and Jacchus —
South American genera of monkeys ; with an extinct genus,
Frotopithecus — an animal of large size but belonging to the
American family Cebidse.
Chiroptera. — Species belonging to the South American Phyllos-
tonlidse, and to two South American genera of other families.
Carnivora. — Five species of Felis, some allied to living ani-
mals, others extinct ; a species of the widespread extinct genus
Machairodus ; and a small species referred to Gynceluriis, the
genus containing the hunting leopard now found only in Africa
and India. Canidse are represented by Ganis and Icticyon (a
living Brazilian species of the latter genus), and the extinct
genus SpeotJios. Mustelidse are represented by extinct species
of the South American genera Mephitis and Galictis. Procy-
onidse, by a species of Nasua. Ursidse, by Arctotherium, a
genus closely resembling, if not identical with, that containing
the " spectacled bear " of Chili.
Ungiilata. — Equus, Tapirus, Dicotyles, Auchenia, Gervus, Lep'-
totlurium, and Antilope, are the cave-genera of this order.
Fquus and Antelope are particularly interesting, as representing
groups forming no part of existing South American zoology;
while the presence also of Leptotherium, an extinct genus of
antelopes, shows that the group was fairly represented in South
America at this comparatively recent period.
Prdboscidea. — A species of Mastodon, found also in the Pliocene
of La Plata, represents this order.
Bodentia. — These abound. Dasyprocta, Gcdogenys, Gavia,
Kerodon, all living genera of Caviidse, are represented by
CHAP. VII.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 145
extinct species. Cercolabes, the ' tree porcupine ' (Cercolabidte)
has two species, one as large as a peccary; Myopotamus,Lonchercs,
Carterodon, are existing genera of spiny rats (Echimyidfe) ;
and there are two extinct genera of the same family, Lonclio-
p^wrics and PJiyllomys. Lagostomus (Chinchillidse), the visca-
cha of the Pampas, is represented by an extinct species.
There is also an extinct species of Lepus ; several species of
Ilesperomys and Oxymyderus ; and a large Arvicola, a genns not
living in South America.
EcUntata. — These, which constitute the great feature of the
existing South American fauna, were still more abundant and
varied in the Cave period, and it is remarkable that most of
them are extinct genera. The armadillos are alone represented
by living forms, Dasyims, and Xemirus ; Eurydon and HeUro-
don, are extinct genera of the same family, as well as Chlam.ydo-
therium — huge armadillos the size of a tapir or rhinoceros, and
Pachytluriuin, which was nearly as large. The ant-eaters are
represented only by Glossotherium, an extinct form allied to
Myrmecopliaga and Mayiis. The sloths were more numerous,
being represented by the extinct genera Cadodon, Sphenod^on
and Ochotlierium, the last of large size. The huge terrestrial
sloths — Megatheridffi, also abounded; there being species of
Megatherium and Megalonyx, as well as the allied Scelidotherium,
supposed to have some affinity for the African Orycteropus.
Marsupials. — No new forms of these appear, but numerous
species of Didelphys, all closely allied to opossums still living
in South America.
The preceding sketch of the wonderful cave fauna of Central
Brazil, is sufficient to show that it represents, in the main, a
period of great antiquity. Wot only are almost the whole of
the species extinct, but there are twenty extinct genera, and three
others not now inhabitants of South America. The fact that so
few remains of the living animals of the country are found in
these caves, indicates that some change of physical conditions
has occurred since they were the receptacles of so many of the
larger animals; and the presence of many extinct genera of
L
146 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part n.
large size, especially among the Edentata and American families
of Eodents, are additional proofs of a very high antiquity.
Yet many of these cave animals are closely allied to those
which are found in Xorth America in the Post-Pliocene deposits
only, so that we have no reason to suppose the cave-fauna to
be of much earlier date. But the great amount of organic
change it implies, must give us an enlarged idea of the vast
periods of time, as measured by years, which are included in
this, the most recent of all geological epochs.
Pliocene Period of Temperate SoiUh America. — "We have now
to consider the numerous remains of extinct animals found in
various deposits in the Pampas, and in Patagonia, and a few in
P)olivia. The age of these is uncertain; but as they are very
similar to the cave-fauna, though containing a somewhat larger
proportion of extinct genera and some very remarkable new
forms, they cannot be ve7y/ much older, and are perhaps best
referred at present to the newer portion of the Pliocene
formation.
Carnivora. — The genus Machairoclus or sabre-toothed tigers,
represents the Felidse. There are several species of wolves
(Canis) ; a weasel (Mitstela) : two bears of the Brazilian cave-
genus Ar ct other imn ; and the extinct European genns Jlycenarctos.
Ungulata. — There are two species of Equus, found in the
Pampas, Chili, and Bolivia; two of Macrauchenia, an extra-
ordinary extinct group allied to the tapir and Palmotherium, but
with the long neck, and general size of a camel. A_ second
species found on the highlands of Bolivia is much smaller.
A more recent discovery, in Patagonia, is the almost perfect
series of teeth of a large animal named Homalodontotherium ; and
which is believed by Professor Flower, who has described it, to
have been allied to Rhinoceros, and still more to the Miocene
Hyracoion from JSTorth America ; and also to present some
resemblances to Macrauchenia, and though much more remotely,
to the curious genus Nesodon mentioned further on.
The Artiodactyla, or even-toed Ungulates, are represented by a
species of Dicotyles, or peccary, found in the deposits of the
CHAP. VII.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WOELD. 147
Pampas ; by Auclienia, or llama, of Avliicli three extinct species
inhabited Bolivia, in which country two allied but extinct
genera, Palccolama and Camelotheriuvi, have also been foimd.
Three species of deer (Cervus), from the Pampas deposits, com-
plete the list of Pliocene Ungulates.
Proboscidea. — The cave species of Mastodon is found also in
the Pampas deposits, and another in the Andes of Chili and
Bolivia.
Rodents. — These are not so numerous as in the caves. Tliere
are species of the existing genera, Kerodon and Cavia (Caviidse) ;
Lagostomus (Chinchillidse) ; Ctenomys (Octodontidse) ; Lepus
(hare) ; Hesp&romys and Oxymydcrus (Muridse) ; Arvicola, a
genus not living in South America ; and an extinct genus, Car-
diodus. There is also a remarkable extinct form, Typotliermm,
larger than the capybara, and having affinities to Edentates and
Ungulates. Three species have been found in the Pampas deposits.
Edentata. — These are as abundant and remarkable as in the
cave deposits. Scclidotherium, Mcyatlierium, Meyalonyx, Glosso-
tlierium and DasypiLS, have already been noticed as from the
Brazilian caves. We have here, in addition, the huge Alylodon
allied to the Megatherium, and the allied gQner^i—Gnathopsis
and Lestodon. We then come to the huge extinct armadillos,
Glyptodon and Schistopleurum, the former consisting of numerous
species, some of which were as large as an elephant. Another
genus, Eutatus, is allied to the living three-handed armadillos ;
and a species of the existing genus Enpliractus has been found
in Bolivia.
Toxodoididm. — There remain a number of huge animals
rivalling the Megatherium in size, and forming the genera
Toxodon and Nesodon, but whose position is doubtful. Several
species have been found in the deposits of the Pampas and
Patagonia. They are allied at once to Ungulates, Ilodents, Eden-
tates, and the aquatic Sirenia, in so puzzling a manner that it is
impossible to determine to what order they belong, or whether
they require a new order to be formed for their receplion. Some
are believed to date back to the Miocene period, and they
indicate what strange forms may still be discovered, should any
L 2
148 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [pakt ]i.
productive deposits be found in South America of middle Ter-
tiary age.
Pliocene Mammalia of the Antilles. — These may be noticed
here, as they are of special interest, proving the connection of
the larger West Indian Islands with the Continent some time in
the later Tertiary period. They consist of remains of two large
animals belonging to the South American Chinchillidce, found in
cave deposits in the island of Anguilla, and forming two new
genera, Amblyrliiza and Loxomylus ; and remain allied to Mega-
lonyx from Cuba, which have been named Megalocnus and
Myomorplius.
Eocene fauna of South America.— -TiiQ few remains yet dis-
covered in the Tertiary deposits of the Pampas which are believed
to be of Eocene age, are exceedingly interesting, because they
show us another change in the scenery of the great drama of
life ; there being apparently a considerable resemblance, at this
epoch, between South America and Europe. They consist of a
large extinct feline animal, Eutemnodns-; of Palmotherium and
Anoplotheriurrii the well-known extinct Ungulates of the Euro-
pean Tertiaries, and which have nerer been found in North
America ; and of three genera of Eodents, — Theridroiiiys, allied
to Echirnys, and found also in the Eocene and Miocene of France ;
Megamys, allied to the living Capromys of the Antilles, and
also to Paloiomys, an extinct form of the Erench Miocene ; and
a very large animal referred to Arvicola, a genus found also in
the Pliocene deposits of South America, and abundant in the
northern hemisphere. No Edentates have been found.
The resemblances of this fauna to that of Europe rather than
to any part of America, are so strong, that they can hardly be
accidental. We greatly want, however, more information on this
point, as well as some corresponding evidences as to the condition
of West and South Africa about the same epoch, before we can
venture to speculate on their bearing as regards the early mi-
grations of organic forms.
General Pemarks on the Extinct Ilammalian Fauna of tJie Old
CHAP. VII.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 149
and New Worlds. — Leaving the more special applications of
palseontological evidence to be made after discussing the relations
of the existing fauna of the several regions, we propose here to
indicate briefly, some of the more general deductions from the
evidence whicli has now been laid before our readers.
The first, and perhaps the most startling fact brought out by
our systematic review, is the very recent and almost universal
change that has taken place in the character of the fauna, over
all the areas we have been considering ; a change wdiich seems
to be altogether unprecedented in the past history of the same
countries as revealed by the geological record. In Europe, in
North America, and in South America, we have evidence that a
very similar change occurred about the same time. In all three
we find, in the most recent deposits — cave-earths, pcat-bogs, and
gravels — the remains of a whole series of large animals, which
have since become wholly extinct or only survive in far-distant
lands. In Europe, the great Irish elk, the Machairodus and
cave-lion, the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and elephant ; — in North
America, equally large felines, horses and tapirs larger than any
now living, a llama as large as a camel, great mastodons and
elephants, and abundance of huge megatheroid animals of almost
equal size ; — in South America these same megatheroids in greater
variety, numerous huge armadillos, a mastodon, large horses and
tapirs, large porcupines, two forms of antelope, numerous bears and
felines, including a3fachairodus, and a large monkey, — have all be-
come extinct since the deposition of the most recent of the fossil-
bearing strata. This is certainly not a great while ago, geologi-
cally ; and it is almost certain that this great organic revolution,
implying physical changes of such vast proportions that they
must have been due to causes of adequate intensity and propor-
tionate range, has taken place since man lived on the earth.
This is proved to have been the case in Europe, and is supported
by much evidence both as regards North and South America,
It is clear that so complete and sudden a change in the higher
forms of life, does not represent the normal state of things.
Species and genera have not, at all times, become so rapidly
extinct. The time occupied by the " Recent period," that is the
150 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ir.
time since these changes took place is, geologically, minute.
The time of the whole of the Post- Pliocene period, as measured
by the amount of physical and general organic change known to
have taken place, is exceedingly small w-hen compared with the
duration of the Pliocene period, and still smaller, probably, as
compared with the Miocene. Yet during these two periods we
meet with no such break in the continuity of the forms of life, no
such radical change in the character of the fauna (though the
number of specific and generic changes may be as great) as we
find in passing from the Post-Pliocene to recent times. For
example, in Central Europe numerous hy?enas, rhinoceroses, and
antelopes, with the great Ma chair ochcs, continued from Miocene
all through Pliocene into Post-Pliocene times ; while hippo-
potami and elephants continued to live through a good part of
the Pliocene and Post-Pliocene periods, — a,nd then all suddenly
became extinct or left the country. In North America there has
been more movement of the fauna in all the periods ; but we
have similar great felines, horses, mastodons, and elephants, in
the Pliocene and Post-Pliocene periods, while Rhinoceros is com-
mon to the Miocene and Pliocene, and camels range continuously
from Miocene, through Pliocene, to Post-Pliocene times ; — when
all alike became extinct. Even in South America the evidence is,
as far as it goes, all the same way. We find Machairodus, HJquus,
Mastodon, Megatherium, Scelidotherium, Megalonyx, and numerous
gigantic armadillos, alike in the caves and in the stratified
tertiary deposits of the Pampas ; — yet all have since passed away.
It is clear, therefore, that we are now in an altogether
exceptional period of the earth's history. We live in a zoologi-
cally impoverished w^orld, from which all the hugest, and fiercest,
and strangest forms have recently disappeared ; and it is, no
doubt, a much better world for us now they have gone. Yet it
is surely a marvellous fact, and one that has hardly been suffi-
ciently dwelt upon, this sudden dying out of so many large
mannnalia, not in one place only but over half the land surface
of the globe. We cannot but believe that there must have been
some physical cause for this great change ; and it must have
been a cause capable of acting almost simultaneously over large
CHAP. VII.] MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WOELD. 151
portions of the earth's surface, and one which, as far as the
Tertiary period at least is concerned, was of an exceptional cha-
racter. Such a cause exists in the great and recent physical change
known as " the Glacial epoch." We have proof in Loth Europe
and ISTorth America, that just ahout the time these large animals
were disappearing, all the northern parts of these continents
were wrapped in a mantle of ice ; and we have every reason to
believe that the presence of this large quantity of ice (known to
have been thousands of feet if not some miles in thickness) must
have acted in various ways to have produced alterations of
level of the ocean as well as vast local floods, which would have
combined with the excessive cold to destroy animal life. There
is great difference of opinion among geologists and pliysicists as
to the extent, nature, and duration of the Glacial epoch. Some
believe it to have prevailed alternately in the northern and
southern hemispheres ; others that it was simultaneous in both.
Some think there was a succession of cold periods, each lasting
many thousands of years, but with intercalated warm periods of
equal duration ; others deny that there is any evidence of such
clianges, and maintain that the Glacial epoch was one continuous
period of arctic conditions in the temperate zones, with some
fluctuations perhaps but with no regular alternations of w^arm
periods. Some believe in a huge ice-cap covering the whole
northern hemisphere from the pole to near 50° north latitude
in the eastern, and 40° in the western hemisphere ; while otliers
impute the observed effects either to glaciers from local centres,
or to floating icebergs of vast size passing over the surface during
a period of submersion.
Without venturing to decide which of these various theories
will be ultimately proved to be correct, we may state, that
there is an increasing belief among geologists in the long dura-
tion of this ice-period, and the vast extent and great thick-
ness attained by the ice-sheet. One of the most recent, and
not the least able, of the writers on this question (Mr. Belt) shows
strong reasons for adopting the view that the ice-period was
simultaneous in both hemispheres ; and he calculates that the
vast amount of water abstracted from the ocean and locked up
152 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part it.
in mountains of ice around the two poles, would lower the general
level of the ocean about "2,000 feet. This would be equivalent
to a general elevation of the land to the same amount, and would
thus tend to intensify the cold ; and this elevation may enable
us to understand the recent discoveries of signs of glacial
action at moderate elevations in Central America and Brazil, far
withiu the tropics. At the same time, the weight of ice piled up
in the north would cause the land surface to sink there, perhaps
unequally, according to the varying nature of the interior crasfc
of the earth ; and since the weight has been removed land would
rise again, still somewhat irregularly; and thus the phenomena
of raised beds of arctic shells in temperate latitudes, are ex-
plained.
JSTow, it is evident, that the phenomena wo have been con-
sidering— of the recent changes of the mammalian fauna in
Europe, North America, South Temperate America, and the
highlands of Brazil — ^are such as might be explained by the most
extreme views as to the extent and vastness of the ice-sheet;,
and especially as to its simultaneous occurrence in the northern
and southern hemispheres ; and where two such completely in-
dependent sets of facts are found to combine harmoniously, and
supplement each other on a particular hypothesis, the evidence
in favour of that hypothesis is greatly strengthened. An ob-
jection that will occur to zoologists, may here be noticed. If
the Glacial epoch extended over so much of the temperate and
even parts of the tropical zone, and led to the extinction of so
many forms of life even within the tropics, how is it that so
much of the purely tropical fauna of South America has main-
tained itself, and that there are still such a vast number of
forms, both of mamnialia, birds, reptiles, and insects, that seem
organized for an exclusive existence in tropical forests ? Now
Mr. Belt's theory, of the subsidence of the ocean to the extent of
about 2,000 feet, supphes an answer to this objection ; for we
should thus have a tract of lowland of an average width of
some hundreds of miles, added to the v/hole east coast of Central
and South America. This tract would, no doubt, become covered
with forests as it was slowly formed, would enjoy a perfectly
CHAP. VII.] ^LUniALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. 153
tropical climate, and would thus afford an ample area for the
continued existence and development of the typical South
American fauna ; even had glaciers descended in places so low
as what is now the level of the sea, which, however, there is no
reason to believe they ever did. It is probable too, that this
low tract, which all round the Gulf of Mexico would be of con-
siderable width, offered that passage for intermigration between
North and South America, which led to the sudden appearance
in the former country in Post-Pliocene times, of the huge Mega-
theroids from the latter ; a migration which took place in op-
posite directions as we shall presently show.
The tirtli-place and migrations of some mammalian famAlies
and geriera. — We have now to consider a few of those cases
in which the evidence already at our command, is sufficiently
definite and complete, to enable us to pronounce with some con-
fiiience as to the last movements of several important groups of
mammalia.
Primates. — The occurrence in North America of numerous
forms of Lemuroidea, forming two extinct families, which are
believed by American palaeontologists to present generalized
features of both Lemuridss and Hapalidse, while in Europe only
Lemurine forms allied to those of Africa have occuiTcd in
deposits of the same age (Eocene), renders it possible that the
Primates may have originated in America, and sent one branch
to South America to form the Hapalidse and Cebidae, and
another to the Old World, giving rise to the lemurs and true
apes. But the fact that apes of a high degree of organization
occur in the European Miocene, while in the Eocene, a monkey
believed to have relations to the Lemuroids and Cebidse has also
been discovered, make it more probable that the ancestral forms
of this order originated in the Old AVorld at a still earlier period.
The absence of any early tertiary remains from the tropical parts
of the two hemispheres, renders it impossible to arrive at any
definite conclusions as to the origin of groups which ^^'ere, no
doubt, always best developed in tropical regions.
Carnivora. — This is a very ancient and wide-spread group, the
families and ffenera of which had an extensive rang-e in verv
154 DISTKIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
early times. The true bears {Ursiis) are almost the only
important genus that seems to have recently migrated. In
Europe it elates back to the Older Pliocene, while in ISTorth
America it is Post-Pliocene only. Bears, therefore, seem to
have passed into America from the Palsearctic region in the latter
part of the Pliocene period. They probably came in on the
north-west, and passed down the Andes into South America,
where one isolated species still exists.
Ungulata. — Horses are very interesting. In Europe they date
back under various forms to the Miocene period, and true Ec[uus
to the Older Pliocene. In North America they are chiefly
Pliocene, true Uquus being Post-Pliocene, with perhaps one or
two species Newer Pliocene ; but numerous ancestral forms date
back to the Miocene and Eocene, giving a more perfect " pedi-
gree of the horse " than the European forms, and going back to a
more primitive type — Orohijjpus. In South America, Equus is
the only genus, and is Post-Pliocene or at most Newer Pliocene.
While, therefore, the ancient progenitors of the Equidae were
common to North America and Europe, in Miocene and even
Eocene times, true horses appear to have arisen in the Paltearctio
region, to have passed into North America in the latter part of
the Pliocene period, and thence to have spread over all suitable
districts in South America. They were not, however, able to
maintain themselves permanently in their new territory, and all
became extinct; while in their birth-place, the Old World, they
continue to exist under several varied forms.
True tapirs are an Old World group. They go back to the
Lower Miocene in Europe, wdiile in both North and South
America they are exclusively Post-Pliocene. They occur in
France down to the Newer Pliocene, and must, about that
time, have entered America. Tlie land connection by which
this and so many other animals passed between the Old and
New Worlds in late Tertiary times, was almost certainly in the
North Pacific, south of Behring's Straits, where, as will be seen
by our general map, there is a large expanse of shallow water,
which a moderate elevation would convert into dry land, in a
siifficiently temperate latitude.
CHAP. VII. J MAMMALIA OF THE NEW WORLD. ^ 155
The peccary {Dicotijles), now a characteristic Soutli American
senus, is a recent imniiorant from ISTortli America, where it
appears to have been developed from ancestral forms of swine
dating back to the Miocene period.
Antelopes are an Old World typo, bnt a few of them appear to
have entered North, and reached South America in late Pliocene
times. Camels, strange to say, are a special IsTorth American type,
since they abounded in that continent under various ancient
forms in the Miocene period. Towards the end of that period
they appear to have entered eastern Asia, and developed into the
Siberian . ifer7/co^/tmw??i and the North Indian Camd.us, \iih\\Q
in the Pliocene age the ancestral llamas entered South
America.
Cerviclce are a wide-spread northern type in their generalized
form, but true deer (Cervus) are PalEearctic. They abounded in
Europe in Miocene times, but only appear in North and South
America in the later Pliocene and Post-Pliocene periods.
True oxen {Bovinoi) seem to be an Oriental type (Miocene),
while they appear in Europe only late in the Pliocene period,
and in America are confined to the Post-Pliocene.
Elephants {Elephantidce) are an Old World type, abounding
in the Miocene period in Europe and India, and first appearing
in America in Post-Pliocene or later Pliocene times. Ancestral
forms, doubtfully Proboscidean {Dinocerata), existed in North
America in the Eocene period, but these became extinct without
leaving any direct descendants, unless the BroiitothcHclce and
rhinoceroses may be so considered.
Marsupials are almost certainly a recent introduction into
South and North America from Asia. They existed in Europe
in Eocene and Miocene times, and presumably over a consider-
able part of the Old World ; but no trace of them appears in
North or South America before the Post-Pliocene period.
Edentata. — These offer a most cru'ious and difficult proljlem.
In South America they abound, and were so much more nu-
merous and varied in the Post-Pliocene and Pliocene, that we
may be sure they lived also in the preceding Miocene period. A
few living Edentates are scattered over Africa and Asia, and
156 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
they flourished in Europe during the Miocene age — animals as
large (in some species) as a rhinoceros, and most allied to living
African forms. In North America no trace of Edentata has been
found earlier than the Post-Pliocene period, or perhaps the Newer
Pliocene on the west coast. Neither is there any trace of them
in South America in the Eocene formations ; but this may well
be owing to our very imperfect knowledge of the forms of
that epoch. Their absence from North America is, however,
probably real ; and we have to account for their presence in the
Old World and in South America. Their antiquity is no doubt
very great, and the point of divergence of the Old World and
South American groups, may take us back to early Eocene, or
even to Pre-Eocene times. The distribution of land and sea may
then have been very different from what it is now ; and to those
who would create a continent to account for the migrations of
a beetle, nothing would seem more probable than that a South
Atlantic continent, then united parts of what are now Africa
and South America. There is, however, so much evidence for
the general permanence of what are now the great continents
and deep oceans, that Professor Huxley's supposition of a con-
siderable extension of land round the borders of the North Pacific
Ocean in Mesozoic times, best indicates the probable area in
which the Edentate type originated, and thence spread over much
of the Old World and South America, But while in the latter
country it flourished and increased with little check, in the
other great continents it was soon overcome by the competition
of higher forms, only leaving a few small-sized representatives
in Africa and Asia.
CHAPTEE VIII.
VAEIOUS EXTINCT ANIMALS; — AND ON THE ANTIQUITY OF THE
GENEKA OF INSECTS AND LAND MOLLUSCA.
EXTINCT MAMMALIA OF AUSTRALIA.
These have all been obtained from caves and late Tertiary or
Post-Tertiary deposits, and consist of a large number of extinct
forms, some of gigantic size, but all marsupials and allied to the
existing fauna. There are numerous forms of kangaroos, some
larger than any living species ; and among these are two genera,
FroUmnodon and StheniLrus, which Professor Garrod has lately
shown to have been allied, not to any Australian forms, but to
the Dendrolagi or tree-kangaroos of New Guinea. We have
also remains of Thylacinus and Dasyurus, which now only exist
in Tasmania ; and extinct species of Hypsijprymnus and Phasco-
lomys, the latter as large as a tapir. Among the more remarkable
extinct genera are Dipvotodoii, a huge thick-limbed animal
allied to the kangaroos, but nearly as large as an elephant;
Nototlurium, having characters of Macroj)us and Phascolarctos
combined, and as large as a rhinoceros ; and Thylacoleo, a pha-
langer-like marsupial nearly as large as a lion, and supposed by
Professor Owen to have been of carnivorous habits, though this
opinion is not held by other naturalists.
Here then we find the same phenomena as in the other coun-
tries we have already discussed, — the very recent disappearance
of a large number of peculiar forms, many of them far surpassing
in size any that contmue to exist. It hardly seems probable
that in this case their disappearance can have been due to the
direct effects of the Glacial epoch, since no very extensive giacia-
158 EXTINCT ANIMALS OF AUSTKALIA. [part ii.
tion could have occurred in a country like Australia ; but if the
ocean sank 2,000 feet, the great eastern mountain range might
have given rise to local glaciers. It is, however, almost certain
that during late Tertiary times Australia must have been much
more extensive than it is now. This is necessary to allow of the
development of its peculiar and extensive fauna, especially as we
see that that fauna comprised animals rivalling in bulk those of
the great continents. It is further indicated by the relations
with New Guinea, already alluded to, and by the general character
of the various faunas which compose the Australian region, de-
tails of which will be found in the succeeding part of this work.
The lowering of the ocean during the Glacial period would be
favourable to the still further development of the fauna of such
a country ; and it is to the unfavourable conditions jDroduced by
its subsequent rising — equivalent to a depression of the land to
the amount of two thousand feet — that we must impute the
extinction of so many remarkable groups of animals. It is not
improbable, that the disappearance of the ice and the consequent
(apparent) subsidence of the land, might have been rapid as
compared with the rate at which large animals can become
modified to meet new conditions. Extensive tracts of fertile
land might have been submerged, and the consequent crowding
of large numbers of species and individuals on limited areas
would have led to a struggle for existence in which the less
adapted and less easily modifiable, not the physically weaker,
would succumb.
There is, however, another cause for the extinction of large
rather than small animals whenever an important change of
conditions occurs, Avhich has been suggested to me by a corre-
spondent,^ but which has not, I believe, been adduced by Mr.
Darwin or by any other writer on the subject. It is dependent
on the fact, that large animals as compared with small ones are
almost invariably slow breeders, and as they also necessarily
exist in much smaller numbers in a given area, they offer far
less materials for favourable variations than do smaller animals.
In such an extreme case as that of the rabbit and elephant, the
^ Mr. Jolm Hickman of Desboroudi.
CHAP, viii.] MESOZOIC MAMMALIA. 159
young born each year in tlie world are probably as some millions
to one ; and it is very easily conceivable that in a thousand
years the former might, under pressure of rapidly changing con-
ditions, become modified into a distinct species, while the latter,
not offering enough favourable variations to effect a suitable
adaptation, would become extinct. We must also remember
the extreme specialization of many of the large animals that
have become extinct — a specialization which would necessarily
render modification in any new direction difficult, since the in-
herited tendency of variation would probably be to increase the
specialization in the same directions which had heretofore been
beneficial. If to these two causes we add the difficulty of
obtaining sufficient food for such large animals, and perliaps the
injurious effects of changes of climate, we shall not find it diffi-
cult to understand how such a vast physical revolution as the
Glacial epoch, with its attendant phenomena of elevations and
subsidences, icy winds, and sudden floods by the bursting of lake
barriers, might have led to the total extinction of a vast number
of the most bulky forms of mammalia, while the less bulky
were able to survive, either by greater hardiness of constitution
or by becoming more or less modified. The rssult is apparent in
the comparatively small or moderate size of the species consti-
tuting the temperate fauna, in all parts of the globe.
It is much to be regretted that no mammalian remains of earlier
date have been found in Australia,, as we should then see if it is
really the case that marsupials have always formed its highest
type of mammalian life. At present its fossil fauna is chiefly
interesting to the zoologist, but throws little light on the past
relations of this isolated country with other parts of the globe.
Mammalian kemains in the Secondaey Foemations.
In the oldest Tertiaiy beds of Europe and North America, we
have (even with our present imperfect record) a rich and varied
mammalian fauna. As compared with our living or recent highly
specialized forms, it may be said to consist of generalised types ;
but as compared with any primeval mammalian type, it must be
pronounced highly specialised. Not only are such diversified
IGO DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
oToups as Caniivora, Perrissodactyle and Artiodactyle Ungulates,
IMmates, Cliiroptera, Eodents, and Marsupials already well
marked, but in many of these there is a differentiation into
numerous families and genera of diverse character. It is impossi-
l)le therefore to doubt, that many peculiar forms of mammalia
must have lived long anterior to the Eocene period ; but there
is unfortunately a great gap in the record between the Eocene
and Cretaceous beds, and these latter being for the most part
marine continue the gap as regards mammals over an enormous
lapse of time. Yet far beyond both these chasms in the Upper
Oolitic strata, remains of small mammalia have been found ;
again, in the Stonesfield slate, a member of the Lower Oolite,
other forms appear. Then comes the marine Lias formation
with another huge gap ; but beyond this again in the Upper
Trias, the oldest of the secondary formations, mammalian teeth
have been discovered in both England and Germany, and these
are, as nearly as can be ascertained, of the same age as the
DromatJierium already noticed, from North America. They
have been named Micfolestes, and show some resemblance to
those of the "West Australian MyrrascoMus. In the Oolitic
strata numerous small jawbones have been found, which have
served to characterise eight genera, all of wliich are believed to
have been Marsupials, and in some of them a resemblance can be
traced to some of the smaller living Australian species. These,
however, are mere indications of the number of mammalia that
must have lived in the secondary period, so long thought to be
exclusively " the age of reptiles ; " and the fact that the few yet
found are at all comparable with such specialised forms as still
exist, must convince us, that we shall have to seek far beyond
even the earliest of these remains, for the first appearance of the
mammalian type of vertebrata.
Extinct Bieds.
Compared with those of mammalia, the remains of birds are
exceedingly scarce in Europe and America ; and from the wander-
ing habits of so many of this class, they are of much less value
ciiAr. VIII.] BIRDS. lul
as indications of past changes in physical geography. A large
proportion of the remains belong to aquatic or wading types,
and as these ha.ve now often a world-wide range, the occurrence
of extinct forms can have little bearing on our present inquiry.
There are, however, a few interesting cases of extinct land-birds
belonging to groups now quite strangers to the country in which
they are found ; and others scarcely less interesting, in which
groups now peculiar to certain areas are shown to have been
preceded by allied species or genera of gigantic size.
Palceardic Region and JY. India. — In the caves and other
Post-Pliocene deposits of these countries, the remains of birds
almost all belong to genera now inhabiting the same districts.
Almost the only exceptions are, the great auk and the
capercailzie, already mentioned as being found in the Danish
mounds ; the latter bird, with Tetrao alhus, in Italian caverns ;
and a species of pheasant (Phasianus) said to have occurred in
the Post- Pliocene of France, considerably west of the existing
range of the genus in a wild state.
In the preceding Pliocene deposits, l3ut few remains have
been found, and all of existing genera but one, a gallinaceous
bird (Gallus hravardi) allied to the domestic fowl and peacock.
The Miocene beds of France and Central Europe have pro-
duced many more remains of birds, but these, too, are mostly of
existing European genera, though there are some notable excep-
tions. Along with forms undistinguishable from crows (Corvus),
shrikes (Zanius), wagtails {Motacilla), and woodpeckers (Ficus),
are found remains allied to the Oriental edible-nest swift (Col-
localia) and Trogon ; a parrot resembling the African genus
Fsittacus ; an extinct form Necrornis, perhaps allied to the
plantain-eaters {Musopliaga) ; Homalophus, doubtfully allied to
woodpeckers, and Limnatornis to the hoopoes. The gallina-
ceous birds are represented by three species of pheasants, some
very close to the domesticated species ; Palceojjerdix allied to the
partridges ; and PalmortyXy small birds allied to the American
genus Ortyx, but with larger wings. There are also species of
Pterodes allied to living birds, and a small pigeon. There are
numerous living genera of Accipitres ; such as eagle [Aqi/ila),
1G2 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
kite (Milvus), eagle-owl {Bubo), and screech- owl (Strix) ; with
the African secretary-bird (Serpentarms), and some extinct forms,
as Palceocercus, Palceohierix and Palmetus.
Aquatic and wading birds were abundant, including numerous
rails, bustards, herons, sandpipers, gulls, divers, and pelicans.
There were also many ducks, some allied to the genus Denclro-
cygna ; the Oriental genus of storks, LeptopUlus ; Ibidipodia, a
remarkable form allied to IMs and Ciconia ; Elornis, near
Limosa ; Pelagornis, a large bird allied to gannets and pelicans ;
Hydrornis, allied to the ducks and petrels ; Dolichopterus, allied
to plovers. Perhaps the most interesting of these extinct birds
are, however, the flamingoes, represented by forms hardly distin-
guishable from living species, and by one extinct genus Palce-
lodus, which had very long toes, and probably walked on aquatic
plants like the tropical jacanas.
The Miocene beds of North India have furnished few birds ;
the only one of geographical interest being an extinct species
of ostrich, not very different from that now inhabiting Arabia.
On the whole, the birds of Europe at this period were very
like those now living, with the addition of a few tropical forms.
These latter were, however, perhaps more numerous and import-
ant than they appear to be, as they belong to inland and forest-
haunting types, which would not be so frequently preserved as
the marsh and lake-dwelling species. Taking this into con-
sideration, the assemblage of Miocene birds accords well with
what we know of the mammalian fauna. We have the same
indications of a luxuriant vegetation and subtropical climate,
and the same appearance of Oriental and especially of African
types. Trogon is perhaps the most interesting of all the forms
yet discovered, since it furnishes us with a central point whence
the living trogons of Asia, Africa, and South America might
have diverged.
In the Eocene we find ouiselves almost wholly among extinct
forms of birds. The earliest known Passerine bird is here
met with, in Protornis, somewhat similar to a lark, found in
the Lower Eocene of Switzerland ; while another Passerine form,
Palcegithahis, and one allied to the nuthatch {Sitta), have been
CHAP, viii.] BIEDS. 163
discovered in the Upper Eocene of Paris. Picari^ of equal anti-
quity are found. Cryptornis, from the Paris Eocene, and Hal-
cyornis from the Lower Eocene of the Isle of Sheppey, were
both allied to kingfishers ; while a form allied to Centropus a
genus of cuckoos, or, as Milne-Edwards thinks, to the Madagas-
car Zeptosomus, has been found in the Upper Eocene of France.
Several Accipitres of somewhat doubtful affinities have been
found in the same country; while Lithornis, from the Lower
Eocene of the Isle of Sheppey, was a small vulturine bird sup-
posed to be allied to the American group, Cathartes. Among
the waders, some extinct forms of plovers have been found, and a
genus (Agnopterus), allied to the flamingoes ; while there are
many swimming birds, such as pelicans, divers, and several
extinct types of doubtful affinities. Most intersting of all is a
portion of a cranium discovered in the Lower Eocene of Shep-
pey, and lately pronounced by Professor Owen to belong to a
large Struthious bird, allied to the JSTew Zealand Dinornis and
also perhaps to the ostrich. Another gigantic bird is the Gas-
tornis, from the Lower Eocene of Paris, which was as large as an
ostrich, but which is believed to have been a generalised type,
allied to wading and swimming birds as well as to the Struthiones.
Beyond this epoch we have no remains of birds in European
strata till we come to the wonderful Archceopteryx from the
Upper Oolite of Bavaria ; a bird of a totally new type, with a
bony tail, longer than the body, each vertebra of which carried
a pair of diverging feathers.
North America. — A number of bird-remains have lately been
found in the rich Tertiary and Cretaceous deposits of the United
States ; but here, too, comparatively few are terrestrial forms.
No Passerine bird has yet been found. The Picarise are repre-
sented by Uintornis, an extinct form allied to woodpeckers, from
the Eocene of Wyoming. Species of turkey {Meleagris) occur
in the Post-Pliocene and as far back as the Miocene strata,
showing that this interesting type is a true denizen of temperate
North America. The other birds are, Accipitres; waders and
aquatics of existing genera ; and a number of extinct forms of
the two latter orders — such as, Aldornis an Eocene wader;
M 2
164 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
Falceotringa, allied to the sandpipers, and Telmatobius to the
rails, both Cretaceous ; with Graculavics, allied to Graculus ;
Laornis allied to the swans ; Hesperornis a gigantic diver ; and
Icthyornis a very low form, with biconcave vertebra, such as are
only found in fishes and some reptiles — also from Cretaceous
deposits.
South America. — The caverns of Brazil produced thirty-four
species of birds, most of them referable to Brazilian genera, and
many to still existing species. The most interesting were two
species of American ostrich {Eliea), one larger than either of
the living species ; a large turkey-buzzard [Cathartes) ; a new
species of the very isolated South American genus Opistlwcomus ;
and a Cariama, or allied new genus.
Madagascar and the Mas.carene Islands. — We have here only
evidence of birds that have become extinct in the historical
period or very little earlier. First we have a group of birds in-
capable of flight, allied to pigeons, but forming a separate family,
Dididce ; and which, so far as we yet know, inhabited Mauritius,
Eodriguez, and probably Bourbon. Aphanapteryx, an extinct
genus of rails, inhabited Mauritius ; and another genus, {Erythro-
machus), Eodriguez. A large parrot, said by Prof Milne Edwards
to be allied to Ara and Microglossns, also inhabited Mauritius ;
and another allied to Eclectus, the island of Eodriguez. None
of these have been found in Madagascar; but a gigantic Struthious
bird, ^pyornis, forming a peculiar family distinct both from
the ostriches of Africa and the Dinornis of New Zealand
inhabited that island ; and there is reason to believe that
this may have lived less than 200 years ago.
New Zealand. — A number of extinct Struthious birds, form-
ing two families, Dinornithidai and Palapterygidce, have been
found in New Zealand. Some were of gigantic size. They seem
allied both to the living Aptcryx of New Zealand and the emu
of Australia. They are quite recent, and some of them have
probably lived within the last few centuries. Eemains of
Dinornis have also been found in a Post-Pliocene deposit in
Queensland, N. E. Australia ^ — a very important discovery, as it
^ Trans. ZogI. Soc. of London, to], viii. p. 381.
CHAr. VIII.] TERTIARY REPTILES. 165
gives support to the theory of a great eastward extension of
Australia in Tertiary times.
ExTiKCT Teetiaey Eeptiles.
These will not occupy us long, as no very great number are
known, and most of them belong to a few principal forms of
comparatively little geographical interest.
Tortoises are perhaps the most abundant of the Tertiary
reptiles. They are numerous in the Eocene and Miocene
formations both in Europe and North America. The genera
Emys and Trionyx abound in both countries, as well as in the
Miocene of India. Land tortoises occur in the Eocene of l^orth
America and in the Miocene of Europe and India, where the
huge Colossoclielys, twelve feet long, has been found. In the
Pliocene deposits of Switzerland the living American genus
Chelyclra has been met with. These facts, together with the
occurrence of a living s'perAes in the Miocene of India, show
that this order of reptiles is of great antiquity, and that most
of the genera once had a wider range than now.
Crocodiles, allied to the three forms now characteristic of
India, Africa, and America, have baen found in the Eocene of
our own country, and several species of Crococlilus have occurred
in beds of the same age in ISTorth America.
Lizards are very ancient, many small terrestrial forms
occurring in all the Tertiary deposits. A species of the genus
Chamcdco is recorded from the Eocene of l^orth America, to-
gether with several extinct genera,
Snakes were well developed in the Eocene period, where
remains of several have been found which must have been from
twelve to twenty feet long. An extinct species of true viper has
occurred in the ISIiocene of France, and one of the Pj'tlionidse
in the Miocene brown coal of Germany.
Batrachia occur but sparingly in a fossil state in the Ter-
tiary deposits. The most remarkable is the large Salamander
Andreas) from the Upper Miocene of Switzerland, Avhich
16G DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMx^LS. [part it.
is allied to the Menopoma living in Nortli America. Species
of frog (Bana), and Palceophryus an extinct genus of toads,
Lave been found in the Miocene de^DOsits of Germany and
Switzerland.
Fi-esh water fish are almost unknown in the Tertiary
deposits of Europe, although most of the families and some
genera of living marine fish are represented from the Eocene
downwards.
Antiquity of the Genera of Insects.
Fossil insects are far too rarely found, to aid us in our determi-
nation of difficult questions of geographical distribution ; but in
discussing these questions it will be important to know, whether
we are to look upon the existing generic forms of insects as of
great or small antiquity, compared with the higher vertebrates ;
and to decide this question the materials at our command are
ample.
The conditions requisite for the preservation of insects in a
fossil state are no doubt very local and peculiar ; the result being,
that it is only at long intervals in the geological record that we
meet with remains of insects iu a recognisable condition. None
appear to have been found in the Pliocene formation ; but in the
Upper Miocene of (Eniughen in Switzerland, associated with the
wonderfully rich fossil flora, are found immense quantities of
insects. Prof Heer examined more than 5,000 specimens be-
longing to over 800 species, and many have been found in other
localities in Switzerland ; so that more than 1,300 species of
Miocene insects have now been determined. Most of the orders
are represented, but the beetles (Coleoptera) are far the most
abundant. Almost all belong to existing genera, and the majority
of these genera now inhabit Europe, only three or four being
exclusively Indian, African, or American.
In the Lower Miocene of Croatia there is another rich de-
posit of insects^ somewhat more tropical in character, comprising
large white-ants and dragon-flies differently marked from any
CHAP, viii.] ANTIQUITY OF INSECTS. 167
now inhabiting Europe. A butterfly is also well preserved, with
all the markings of the wings ; and it seems to be a Junonia, a
tropical genus, though it may bo a Vanessa, which is European,
but the fossil most resembles Indian species of Junonia.
The Eocene formations seem to have produced no in-
sect remains ; but they occur again in the Upper Cretaceous
at Aix-la-Chapelle, where two butterflies have been found,
Cyllo se2')ulta and Satyrites Reynesii, both belonging to the Saty-
ridse, and the former to a genus now spread over Africa, India,
and Australia.
A little earlier, in the Wealden formation of our own country,
numerous insects have been found, principally dragon flies (Libel-
lula, yEsJina) ; aquatic Hemiptera ( Velia Hydrometra) ; crickets
cockroaches, and cicadas, of familiar types.
Eurther back in the Upper Oolite of Bavaria — which produced
the wonderful long-tailed bird, Archmopteryx — insects of all orders
have been found, including a moth referred to the existing genus
Sphinx.
In the Lower Oolite of Oxfordshire many fossil beetles have
been found whose affinities are shown by their names : — Bupres-
tidium, Curcidionidium, Blapsidium, Melolonthidium, and Frio-
nidium ; a wing of a butterfly has also been found, allied to the
Brassolidae now confined to tropical America, and named Palm-
ontina oolitica.
Still more remote are the insects of the Lias of Gloucester-
shire, yet they too can be referred to well-known family types —
Carabidse, Melolonthidse, Telephoridee, Elateridse, and Curculio-
nidse, among beetles; Gryllidse and Blattidse among Orthoptera ;
with Libellula, Agrion, ^slina, Ephemera, and some extinct
genera. When we consider that almost the only vertebrata of
this period were huge Saurian repliles like the Icthyosaurus ,
Plesiosaurus, and Dinosaurus, with the flying Pterodactyles ;
and that the great mass of our existing genera, and even fami-
lies, of fish and reptiles had almost certainly not come into exist-
ence, we see at once that types of insect- form are, proportionately,
far more ancient. At this remote epoch we find the chief family
types (the genera of the time of Linnaeus) perfectly differentiated
168 DISTRIBUTION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
and recognisable. It is only when we go furtlier back still, into
the Palaeozoic formations, that the insect forms begin to show that
generalization of type w^liich renders it impossible to classify
them in any existing groups. Yet even in the coal formation of
Nova Scotia and Durham, the fossil insects are said by competent
entomologists to be " allied to Epliemcra" " near Blcdtal' " near
Fhasmidce ; " and in deposits of the same age at Saarbriick near
Treves, a well-preserved wing of a grasshopper or locust has been
found, as well as a beetle referred to the Scarabeidae. More
remarkable, however, is the recent discovery in the carboniferous
shales of Belgium, of the clearly-defined wing of a large moth
{Breyeria horinensis), closely resembling some of the Saturniidse ;
so that we have now all the chief orders of Insects — including
those supposed to be the most highly developed and the most
recent — well represented at this very remote epoch. Even the
oldest insects, from the Devonian rocks of North America, can
mostly be classed as Neuroptera or Myriapoda, but appear to
form new families.
We may consider it, therefore, as proved, that many of the
larger and more important genera of insects date back to the
beginning of the Tertiary period, or perhaps beyond it ; but the
family types are far older, and must have been differentiated very
early in the Secondary period, while some of them perhaps go
back to Palseozoic times. The great comparative antiquity of
the genera is however the important fact for us, and we shall
have occasion often to refer to it, in endeavouring to ascertain
the true bearing of the facts of insect distribution, as elucidating
or invalidating the conclusions ariived at from a study of the
distribution of the higher animals.
Antiquity of the Genera of Land and Fresh-Water
Shells.
The remains of land and fresh-water shells are not much more
frequent than those of insects. Like them, too, their forms arc
very stable, continuing unchanged through several geological
CHAP, viii.] ANTIQUITY OF LAND SHELLS. 169
periods. In the Pliocene and Miocene formations, most of the
shells are very similar to living species, and some are quite iden-
tical. In the Eocene we meet with ordinary forms of the genera
Helix, Clausilia, Pupa, Bulimus, Glandina, Gydostoma, Megalos-
toma, Flanorhis, Paludina and Limncea, some resembling Euro-
pean species, others more like tropical forms. A British Eocene
species of Helix is still living in Texas ; and in the South of France
are found species of the Brazilian sub-genera Megaspira and
Anastoma. In the secondary formation no true land shells have
been found, but fresh water shells are tolerably abundant, and
almost all are still of living forms. In the AVealden (Lower
Cretaceous) and Purbeck (Upper Oolite) are found TJnio, Melania,
Paludina, Planorbis, and Limnma ; while the last named genus
occurs even in the Lias.
The notion that land shells were really not in existence during
the secondary period is, however, proved to be erroneous by the
startling discovery, in the Palaeozoic coal measures of l!Tova Scotia,
of two species of Helicidce, both of living genera — Piip)a vetusta,
and Zonites priscus. They have been found in the hollow trunk
of a. Sigillaria, and in great quantities in a bed full of Stigmarian
rootlets. The most minute examination detects no important
differences of form or of microscopic structure, between these
shells and living species of the same genera ! These moUusca were
the contemporaries of Labyrinthodonts and strange Ganoid fishes,
which formed almost the whole vertebrate fauna. This unex-
pected discovery renders it almost certain, that numbers of other
existing genera, of whicli we have found no traces, lived with
these tw^o through the whole secondary period ; and we are thus
obliged to assume as a probability, that any particular genus has
lived through a long succession of geological ages. In esti-
mating the importance of any peculiarities or anomalies in the
geographical distribution of land shells as compared with the
higher vertebrates, we shall, therefore, have to keep this possible,
and even probable high antiquity, constantly in mind.
We have now concluded our sketch of Tertiary Palneontology
as a preparation for the intelligent study of the Geographical
170 DISTRIBUTION OF P]XTINCT ANIMALS. [part ii.
Distribution of Laud Animals ; and however imperfectly the task
has been performed, the reader will at all events have been con-
vinced that some such preliminary investigation is an essential
and most important part of our work. So much of palaeontology
is a.t present tentative and conjectural, that in combining the
information derived from numerous writers, many errors of detail
must have been made. The main conclusions have, however, been
drawn from as large a basis of facts as possible ; and although
fresh discoveries may show that our views as to the past history
of some of the less important genera or families are erroneous,
they can hardly invalidate our results to any important degree,
either as regards the intercommunications between separate
regions in the various geological epochs, or as to the centres
from which some of the more important groups have been dis-
persed.
PART III.
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY:
A REVIEW OF THE CHIEF FORMS OF ANIMAL 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.
Having discussed, in our First Part, such general and preliminary
matters as are necessary to a proper comprehension of our
subject ; and having made ourselves acquainted, in our Second
Part, with the most important results of Palaeontology, we now
come to our more immediate subject, which we propose to treat
first under its geographical aspect. Taking each of our six
regions in succession, we shall point out in some detail the chief
zoological features they present, as influenced by climate, vege-
tation, and other physical features. We shall then treat each
of the sub-regions by itself, as well as such of the islands or
other sub-divisions as present features of special interest ; en-
deavouring to ascertain their true relations to each other, and the
more important changes of physical geography that seem neces-
sary to account for their present zoological condition.
Order of Succession of the Regions. — We may here explain
the reason for taking the several regions in a different succession
from that in which they appear in the tabular or diagrammatic
headings to each family, in the Fourth, and concluding part of
this work. It will have been seen, by our examination of extinct
aiiimals (and it will be made still clearer during our study of
the several regions) that all the chief types of animal life appear
to have originated in the great north temperate or northern
continents ; while the southern continents — now represented by
174 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part lu.
South America, Australia, and South Africa Avith Madagascar — ■
have been more or less completely isolated, during long periods,
both from the northern continent and from each other. These
latter countries have, however, been subject to more or less im-
migration from the north during rare epochs of approximation
to, or partial union with it. In the northern, more extensive, and
probably more ancient land, the process of development has
been more rapid, and has resulted in more varied and higher
types ; while the southern lands, for the most part, seem to have
produced numerous diverging modifications of the lower grades
of organization, the original types of wdiich they derived either
from the north, or from some of the ancient continents in Meso-
zoic or Palaeozoic times. Hence those curious resemblances in
the fauna of South America, Australia, and, to a less extent,
Madagascar, which have led to a somewhat general belief that
these distant countries must at one time or other have been
united ; a belief which, after a careful examination of all the
facts, does not seem to the author of this work to be well
founded. On the other hand, there is the most satisfactory
evidence that each southern region has been more or less
closely united (during the 'tertiary or later secondary epoch)
with the great northern continents, leading to numerous resem-
blances and affinities in their productions.
In endeavouring to present at a glance in the most convenient
manner, the distribution of the families in the several regions
and sub-regions, it was necessary to arrange them, so that those
Mhose relations to each other were closest should stand side by
side ; the first and last being those between which the relations
were least numerous and least important. Influenced by the
usual opinions as to the relations between Australia and South
America, the series was at first begun ^ith the Nearctic, and
terminated with the Australian and Neotropical regions ; and it
was not till the whole of the vertebrate families had been gone
through, and their distribution carefully studied, that these last
two regions were seen to be really wider apart than any others
of the series. It was therefore decided to alter the arrangement,
beginning with the Neotropical, and ending with the Australian
CHAP. IX.] OKDER OF SUCCESSION OF THE REGIONS. 175
regions ; and a careful inspection of the diagrams themselves,
taken in their entirety, will, it is believed, show that this is
the most natural plan, and most truly exhibits the relations of
the several regions.
In the portion of our work now commencing, we are not,
however, by any means bound to begin at either end of this
series. Each region is studied by itself, but reference will often
have to be made to all the other regions ; and wherever we
begin, we must occasionally refer to facts which will be given
further on. As, however, the great northern continents form
the central mass from which the southern regions, as it were,
diverge, and as the Palsearctic region is both more extensive and
much better known than any other, it undoubtedly forms the
most convenient starting-point for our proposed survey of
the zoological history of the earth. We thus pass from the
better known to the less known — from Europe to Africa and
tropical Asia, and thence to Australia, completing the series of
regions of the Eastern Hemisphere. Beginning again with the
Neotropical region, we pass to the Nearctic, which has such
striking relations with the preceding and with the Pal^arctic
region, that it can only be properly understood by constant
reference to both. We thus keep separate the Eastern and West-
ern hemispheres, which form, from our point of view, the
most radical and most suggestive division of terrestrial faunas ;
and as we are able to make this also the dividing point of our
two volumes, reference to the work will be thereby facilitated.
Cosmo23olitan Groups. — Before proceeding to sketch the zoo-
logical features of the several Ptegions it will be well to notice
those family groups which belong to the earth as a whole, and
which are so widely and universally distributed over it that it
will be unnecessary, in some cases, to do more than refer to
them under the separate geographical divisions.
The only absolutely cosmopolitan families of Mammalia are
those which are aerial or marine; and this is one of the striking
proofs that their distribution has been effected by natural causes,
and that the permanence of barriers is one of the chief
176 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [pakt hi.
agencies in the limitation of tlieir range. Even among the
aerial bats, however, only one family — the Vespertilionidce — is
truly cosmopolitan, the others having a more or less restricted
range. Neither are the Cetacea necessarily cosmopolitan, most of
the families being restricted either to warm or to cold seas ; but
one family, the dolphins (Delphinida?.), is truly so. This order
however will not require further notice, as, being exclusively
marine the groups do not enter into any of oar terrestrial
regions. The only other family of mammals that may be con-
sidered to be cosmopolitan, is the Muridas (rats and mice) : yet
these are not entirely so, since none are known to be truly
indigenous in any part of the Australian region except Australia
itself.
In the class of Birds, a number of families are cosmopolites,
if we reckon as such all which are found in each region and
sub-region ; but several of these are so abundant in some parts,
while they are so sparingly represented in others, that they
cannot fairly be considered so. We shall confine that term
therefore, to such as, there is reason to believe, inhabit every
important sub-division of each region. Such are, among the
Passerine birds the crows (Corvidse), and swallows (Hirundi-
nidee) ; among the Picarioe the kingfishers (Alcedinidse) ; among
other Land birds the pigeons (Columbidse), grouse and partridges
(Tetraonidse), hawks (Falconidse), and owls (Strigidse) ; among
the Waders the rails (Rallidse), snipes (Scolopacidas), plovers
(Charadriadse), and herons (Ardeidse) ; and among the Swimmers
the ducks (Anatidee), gulls (Laridas), petrels (Procellariidse),
pelicans (Pelecanidce), and grebes (Podicipida3).
In the class of Reptiles there are few absolutely cosmopolitan
families, owing to the scarcity of members of this group in some
insular sub-regions, such as New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Those which are most nearly so are the Colubridse among snakes,
and the Scincidee among lizards.
There is no cosmopolitan family of Amphibia, the true frogs
(Eanidae) being the most widely distributed.
Neither is any family of Freshwater Fishes cosmopolitan,
the Siluridse, which have the widest range, being confined
CHAP. IX.] TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION. 177
to warm regions, and becoming very scarce in the temperate
zones.
Among tlie Diurnal and Crepuscular Lepidoptera (butterflies
and sphinges) the following families are cosmopolitan : — Satyridije,
'Nymphalidse, Lycsenidos, Pieridse, Papilionidse, Hesperidse,
Lycsenidse, and Sphingidce.
Of the Coleoptera almost all, except some of the small and
obscure families, are cosmopolitan.
Of the terrestrial MoUusca, the Helicidcie alone are true cos-
mopolites.
Tables of Distribution of Families and Genera. — Having been
oblio'ed to construct numerous tables of the distribution of the
various groups for the purposes of the descriptive part of the
work, I have thought it well to append the most important of
them, in a convenient form, to the chapter on each region ; as
much information will thereby be given, which can only be
obtained from existing works at the cost of great labour. All
these tables are drawn up on a uniform plan, the same generic
and family names being used in each ; and all are arranged in
the same systematic order, so as to be readily comparable
with each other. This, although it seems a simple and natural
thing to do, has involved a very great amount of labour, because
hardly two authors use the same names or follow the same
arrangement. Hence comparison between them is impossible, till
all their work has been picked to pieces, their synonymy un-
ravelled, their differences accounted for, and the materials recast ;
and this has to be done, not for two or three authors only, but
for the majority of those whose works have been consulted on
the zoology of any part of the globe.
Except in the two higher orders — Mammalia and Birds —
materials do not exist for complete tables of the genera brought
down to the present time. We have given therefore, first, a
complete table of all the families of Vertebrata and Diurnal
Lepidoptera found in each region, showing the sub-regions in
which they occur, and their range beyond the limits of the
region. Families which are wholly pecuhar to the region, or
N
178 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGKAPHY. [part in.
very characteristic and almost exclusively confined to it, are in
italics. Tlie number prefixed to each family corresponds to
that of the series of families in the Fourth Part of this work,
so that if further information is required it can be readily
referred to without consulting the index. Names inclosed in
parentheses — ( . . . ) thus — indicate families which only just
enter a region from an adjacent one, to which they properly
belong. The eye is thus directed to the more, and the less im-
portant families ; and a considerable amount of information as
to the general features of the zoology of the region, is conveyed
in the easiest manner.
The tables of genera of Mammalia and Birds, are arranged on
a somewhat diiferent plan. Each genus is given under its
Family and Order, and they follow in the same succession in all
the tables. The number of species of each genus, inhabiting
the region, is given as nearly as can be ascertained ; but in many
cases this can only be a general approximation. The distribution
of the genera within the region, is then given with some detail ;
and, lastly, the range of the genus beyond the region is given
in general terms, the words " Oriental," " Ethiopian," &c., being
used for brevity, to indicate that the genus occurs over a con-
siderable part of such regions. Genera which are restricted to
the region (or Avhich are very characteristic of it though just
transgressing its limits) are given in italics ; while those which
only just enter the region from another to which they really
belong, are enclosed in parentheses — ( . • . ) thus. The genera
are here numbered consecutively, in order that the number of
genera in each family or each order, in the region, may be readily
ascertained (by one process of subtraction), and thus compari-
sons made with other regions or with any other area. As the
tables of birds would be swelled to an inconvenient length by
the insertion in each region of all the genera of Waders and
Aquatics, most of which have a very wide range and would
have to be repeated in several or all the regions, these have
been omitted ; but a list has been given of such of the genera
as are peculiar to, or highly characteristic of each region.
As this is the first time that any such extensive tables of
CHAP. IX.] TABLES OF DISTEIBUTION. 179
distribution have been constructed for the whole of the Mam-
malia and Birds, they must necessarily contain many errors of
detail ; but with all their imperfections it is believed they will
prove very useful to naturalists, to teachers, and to all who take
an intelligent interest in the wider problems of geography and
natural history.
N 2
CHAPTEH X.
THE PAL^AECTIC REGION.
This region is of immense extent, comprising all the temperate
portions of tlie great eastern continents. It thus extends from
the Azores and Canary Islands on the west to Japan on the
east, a distance not far short of half the circumference of the
globe. Yet so great is the zoological unity of this vast tract,
that the majority of the genera of animals in countries so far
removed as Great Britain and Northern Japan are identical.
Throughout its northern half the animal productions of the
Palsearctic region are very uniform, except that the vast elevated
desert-regions of Central Asia possess some characteristic forms ;
but in its southern portion, we find a warm district at each ex-
tremity with somewhat contrasted features. On the west we have
the rich and luxuriant Mediterranean sub-region, possessing many
peculiar forms of life, as well as a few which are mOre especially
characteristic of the Ethiopian region. On the east we have the
fertile plains of Northern China and the rich and varied islands
of Japan, possessing a very distinct set of peculiar forms, with
others belonging to the Oriental region, into which this part of
the Palsearctic region merges gradually as we approach the
Tropic of Cancer. Thus, the countries roughly indicated by the
names — Northern Europe, the Mediterranean district. Central
and Northern Asia, and China with Japan — have each well-
marked minor characteristics which entitle them to the rank of
sub-regions. Their boundaries are often indefinable ; and those
here adopted have been fixed upon to some extent by considera-
I
CHAP. X.] THE PAL.EARCTIC REGION. 181
tions of convenience, dependent on custom and on tlie more or
less perfect knowledge we possess of some of the intervening
countries.
Zoological Characteristics of the Falccarctic JRegion. — The Palas-
arctic region has representatives of thirty-five families of
mammalia, fifty-five of birds, twenty-five of reptiles, nine of
amphibia, and thirteen of freshwater fishes. Comparing it with
the only other wholly temperate region, the IsTearctic, we find a
much greater variety of types of mammalia and birds. This
may be due in part to its greater area, but more, probably,
to its southern boundary being conterminous for an enormous
distance with two tropical regions, the Ethiopean and Oriental ;
whereas the Nearctic has a comparatively short southern bound-
ary conterminous with the ISTeotropical region only. This is so
very important a difference, that it is rather a matter of surprise
that the two north temperate regions should not be more unequal
in the number of their higher vertebrate forms, than they
actually are.
It is also to the interblending of the Palrearctic with the two
adjacent tropical regions, that we must attribute its possession
of so few peculiar family groups. These are only three ; two
of reptiles, Trogonophiclce and Opliiomoriclce, and one of fishes,
Comephoridce. The number of peculiar genera is, however, con-
siderable, as the following enumeration will show.
Mamr/ialia. — The monkey of Gibraltar and North Africa, and
an allied species found in Japan, are now considered to belong
to the extensive eastern genus Macacus. The former, however,
is peculiar in the entire absence of the tail, and has by many
naturalists, been held to form a distinct genus, Inuus, confined
to the Palasarctic region.
Of bats there are one or t\vo genera [Barhastellus, Flecotus)
which seem to be mainly or wholly Palsearctic, but the classifi-
cation of these animals is in such an unsettled state that the
distribution of the genera is of little importance.
In the next order, Insectivora, we have almost the entire
family of the Moles confined to the region. Talpa just enters
Northern India ; and Urotrichiis is common to Japan and North-
182 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
Western America, but the remaining genera, six in number, are
all exclusively Palsearctic.
Among Carnivora we have Nydereutes, the curious racoon-dog
of Japan and IsTorth-Eastern Asia ; Lutronedes, an otter peculiar
to Japan ; and the badger (Mehs), which ranges over the whole
region, and just enters the Oriental region as far as Hongkong;
AMuro'pus, a curious form of the Himalayan panda, inhabiting
the high mountains of Eastern Thibet ; and Pelagius, a genus of
seals, ranging from the shores of Madeira to the Black Sea.
The Ungulata, or hoofed animals, are still more productive of
forms peculiar to this region. First we have the Camels, whose
native home is the desert region of Central and Western Asia and
Northern Africa, and which, even in their domesticated condition,
are confined almost wholly within the limits of the Palsearctic
region. Of Deer we have six peculiar genera, Dama and Capreolus
found in Europe, with Elapliodus, Lophotragus, Hydropotes, and
Moschus, confined to Northern China and Mongolia. The great
family Bovidse — comprising the oxen, sheep, goats and antelopes
— furnishes no less than seven peculiar Palsearctic genera.
These are Poephagus, the yak of Thibet; Addax, a well-known
antelope of Northern Africa and Syria ; Procapra, Pantho-
lops and Budorcas, antelopine genera peculiar to Thibet and
Mongolia ; with Rupicctpra (the chamois), and the extraordinary
large-nosed antelope Saiga, confined to Europe and Western Asia.
Besides these we have Capra (the wild sheep and goats), all the
numerous species of which, except two, are exclusively Paleearctic.
Coming to the Eodents, we have again many peculiar forms.
Of Muridoe (the mouse and rat tribe), we have six peculiar
genera, the more important being Cricetus, Rhomlomys Smin-
thus, and MyospaJax. Of Spalacidte. (mole-rats) both the Palse-
arctic genera, Ellobius and Spalax, are peculiar. Ctenodadylus,
a genus of the South American family Octodontidse, is found
only in North Africa. To these we may add Myoxus (the
dormice) and Lagomys (the pikas or tail-less hares) as essentially
Palsearctic, since but one species of each genus is found be-
yond the limits of the region.
Birds. — It appears to have been the opinion of many natural-
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^ARCTTC REdlON. 183
ists tliat the Palsearctic region could not be well characterised hy
its peculiar genera of birds. In Mr. Sclater's celebrated paper
already referred to, he remarks, " It cannot be denied that the
ornithology of the Pahisarctic region is more easily characterised,
by what it has not than by what it has," and this has been quite
recently quoted by Mr. Allen, in his essay on the distribution
of N'orth American birds, as if it represented our present know-
ledge of the subject. But, thanks to the labours of Dr.
Jerdon, Mr. Swinhoe, P^re David and others, we have now
learnt that a large number of birds included in the Indian
list, are either mere winter emigrants from Central Asia, or only
inhabit the higher ranges of the Himalayas, and thus really
belong to the Palsearctic region. The result is, that a host of
genera are now seen to be either exclusively or characteristically
Palsearctic, and we have no further difficulty in giving positive
ornithological characters to the region. In the tables appended
to this chapter, all these truly Pahiearctic genera will be found
printed in italics, with an indication of their distribution, which
will sometimes be found more fully given under the respective
families in the third part of this w^ork. Eeferring to this table
for details we shall here summarise the results.
Of the Sylviidae or warblers, no less than fourteen genera are
either exclusively or characteristically Palsearctic, of which
Locustella, Sylvia, Curruca and Erithacus are good examples.
Of the oriental family Timaliidse, the genus Pterorliinus is Palae-
arctic. Of Panuridse, or reedlings, there are four peculiar genera
(comprising almost the whole family) ; of Certhiidse, or creepers,
one — Ticliodroma — which extends southward to the Abyssinian
highlands. Of Paridae, or tits, one — Acredula ; of Corvidee, or
crows, four — Pica (containing our magpie) being a good example; of
Fringillida3, or finches and buntings, twelve, among which^ca^iZ/w's,
Pyrrliula and Emberiza are good illustrations ; of Alaudidffi, or
larks, there are two peculiar genera. Leaving the Passeres we next
come to peculiar forms among the gallinaceous birds : Syrrhajptes
among the Pteroclidae or sand grouse; four genera of Tetraonidse or
grouse and partridges, and five of Phasianida3 or pheasants, com-
prising some of the most magnificent birds in the world. Lastly
184 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [part iii.
among the far-wandering aquatic birds we have no less than five
genera whicli are more especially Palajarctic, — Ortygomdra, the
corn-crake, and Otis, the great bustard, being typical examples.
We may add to these, several genera almost confined to this
region, such as Garrulus (jays), Fringilla (true finches), Yunx
(wrynecks) and some others ; so that in proportion to its total
generic forms a very large number are found to be peculiar or
characteristic.
This view, of the high degree of speciality of the Palsearctic
region, will no doubt be objected to by some naturalists, on the
ground that many of the genera reckoned as exclusively
Palsearctic are not so, but extend more or less into other regions.
It is well, therefore, to consider what principles should guide us
in a matter of this kind, especially as we shall have to apply
the same rules to each of the other regions. We may remark
first, that the limits of the regions themselves are, when not
formed by the ocean, somewhat arbitrary, depending on the
average distribution of a number of characteristic forms ; and
that slight local peculiarities of soil, elevation, or climate, may
cause the species of one region to penetrate more or less deeply
into another. The land boundary between two regions will be,
not a defined line but a neutral territory of greater or less
width, within which the forms of both regions will intermingle ;
and this neutral territory itself will merge imperceptibly into
both regions. So long therefore as a species or genus does not
permanently reside considerably beyond the possible limits of
this neutral territory, we should not claim it as an inhabitant
of the adjacent region. A consideration of perhaps more im-
portance arises, from the varying extent of the range of a genus,
over the area occupied by the region. Some genera are repre-
sented by single species existing only in a very limited area ;
others by numerous species which occupy, entirely or very
nearly, the whole extent of the region ; and there is every inter-
mediate grade between these extremes. Now, the small local-
ised genera, are always reckoned as among the best examples
of tj'pes peculiar to a region ; while the more wide-spread groups
are often denied that character if they extend a little beyond
CHAr. X.J THE PAL^AECTIC REGION. 185
the supposed regional limits, or send one or two, out of a large
number of species, into adjacent regions ; yet there is some
reason to believe that the latter are really more important as
characterising a zoological region than the former. In the case
of a single isolated species or genus we have a dying-out group ;
and we have so many cases of discontinuous species of such
groups (of which Urotrichus in Japan and British Columbia,
Eupetes in Sumatra and New Guinea are examples), that it is
quite as probable as not, that any such isolated species has only
become peculiar to the region by the recent extinction of an
allied form or forms in some other region. On the other hand,
a genus consisting of numerous species ranging over an entire
region or the greater part of one, is a dominant group, which
has most likely been for some time extending its range, and
whose origin dates back to a remote period. The slight exten-
sion of such a group beyond the limits of the region to which
it mainly belongs, is probably a recent phenomenon, and in that
case cannot be held in any degree to detract from its value as
one of the peculiar forms of that region.
The most numerous examples of this class, are those birds of
the temperate regions which in winter migrate, either wholly or
partially, into adjacent warmer countries. This migration most
likely began subsequent to the Miocene period, during that
gradual refrigeration of the temperate zones which culminated
in the glacial epoch, and which still continues in a mitigated
form. Most of the genera, and many even of the species of
birds which migrate southwards in winter, have therefore, most
likely, always been inhabitants of our present Palsearctic and
Nearctic regions ; permanent residents during warm epochs, but
only able now to maintain their existence by migration in
winter. Such groups belong truly to the temperate zones, and
the test of this is the fact of their not having any, or very few,
representatives, which are permanent residents in the adjacent
tropical regions. "When there are such representative species, we
do not claim them as peculiar to the Northern regions. Bearing
in mind these various considerations, it v/ill be found that we have
been very moderate in our estimate of the number of genera
1^{] ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPflY. [part in.
that may fairly be considered as exclusively or characteristically
Palsearctic.
JReptiles and AmjjJiihia. — The Paltearctic region possesses, in
proportion to its limited reptilian fauna, a full proportion of
peculiar types. We have for instance two genera of snakes,
Ehinechis and Halys ; seven of lizards, TrigonopMs, Fsammo-
dronius, Hyalosaurus, Scincus, Ophiomorus, Megalocliilus, and
Phrynocephcdus ; eight of tailed batrachians, Proteus, Salaman-
dra, Seiranota, Chioglossa, Hynohius, Onychodadyliis, Geotriton,
Siiidi Sieholdia ; and eight of tail- less batrachians, Bomlinator,
Pelobcdes, Didocus, Alytes, Pelodytes, Biscoglossus, Laprissa, and
Latonia. The distribution of these and other Palsearctic genera
will be found in our second vol. chap. xix.
Fresliiocder Fish. — About twenty genera of freshwater fishes
are wholly confined to this region, and constitute a feature which
ought not to be overlooked~in estimating its claim to the rank
of a separate primary division of the earth. They belong to the
following families :— Percidse (three genera), Acerina, Percarina,
Aspi'o ; Comephoridse (one genus), Comephorus, found only in
Lake Baikal ; Salmonidse (three genera), Bracliymystax, Lucio-
trutta, and Plecoglossus ; Cyprinodontidte (one genus), Tellia,
found only in Alpine pools on the Atlas Mountains ; Cyprinidee
(thirteen genera), Cyprinus, Carassus, Paraphoxinus, Tinea,
AcMlognathus, Rhodeus, Chondrostoma, Pseudoperilainpus, Oche-
tebius, Aspitts, Alburnus, Misgiirnus, and NemacJiilus.
Summary of Palmardic Vertebrata. — Summarising these de-
tails, we find that the Palsearctic region possesses thirty-five
peculiar genera of mammalia, fifty-seven of birds, nine of
reptiles, sixteen of amphibia, and twenty-one of freshwater
fishes; or a total of 138 peculiar generic types of vertebrata.
Of these, 87 are mammalia and land-birds out of a total
of 274 genera of these groups ; or rather less than one- third
peculiar, a number which will serve usefully to compare with
the results obtained in other regions.
In our chapter on Zoological Eegions we have already pointed
out the main features which distinguish the Paltearctic from the
Oriental and Ethiopian regions. The details now given will
CHAP. X.] THE PALiEARCTIC REGION. 187
strengthen our view of their radical distinctness, by showing to
how considerable an extent the former is inhabited by peculiar,
and often very remarkable generic types.
Insects : Lepidoptera. — The Diurnal Lepidoptera, or butterflies,
are not very abundant in species, their number being probably
somewhat over 500,and these belong to not more than fifty genera.
But no less than fifteen of these genera are wholly confined to
the region. Nine of the families are represented, as follows : —
1. Danaiclce ; having only a single species in South Europe.
2. Satyridce ; well represented, there being more than 100 species
in Europe, and three peculiar genera. 3. Nymphalidce ; rather
poorly represented, Europe having only about sixty species, but
there is one peculiar genus. 4. Libytheidm ; a very small family,
represented by a single species occurring in S(nith Europe.
5. Nemeohiidce ; a rather small family, also having only one
species in Europe, but which constitutes a peculiar genera.
6. LyccenidcB ; an extensive family, fairly represented, having
about eighty European species ; there are two peculiar genera
in the Paleearctic region. 7. Pieridce ; rather poorly represented
with thirty-two European species ; two of the genera are, how-
ever, peculiar. 8. PapilionidcB ; very poorly represented in
Europe with only twelve species, but there are many more in
Siberia and Japan. No less than five of the small number of
genera in this family are wdiolly confined to the region, a
fact of much importance, and which to a great extent redeems
the character of the Palsearctic region as regard this order of
insects. Their names are Mtsarpia, Hypermnestra, Doritis,
Sericinus, and Tliais ; and besides these we have Parnassius —
the " Apollo " butterflies — highly characteristic, and only found
elsewhere in the mountains of the Nearctic region. 9. Hes-
jperidce ; poorly represented with about thirty European species,
and one peculiar genus.
Four families of Sphingina occur in the Palasarctic region,
and there are several peculiar genera.
In the Zygcenidce there are two exclusively European genera,
and the extensive genus Zygmna is itself mainly Pala^arctic.
The small family Stygiidce has two out of its three genera
188 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
confined to tiie Palsearctic region. In tlie JSgeriidce tlie genus
^geria is mainly Palsearctic. The SjpMngidce have a wider
general range, and none of the larger genera are peculiar to any-
one region.
Coleoptera. — The Palsearctic region is the richest portion of
the globe in the great family of Carabidce, or predacious ground-
beetles, about 50 of the genera being confined to it, while many
others, including the magnificent genus Carabus, have here their
highest development. While several of the smaller genera are
confined to the eastern or western sub-regions, most of the larger
ones extend over the whole area, and give it an unmistakable
aspect ; while in passing from east to west or vice-versa, allied
species and genera replace each other with considerable regu-
larity, except in the extreme south-east, where, in China and
Japan, some Oriental forms appear, as do a few Ethiopian types
in the south-west.
Cicindelidse, or tiger-beetles, are but poorly represented by
about 70 species of the genus Cicindda, and a single Tetracha
in South Europe.
Lucanidae, or stag-beetles, are also poor, there being represen-
tatives of 8 genera. One of these, yEsalus (a single species),
is peculiar to South Europe, and two others, Cladognathus and
Cyclopthalmus, are only represented in Japan, China, and Thibet.
Cetoniidee, or rose-chafers, are represented by 13 genera,
two of which are peculiar to South Europe {Tropinota and
Heterocnemis), while Stalagmosoma, ranging from Persia to
Nubia, and the fine Dicranocephalus inhabiting North China,
Corea, and Nipal, may also be considered to belong to it. The
genera Tricliius, Gnorimus, and Osmoderma are confined to the
two north temperate regions.
Buprestidse, or metallic beetles, are rather abundant in the
warmer parts of the i^egion, 27 genera being represented, nine
of which are peculiar. By far the larger portion of these are
confined to the Mediterranean sub-region. A considerable
number also inhabit Japan and China.
The Longicorns, or long-horned beetles, are represented by
no less than 196 genera, 51 of which are peculiar. They are
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 189
much more abundant in the southern than the northern half
of the region. Several Oriental genera extend to Japan and
ISTorth China, and a few Ethiopian genera to North Africa,
Thirteen genera are confined to the two north temperate regions.
Several large genera, such as Dorcadion (154 species), Phytmcia
(85 species), Pogonoclicerus (22 species), Agapanthia (22 species),
and Vespenis (7 species), are altogether peculiar to the Palse-
arctic region ; and with a preponderance of Lejjtura, Ormnniop-
tera, Stenocorus, and several others, strongly characterise it as
distinct from the Nearctic and Oriental regions.
The other families which are well developed in the Palsearctic
regions, are, the Staphylinidse or rove-beetles, Silphidse or
burying-beetles, Histeridae or mimic-beetles, ISTitidulid^, Apho-
diidse., Copridse (especially in South Europe), Geotrupidse or
dung-beetles, Melolonthidse or chafers, Elateridse or click-
beetles, the various families of Malacoderms and Heteromera,
especially Pimeliidse in the Mediterranean sub-region, Curculion-
idffi or weevils, the Phytophaga or leaf-eaters, and Cocinellidge
or lady-birds.
The number of species of Coleoptera in the western part of
the Palsearctic region is about 15,000, and there are probably
not more than 2,000 to add to this number from Siberia,
Japan, and North Chma; but were these countries as well
explored as Europe, we may expect that they would add at
least 5,000 to the number above given, raising the Palsearctic
Coleopterous fauna to 20,000 species. As the total number of
species at present known to exist in collections is estimated (and
perhaps somewhat over-estimated) at 70,000 species, we may
be sure that were the whole earth as thoroughly investigated
as Europe, the number would be at least doubled, since we
cannot suppose that Europe, with the Mediterranean basin, can
contain more than one-fifth of the whole of the Coleoptera of
the globe.
Of the other orders of insects we here say nothing, because in
their case much more than in that of the Coleoptera and Lepi-
doptera, is the disproportion enormous between our knowledge of
the European fauna and that of almost aD the rest of the globe.
190 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
They are, therefore, at present of comparatively little use for
purposes of geographical distribution, even were it advisable
to enter into the subject in a work which will, perhaps, be too
much overburdened with details only of interest to specialists.
Land Shells. — These are very numerous in the warmer parts
of the region, but comparatively scarce towards the North.
South Europe alone possesses over 600 species, whereas there are
only 200 in all Northern Europe and Asia. The total number
of species in the whole region is probably about 1,250, of which
the great majority are Helicidse; the Operculated families being
very poorly represented. Several small genera or sub-genera
are peculiar to the region, as Testacella (West Europe and
Canaries); Leucochroa (Mediterranean district) ; Acicula (Europe);
Craspedopoma (Atlantic Islands) ; Leonia (Algeria and Spain) ;
Pomatias (Europe and Canaries) ; Cecina (Mongolia). The largest
genera are Helix and Clausilia, which together comprise moie
than half the species ; Pupa, very numerous ; Bulimus and
Achatina in moderate numbers, and all the rest small.
Helix is the only genus which contains large and handsome
species ; Bulimus and Achatina, so magnificent in tropical coun-
tries, being here represented by small and obscure forms only.
Daudehardia is confined to Central and South Europe and New
Zealand ; Glandina is chiefly South American ; Hyalina is only
American and European ; Buliminus ranges over all the world
except America ; and the other European genera of Helicidse are
widely distributed. Of the Operculata, Cyclotus, Cyclophorus,
and Pupina extend from the Oriental region into Japan and
North China ; Tudoria is found in Algeria and the West Indies ;
Hydrocena is widely scattered, and occurs in South Europe and
Japan. The genera of freshwater shells are all widely dis-
tributed.
The Pal.earctic Sub-eegioxs.
The four sub-regions which are here adopted, have been^
fixed upon as those which are, in the present state of our know-
ledge, at once the most natural and the only practicable ones.
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^ARCTIC EEGION. 191
i^o doubt all of them could be advantageously again sub-
divided, in a detailed study of the geographical distribution of
species. But in a general work, which aims at treating all parts
of the world with equal fulness, and which therefore is confined
almost wholly to the distribution of families and genera, such
farther subdivision Avould be out of place. It is even difficult,
in some of the classes of animals, to find peculiar or even
characteristic genera for the present sub-regions ; but they all
have well marked climatic and physical differences, and this
leads to an assemblage of species and of groups which are suffi-
ciently distinctive.
I. Central and Northern Eurojoe.
This sub-region, which may perhaps be termed the " European,"
is zoologically and botanically the best known on the globe. It
can be pretty accurately defined, as bounded on the south by
the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Balkans, the Black Sea, and the
Caucasus range ; and by the Ural Mountains, or perhaps more
correctly the valley of the Irtish and Caspian Sea, on the east ;
while Ireland and Iceland are its furthest outliers in the west.
To the north, it merges so gradually into the Arctic zone that
no demarcation is possible. The great extent to which this
sub-region is interpenetrated by the sea, and the prevalence
of westerly winds bringing warmth and moisture from an ocean
influenced by the gulf-stream, give it a climate for the most
part genial, and free from extremes of heat and cold. It
is thus broadly distinguished from Siberia and Northern
Asia generally, where a more extreme and rigorous climate
prevails.
The whole of this sub-region is well watered, being pene-
trated by rivers in every direction ; and it consists mainly of
plains and undulating country of moderate elevation, the chief
mountain ranges being those of Scandinavia in the north-west,
and the extensive alpine system of Central Europe. But these
are both of moderate height, and a very small portion of their
surface is occupied either by permanent snow-fields, or by
barren uplands inimical to vegetable and animal life. It is, in
192 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGKAPHY, [part hi.
fact, to these, and the numerous lesser mountains and hills
which everywhere diversify the surface of Europe, that the
variety and abundance of its animal life is greatly due. They
afford the perennial supplies to rivers, and furnish in their
valleys and ever varying slopes, stations suited to every form
of existence. A considerable area of Central Europe is oc-
cupied by uplands of moderate elevation, a comparatively
small portion being flat and marshy plains.
Most of the northern and much of the central portions of
Europe are covered with vast forests of coniferous trees ; and
these, occupying as they do those tracts where the winter is
most severe, supply food and shelter to many animals who could
not otherwise maintain their existence. It is probable that
the original condition of the greater part, if not the whole, of
temperate Europe, except the flat marshes of the river valleys
and the sandy downs of the coast, was that of woodland and
forest, mostly of deciduous trees, but with a plentiful admixture
of such hardy evergreens as holly, ivy, privet, and yew. A
sufficient proportion of these primeval woods, and of artificial
plantations which have replaced them, fortunately remain, to
preserve for us most of the interesting forms of life, which
were developed before man had so greatly modified the surface
of the earth, and so nearly exterminated many of its original
tenants. Almost exactly in proportion to the amount of
woodland that still remains in any part of Europe, do we
lind (other things being equal) the abundance and variety
of wild animals; a pretty clear indication that the original
condition of the country was essentially that of a forest, a
condition which only now exists in the thinly inhabited regions
of the north.
Although the sub-region M'-e are considering is, for its extent
and latitude, richly peopled wdth animal life, the number of
genera altogether peculiar to it is not great. There are, however,
several which are very characteristic, and many species, both
of the smaller mammalia and of birds, are wholly restricted
to it.
Mammalia. — The genera wholly confined to this sub-region are
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 193
only two. Myogale, the desman, is a curious long-snouted
Insectivorous animal somewhat resembling the water-rat in its
habits. There are two species, one found only on the banks of
streams in the French Pyrenees, the other on the great rivers of
Southern Eussia. The other peculiar genus, Rupicapra (the
chamois of the Alps), is found on all the high mountains of
Central Europe. Almost peculiar are Spalax (the mole-rat)
found only in Eastern Europe and Western Siberia ; and Saiga,
an extraordinary large- nosed antelope which has a nearly
similar distribution. Highly characteristic forms, which inhabit
nearly every part of the sub-region, are, Talpa (the mole),
Erinaceus, (the hedgehog), Sorex (the shrew), Meles (the badger),
Ursus (the bear), Canis (the wolf and fox), Mustela (the weasel),
Lutra (the otter), Arvicola (the vole), Myoxus (the dormouse),
and Lepus (the hare and rabbit) ; while Bos (the wild bull) was,
until exterminated by man, no doubt equally characteristic-
Other genera inhabiting the sub-region will be found in the list
given at the end of this chapter.
Birds. — It is difficult to name the birds that are most charac-
teristic of this sub-region, because so many of the most familiar
and abundant are emigrants from the south, and belong to
groups that have a different range. There is perhaps not a
single genus wholly confined to it, and very few that have not
equal claims to be placed elsewhere. Among the more charac-
teristic we may name Turdus (the thrushes), Sylvia (the war-
blers), Fanurus (the reedling) Parus (the tits), Anthus (the
pipits), Motacilla (the wagtails), which are perhaps more abun-
dant here than in any other part of the world, Einberiza (the
buntings), Phdroplianes (the snow buntings). Passer (the house
sparrows), Loxia (the crossbills), Linota (the linnets), Pica (the
magpies), Tetrao (grouse), Lagopus (ptarmigan) and many others.
I am indebted to Mr. H. E. Dresser, who is personally ac-
quainted with the ornithology of much of the North of Europe,
for some valuable notes on the northern range of many Euro-
pean birds. Those which are characteristic of the extreme
Arctic zone, extending beyond 70° north latitude, and toler-
ably abundant, are two falcons {Falco gyi^falco and F. peregrinus) ;
0
194 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
the rough-legged buzzard {Archibuteo lagopus) ; the snowy owl
{Nydea scandiaca) ; the raven {Corvus corax) ; three buntings
{Emheriza schceniculus, Pledrophanes nivalis and P. calcarata) ; a
lark {Otocorys alpestris) ; several pipits, the most northern being
Anthrts cervinus] a wagtail (Budytes cinereocapilla) ; a dipper
{Cinclus Tuelanogaster) ; a warbler {Cyanecula suecica) ; the
wheatear (Saxicola mnanthe) ; and two ptarmigans {Lagopus
albus and L. salicetus). Most of these birds are, of course, only
summer visitors to the Arctic regions, the only species noted as
a permanent resident in East Finmark (north of latitude 70°)
being the snow-bunting (Flectrophanes nivalis)^.
The birds that are characteristic of the zone of pine forests,
or from about 61° to 70° north latitude, are very numerous, and
it will be sufficient to note the genera and the number of
species (where more than one) to give an idea of the ornitho-
logy of this part of Europe. The birds of prey are, Falco (three
species), Astur (two species), Buteo, Pandion, Surnia, Buho,
Syrnium, Asio, Nyctala. The chief Passerine birds are, Corvus
(two species). Pica, Garrulus (two species), Nucifraga, Bomhy-
cilla, Hirundo (two species), Muscicapa (two species), Lanius,
Sturnus, Passer (two species), Pyrrhula, Carpodacus, Loxia (two
species), Pinicola, Fringilla (eight species), Bmheriza (five
species), Alauda, Anthus, Turdus (five species), Ruticilla, Pratin-
cola, Accentor, Sylvia (four SY>ecies), Hypolais, Begulus,Phylloscopus
(two species), Acroceplialus, Troglodytes, and Parus (six species).
Woodpeckers are abundant, Picus (four species), Gecinus, and
Yunx. The kingfisher (Alcedo), goatsucker (Caprimulgus), and
swift (Cypselus) are also common. The wood-pigeon (Columha)
is plentiful. The gallinaceous birds are three grouse, Tetrao (two
species) and Bonasa, and the common quail {Coturnix).
The remaining genera and species of temperate or north-
European birds, do not usually range beyond the region of
deciduous trees, roughly indicated by the parallel of 60° north
latitude.
Plate I. — Illustrating the Zoology of Central Europe. —
Before considering the distribution of the other classes of
vertebrata, it will be convenient to introduce our first illustra-
'I I'll I'l , ; I ,
tm^-mifi.' Wf
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^ARCTIC EEGION. 195
tion^ which represents a scene in the Alps of Central Europe,
with figures of some of the most characteristic Mammalia
and Birds of this sub-region. On the left is the badger
(Meles Taxus) one of the weasel family, and belonging to a
genus which is strictly Palaearctic. It abounds in Central and
Northern Europe and also extends into North Asia, but is repre-
sented by another species in Thibet and by a third in Japan.
The elegantly- formed creatures on the right are chamois [Eupi-
capra tragus), almost the only European antelopes, and wholly
confined to the higher mountains, from the Pyrenees to the
Carpathians and the Caucasus. The chamois is the only
species of the genus, and is thus perhaps the most characteristic
European mammal. The bird on the left, above the badgers, is
the Alpine chough, (Fregihis pyrrhocorax). It is found in the
high mountains from the Alps to the Himalayas, and is allied
to the Cornish chough, which is still found on our south-
western coasts, and which ranges to Abyssinia and North
China. The Alpine chough differs in having a shorter bill of
an orange colour, and vermilion red feet as in the other
species. In the foreground are a pair of ruffs [Machetes pugnax)
belonging to the Scolopacidte or snipe family, and most nearly
allied to the genus Tringa or sandpiper. This bird is remark-
able for the fine collar of plumes which adorns the males in the
breeding season, when they are excessively pugnacious. It is
the only species of its genus, and ranges over all Europe and
much of Northern Asia, migrating in the winter to the plains of
India, and even down the east coast of Africa as far as the
Cape of Good Hope ; but it only breeds in the Palpearctic
region, over the greater part of which it ranges.
Reptiles and Amphibia. — There are no genera of reptiles
peculiar to this sub-region. Both snakes and lizards are compara-
tively scarce, there being about fourteen species of the former
and twelve of the latter. Our common snake {Tropiclonotus
natrix) extends into Sweden and North Eussia, but the viper
(Viperus herus) goes further north, as far as Archangel (64° N.),
and in Scandinavia (67° N.), and is the most Ai'ctic of all known
0 2
196 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
snakes. Of the lizards, Lacerta stirpiuni (the sand lizard) has
the most northerly range, extending into Poland and Northern
Eussia; and Anguis fragilis (the blind or slow-worm) has almost
an equal range.
Amphibia, being more adapted to a northern climate, have
acquired a more special development, and thus several forms
are peculiar to the North European sub-region. Most remarkable
is, Proteus, & Qvagwlox eel-like aquatic creature with small legs,
found only in the subterranean lakes in Carniola and Carinthia ;
Alytes, a curious toad, the male of which carries about the eggs
till they are hatched, found only in Central Europe from
France to the east of Hungary ; and Pelodytes, a frog found only
in France, Frogs and toads are very abundant all over Europe, the
common frog {Rana teinporaria) extending to the extreme north.
The newts {Triton) are also very abundant and widely spread,
though not ranging so far north as the frogs. The genera Bom-
binator (a toad-like frog), and ITyla (the tree frog) are also com-
mon in Central Europe.
Freshwater Fish. — Two genera of the perch family (Pei'cidse) are
peculiar to this sub-region, — Percarina, a fish found only in the
river Dniester, and Aspro, confined to the rivers of Central
Europe. Of the very characteristic forms are, Gasterosteus
(stickle-back), which alone forms a peculiar family — Gasteros-
teidse ; Perca, Acerina and Imcioperca, genera of the perch family ;
Silurus, a large fish found in the rivers of Cenrtal Europe, of
the family Siluridas ; Fsox (the pike), of the family Esocidffi ;
Cyprinus (carp), Gobio (gudgeon), Leuciscus (roach, chub, dace,
&c.). Tinea (tench), Ahramus (bream), Alhurnus (bleak), Cobitis
(loach), all genera of the family Cyprinidse.
Insects — Lepidoptera. — No genera of butterflies are actually
confined to this sub-region, but many are characteristic of it.
Parnassius, Aporia, Leucophasia, Colias, Melitcea, Argynnis,
Vanessa, Limenitis, and Chionobas, are all very abundant and
widespread, and give a feature to the entomology of most of the
countries included in it.
Coleoptera. — This sub-region is very rich in Carabidee; the
genera Elaphrus, Nebria, Carabiis, Cychrus, Pterostichus, Amara,
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^AECTIC EEGION. 197
Treclius and Peryphus being especially cliaracteristic. Staphy-
linidse abound. Among Lamellicorns the genus Aphodius is
most characteristic. Buprestidae are scarce ; Elateridse more
abundant. Among Malacoderms Telephones and Malachius are
characteristic. Curculionidse abound : Otiorhyuchus, Omias,
Erirhinus, Bagous, Rhynchites and Geutorhynchus being very-
characteristic genera. Of Longicorns Callidium, Dorcadion,
PogonocJicerus, Pacliyta and Leptura are perhaps the best re-
presentatives. Donacia, Crioceris, Chryso'mela, and Altica, are
typical Phytophaga; while Coccinella is the best representa-
tive of the Securipalpes.
Nortli European Islands. — The British Islands are known to
have been recently connected with the Continent, and their
animal productions are so uniformly identical with continental
species as to require no special note. The only general fact of
importance is, that the number of species in all groups is much
less than in continental districts of equal extent, and that this
number is still farther diminished in Ireland. This may be
accounted for by the smaller area and less varied surface of the
latter island ; and it may also be partly due to the great extent
of low land, so that a very small depression would reduce it
to the condition of a cluster of small islands capable of sup-
porting a very limited amount of animal life. Yet further, if
after such a submergence had destroyed much of the higher
forms of life in Great Britain and Ireland, both were elevated so
as to again form part of the Continent, a migration would com-
mence by which they would be stocked afresh ; but this migra-
tion would be a work of time, and it is to be expected that
many species would never reach Ireland or would find its exces-
sively moist climate uusuited to them.
Some few British species differ slightly from their continental
allies, and are considered by many naturalists to be distinct.
This is the case with the red grouse {Lagopits scoticus) among
birds ; and a few of the smaller Passeres have also been found
to vary somewhat from the allied forms on the Continent, show-
ing that the comparatively short interval since the glacial period,
and the slightly different physical conditions dependent on
198 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
insularity, have sufficed to commence the work of specific
modification. There are also a few small land-shells and several
insects not yet found elsewhere than in Britain ; and even one
of the smaller Mammalia — a shrew {Sorex rusticus). These facts
are all readily explained by the former union of these islands
with the Continent, and the alternate depressions and elevations
which are proved by geological evidence to have occurred, by
wdiich they have been more than once separated and united
again in recent times. For the evidence of this elevation and
depression, the reader may consult Sir Charles Ly ell's Antiquity
of Man.
Iceland is the only other island of importance belonging to
this sub-region, and it contrasts strongly with Great Britain,
both in its Arctic climate and oceanic position. It is situated
just south of the Arctic circle and considerably nearer Green-
land than Europe, yet its productions are almost wholly European,
The only indigenous land mammalia are the Arctic fox {Canis
lago'pus), and the polar bear as an occasional visitant, with a
mouse Qius islandicus), said to be of a peculiar species. Four
species of seals visit its shores. The birds are more interesting.
According to Professor Newton, ninety-five species have been
observed ; but many of these are mere stragglers. There are
twenty-three land, and seventy-two aquatic birds and waders.
Four or five are peculiar species, though very closely related to
others inhabiting Scandinavia or Greenland. Only two or
three species are more nearly related to Greenland birds than to
those of Northern Europe, so that the Palsearctic character of
the fauna is unmistakable. The following lists, compiled from
a paper by Professor Newton, may be interesting as showing
more exactly the character of Icelandic ornithology.
1. Peculiar species. — Troglodytes horealis (closely allied
to the common wren, found also in the Faroe Islands) ; Falco
islandicus (closely allied to F. gyrfalco) ; Lagopus islandorum
(closely allied to L. rupestris of Greenland).
2. European species resident in Iceland. — Emheriza nivalis,
Corvus corax, Haliceetus albicilla, Rallus aquaticus, Hcematojpus
ostralegws, Gygnus ferus, Mergus (two species), Fhalacocorax (two
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^EARCTIC EEGION. 199
species), Sula hassana, Lams (two species), Stercorarius catar-
rades, Puffinus anglorum, Mergulus alle, Uria (three species),
Aha tor da.
3. American species resident in Iceland. — Clangula. islandica,
Histrionicus torquatus.
4:. Annual visitants from Europe. — Turdus iliacus, Muticilla
tithys, Saxicola mnantlie, Motacilla alha, Anthus jpratensis, Linota
linaria, Ghelidon tirbica, Hirundo rustica, Falco cesalon, Surnia
nyctea, Otus hrachyotus, Charadrius pluvialis, jEgialites hiaticula,
Strepsilas interpres, Plialaropus fulicarius, Totanus calidris,
Limosa (species), Tringa (three species), Calidris arenaria,
Gallinago media, Numenms phmopiis, Ard'ea cinerea, Anser (two
species), Bernida (two species). Anas (four species), Fidigula
marila, Uarelda glacialis, Somateria mollissima, CEdeniia nigra,
Sterna macrura, Bissa tridadyla, Larus luecopterus, Stercorarius
(two species), Fratercula artica, Colymhus (two species), Podi-
ceps cornutus.
5. Annual visitant from Greenland. — Falco candicans.
6. — Former resident, now extinct, — Alca itnpennis (the
great auk).
//. — Mediterranean Suh-region.
This is by far the richest portion of the Palsearctic region,
for although of moderate extent much of it enjoys a climate in
which the rigours of winter are almost unknown. It includes
all the countries south of the Pyrenees, Alps, Balkans, and
Caucasus mountains ; all the southern shores of the Mediter-
ranean to the Atlas range, and even beyond it to include the
extra-tropical portion of the Sahara ; and in the jSTile valley
as far as the second cataract. Further east it includes the
northern half of Arabia and the whole of Persia, as well as
Beluchistan, and perhaps Affghanistan up to the banks of the
Indus. This extensive district is almost wholly a region of
mountains and elevated plateaus. On the west, Spain is
mainly a table-land of more than 2000 feet elevation, deeply
penetrated by extensive valleys and rising into lofty moun-
tain chains. Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily, are all very
200 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
mountainous, and much of their surface considerably elevated.
Further east we have all European Turkey and Greece, a
mountain region with a comparatively small extent of level
plain. In Asia the whole country, from Smyrna through
Armenia and Persia to the further borders of Affghanistan, is a
vast mountainous plateau, almost all above 2000, and extensive
districts above 5000 feet in elevation. The only large tract of
low-land is the valley of the Euphrates. There is also some
low-land south of the Caucasus, and in Syria the valley of the
Jordan. In North Africa the valley of the Mle and the coast
plains of Tripoli and Algiers are almost the only exceptions to
the more or less mountainous and plateau-like character of the
coimtry. Much of this extensive area is now bare and arid,
and often even of a desert character; a fact no doubt due, in
great part, to the destruction of aboriginal forests. This loss
is rendered permanent by the absence of irrigation, and, it is
also thought, by the abundance of camels and goats, animals
which are exceedingly injurious to woody vegetation, and are
able to keep down the natural growth of forests. Mr. Marsh
(whose valuable work Man and Nature gives much information
on this subject) believes that even large portions of the African
and Asiatic deserts would become covered with woods, and the
climate thereby greatly improved, were they protected from
these destructive domestic animals, which are probably not
indigenous to the country. Spain, in proportion to its extent,
is very barren ; Italy and European Turkey are more woody and
luxuriant ; but it is perhaps in Asia Minor, on the range of the
Taurus, along the shores of the Black Sea, and to the south of
the Caucasus range, that this sub-region attains its maximum of
luxuriance in vegetation and in animal life. From the Caspian
eastward extends a region of arid plains and barren deserts,
diversified by a few more fertile valleys, in which the charac-
teristic flora and fauna of this portion of the Palsearctic region
abounds. Further east we come to the forests of the Hindoo
Koosh, which probably form the limit of the sub-region.
Beyond these we enter on the Siberian sub-region to the north,
and on the outlying portion of the Oriental region on the south.
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^AECTIC REGION. 201
In addition to the territories now indicated as forming part
of the Mediterranean sub-region, we must add the group of
Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa which seem to be
an extension of the Atlas mountains, and the oceanic groups of
Madeira and the Azores ; the latter about 1,000 miles from the
continent of Europe, yet still unmistakably allied to it both in
their vegetable and animal productions. The peculiarities of the
fauoas of these islands will be subsequently referred to.
It seems at first sight very extraordinary, that so large and
wide a sea as the Mediterranean should not separate distinct
faunas, and this is the more remarkable when we find how very
deep the Mediterranean is, and therefore how ancient we may
well suppose it to be. Its eastern portion reaches a depth of
2,100 fathoms or 12,600 feet, while its western basin is about
1,600 fathoms or 9,600 feet in greatest depth, and a considerable
area of both basins is more than 1,000 fathoms deep. But a
further examination shows, that a comparatively shallow sea or
submerged bank incloses Malta and Sicily, and that on the
opposite coast a similar bank stretches out from the coast of
Tripoli leaving a narrow channel the greatest depth of which is
240 fathoms. Here therefore is a broad plateau, which an
elevation of about 1,500 feet would convert into a wide extent
of land connecting Italy with Africa ; while the same elevation
would also connect Morocco with Spain, leaving two extensive
lakes to represent what is now the Mediterranean Sea, and afford-
ing free communication for land animals between Europe and
North Africa. That such a state of things existed at a com-
paratively recent period, is almost certain ; not only because a
considerable number of identical species of mammalia inhabit the
opposite shores of the Mediterranean, but also because numerous
remains of three species of elephants have been found in caves
in Malta, — now a small rocky island in which it would be im-
possible for such animals to live even if they could reach it.
Eemains of hippopotami are also found at Gibraltar, and many
other animals of African types in Greece ; all indicating means
of communication between South Europe and E'orth Africa which
no longer exist. (See Chapter VI. pp. 113 — 115.)
202 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
Mammalia. — There are a few groups of Palsearctic Mammalia
that are peculiar to this sub-region. Such are, Bama, the
fallow deer, which is now found only in South Europe and North
Africa ; Fsammomys, a peculiar genus of Muridse, found only in
Egypt and Palestine ; while Ctenodadylus, a rat-like animal
classed in the South American family Octodontidse, inhabits
Tripoli. Among characteristic genera not found in other sub-
regions, are, Dysoi^es, a bat of the family Noctilionidse; Macros-
celides, the elephant shrew, in North Africa ; Genetta, the
civet, in South Europe ; Serpestes, the ichneumon, in North
Africa and (?) Spain ; Hycena, in South Europe ; Gazella, Oryx,
Alcephalus, and Adclax, genera of antelopes in North Africa
and Palestine ; Hyrax, in Syria : and Hystrix, the porcupine,
in South Europe. Besides these, the camel and the horse
were perhaps once indigenous in the eastern parts of the sub-
region ; and a wild sheejD {Ovis mus7non) still inhabits Sardinia,
Corsica, and the mountains of the south-east of Spain. The
presence of the large feline animals — such as the lion, the
leopard, the serval, and the hunting leopard — in North Africa,
together with several other quadrupeds not found in Europe,
have been thought by some naturalists to prove, that this dis-
trict should not form part of the Palaearctic region. No doubt
several Ethiopian groups and species have entered it from the
south; but the bulk of its Mammalia still remains Palaearctic,
although several of the species have Asiatic rather than Euro-
pean affinities. The Macacus innuus is allied to an Asiatic
rather than an African group of monkeys, and thus denotes an
Oriental aflftnity. Ethiopian aiiinity is apparently shown by the
three genera of antelopes, by Her'pestes, and by Macroscelides ; but
our examination of the Miocene fauna has shown that these were
probably derived from Europe originally, and do not form any
part of the truly indigenous or ancient Ethiopian fauna. Against
these, however, we have the occurrence in North Africa of
such purely Palaearctic and non-Ethiopian genera as JJrsus, Meles,
Putorius, Sus, Cervvs, Dama, Capra, Aladaga ; together with
actual European or West Asiatic species of Canis, Genetta, Felis,
Putorius, Lutra, many bats, Sorex, Crocidura, Crossopus, Hystrix,
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 203'
Dipus, Lepus, and Mus. It is admitted that, as regards every
other group of animals, North Africa is Palaearctic, and the
above enumeration shows that even in Mammalia, the inter-
mixture of what are now trae Ethiopian types is altogether
insignificant. It must be remembered, also, that the lion
inhabited Greece even in historic times, while large carnivora
were contemporary with man all over Central Europe.
Birds. — So many of the European birds migrate over large
portions of the region, and so many others have a wide perma-
nent range, that we cannot expect to find more than a few
genera, consisting of one or two species, each, confined to a sub-
region ; and such appear to be, Lusciniola and Pyrophthalma,
genera of Sylviidse. But many are characteristic of this, as
compared with other Palsearctic sub-regions ; such as, Braclyp-
tetus, Aedon, Drvmolcea, and Cercomela, among Sylviidse; Crate-
ToiJiis and Malacocercus, among Timaliida3 ; Telophonus among
Laniidse ; Certhilauda and Mirafra among larks ; Pastor among
starlings ; Upupa, the hoopoe ; Halycoii and Ceryle among
kingfishers; Turnix and Caccahis among Gallinye, and the
pheasant as an indigenous bird ; together with Gyps, Vultur and
Keophron, genera of vultures. In addition to these, almost all
our summer migrants spend their winter in some part of this
favoured land, mostly in North Africa, together with many
species of Central Europe that rarely or never visit us. It
follows, that a large proportion of all the birds of Europe and
Western Asia are to be found in this sub-region, as will be seen
by referring to the list of the genera of the region. Palestine
is one of the remote portions of this region which has been
well explored by Canon Tristram, and it may be interesting to
give his summary of the range of the birds. We must bear
in mind that the great depression of the Dead Sea has a tropical
climate, which accounts for the presence here only, of such a
tropical form as the sun-bird {Nectarinea osea).
The total number of the birds of Palestine is 322, and of
these no less than 260 are European, at once settling the question
of the general affinities of the fauna. Of the remainder eleven
belong to North and East Asia, four to the Eed Sea, and thirty-
204 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part iir.
one to East Africa, while twenty-seven are peculiar to Palestine.
It is evident therefore that an unusual number of East African
birds have extended their range to this congenial district, but
most of these are desert species and hardly true Ethiopians,
and do not much interfere with the general Palsearctic character
of the whole assemblage. As an illustration of how wide-spread
are many of the Palsearctic forms, we may add, that seventy-
nine species of land birds and fifty- five of M^ater birds, are com-
mon to Palestine and Britain. Tlie Oriental and Ethiopian
genera Pycnonotus and Nedarinea are found here, while Bessornis
and Bromolma are characteristically Ethiopian. Almost all the
other genera are Palaearctic.
Persia is another remote region generally associated with the
idea of Oriental and almost tropical forms, but which yet undoubt-
edly belongs to the Palsearctic region. Mr. Blanford's recent
collections in this country, with other interesting information, is
summarised in Mr. Elwes's paper on the " Geographical Distri-
bution of Asiatic Birds " {Proc. Zool. Soc. 1873, p. 647). No less
than 127 species are found also in Europe, and thirty-seven
others belong to European genera; seven are allied to birds of
Central Asia or Siberia, and fifteen to those of North-East Africa,
while only three are purely of Indian affinities. This shows a
preponderance of nearly nine-tenths of Palsearctic forms, which
is fvill}' as much as can be expected in any country near the
limits of a great region.
Reptiles and AmpJiihia. — The climatal conditions being here
more favourable to these groups, and the genera being often of
limited range, we find some peculiar, and several very interesting
forms. Rhinechis, a genus of Colubrine snakes, is found only in
South Europe ; Trogonophis, one of the Amphisbsenians —
curious snake-like lizards — is known only from North Africa ;
Fsammosaurus, belonging to the water lizards (Varanidse) is
found in North Africa and North-West India ; Psammodromus,
a genus of Lacertidse, is peculiar to South Europe ; Hyalosaurus,
belonging to the family Zonuridse, is a lizard of especial in-
terest, as it inhabits North Africa while its nearest ally is the
Ophisaurus or "glass snake" of North America; the family of
CHAP. X.] THE PALiEARCTIC REGION. 205
the sciuks is represented by Sciticus found ia Korth Africa and
Arabia. Besides these Seps, a genus of sand lizards (Sepidte) and
Agama, a genus of Agamidse, are abundant and characteristic.
Of Amphibia we have Seiranota, a genus of salamanders
found only in Italy and Dalmatia ; Chioglossa, in Portugal, and
Geotriton, in Italy, belonging to the same family, are equally
peculiar to the sub-region.
Freshwater Fish. — One of the most interesting is Tellia, a
genus of CyprinodontidEe found only in alpine pools in the
Atlas mountains. Paraph vxinius, found in South-East Europe,
and Chondrostoma, in Europe and Western Asia, genera of Cypri-
midse, seem almost peculiar to this sub-region.
Insects — Lepidoptera. — Two genera of butterflies, Thais and
Doritis, are wholly confined to this sub-region, the former
ranging over all Southern Europe, the latter confined to Eastern
Europe and Asia Minor. Anthocharis and Zegris are very cha-
racteristic of it, the latter only extending into South Eussia,
while Danais, Charaxes, and Lihythea are tropical genera un-
known in other parts of Europe.
Coleoptera. — This sub-region is very rich in many groups of
Coleoptera, of which a fev/ only can be noticed here. Among
Carabidse it possesses Procerus and Procrits^es, almost exclusively,
while Brachinus, Cymindis, Lebia, Graphi'pterus, Scarites, Chlce-
nius, Calathus, and many others, are abundant and characteristic.
Among Lamellicorns — Copridse, Olaphyridse, Melolonthidce, and
Cetoniidse abound. Buprestidse are plentiful, the genera Julodis,
Acmceodera, Buprestis, and Sphenoptera being characterit^tic.
Among Malacoderms — Cebrionidse, Lampyridse, and Malachiidse
abound. The Tenebrioid Heteromera are very varied and abun-
dant, and give a character to the sub-region. The Mylabridse,
Cantharidse, and (Edemeridse are also characteristic. Of the
immense number of Curculionidse — Thylacites, Brachycerus,
Lixus, and Acalles may be mentioned as among the most pro-
minent. Of Longicorns there are few genera especially cha-
racteristic, but perhaps Prinobius, Purpuricenus, Hesperophanes,
and Parmena are most so. Of the remaining families, we may
mention Clythridse, Hispidae, and Cassididse as being abundant.
206 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part iii.
The Mediterranean and Atlantic Islands. — The various islands
of the Mediterranean are interesting to the student of geo-
graphical distribution as affording a few examples of local species
of very restricted range, but as a rule they present us with
exactly the same forms as those of the adjacent mainland.^
Their peculiarities do not, therefore, properly come within the
scope of this work. The islands of the Atlantic Ocean belong-
ing to this sub-region are, from their isolated position and the
various problems they suggest, of much more interest, and their
natural history has been carefully studied. We shall therefore
give a short account of their peculiar features.
Of the three groups of Atlantic islands belonging to this sub-
resion, the Canaries are nearest to the Continent, some of the
islands being only about fifty miles from the coast of Africa.
They are, however, separated from the mainland by a very deep
channel (more than 5,000 feet), as shown on our general map.
The islands extend over a length of 300 miles ; they are very
mountainous and wholly volcanic, and the celebrated peak of
Teneriffe rises to a height of more than 12,000 feet. The small
Madeira group is about 400 miles from the coast of Morocco
and 600 from the southern extremity of Portugal ; and there is
a depth of more than 12,000 feet between it and the continent.
The Azores are nearly 1,000 miles west of Lisbon. They are
quite alone in mid- Atlantic, the most westerly islands being
nearer Newfoundland than Europe, and are surrounded by ocean
depths of from 12,000 to 18,000 feet. It will be convenient to
take these islands first in order.
Azores. — Considering the remoteness of this group from every
other land, it is surprising to find as many as fifty-three species
of birds inhabiting or visiting the Azores ; and still more to
^ Malta is interesting as forming a resting-place for migratory birds, while
crossing the Mediterranean. It has only eight land and three aquatic birds
-which are permanent residents ; yet no less than 278 species have been
recorded by Mr. E. A. Wright as visiting or passing over it, comprising a
large proportion of the European migratory birds. The following are the
permanent residents : Cerchneis tinnunculus, Strix flammea, Passer salicicola,
Emberiza miliaria, Gorvux monedula, Monticola cyanea, Sylvia conspicillata,
Columba livia, Puffinus cinerevs, P. anglorum., Thalassidroma pelagica.
CHAP. X.] THE PALiEARCTIC REGION. 207
find that they are of Palsearctic genera and, with one exception,
all of species found either in Europe, ISTorth Africa, Madeira,
or the Canaries. The exception is a bullfinch peculiar to the
islands, but closely allied to a European species. Of land birds
there are twenty-two, belonging to twenty-one genera, all Euro-
pean. These genera are Gerclmeis, Buteo, Asio, Strix, Turdus,
Oriolus, Erithacus, Sylvia, Begidus, Saxicola, Motacilla, Plec-
trophanes, Fringilla, Pyrrlnda, Serinus, Sturnus, Picus,
Upupa, Cohimha, Caccabis, and Coturnix. Besides the bull-
finch [Pyrrlnda) other species show slight differences from their
European allies, but not such as to render them more than
varieties. The only truly indigenous mammal is a bat of a
European species. Mne butterflies inhabit the Azores ; eight
of them are European species, one North American. Of beetles
212 have been collected, of which no less than 175 are Euro-
pean species ; of the remainder, nineteen are found in the
Canaries or Madeira, three in South America, while fourteen
are peculiar to the islands.
Now these facts (for which we are indebted to Mr. Godman's
Natural History of the Azores) are both unexpected and exceed-
ingly instructive. In most other cases of remote Oceanic
islands, a much larger proportion of the fauna is endemic, or
consists of peculiar species and often of peculiar genera ; as is
well shown by the case of the Galapagos and Juan Eernandez,
both much nearer to a continent and both containing peculiar
genera and species of birds. Now w^e know that the cause and
meaning of this difference is, that in the one case the original
immigration is very remote and has never or very rarely been
repeated, so that under the unchecked influence of new condi-
tions of life the species have become modified ; in the other
case, either the original immigration has been recent, or if remote
has been so frequently repeated that the new comers have kept
up the purity of the stock, and have not allowed time for the
new conditions to produce the effect we are sure they would in
time produce if not counteracted. For Mr. Godman tells us
that many of the birds are modified — instancing the gold-crested
wren, blackcap, and rock dove — and he adds, that the modifica-
208 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
tion all tends in one direction — to produce a more sombre
plumage, a greater strength of feet and legs, and a more robust
bill. We further find, that four of the land-birds, including the
oriole, snow-bunting, and hoopoe, are not resident birds, but
straggle accidentally to the islands by stress of weather; and
we are told that every year some fresh birds are seen after
violent storms. Add to this the fact, that the number of
species diminishes in the group as we go from east to west, and
that the islands are subject to fierce and frequent storms
blowing from every point of the compass, — and we have all the
facts requisite to enable us to understand how this remote
archipelago has become stocked with animal life without ever
probably being much nearer to Europe than it is now. For
the islands are all volcanic, the only stratified rock that occurs
being believed to be of Miocene date.
Madeira and the Canaries. — Coming next to Madeira, we find
the number of genera of land birds has increased to twenty-eight,
of which seventeen are, identical with those of the Azores. Some
of the commonest European birds — swallows, larks, sparrows,
linnets, goldfinches, ravens, and partridges, are among the addi-
tions. A gold-crested warbler, Regnlus Maderens^'s, and a pigeon,
Columha Trocaz, are peculiar to Madeira.
In the Canaries we find that the birds have again very much
increased, there being more than fifty .genera of land birds ; but
the additions are wholly European in character, and almost all
common European species. We find a few more peculiar spe-
cies (five), while some others, including the wild canary, are
common to all the Atlantic Islands or to the Canaries and
Madeira. Here, too, the only indigenous mammalia are two
European species of bats.
Land Shells. — The land shells of Madeira offer us an instruc-
tive contrast to the birds of the Atlantic Islands, ilbout fifty-
six species have been found in Madeira, and forty-two in the small
adjacent island of Porto Santo, but only twelve are common to
both, and all or almost all are distinct from their nearest allies
in Europe and North Africa. Great numbers of fossil shells
are also found in deposits of the Newer Pliocene period ; and
CHAP. X.] THE PALiE ARCTIC REGION. 20;>
although these comprise many fresh species, the two faunas and
that of the continent still remain almost as distinct from each
other as before. It has been already stated (p. 31) that the
means by which land mollusca have been carried across arms
of the sea are unknoMai, although several modes may be
suggested ; but it is evidently a rare event, requiring some
concurrence of favourable conditions not always present. The
diversity and specialization of the forms of these animals is,
therefore, easily explained by the fact, that, once introduced
they have been left to multiply under the influence of a variety
of local conditions, which inevitably lead, in the course of ages,
to the formation of new varieties and new species.
Coleoptera. — The beetles of Madeira and the Canaries have
been so carefully collected and examined by Mr. T. V. Wollaston,
and those of the Azores described and compared by Mr. Crotch,
and they illustrate so many curious points in geographical dis-
tribution, that it is necessary to give some account of them, No
less than 1,480 species of beetles have been obtained from the
Canaries and IMadeira, only 360 of which are European, the
remainder being peculiar to the islands. The Canaries are
inhabited by a little over 1,000 species, Madeira by about 700,
while 240 are common to both ; but it is believed that many of
these have been introduced by man. In the Azores, 212 species
have been obtained, of which 1 75 are European ; showing, as in
the birds, a_ closer resemblance to the European fauna than in
the other islands which, although nearer to the continent, otfer
more shelter and are situated in a less tempestuous zone. Of
the non- European species in the Azores, 19 are found also in
the other groups of islands, 14 are peculiar, while 3 are American.
Of the European species, 132 are found also in the other Atlantic
islands, while 43 have reached the Azores only. This is inter-
esting as showing to how great an extent the same insects
reach all the islands, notwithstanding the difference of latitude
and position ; and it becomes of great theoretical importance,
when we find how many extensive families and genera are alto-
gether absent.
The Madeira group has been more thoroughly explored than
r
210 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [i'Art iir.
any other, and its comparatively remote situation, combined with
its luxuriant vegetation, have been favourable to the develop-
ment and increase of the peculiar forms which characterize all
the Atlantic islands in a more or less marked desree. A con-
sideration of some of its peculiarities will, therefore, best serve
to show the bearing of the facts presented by the insect fauna of
the Atlantic islands, on the general laws of distribution. The
711 species of beetles now known from the Madeira group,
belong to 236 genera ; and no less than 44 of these genera are
not European but are peculiar to the Atlantic islands. Most of
them are, however, closely allied to European genera, of which
they are evidently modifications. A most curious general feature
presented by the Madeiran beetles, is the total absence of many
whole families and large genera abundant in South Europe.
Such are the Cicindelidce, or tiger, beetles ; the Melolonthidse, or
chafers ; the Cetoniidge, or rose-chafers ; the Eumolpidas and
Galerucidte, large families of Phytophagous, or leaf-eating beetles ;
and also the extensive groups of Elateridas and Buprestidse,
which are each represented by but one minute species. Of
extensive genera abundant in South Europe, but wholly absent
in Madeira, are Carahus, Bhizotrogus, Lampyris, and other
genera of Malacoderms ; Otiorhynchus, Brachycerus, and 20
other genera of Curculionidse, comprising more than 300 South
European and North African species ; Pimelia, Tentyra, Blajjs,
and 18 other genera of Heteromera, comprising about 550 species
in South Europe and North Africa ; and Timarcha, containing
44 South European and North African species.
Another most remarkable feature of the Madeiran Ooleoptera
is the unusual prevalence of apterous or wingless insects. This
is especially the case with groiips which are confined to the
Atlantic islands, many of which consist wholly of wingless
species ; but it also affects the others, no less than twenty-two
genera whicli are usually or sometimes winged in Europe, having
only wingless species in Madeira ; and even the same species
which is winged in Europe becomes, in at least three cases,
wingless in Madeira,'without any other perceptible change having
taken place. But there is another most curious fact noticed by
CHAP. X.] THE PAL.EARCTIC REGION. 211
Mr. "Wollaston; tliat those species which possess wings in
Madeira, often have them rather larger than their allies in
Europe. These two facts were connected by Mr. Darwin, who
suggested that flying insects are much more exposed to be
blown out to sea and lost, than those which do not fly (and Mr.
Wollaston had himself supposed that the " stormy atmosphere '
of Madeira had something to do with the matter) ; so that the
most frequent fliers would be continually weeded out, while the
more sluggish individuals, who either could not or would not
tly, remained to continue the race ; and this process going on from
generation to generation, would, on the well-ascertained princi-
ples of selection and abortion by disuse, in time lead to tlie
entire loss of wings by those insects to whom wings were not a
necessity. But those whose wings were essential to their exist-
ence would be acted upon in another way. All these miist fly
to obtain their food or provide for their offspring, and those that
flew best would be best able to battle with the storms, and keep
themselves safe, and thus those with the longest and most
powerful wings would be preserved. If however all the indi-
viduals of the species were too weak on the wing to resist the
storms, they would soon become extinct.^
Now this explanation of the facts is not only simple and
probable in itself, but it also serves to explain in a remarkable
manner some of the peculiarities and deficiencies of the JNIadeiran
insect fauna, in harmony with the view (supported by the distri-
bution of the birds and land shells, and in particular by the
immigrant birds and insects of the Azores) that all the insects
have been derived from the continent or from other islands, by
^ A remarkable confirmation of this theory, is furnished in the Report to
the Royal Society of the naturalist to the Kerguelen Island, " Transit Expe-
dition "—the Rev. A. E. Eaton. Insects were assiduously collected, and it
was found that almost all were either completely apterous, or had greatly
abbreviated wings. The only moth found, several flies, and numerous beetles,
were alike incapable of flight. As this island is subject to violent, and
almost perpetual gales, even in the finest season, the meaning of the extra-
ordinary loss of wings in almost all the insects, can, in this case, hardly be
misunderstood.
p 2
212 ZOOLOaiCAL GEOGRAPHY. [part itt.
immigration across the ocean, in various ways and during a long
period. These deficiencies are, on the other hand, quite incon-
sistent with the theory (still held by some entomologists) that
a land communication is absolutely necessary to account for
the origin of the Madeiran fauna.
First, then, we can understand how the tiger-beetles (Cicinde-
lidse) are absent; since they are insects which have a short weak
flight, but yet to whom flight is necessary. If a few had been
blown over to Madeira, they would soon have become exter-
minated. The same thing applies to the Melolonthidse, Ceto-
niidse, Eumolpidse, and Galerucidse, — all flower and foliage-
haunting insects, yet bulky and of comparatively feeble powers
of flight. Again, all the large genera abundant in South Europe,
which have been mentioned above as absent from Madeira, are
wholly apterous (or without wings), and thus their absence is a
most significant fact ; for it proves that in the case of all insects
of moderate size, flight was essential to their reaching the island,
which could not have been the case had there been a land con-
nection. There are, however, one or two curious exceptions to
thp absence of these wholly apterous European genera in Madeira,
and as in each case the reason of their being exceptions can
be pointed out, they are eminently exceptions that prove the
rule. Two of the apterous species common to Europe and
Madeira are found always in ants' nests ; and as ants, when
winged, fly in great swarms and are carried by the wind to
great distances, they may have conveyed the minute eggs of
these very small beetles. Two European species of Blays
occur in Madeira, but these are house beetles, and are admitted
to have been introduced by man. There are also three species
of Meloe, of which two aie European and one peculiar.
These are large, sluggish, wingless insects, but they have a
most extraordinary and exceptional metamorphosis, the larvce
in the first state being minute active insects parasitic on bees,
and thus easily conveyed across the ocean. This case is most
suggestive, as it accounts for what would be otherwise a difficult
anomaly. Another case, not quite so easily explained, is that
of the genus Acalles, which is very abundant in all the Atlantic
CHAP. X.] THE PAL.EAKCTIC KEGION. 213
islands and also occurs in South Europe, but is always apterous.
It is however closely allied to another genus, Cryptorhynclms,
which is apterous in some species, winged in others. We may
therefore well suppose that the ancestors of Acalles were once in
the same condition, and that some of the winged forms reached
Madeira, the genus having since become wholly apterous.
We may look at this curious subject in another way. The
Coleoptera of JMadeira may be divided into those which are
found also in Europe or the other islands, and those which are
peculiar to it. On the theory of introduction by accidental
immio-ration across the sea, the latter must be the more ancient,
since they have had time to become modified ; while the former
are comparatively recent, and their introduction may be supposed
to be now going on. The peculiar influence of Madeira in
aborting the wings should, therefore, have acted on the ancient
and changed forms much more powerfully than on the recent
and unchanged forms. On carefully comparing the two sets of
insects (omitting those which have almost certainly been
introduced by man) we find, that out of 263 species which
have a wide range, only 14 are apterous ; while the other class,
consisting of 393 species, has no less than 178 apterous ; or
about 5 per cent in the one case, and 45 per cent in the other. ^
On the theory of a land connection as the main agent in intro-
ducing the fauna, both groups must have been introduced at or
about the same time, and why one set should have lost their
wings and the other not, is quite inexplicable.
Taking all these singular facts, in connection with the total
absence of all truly indigenous terrestrial mammalia and reptiles
from these islands — even from the extensive group of the Cana-
ries so comparatively near to the continent, we are forced to
reject the theory of a land connection as quite untenable ; and
this view becomes almost demonstrated by the case of the
Azores, which being so much further off, and surrounded by
such a vast expanse of deep ocean, could only have been con-
^ The facts on which these statements rest, will be found more fully
detailed in the Author's Presidential Address to the Entomological Society
of London for the year 1871.
214 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part nr.
nected AAatli Europe at a far remoter epoch, and ought therefore
to exhibit to us a fauna composed almost entirely of peculiar
forms Loth of birds and insects. Yet, so far from this being the
case, the facts are exactly the reverse. Far more of the birds
and insects are identical with those of Europe than in the
other islands, and this difference is clearly traced to the more
tempestuous atmosphere, which is shown to be even now
annually bringing fresh immigrants (both birds and insects) to
its shores. We here see nature actually at work ; and if the
case of Madeira rendered her mode of action probable, that of
the Azores may be said to demonstrate it.
Mr. Wollaston has objected to this view that " storms and
hurricanes " are somewhat rare in the latitude of Madeira and
the Canaries ; but this little affects the question, since the time
allowed for such operations is so ample. If but one very
violent storm happened in a century, and ten such storms
recurred before a single species of insect was introduced into
Madeira, that would be more than sufficient to people it, as we
now find it, with a varied fauna. But he also adds the import-
ant information that the ordinary winds blow almost uninter-
ruptedly from the north-east, so that there would be always a
chance of a little stronger wind than usual bringing insect, or
larva, or egg, attached to leaves or twigs. Neither Mr. Wollaston,
Mr. Crotch, Mr. A. Murray, nor any other naturalist who
upholds the land-connection theory, has attempted to account
for the fact of the absence of so many extensive groups of
insects that ought to be present, as well as of all small
mammalia and reptiles.
Cape Verd Islands. — There is yet another group of Atlantic
islands which is very little known, and which is usually con-
sidered to be altogether African — the Cape Verd Islands, situated
between 300 and 400 miles west of Senegal, and a little to the
south of the termination of the Sahara. The evidence that we
possess as to the productions of these islands, shows that, like
the preceding groups, they are truly oceanic, and have probably
derived their fauna from the desert and the Canaries to the
north-east of them rather than from the fertile and more truly
CHAP. X.] THE PAL.EARCTIC REGION. 215
Ethiopian districts of Senegal and Gambia to the east. There is
a mingling of the two faunas, but the preponderance seems to
be undoubtedly with the Palsearctic rather than with the
Ethiopian. I owe to Mr. E. B. Sharpe of the British Museum,
a MS. list of the birds of these islands, twenty-three species in
all. Of these eight are of wide distribution and may be ne-
glected. Seven are undoubted Paltearctic species, viz. : — Milvus
ictinus, Sylvia atricapilla, S. conspicillata, Corvus cor one, Passer
salicarius, Certhilauda desertorum, Coluinba livia. Three are
peculiar species, but of Palaearctic genera and affinities, viz. : —
Ccdamolurpe hrevipennis, Ammomanes cinctura, and Passer jago-
ensis. Against this we have to set two West African species,
Estrilda cinerca and JSfumida meleagris, both of which were
probably introduced by man ; and three which are of Ethiopian
genera and affinities, viz. : — Halcyon crythrorliyncha, closely
allied to H. semicceridea of Arabia and North-east Africa, and
therefore almost Palaearctic; Accipiter mela7ioleucus ; Sind Pyrrhu-
lauda nigriceps, an Ethiopian form; but the same species occurs
in the Canaries.
The Coleoptera of these islands have been also collected by
Mr. WoUaston, and he finds that they have generally the same
European character as those of the Canaries and Madeira, several
of the peculiar Atlantic genera, such as Acalles and Hegeter,
occurring, while others are represented by "new but closely allied
genera. Out of 275 species 91 were found also in the Canaries
and 81 in the Madeiran group ; a wonderful amovmt of similarity
when we consider the distance and isolation of these islands
and their great diversity of climate and vegetation.
This connection of the four groups of Atlantic islands now
referred to, receives further support from the occurrence of land-
shells of the subgenus Leptaxis in all the groups, as well as in
Majorca ; and by another subgenus, Hemicycla, being common to
the Canaries and Cape Verd islands. Combining these several
classes of facts, we seem justified in extending the Mediterranean
sub-region to include the Cape Yerd Islnnds.
216 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [part hi.
///. — Tim Siberian Sub- region, or Northern Asia.
This large and comparatively little-known subdivision of the
Palsearctic region, extends from the Caspian Sea to Kamschatka
and Behring's Straits, a distance of about 4,000 miles ; and
from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to the high Himalayas of
Sikliim in North Latitude 29°, on the same parallel as Delhi.
To the east of the Caspian Sea and the Ural Mountains is a great
extent of lowland which is continued round the northern coast,
becoming narrower as it approaches the East Cape. Beyond
this, in a general E.N'.E. direction, rise hills and uplands, soon
becoming lofty mountains, which extend in an unbroken line
from the Hindu Koosh, through the Thian Shan, Altai and
Yablonoi Mountains, to the Stanovoi range in the north-eastern
extremity of Asia. South of this region is a great central basin,
wdiich is almost wholly desert ; beyond which again is the vast
plateau of Thibet, with the Kuenlun, Karakorurn, and Hima-
layan snow-capped ranges, forming the most extensive elevated
district on the globe.
The superficial aspects of this vast territory, as determined by
its vegetable covering, are very striking and well contrasted. A
broad tract on the northern coast, varying from 150 to 300 and
even 500 miles wide, is occupied by the Tundras or barrens,
where nothing grows but mosses and the dwarfest Arctic plants,
and where the ground is permanently frozen to a great depth.
This tract has its greatest southern extension betw^een the rivers
Obi and Yenesi, where it reaches the parallel of 60° north lati-
tude. ISText to this comes a vast extent of northern forests,
mostly of conifers in the more northern and lofty situations,
while deciduous trees preponderate in the southern portions and
in the more sheltered valleys. The greatest extension of this
forest region is north of Lake Baikal, where it is more than
1,200 miles wide. These forests extend along the mountain
ranges to join those of the Hindu Koosh, South of the forests
the remainder of the sub-region consists of open pasture-lands
and vast intervening deserts, of which the Gobi, and those of
Turkestan between the Aral and Balkash lakes, are the most
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^AKCTIC REGION. 217
extensive. The former is nearly 1,000 miles long, with a width
of from 200 to 350 miles, and is almost as complete a desert as
the Sahara.
With very few exceptions, this vast territory is exposed to
an extreme climate, inimical to animal life. All the lower parts
being situated to the north, have an excessively cold winter, so
that the limit of constantly frozen ground descends below the
parallel of 60° north latitude. To the south, the land is greatly
elevated, and the climate extremely dry. In summer the heat
is excessive, while the winter is almost as severe as further
north. The whole country, too, is subject to violent storms, both
in summer and winter ; and the rich vegetation that clothes the
steppes in spring, is soon parched up and replaced by dusty
plains. Under these adverse influences we cannot expect
animal life to be so abundant as in those sub-regions subject to
more favourable physical conditions ; yet the country is so ex-
tensive and so varied, that it does actuallj^, as we shall see, possess
a very considerable and interesting fauna.
Mammalia. — Four genera seem to be absolutely confined to
this sub-region, Kedogale, a peculiar form of the mole family
(Talpidse) ; Poephagus, the yak, or hairy bison of Thibet ; with
Procapra and Pantliolops, Thibetan antelopes. Some others
more especially belong here, although they just enter Europe, as
Saiga, the Tartarian antelope; Sminthus, a desert rat;, and
Ellohius, a burrowing mole-rat ; while Myospalax, a curious
rodent allied to the voles, is found only in the Altai mountains
and North China ; and Moschus, the musk-deer, is almost confined
to this sub-region. Among the characteristic animals of the
extreme north, are Mustela, and Martes, including the ermine
and sable ; Oulo, tlie glutton ; Tarandus, the reindeer ; MyocUs,
the lemming ; with the lynx, arctic fox, and polar bear ; and
here, in the Post-pliocene epoch, ranged the hairy rhinoceros
and Siberian mammoth, whose entire bodies still remain preserved
in the ice-cliffs near the mouths of the great rivers. Farther
south, species of wild cat, bear, wolf, deer, and pika {Lagomys)
abound ; while in the mountains we find wild goats and sheep
of several species, and in the plains and deserts wild horses
218 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.
and asses, gazelles, two species of autelopes, flying squirrels
{Pteromys), ground squirrels [Tamias), marmots, of the genus
Sijermoijliilus, with camels and dromedaries, probably natives
of the south-western part of this sub-region. I'he most
abundant and conspicuous of the mammalia are the great
herds of reindeer in the north, the wolves of the steppes, with
the wild horses, goats, sheep, and antelopes of the plateaus and
mountains.
Amom? the curiosities of this sub-region we must notice the
seal, found in the inland and freshwater lake Baikal, at an eleva-
tion of about 2,000 feet above the sea. It is a species of Callo-
ceplialus, closely allied to, if not identical with, one inhabiting
northern seas as well as the Caspian and Lake Aral. This
would indicate that almost all northern Asia was depressed
beneath the sea very recently ; and Mr. Belt's view, of the ice
during the glacial epoch having dammed up the rivers and con-
verted much of Siberia into a vast freshwater or brackish lake,
perhaps offers the best solution of the difficulty.^
Plate II. — Characteristic Mammalia of Western Tartary. —
Several of the most remarkable animals of the Paltearctic region
inhabit Western Tartary, and are common to the European and
Siberian sub-regions. We therefore choose this district for one
of our illustrative plates. The large animals in the centre are the
remarkable saiga antelopes {Saiga Tartarica), distinguished from
all others by a large and fleshy proboscis-like nose, which gives
them a singular appearance. They differ so much from all other
antelopes that they have been formed into a distinct family by
some naturalists, but are here referred to the great family Bovidas.
They inhabit the open plains from Poland to the Irtish Eiver
On the left is the mole-rat, or sand-rat [Spalax m-urinus). This
animal burrows under ground like a mole, feeding on bulbous
roots. It inhabits the same country as the saiga, but extends
farther south in Europe. On the right is a still more curious
animal, the desman {Myogale Muscovitica), a long-snouted
water-mole. This creature is fifteen inches long, including the
tail ; it burrows in the banks of streams, feeding on insects,
^ Quarterly Journal of the (geological Society, 1874, p. 494.
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^ARCTIG REGION. 219
worms, and leeches ; it swims well, and remains long under
water, raising the tip of the snout, where the nostrils are
situated, to the surface when it wants to breathe. It is thus
well concealed; and this may be one use of the development
of the long snout, as well as serving to follow worms into
their holes in the soft earth. This species is confined to the
rivers Volga and Don in Southern Eussia, and the only other
species known inhabits some of the valleys on the north side
of the Pyrenees. In the distance are wolves, a characteristic
feature of these wastes.
Birds. — But few genera of birds are absolutely restricted to
this sub-region. Podoces, a curious form of starling, is the most
decidedly so ; Mycerobas and Pyrrliosinza are genera of finches
confined to Thibet and the snowy Himalayas ; Leucostide, another
genus of finches, is confined to the eastern half of the sub-
region and North America ; Tetraogallus, a large kind of
partridge, ranges west to the Caucasus ; Syrrhaptes, a form of
sand-grouse, and Lerwa (snow-partridge), are almost confined
here, only extending into the next sub-region ; as do Grandala
and Calliope, genera of warblers, Uragus, a finch allied to the
North American cardinals, and Crossoptilon, a remarkable group
of pheasants.
Almost all the genera of central and northern Europe are
found here, and give quite a European character to the ornitho-
logy, though a considerable number of the species are different.
There are a few Oriental forms, such as Ahrornis and Larvivora
(warblers) ; with Ceriornis and Ithaginis, genera of pheasants,
which reach the snow-line in the Himalayas and thus just enter
this sub-region, but as they do not penetrate farther north, they
hardly serve to modify the exclusively Palsearctic character of
its ornithology.
According to Middendorf, the extreme northern Asiatic birds
are the Alpine ptarmigan {Lagopus mutus) ; the snow-bunting
{PUctrophanes nivalis) ; the raven, the gyrfalcon and the snowy-
owl. Those which are characteristic of the barren " tundras,"
but which do not range so far north as the preceding are, — the
\;i\\o\N-gxo\.\5e{Lagopus alhiLs)]i)xe Lapland-bunting (7Yfc/rop/i«?ics
220 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
lapponica) ; the sliore-lark (Gtocorys alpestris) ; the sancl-xnarLiii
iCotyU riparia), and the sea-eagle {Haliceetus alhicilla).
Those Vv'hich are more characteristic of the northern forests,
and which do not pass beyond them, are — the linnet ; two cross-
bills {Loxia Zeucojjtera and X. Curvirostra) ; the pine grosbeak
{Pinicola enucleator) ; the waxwing ; the common magpie ; the
common swallow ; the peregrine falcon ; the rough-legged buzzard ;
and three species of owls.
Fully one-half of the land-birds of Siberia are identical with
those of Europe, the remainder being mostly representative
species peculiar to Northern Asia, with a few stragglers and
immigrants from China and Japan or the Himalayas. A much
larger proportion of the wading and aquatic families are Euro-
pean or Arctic, these groups having always a wider range than
land birds.
Rep)tilcs and Amphihia, — From the nature of the country and
climate these are comparatively few, but in the more temperate
districts snakes and lizards seem to be not uncommon. Halys,
a genus of Crotaline snakes, and Tlirynoceplmliis, lizards of the
family Agamida?, are characteristic of these parts. Simotes, a
snake of the family Oligodontidte, reaches an elevation of 16,000
feet in the Himalayas, and therefore enters this sub-region.
Insects. — Mesapia and Ilypcrmnestra, genera of Papilionidfe,
are butterflies peculiar to this sub-region ; and Farnassius is as
characteristic as it is of our European mountains. Carabidae
are also abundant, as will be seen by referring to the Chapter
on the Distribution of Insects in the succeeding part of this
work. The insects, on the whole, have a strictly European
character, although a large proportion of the species are pecu-
liar, and several new genera appear.
IV. — Japan and North China, or the Manchurian Sidj-rcgion.
This is an interesting and very productive district, correspond-
ing in the east to the Mediterranean sub-region in the west, or
rather perhaps to all western temperate Europe. Its limits are
not very well defined, but it probably includes all Japan ;
the Corea and Manchuria to the i^mour river and to the lower
CHAP X.] THE PALiEARCTIC REGION. 221
slopes of the Khingan and Peling mountains ; and China to
the Nanlin mountains south of the Yang-tse-kiang. On tlie
coast of China tlie dividing line between it and the Oriental
region seems to be somewhere about Foo-chow, but as there is
here no natural barrier, a great intermingling of northern and
southern forms takes place.
Japan is volcanic and mountainous, with a fine climate and a
most luxuriant and varied vegetation. Manchuria is hilly, with
a high range of mountains on the coast, and some desert tracts
in the interior, but fairly wooded in many parts. Much of
northern China is a vast alluvial plain, backed by hills and
mountains with belts of forest, above which are the dry and
barren uplands of Mongolia. We have a tolerable knowledge
of China, of Japan, and of the Amoor valley, but very little of
Corea and Manchuria. The recent researches of Pere David in
Moupin, in east Thibet, said to be between 31° and 32° north
latitude, show, that the fauna of the Oriental region here advances
northward along the flanks of the Yun-ling mountains (a
continuation of the Himalayas) ; since he found at different
altitudes representatives of the Indo-Chinese, Manchurian, and
Siberian faunas. On the higher slopes of the Himalayas, there
must be a narrow strip from about 8,000 to 11,000 feet elevation
intervening between the tropical fauna of the Indo-Chinese sub-
region and the almost arctic fauna of Thibet ; and the animals
of this zone will for the most part belong to the fauna of
temperate China and Manchuria, except in the extreme west
towards Cashmere, where the Mediterranean fauna will in like
manner intervene. On a map of sufficiently large scale, there-
fore, it would be necessary to extend our present sub-region
westward along the Himalayas, in a narrow strip just below
the upper limits of forests. It is evident that the large number
of Fringillidse, Corvidse, Troglodytidas, and Paridee, often of south
Palsearctic forms, that abound in the higher Himalayas, are some-
what out of place as members of the Oriental fauna, and are
equally so in that of Thibet and Siberia; but they form a
natural portion of that of ISTorth China on the one side, or of
South Europe on the other.
222 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
Mammalia. — This sub-region contains a number of peculiar
and very interesting forms, most of which have been recently
discovered by Pk-e David in North and West China and East
Thibet. The following are the peculiar genera : — Bliinojpitkecus,
a sub-genus of monkeys, here classed under Se^nnopithecus ;
Anurosorex, Scaptochirus, Uropsilus and Scapttonyx, new forms of
Talpidffi or moles ; JEluropus {MlwiidiSd) ; Nydereutes (Canidse) ;
Lutronectes (Mustelidse) ; Cricetulus (Muridse) ; Hydropotes, Mos-
clius, and Elaphoclus (Cervidse). The RJdnopithecus appears to
be a permanent inhabitant of the highest forests of Moupin,
in a cold climate. It has a very thick fur, as has also a new
species of Macacus found in the same district. ISTorth China and
East Thibet seem to be very rich in Insectivora. Scaptochirus is
like a mole ; Uropsihis between the Japanese Urotrichus and
Sorex ; Scaptonyx between Urotrichus and Talpa. ^luropiis
seems to be the most remarkable mammal discovered by Fere
David. It is allied to the singular panda {jElurus fulgens) of
Nepal, but is as large as a bear, the body wholly white, Avith
the feet, ears, and tip of the tail black. It inhabits the highest
forests, and is therefore a true Palsearctic animal, as most likely
is the ^lurus. Nydereutes, a curious racoon-like dog, ranges
from Canton to North China, the Amoor and Japan, and there-
fore seems to come best in this sub-region ; Hydropotes and
Lophotragus are small hornless deer confined to North China ;
Elap)liodus, from East Thibet, is another peculiar form of deer ;
while the musk deer (Moschus) is confined to this sub-region and
the last. Besides the above, the following Palaearctic genera
were found by P^re David in this sub-region : Macacus ; five
genera or sub-genera of bats ( Vespertilio, Vesperus, Vesperugo,
lihinolophus, and Mivrina) ; Erinaceus, Nectogale, Talpa, Croci-
clura and Sorex, among Insectivora; Mustela, Putorius, Ma.rtes,
Liitra, Viverra, Meles, ^luriis, Ursus, Felis, and Canis, among
Carnivora ; Hystrix, Arctomys, Myospalax, SpermopMlus, Ger-
hillus, Dipus, Lagomys, Lepus, Sciurus, Fttromys, Arvicola, and
Mus, among Eodentia; Buclorcas, Nemorhedus, Antilope, Ovis,
Moschus, Cervulus and Cervus among Euminants ; and the wide -
spread S21S or wild boar. The following Oriental genera are also
CHAP. X.] THE P.IL.EAHCTIC REGION. ' 223
included in Pere David's list, bvit no doubt occur only in the
lowlands and warm valleys, and can hardly be considered to
belong to the Palsearctic region : Faguma, Helictis, Ardonyx,
Rhizomys, Manis. Tlie RMzomys from Moupiu is a peculiar
species of this tropical genus, but all the others inhabit Southern
China.
A few additional forms occur in Japan : Urotrichus, a peculiar
Mole, which is found also in north-west America ; Enhydra, the
sea otter of California; and tlie dormouse {Myoxus). Japan also
possesses peculiar species of Macacus, Tcdim, Meles, Canis, and
Sciuroi^tcrus.
It will be seen that this sub -region is remarkably rich
in Insectivora, of wdiich it possesses ten genera; and that
it has also several peculiar forms of Carnivora, Ptodentia, and
Euminants.
Birds. — To give an accurate idea of the ornithology of this
sub-region is very difficult, both on account of its extreme rich-
ness and the impossibility of defining the limits between it and
the Oriental region. A considerable number of genera which
are well developed in the high Himalayas, and some which are
peculiar to that district, have hitherto always been classed as
Indian, and therefore Oriental groups ; but they more properly
belong to this sub-region. Many of them frequent the highest
forests, or descend into the Himalayan temperate zone only in
winter ; and others are so intimately connected wdth Palsearctic
species, that they can only be considered as stragglers into the
border land of the Oriental region. On these principles we
consider the following genera to be confined to this sub-region : —
Grandcda, Femur a (Sylviidse) ; Pterorhinus (Timaliidse) ;
Cholornis, Conostoma, Hderomorijim (Panuridse) ; Cyanoptila
(Muscicapidae) ; Eo'pliona (FringillidcB) ; Dendrotreron (Colum-
bidse) ; Loijlwpliorus, Tetraophasis, CrossoiJtilon, Pucrasia, Thau-
mcdea, and Ithaginis (Phasianidae). This may be called the
sub-region of Pheasants ; for the above six genera, comprising
sixteen species of the most magnificent birds in the world, are
all confined to the temperate or cold mountainous regions of
the Himalayas, Thibet, and China ; and in addition we have
224
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
most of the species of tragopan {Ceriornis), and some of the
true phca^^ants (PJiasiamcs).
The most abundant and characteristic of the smaller birds are
warblers, tits, and finches, of Palsearctic types ; but there are
also a considerable number of Oriental forms which penetrate
far into the country, and mingling with the northern birds
give a character to the Ornithology of this sub-region very
dijEferent from that of the Mediterranean district at the western
end of the region. Leaving out a large number of wide-ranging
groups, this mixture of types may be best exhibited by giving
lists of the more striking Palfearctic and Oriental genera which
are here found intermino-led.
Pal^arctic Genera.
Sylviid^.
Erithacus.
Euticilla.
Locustella.
Cyanecula.
Sylvia.
Potamodas.
Regaloides.
Eegulus.
Accentor.
CiNCLIDjE.
Cinclus.
TROGLODYTIDiE.
Troglodytidte.
C&RTHIID^.
Certhia.
Sitta.
Tictiodroma.
Parid^.
Parus.
Lophophanes.
Acredula.
CORVID^.
Fregilus.
Nucifraga.
Pica.
Cyanopica.
Garrnlus.
Ampelid^.
Ampelis.
Fringillid^.
Fringilla.
Chrysomitris.
Chlorospiza.
Passer.
Coccothraustes.
Pyrrhula.
Carpodacus.
Ui'agus.
Loxia.
Linota.
Emberiza.
Sturnid^.
StLirnus.
Alaudid.'E.
Otocorys.
PlCID^.
Picoides.
Picus.
Hyopiciis.
Dryocopus.
YUNGID^.
Yunx.
Pteroclid^.
Syrrhaptes.
Tetraonid^.
Tetrao.
Tetraogallus.
Lerwa.
Lagopus.
VULTURID^.
Gypaetus.
Vultur.
FALCONIDiE.
Archibuteo.
Oriental Genera.
Sylviid^.
Sy:
LViiD^ — {continued).
TiMALIIDJE.
Suya.
Calliope.
Larvivora.
Tribura,.
Abrorais.
Copsychus,
TURDID^.
Oreocincl;i.
Alcippe.
Timalia.
Pterocyclus.
Garrulax.
Horites.
Trochalopteroir
CHAP. X.]
THE PALiEARCTIC REGION.
225
Oeientax Genera — continued.
TiMALiiD^ — {continued).
MUSCICAPID^.
Pomatorhinus.
Xanthopygia,
Suthora.
Niltava.
Panurid^.
Tchitrea.
Paradoxornis.
CoEVID^.
ClNCLID^.
Urocissa.
Enicurus.
Myiophonus.
Troglodytid^.
Nectarineid^.
^thopyga.
Pnoepyga.
MOTACILLID^.
LlOTRlCHID^.
Nemoricola.
Liotkrix.
DlC^ID^.
Yuhina.
Zosterops.
Pteruthius.
Fringillid^.
Ptcnonotid^.
Melophus.
Microscelis.
PyrgUauda.
Pycnonotus.
Hypsipetes.
Ploceid^.
Munia.
CaMPEPH AGI DjE.
Pericrocotus.
Sturnid^.
Acridotheres.
DlCRURID^.
Sturnia.
Dicrurus.
Chibia.
PlTTID^.
Buchanga.
Pitta.
PlCID^.
Vivia.
Yungipicus.
Gecinus.
CORACIID^,
Eurystomus.
Alcedinid^.
Halcyon.
Ceryle.
Upupid^
Upupa.
PsiTTACID^.
Paleeornis.
CoLUMBIDiE.
Treron.
lanthsenas.
Macropygia.
Phasianid^.
Phasianus.
Ceriornis.
Strigid^.
Scops.
In the above lists there are rather more Oriental than Palse-
arctic genera ; but it must be remembered that most of the
former are summer migrants only, or stragglers just entering the
sub-region; whereas the great majority of the latter are per-
manent residents, and a large proportion of them range over the
greater part of the Manchurian district. Many of those in the
Oriental column should perhaps be omitted, as we have no exact
determination of their range, and the limits of the regions are
very uncertain. It must be remembered, too, that the Palaearctic
genera of Sylviidee, Paridae, and FringiUidse, are often represented
by numerous species, whereas the corresponding Oriental genera
have for the most part only single species ; and we shall then
find that, except towards the borders of the Oriental region the
Palaearctic element is strongly predominant. Four of the more
especially Oriental groups are confined to Japan, the southern
Q
226 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHV. [part iir.
extremity of which should perhaps come in the Oriental region.
The great richness of this sub-region compared with that of
Siberia is well shown by the fact, that a list of all the know n
land-birds of East Siberia, including Dahuria and the compara-
tively fertile Amoor Valley, contains only 190 species ; whereas
Pke David's catalogue of the birds of Northern China with
adjacent parts of East Thibet and Mongolia (a very much
smaller area) contains for the same families 366 species. Of the
Siberian birds more than 50 per cent, are European species, while
those of the Manchurian sub-region comprise about half that-
proportion of land-birds which are identical with those of
Europe.
Japan is no doubt very imperfectly known, as only 134 land-
birds are recorded from it. Of these twenty- two are peculiar
species, a number that would probably be diminished were the
Corea to be explored. Of the genera, only nine are Indo-
Malayan, while forty-three are Palsearctic.
Plate III. — Scene on the Borders of North- West China and
Mongolia with Characteristic Mammalia and Birds. — The
mountainous districts of Northern China, with the adjacent
portions of Thibet and Mongolia, are the head-quarters of the
pheasant tribe, many of the most beautiful and remarkable
species being found there only. In the north-western provinces
of China and the southern parts of Mongolia may be found the
species figured. That in the foreground is the superb golden
pheasant (Thaumalea picta), a bird that can hardly be surpassed
for splendour of plumage by any denizen of the tropics. The
large bird perched above is the eared pheasant (Crossoptilon
auritum), a species of comparatively sober plumage but of
remarkable and elegant form. In the middle distance is Pallas's
sand grouse {Syrrhaptes paradoxus), a curious bird, whose native
country seems to be the high plains of Northern Asia, but which
often abounds near Pekin, and in 1863 astonished European
ornithologists by appearing in considerable numbers in Central
and Western Europe, in every part of Great Britain, and even
in Ireland.
The quadruped figured is the curious racoon dog {Nyctereutes
PLATE III.
CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS OF NORTH CHINA.
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^AECTIC REGION. 227
procyonoides), an animal confined to North China, Japan, and
tlie 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 Palaearctic region.
Beptihs and Amphibia. — Eeptiles are scarce in North China,
only four or five species of snakes, a lizard and one of the Geck-
otidse 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,
Mayhouya, Tachydromus, and Gecko reach Japan, the two latter
being very characteristic of the Oriental region.
Amphibia are more abundant and interesting; Hyndbius,
Onychodadylus, and Sieboldtia (Salamandridae) 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 (Salmonidse) from Japan; Achilognathus, Pseu-
doperilampus, Ochetohius, and Opsariichthys (Cyprinidse) ; and
there are many other Chinese Cyprinidse belonging to the border
land of the Palsearctic 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 Farnassius in Japan and the Amoor. Isodenia, a
peculiar genus of ISTymphalidse is found near Mngpo, just within
our limits ; and Sericinus, one of the most beautiful genera of
Papilionidse is peculiar to North China, where four species occur,
thus balancing the Thais and Doritis of Europe. The genus
Zephyrus (Lycsenidse) is well represented by six species in Japan
and the Amoor, against two in Europe. Papilio paris and
P. Manor, 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, Dehis,
Neope, Mycalesis, Ypthimia (Satyridse) ; Thaumantis (Mor-
phidse), at Shanghae ; Euripus, Neptis, Athyma (Nymphalidse) ;
Terias (Pieridse) ; and the above-mentioned Papilionidse.
Q 2
228 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [pabt hi
Coleoptera. — The beetles of Japan decidedly exhibit a mixture
of tropical forms with others truly Palsearctic, 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 Palsearctic forms,
we may be pretty sure that the preponderance will be much
greater a little further north.
Of CarabidsB 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 Palsearctic, Palsearctic and Nearctic, or highly
characteristic of the Palsearctic region ; then come thirteen genera
containing eighty-seven of the species which have a very wide
distribution, but are also Palsearctic : 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 Palsearctic 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
CHAP. X.] THE PALiEAECTIC REGION. 229
Japan (like North China) has a considerable infusion of tropical
forms, there is a preponderating substratum of Palaearctic 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 ; TrecMcJms (1 sp.) has two
other species, of which one inhabits Madeira, the other the
Southern United States ; Ferileptus (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 Staphylinidse 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
Pselaphidse and Scydmenidse, also described by Dr. Sharp,
exhibit, according to that gentleman, " even a greater resemblance
to those of ISTorth America than to those of Europe," but he says
nothing of any tropical affinities. The water-beetles are all
either Palgearctic or of wide distribution.
The Lucanidae {Gemm. and Har. Cat., 1868) exhibit an inter-
mingling of Palsearctic and Oriental genera.
The Cetoniidse [Gemm. and Har. Cat. 1869) show, for North
China and Japan, three Oriental to two Palsearctic genera.
The Buprestidse collected by Mr. Lewis have been described
by Mr. Edward Saunders in the Journal of the Linncean 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 hi.
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 Paleearctic affinity as can be
expected. In the Palsearctic 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
Oherea. There are twenty-one tropical genera, and seven
peculiar to Japan, leaving thirty-six either Palsearctic 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 wiU 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 Tenthredinidte and Ichneu-
monidce are as decidedly Paleearctic, " the general aspect of the
collection being that of a European one, only a single exotic
form being found among them."
JRemarJcs 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 Palsearctic 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 JSTorthern China, beyond the
CHAP. X.] THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION. 2B1
usual dividing line of the Palsearctic and Oriental regions. The
causes of such a phenomenon are not difficult to conceive. Even
now, that portion of the Palsearctic 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 Mongolia or Siberia. The fact that a mixtu're
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 Paleearctic
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 Palccarctic Re-
gion.— Erom the account that has now been given of the fauna
232 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.
of the Palsearctic 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 Palsearctic 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 PAL^AKCTIC REGION. 233
TABLES OF DISTEIBUTION.
In constructing these tables showing the distribution of vari-
ous classes of animals in the Palsearctic 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.
Mammalia. — Lord Clement's Mammalia and Eeptiles of
Europe ; Siebold's Fauna Japonica ; Pere David's List of
Mammalia of IsTorth China and Thibet ; Swinhoe's Chinese
Mammalia ; Eadde'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 ; Pere 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 fur Ornithologie ; Annals and Mag. of Nat. History ; and
Proceedings of the Zoological Society.
Beptiles and Amphibia. — Schreiber's European Herpetology.
234
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part hi.
TABLE L
FAMILIES OF ANIMALS INHABITING THE PALJEARCTIC 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 m Part IV,
Order and Family.
MAMMALIA.
PpaMATES.
3. Cynopithecidse
Chiroptera.
9. (Pteropidse^ ...
11. Khinolophidfe
12. VespertilionidiE
13. Noctilionidee . . .
Insectivora.
15. Macroscelididas
17. Erinaceidaj ...
21. Talpidfe
22. Soricidse
Carnivora.
23. Felidffi ...
25. Viverridse
27. Hyainidse
28. Canidse ...
29. Mustelidai
31. jEluridse
32. Ursidaj ...
33. Otariidse...
34. Trichechidse
35. Phocidse
Cetacea.
36 to 41.
Sirenia.
42. ManatidiS
Ungxjlata.
43. Equidae ...
47. Suidse ...
48. CamelidiB
50. Cervidse...
52. Bovidse ...
Sub-regions.
gS
Range beyond the Region.
Ethiopian, Oriental
Tropics of E. Hemisphere
Warmer parts of E.. Hemis.
Cosmopolite
Tropical regions
Ethiopian
Oriental, S. Africa
Nearctic, Oriental
Cosmopolite, excl. Australia and S. America
All regions but Australian
Ethiopian, Oriental
Ethiopian, Oriental
All regions but Australian
All regions but Australian
Oriental
Nearctic, Oriental, Andes
N. and S. temperate zones
Arctic regions
N. and S. temperate zones
Oceanic
Tropics, from Brazil to N. Australia
Ethiopian
Cosmopolite, excl. Nearctic reg. and Australia
Andes
All regions but Ethiopian and Australian
All regions but Neotropical and Australian
CHAP. X.]
THE PAL^ARCTIC EEGION.
235
Sub-regions.
Order and Family.
p<
is
C3
^
Range beyond the Eegion.
o
u
li
1
s
1
1-s
Hyracoidae.
54. (Hyracklffi) ..
—
Etliiopiau family
RODENTIA,
55. Muridge
—
—
—
—
Almost Cosmopolite
56. Spalacidse
—
—
—
Ethiopian, Oriental
57. Dipodidfe
—
—
—
Ethiopian, Nearctic
58. Myoxidaj
—
. —
—
—
Ethiopian
60. CastoridfB
—
—
Nearctic
61. Sciuridee
—
—
—
—
All regions but Australian
64. Octodontidse ...
—
.Abyssinia, Neotropical
67. Hystricidse ...
—
Ethiopian, Oriental
69. Lagomyidae ...
—
Nearctic
70. LeporidEe
—
—
—
—
All regions but Australian
BIRDS.
Passeres.
—
—
—
—
1. Turdidffi
—
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
2. Sylviidse
—
—
Cosmopolite
3. Timaliidae ...
—
—
—
—
Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian
4. Panuridse
—
—
—
Nearctic, Oriental
5. Cinclidfe
—
—
—
—
Oriental
6. Troglodvtidse...
—
—
—
American, Oriental
8. Certhiid'a; ...
—
—
—
—
Oriental, Nearctic
9. SittidfB
—
—
—
Nearctic, Oriental, Australian, Madag
10. Paiidte
—
—
—
Nearctic, Oriental, Australian [?]
1 3. Py cnonotidse . . .
—
—
Oriental, Ethiopian
14. Oriolidse
—
—
—
—
Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian
17. Miiscicapida3 . . .
Eastern Hemisphere
19. Laniidje
—
—
—
—
Eastern Hemisphere and N. America
20. Corridfe
—
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
23. (Nectariniidse)
. —
Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian
24. (Dicseidge)
—
Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian
29. Ampelidse
—
—
—
—
Nearctic
30. HirundinidEe...
—
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
33. Fringillidffi ...
—
. —
—
—
All regions but Australian
35. Sturnidse
—
—
—
—
Eastern Hemisphere
37. Alaudidfe ...
—
—
—
—
All regions but Neotropical
38. MotacillidEe ...
—
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
47. (Pittidffi)
—
Oriental, Australian, Ethiopian
PiCAEIiE.
51. Picidae
—
—
All regions but Australian
52. Yungidae
—
—
—
N. W. India, N. E. Africa, S. Africa
58. Cuculidai
—
—
—
Almost Cosmopolite
62. Coraciidfe
—
—
■
Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian
63. Meroijidae
—
—
Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian
67. Alcedinidse ...
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
69. Upupidfe
—
—
Ethiopian, Oriental
73. Caprimulgidffi
—
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
74. Cypselidte ...
— 1
—
-
Almost Cosmopolite
236
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part in.
Sub-regions.
Order and Family.
SI,
is
_cS
d
Range beyond the Region.
g
.■2
CO
COLUMB^.
84. Columbidse ...
—
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
Galling.
86. Pteroclidpe ...
—
_
Ethiopian, Indian
87. Tetraonidse ...
—
—
Nearctic, Ethiopian, Oriental
88. Phasiaiiidee ...
—
Oriental, Ethiopian, Xearctic
89. Turnicidfe ..
—
Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian
AcciprxRES.
94. Vulturidse ...
—
—
All regions but Australian
96. Falconidse ...
—
—
Cosmopolite
97. Pandionidse . . .
—
—
Cosmopolite
98. Strigidee ...
—
—
Cosmopolite
GRALLiE.
.
99. Eallidoe
—
—
—
--
Cosmopolite
100. Scolopacidse...
—
—
Cosmopolite
104. Glareolidfe ...
—
—
Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian
105. Chai-adriidse...
—
—
Cosmopolite
106. OtididEfi
—
—
Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian
107. GruidaJ
—
—
Eastern Hemisphere, aud N. America
113. Ardeidpe
— ■
—
Cosmopolite
114. Plataleidai ...
—
—
Almost Cosmopolite
]15. Ciconiidae ...
—
—
Nearly Cosmopolite
117. Phsenicopteridft'
—
Neotropical, Ethiopian, Indian
Anseres.
118. Anatidse
—
—
Cosmopolite
119. Laridse
—
—
Cosmopolite
120. Procellariidie
—
—
Cosmopolite
121. Pelecanidse ...
—
—
Cosmopolite
123. Colymbidae ...
—
Arctic and N. Temperate
124. Podicipidte ..
—
—
Cosmopolite
125. Alcidse
—
—
N. Temperate zone
REPTILIA.
Ophidia.
1. TypMopidae...
—
—
All regions but Nearctic
5, Calamariidse...
—
All other regions
6. OligodontidiB
Oriental and Neotropical
7. Colubridse ...
—
—
Almost Cosmopolite
8. Homalopsidffi
—
Oriental, and all other regions
9. Psammophidai
—
Ethiopian and Oriental
18. Erycidaj
—
Oriental and Ethiopian
20. Elapidffi
—
Australian and all otlier regions
24. Crotalidse ...
Nearctic, Neotropical, Oriental
25. Viperidse
—
—
—
Ethiopian, Oriental
CHAP. X.]
THE PALiEARCTIC REGION.
237
Order and Family.
Lacertilia.
26. Trogonophidce
28. Amphisbsenidse
30. Varauidae
33. Lacertidas
34. Zonuridse
41. Gymnopthal-
midse
45. Scincidae
4f). OpMoDioridce ...
47. Sepidse
49. Geckotidse
51. Agamidse
52. Chamfeleonidce
Chelonia.
57. Testudinidaj ...
59. Trionychidas ...
60. Chelouiidse ...
AMPHIBIA.
Ukodela.
3. Proteidse
5. Meuopomidse...
6. Salamandridae
Anottra.
10. Bufonidae
13. Bombinatoridffi
15. Alytidae
17. Hylidce
18. Polypedatidae
19. Eanidae
20. DiscoglossidiB
FISHES (FRESH-
WATER).
ACANTHOPTERYGII.
1. Gasterosteidae
3. Percidae
12. Scienidae
26. Comephoridoe...
37. Atherinidae ...
Physostomi.
59. Sihiridae
65. Salmonidae ...
70. Esocidae
71. Umbridfe
73. Cyprinodontidae
75. Cyprinidffi ...
Sub-regions.
Range beyond tlie Region.
Ethiopian, TTeo tropical
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
N'earctic
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
Nearctic, New Zealand
Nearctic
Nearctic
All regions but Australia
All regions but Australian and Neotropical
238
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
Sab-regions.
Order and Family.
p<
li
.2
i
Range beyond the Region.
o
g g
S
Q'
CD n
.Q
<S
W
3g
CO
1-5
Ganoidei.
96. Accipenseridce
—
Nearctic
97. Polydoutidse ...
Nearctic
INSECTS. * LEPI-
DOPTERA (PART).
Dtjkini (Butter-
flies).
1. Danaidse
—
All tropical regions
2. Satyridee
—
Cosmopolite
8. Nymphalidpe
—
Cosmopolite _
9. Libytheidce
—
All continents but Australia
10. Nemeobeidfe
_
Absent from Nearctic region and Australia
13. Lycsenidae
—
Cosmopolite
14. Pieridae ...
—
. .
Cosmopolite
15. PapilioiiidEe
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
16. Hcsperidas
—
Cosmopolite
Sphirigidea.
17. Zygsenidse
—
—
Cosmopolite
21. Stygiidse
—
■
Neotropical
22, ^geriidse
—
■
Absent only from Australia
23. Sphingidffl ...
_^^
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
Coleoptera. — Of about 80 families into wMcli 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 MoUusca in the con-
cluding part of this work, for such information as can be given of their distribution.
CHAP. X.]
THE PAL^ARCTIG REGION.
239
TABLE II.
LIST OF THE GENERA OF TERRESTIAL MAMMALIA AND BIRDS
INHABITING THE PALjEARCTIC REGION
Explanation.
Names in italics 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.
Semnopithecid^.
(Semnopithecus
Cynopithecid^.
1. Macacus
CHIROPTERA.
Pteeopid^.
(Pteropus
(Xantharpyia ..
RHINOLOPHIDiE.
2. Rhinolphus
( Asellia
{Rhinopoma . .
(Nycteris...
Vesp£E,tilionid^,
3. Vesperugo
4. Otonycteris
5. Vespertilio
(Kerivoula
6. Miniopteris
7. Plecotus ...
8. Barbastellus
NoCTILIONIDiE.
9 Molossus ...
INSECTIVORA.
ERINACEIDiB.
10. Erinaceus
Eange witliin the Region.
Eastern Thibet)
Gibraltar, N. Africa, E. Thibet
to Japan
Egypt, Japan)
N. Africa, Palestine)
Temperate & Southern parts of
Piegion
Egypt)
Egypt, Palestine)
Egypt)
Siberia, Amoorland
Egypt
The whole region
N. China)
S. Earope, N. Africa, Japan
S. Europe
Mid. and S. Europe, Palestine
Range bej'ond the Region.
2 S. Europe, N. Africa
i The whole region ; excl. Japan
Oriental genus
Oriental
Tropics of the E. Hemis.
Oriental, Austro-Malayan
Warmer parts E. Hemi-
sphere
Ethiopian, Java
[?] India
Nubia, Himalaya
[?]
[?]
Cosmopolite
Oriental, S. Africa
S. Afric. Malaya, Austral.
Himalayas
Darjeeling, Timor
Ethiop., Neotrop., Aus-
tralian
Oriental, Africa.
240
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part hi.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
TALPIDiE.
IL Talim ... .
12. Scaptochiri'rS .
13. Anurosorex
14. Seaptonyx
15. Myogale ...
16. Nectogale ...
17. Urotrichus
18. Uropsilus...
SOEICIDiE.
19. Sorex ... .
20. Crocidura... .
CARNIVORA.
FELIDiB.
21. Felis
22. Lyncus ... .
YlVERRID^.
(Viverra ...
23. Genetta ... ,
(Herpestes
24. Hyeena ... ,
Canid.1:.
25. Canis
26. Nyctereutes
MuSTELiD.ffi;.
27. Martes ...
28. Putori'us ...
29. Mustek ...
30. Vison
31. Gulo
32. Liitra
33. Lutronedes
34. Enhydris
35. Ileles
MhVRlD&
36. ^lurus ...
37. .^luropus
Ursid^.
38. Thalassarctos
39. Ursus
Range within the Region.
The whole region
N". China
N. China
N. China
S. E. Kussia, Pyrenees
Thibet
Japan
E. Thibet
The whole region
W. Europe to N. China
The whole region ; excl. extreme
North
S. Europe to Arctic sea
K China)
S. Europe & N. Africa, Palestine
N". Africa, Spain [?], Palestine)
N. Africa and S. "VV. Asia
The whole region
Japan, Amooiiand, N. China
K. Europe and Asia, E. Thibet
W. Europe to N. E. Asia
The whole region
Europe and Siberia
The Arctic regions
The whole region
Japan
N". Asia and Japan
Cen. Europe, Palestine, N. China,
Japan
S. E. Thibet
E. Thibet
Range beyond the Region.
1 Arctic regions
4 The whole region
N. India
IST. W. America
Absent from Australia &
S. America
[?]
All regions but Austral.
America N. of 66° N.Lat.
Oriental and Ethiopian
Ethiopian
Oriental and Ethiopian
Ethiopian, India
All reg. but Austral. [?]
Oriental, Nearctic
Nearctic, Ethiop., Hima-
layas, Peru
N. America, N". India,
China
Arctic America
Oriental
California
China to Hongkong
Kepal
Arctic America
Oriental, Nearctic, Chil
CHAP. X.]
THE PAL.EARCTIC REGION.
241
Order, Family, and
Genus.
Otariid^.
40. Callorhinus
41. Zalophus^
42. Eumetopias
Trichechid^.
43. Tricliechus
PhOCIDjE.
44. Callocepbalus
45. Pagomys ...
46. Pagophilus
47. Phoca
48. Halichferus
49. Pelagius ...
50. Cystophora
SIRENIA
CETACEA
UNGULATA.
EQUIDjE.
51. Equus ... .
SuiDiE.
52. Sus
CAMELID.E.
53. Camelus ...
Cervid^.
54. Alces
55. Tarandus
56. Cerviis
67. Damn
58. Elaphodus
59. Lophotragus .
60. Cairreolua
61. Moschus ...
62. Hydropotes
BoviD^.
63. ( Bos ... .
64. < Bison
65. ( Pocphagics
66. Addax
67. Oryx ... .
68. ( Gazella ...
60. ( Procaipra
^-1
Range within the Region.
Kamscliatka anclBeliring's Straits
Japan
Japan, Beluing's Straits
Polar Seas
Range beyond tlie Region.
California
California
Arctic America
North Sea, Caspian, Lake Baikal, Greenland
North Sea, Japan
Northern Seas
Northern Seas
North Sea and Baltic
Madeira to Black Sea
N. Atlantic
N. Paciiic
N. Pacific
N. Pacific
Gi'eenland
N. Atlantic
Tropics & Belli ing'sStrts.
Oceanic
Cent. & and W. Asia &N. Africa; Ethiopian
The whole rejiion
Deserts of Cent, and \V. Asia and
N. Africa
North Europe and Asia
Arctic Europe and Asia
The whole region
Mediterranean district
N. W. China
N. China
Temp. Europe and W. Asia ami
N. China
Anioor R., N. China, to Hima-
layas
N. China
Europe, (not wihl)
Poland and Caucasus
Thibet
N. Africa to Syria
N. Africa to Syria
N. Africa to Persia, and Beloo-
chi.stan
W. Thibet and Mongolia
Oriental, Austro- Malayan
N. America
Arctic America
All regions but Austral.
Oriental
Nearctic
Ethiopian deserts
S. Africa, India
242
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[PAUT 111.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
c S
1
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
70. \ Saiga
E. Europe and AV. Asia
71. 1 Pantkolops ...
1
W. Thibet
(Alceplialua . . .
1
Syria)
Ethiopian, genus.
72. Budorcas
2
E. Himalayas to E. Thibet
73. Rupicapra
2
Pyrenees to Caucasus
74. Neiiiorhedus ...
7
E. Himalayas to E. China and
Oriental to Sumatra,
Japan
Formosa
75. Capra
20
Spain to Thibet and KE. Africa
Nilgherries, Rocky Mtns.
HYRACOIDEA
Hyracid^.
(Hyrax
1
Syria)
Ethiopian genus
eodentia;
MURIDiE.
76. Mus
?15
The whole region
E. Hemisphere
77. Cricetus
9
The whole region
78. Cricetuhis
3
N. China
79. Merioues
8
\Y. and Central Asia to N. China,
N. Africa
Ethiopian, Indian.
80. Rhomhomys
6
E. Europe, Cent. Asia, N. Africa
81. Psammomys ...
3
Egypt and Palestine
82. Sminthus
3
P]ast Europe, Siberia
83. Arvicola
?21
The whole region
Himalayas, Nearctic
84. Cuniculus .;.
1
N.E. Europe, Siberia
Arctic America
85. Myodes
1
North of region
Nearctic
86, Myospalax
3
Altai Mountains and N. China
Spalacid^.
87. ElloUus
1
S. Russia and S. W. Siberia
88. Spalax
1
Hungary and Greece to W. Asia,
Palestine
DlPODlCB.
89. Dipus
U5
S. E. Europe and N. Africa to
N. China
Africa, India
Myoxid^.
90. Myoxus
12
Temperate parts of whole region
Ethiopian
Castorid.®.
91. Castor
1
Temperate zone, from France to
Amoorland
N. America
SCIUKID^.
92. Sciurus
8
The whole region
All regions but Austral.
93. Sciuropterus ...
4
Finland to Siberia and Japan
Oriental, Nearctic
94. Pteromys
3
Japan and W. China
Oriental
95. Spermophilus ...
10
E. Europe to N. China and
Kamschatka
Nearctic
96. Arctomys
4
Alps to E. Thibet and Kam-
schatka
Nearctic
OCTODONTIDiE.
97. Gtenodactylus....
1
N. Africa
Hystricid^,
98. Hystrix
2
S. Europe, Palestine, N. China.
Etliiopian, Oriental
CHAP. X.J
THE PAL.EARCTIC REGION.
243
Order, Familj', and
Genus.
1 S.
'J2
Range within the Kegion.
Range beyond tlie Region.
Lagomtid^.
99. Lagomys
10
Volga to E. Thibet and Kam-
schatka
Nearctic
Leporiu^.
100. Lepus
12
The whole region
All regions but Austral.
PASSERES.
TURDID^.
1. Turdus
18
2. Oreocincla
1
3. Mouticola
3
(Bessornis
1
Stlviid^.
4. Cisticola — ...
1
5.
6.
■ Acrocephalus...
Bum&ticola . . .
10
4
7.
Potamodus . . .
3
8.^
Lusciniola
1
9.
Locustella
7
10.
11.
Bradyi^tetus ...
> Calamodus ...
2
?3
12.
Phylloscopus...
6
13.
Hj^polais
9
14.
Abrornis
2
1.5.
Ecguloides ...
2
16.
Eegulus
4
17.
^ Aedon
2
18.
19.
20.'
Pyrophthalma
MeKzo2}Mlics . . .
Sylvia
2
2
6
21.
, Curruca
7
22.
Luscinia
2
23.
Cyanecula
^
24.'
25.
Calliope
Erithacus
2
3
26.
i> Grandala
1
BIRDS.
Tlie whole region (excluding
Spitzbergeu)
N.E. Asia and Japan, straggler
to Europe
S. Europe, N. Africa, Palestine,
N. China
Palestine)
S. W. Europe, IST. Africa, Japan
W. Europe to Japan
Nepaul, Lake Baikal, E. Thibet,
high
W. and S. Europe, N. Africa,
E. Thibet
S. Europe
W. Europe and N. Africa to
Japan
S. Europe and Palestine
Europe, N. Africa, Palestine
The whole region (excluding
western islands)
Europe, N. Africa, Palestine,
China
Cashmere, E. Thibet
Europe and China
The whole region (excluding
Iceland, &c. )
S. Europe, W. Asia, N. Africa
E. Europe and Palestine
W. and S. Europe, Sardinia
Madeira to W. India, N. Africa
Madeira to India, N. Africa
W. Europe, N. Africa, Persia
Europe and N. Africa to Kam-
schatka
N. Asia, Himalayas, China
Atlantic Islands to Japan
High Himalayas and E. Thibet
Almost cosmopolite
Oriental and Australian
Oriental and S. African
Tropical and S. Africa
Ethiop., Orient., Austral.
Orient , Ethiop. , Austral.
India, winter migrants (?)
E. and S. Africa
Oriental
China, Moluccas, India,
Africa
Oriental region
N. India, Formosa
N. and Central America
E. and S. Africa
JSI.E. Africa, Ceylon mi-
grants (?)
E. Africa, India, mi-
grants
Abyssinia and India
migrants
CentL India (? migrant)
E 2
244
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
27. I Euticilk
28. / Larvivora
29. Dromolfea
30. Saxicola—
31. Cercomela
32. Pratincola
33. Accentor
TiMALIIDiE.
34. PterorMnus ..
(Malacocercus ...
(Crateropus - —
(Trochalopteron
(lanthocincla —
Panueid.e.
(Paradoxornis
35. Conostmna
36. Suthora
37. Pamirus
3 8. Heteromo lyha ..
39. CJioIornis
ClXCLID.E.
40. Ciuelus
(Myiophonus ...
TEOC4LODYTID.T5.
4L Troglodytes ...
(Pnoppyga
Certhiid^.
42. Certhia
43. Tichodroma
SlTTID^.
44. Sitta
Parid.s.
45. Parus
46. Lophophaiips ...
47. Acredula
48. J51githalus
LlOTPJCniD.E.
(Proparus
Range within the Region.
Eti. to Japan, N. Afr., Himalayas
E. Thibet, Amoor, Japan
S. Europe, N. Africa, Palestine
The whole region
Palestine (a desert genns)
W. Europe, X. Africa to India
W. Europe to Japan ; high
Himalayas
Thibet and IST. 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,
10,000 feet altitude
E. Thibet
from
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
AV. Europe to Himalaj'as and
Japan
W. Europe to Kamschatka, N.
Africa
Euroyie and high Himalayas
W. Europe to N. China and
Kamschatka
S. E. hlurope
4 Moupin, in E. Thibet)
Range beyond the Region.
Abyssinia, India
Oriental
Ethiopian
E. and S. Africa, India
K.E. Africa, N.W.India
Ethioy)ian 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 Nearc-
tic, Himalayas
Oriental genus
Himalayas, Nearctic
ibyssinia, Nepaul, high
India, Nearctic
Nearctic, Oriental, Ethi-
opian
Nearctic
Ethiopian
Oriental genus and fam.
CHAP. X.]
THE PAL^ARCTIC EE'JION.
245
Order, Family, and
Genus.
Pycnonotid^.
49. Microscelis
60. Pycnonotus .
Oeiolid^.
51. Oriolus ...
MuSCICAPIDiE.
52. Muscicapa
53. Butalis ... .
64. Erythrosterna.
(Xautliopygia .
(Eumyias — .
(Cyauoptila
(Sij)hia
65. Tchitrea ...
Laniid^.
56. Lanius
(Telephouus .
CORVID^.
57. Garrulus ... .
68. Perisoreus
(Urocissa ...
59. Nucifracja
60. Pica
61. Cyanopica
62. Corvus ... .
63. Fregilus ...
Nectariniid^.
(Arachnecthra
(Zosterops
Ampelid^e.
64. Ampelis ...
HlRUNDINID^.
65. Hirundo ... .
66. Cotyle ... .
67. Chelidon ... .
Fringillid^.
68. rringilla .".. ' ..
Kanae within the Eegion.
Japan
Palestine, N. China, Japan
S. Europe, China
AV. and Central Europe
W. Europe to Japan and China
Central Europe to N. China and
Japan
Japan)
E. Thibet)
Jajian and Amoor)
Moupin, E. Thibet)
N. Cliina and Japan
The whole region (excl. Atlantic
Islands)
N. Africa)
W. Europe, N. Africa, to Japan
N. Europe and Siberia
Cashmere, Japan)
W. Europe to Japan, and Hima-
layas
W. Europe to China and Japan
Spain, N. E. Asia and Japan
Tlic whole region
W. Eurojie to jSf. China, Hima-
layas
Palestine)
Amoor and Japan)
Northern half of region
The whole region
The whole region (excl. Atlan. Is.
The whole region
The whole region
Kange beyond the Region.
Oriental genus
Oriental and Ethiopian
Ethiopian and Oriental
Ethiopian.
E. and S. Africa, Mo-
luccas
Oriental & Madagascar
Oriental genus
Oriental genus
Oriental genus
Oriental genus
Ethiopian and Oriental
Nearctic, Ethiopian,
Oriental
Etliiopian genus
Himala3'as, Formosa
IST. America
Oriental genus
Himalayan pine forests
S. China and Formosa
migrants [?]
Cosmopolite(excl.S.Am.)
Abyssinian mountains
Oriental genus
Ethiop., Orieu., Austral.
North .Imerica
Cosmopolite
Nfiarctic, Ethiop. , Orien.
Oriental
Africa
246
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part nr.
Order, Family, and
Gi nus.
69. Acantliis
70. Procarduclis ...
71. Chrysomitris...
72. Dryospiza
73. Metopoiiia
74. Chlorospiza ...
75. Passer
76. Montifringilla
77. Friiigillauda..
78. Coccotliraustes
79. Mycerobas
80 Eophoiia
81. Pyrrhula
(Crithagra
82. Carpodacus ...
83. Erythros2nza ...
84. Uragus
85. Loxia
86. Pinicola
87. Propyrrliula ...
88. Pyrrliospiza ...
89. Linota
90. Leucosticte ...
EmberiziiiEe
91. i Euspiza
92. ) Emheriza
93. j Fringillaria...
94. ( Plectrophanes
Stxtrnid^.
95. Pastor
96. Stuniia
97. Sturuus
(Araydrus
98. Podoces
Alavdibm.
99. Otocorys
100. Alauda .. ..
101. Galerita
102. Calandrella ...
103. Melanocoi-ypha
104. Pallasia
(Certhilauda ...
(Alaemou
Europe and N. Africa to Central
Asia
Higli Himalaj^as and E. Thibet
W. Europe to Japan
Atlantic Islands to Palestine, N.
Africa
N. E. Europe to W. Himalayas
W. Europe, IST. Africa to Japan
The whole region
Europe to Cashmere and Siberia
N. W. Himalayas to E. Thibet,
high
W. Europe, High Himalayas to
Jap)an
Central Asia & High Himalayas
E. Thibet, China, and Japan
Azores to Japan, High Himalayas
Palestiue)
Cent. Eu. to Japan, High Hima-
laj^as
N. Africa to Afghanistan and
Turkestan
Turkestan & E. Thibet to Japan
Europe, High Himalayas to Japan
jST. 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
A moor, Japan, N. China
The whole region (excl. Atlantic
Islands)
Palestine)
Cen. Asia, Turkestan, Yarkand
N. Europe to Japan, N. Africa,
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. Asi;
Mongolia
JT. Africa)
S". Africa, Arabia)
Raiig3 beyond the Region.
N". and S. America
China, E. Africa
Ethiopian, Oriental
N. America
China
Alaska
Ethiopian genus
India & China, N. Amer.
N. America
N". America
Uarjeeling in winter
N. America
N. W. America
N. America
N. India, China
African genus
N. America
India
Oriental
India, China
N. E. African genus
IndiajN. America, Andes
India, Africa
[ndia, Central Africa
India
N. W. India
S. African genus
Ethiopian genus
CHAP. S.]
THE PALx^ARCTIC REGION.
247
Order, Family, and
Genus.
0 3
105. Ammomanes...
3
MOTACILLID^.
106. Motacilla
6
107. Budytes
108. Calobates
4
2
PlTTID^.
(Pitta
1
PICART^.
PiCIDiE.
109. Picoides
3
110. Picus
16
111. Hj'popicus ...
]
(Yuiigipicus ...
112. Dryocopus ...
113. Geciuus
1
1
6
YuNGID.aB.
114. Yunx
2
CUCULID^.
115. Cnciilus
2
116. Coccysles
]
C0RACIID.E.
117. Coracias
1
(Eurystomus ...
]
MEEOPID.B.
118. Merops
2
ALCEDINIDiE.
(Hulcyon
119. Alcedo
2
120. Ceryle
2
Upvtidm.
121. Upupa
1
CAPRIMULGID.E.
122. CaprimulgTis...
0
Ctpselicb.
123. Cypselus
124. Chffitura
4
9
Range within the Region
S. Europe, N. Africa, to Cash-
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)
F, China
N. China)
N. & Cen. Europe to iST. China
W. Europe to Thibet, Auioor. &
Japan
2 \Y. Europe to ¥. "W. ^ India.
Thibet and Japan
The whole region (excl. Atlanti)
Lslands)
S. Europe and N. Afiica
Cent. Europe to Cent. Asia
Amooi in summer)
vS. Europe to Ca.shmer6, N. Afric
W. Asia, N. China, Japan)
Europe, N. China
S. E. Europe, Japan
Range beyond the Eeginn.
^. Europe, ^T. China
Europe to Japan
The whole region (excl. Iceland
X. China, Dauria
Africa, India
Oriental, Ethiopian
Oriental, Moluccas
Malaisia, Madagascar
Oriental & Austral, genus
North America
India, China, N. and. S.
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
I']thiopian and Oriental
Ethiopian, America
Alrica, India
248
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part 111.
Order, Family, and
Gemis.
COLUMBiE.
CoLUMBIDiE.
1 25. Coliimba
126. Turtur ... .
(Alssecomus .
GALLlNiE.
Pteroclida:.
127. Pterocles
1 28. Syrrhaptes .
Tetraonid*.
129. Francolinus .
130. Perdix ...
131. Coturnix
132. Lerioa ...
133. Caccahis ...
134. Tetraogallus .
135. Tetrao ... .
136. Bonasa ... .
137. Lagopiis...
PllA.SIANIDiE.
138. Crossoptilon .
139. Lophojthonts .
140. Tetraophasis
141. Ceriornis
142. Pucrasia —
143. Phasianvs
144. ThauTtialea
145. ItJiaginis
TURNICID^
1 46. Turnix . . .
ACCIPITRES.
ViJLTirRiD.ffi;.
147. V^iUnr ...
148. Gyps ...
149. Otogvps
150. Neophron
Falconid^.
151. Circus
152. Astur ...
153. Accipiter
154. Buteo ...
The whole region
W. Enrope to Japan
E. Thibet)
Range beyond the Region,
Africa, Asia, America
Ethiopian and Oriental
Oriental genus
S. Europe, IST. Africa, to W. India Ethiopian genus
Centi-al Asia, N. China
Borders of Mediterranean
Europe to Mongolia
Central and S. Europe to Japan
Snowy Himalayas to E. Tliibet
Cen. Europe and N. Africa to N.
W. Himalayas
Caucasus to E. Thibet and Altai
Mountains
FiUrope and N. Asia
Europe and N. Asia
Iceland, W. Euro2>e to Japan
Thibet, Mongolia, N. China
Cashmei-e to E. Thibet (highest
woods)
E. Thibet
N. "VV. Himalayas (high)
N. W. Himalayas to N. W. China
"Western Asia to Japan
E. Thibet to Amoor, N. China
Nepaul to E. Thibet (higli)
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
Ethiopian, Oriental
Ethiop., Orien, Austral.
Abyssinia, Arabia
N. America
N. America
N. America, Greenland
E. Thibet (?)
Himalayas to "VV. China
Himalayas
W. Himalayas, Formosa
West China
Ethiop., Orien., Austral.
E. Africa, India
S. Africa, India
Africa, India
Almost Cosmopolite
Almost Cosmopolite
Almost Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite (excl. Aus-
tralia)
CHAr. X.]
THE PAL^ARCTIC REGION.
249
Order, Family, and
Genus.
155. Arcliibuteo
156. Gypaetus
157. Aquila ...
158. Nisaetus...
159. Circaetus
160. Haliaietus
161. Milvus ...
162. Elaims ...
163. Pernis ...
164. Falco ...
165. Hierofalco
166. Cerchneis
PANDroxiD^.
167. Pandion—
Strigid^.
168. Snrnia ...
169. Nyctea ...
170. Athene ...
(Ninox . . .
171. Glaucidmm
172. Bubo ...
173. Scops ...
174. Syrnmm...
17.5. Otus
176. Nyctala .
177. Strix ...
Range within tlie Region.
N". Europe to Japan
S. Europe, N. Africa
Europe to Japan
E. Europe, N. Africa, W. Asia
E. and S. Europe, N. Africa, W.
Asia
Iceland and S. Europe to Japan
Europe to Japan, N. Africa
N. Africa, N. China to Amoor
Europe to Ji pan
The whole region
The whole region
Atlantic Islands to Japan
Europe to Japan
IST. Europe and Siberia
Arctic regions
Central and S. Europe to Japan
N. China and Japan)
Europe to N. China
Europe to N. China
8. Europe to Japan
Europe to Japan
Europe to Japan
N. Europe to E. Siberia
Europe and N. Africa
Range beyond the Region.
N. America
Abyssinia, Himalayas
Nearctic, Ethiop., Orien.
India, Australia
Africa, India
Cosmopolite (excL Neo-
tropical region)
The Old Worid &Anstral.
Cosmopolite (excl. East
U. S.)
■Ethio]>ian 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 verij cJiaracteristic Genera of Wading ani Swimming Birds.
GEALL^.
Kallid.e.
Ortygomctra .
ScOLOPACIDiE.
Ihidorhynclia ..
Terekia
Helodroinas
Machetes
Surinorhynchus
GLAREOLIDiE.
Pluvianus
CHARADRIIDiE.
Vanellus
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 Vallej's
India, Australia(migrant)
India in winter
Bengal
S. America
26Q
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
O 3J
Range within the Region.
Range bej'ond the Region.
OTIDIDiB.
Otis
2
W. Europe to Mongolia, N. Africa
ANSERES.
Anatid^.
Aix
Bucephala
Histrionicus ...
Harelda
Somateria
(Edemia
1
3
1
1
3
3
N. China to Amoor
Iceland, N. Europe, and Asia
Iceland, N. Siberia
North of whole region
North of whole region
North of whole region
N. America
N. America
N. America
Arctic America
N. America
N. America
LAKIDiE.
Eissa
1
North coasts of whole region
N. America
COLYMBID^.
Colymbus ...
3
North of whole region
N. America
ALClD.a;.
Alca
Fratercula . . .
Uria
Mergulu.s
3
3
1
North coasts of whole region
North coasts of whole i-egiou
North coasts of whole region
Iceland and Arctic coasts
N. America
N. America
N. America
Arctic America
CHAPTEE XI.
THE ETHIOPIAN EEGION.
This is one of the best defined of the great zoological regions,
consisting of tropical and South Africa, to which mnst 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 Palfearctic 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 Palsearctic,
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 Eiver to about 10° or 12° south latitude, is a very
252 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
different kind of country ; being almost wholly dense forests
■\vliere 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 excco-
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 jiroduc-
tions ; and to this must be added, the smaller islands of Bourbon,
Mauritius and Eodriguez, 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 Eegion 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. — This region has 9 peculiar families of mammalia.
Chiromyidse (containing the aye-aye) ; Potamogalidse and Chry-
sochloridse (Insectivora) ; Cryptoproctidse and Protelidse (Carni-
vora) ; Hippopotamidi3e and Camelopardalidse (Ungulata) ; and
Orycteropodidce (Edentata). Besides these it possesses 7 pecu-
liar genera of apes, Troglodytes, Colohus, 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, Centetidee, with 5 genera,
peculiar to Madagascar, and the genera Petrodromns and Bhyn-
chocyon belonging to the Macroscelididee, or elephant-shrews,
restricted to the continent ; numerous peculiar genera or sub-
genera of civets ; Lycaon and Megalotis, remarkable genera of
Canidse ; Idonyx, the zorilla, a genus allied to the weasels ;
13 peculiar genera of Muridae ; Pectinator, a genus of the South
American family Octodontidse ; and 2 genera of the South
American Eohimyidse or spiny rats. Of abundant and charac-
teristic groups it possesses Macroseelides, Pelis, Hycena, Hyrax,
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 cf Africa
from the rest of the world. These groups are, Ursidae, the bears ;
Talpidee the moles ; Camelidse, the camels ; Cervidse, the deer ;
Caprinse, 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.
Birds. — 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 hi.
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, Musophagidae (the plantain eaters) ; Coliidse (the colies) ;
Leptosomidse, allied to the cuckoos ; Irrisoridse, allied to the
hoopoes ; and Serpentaridse, allied to the hawks. Only one
Passerine family is peculiar — Paictidse, while most of the other
tropical regions possess several ; but Euryceros and Bn'phaga,
here classed with the Sturnidte, ought, perhaps, to form two
more. It has, however, many peculiar genera, especially among the
fruit-thrushes, Pycnonotid^e ; flycatchers, Muscicapidse ; shrikes,
Lanidse ; crows, Corvidse ; starlings, Sturnidse ; and weaver-birds,
Ploceidse; the latter family being very characteristic of the region.
It is also rich in barbets, Megalsemidas (7 peculiar genera) ;
cuckoos, Cuculidse ; rollers, Coraciidse ; bee- eaters, Meropidae ;
hornbills, Bucerotid?e ; ani goat-suckers, Caprimulgidse. It is
poor in parrots and rather so in pigeons ; but it abounds in
Pterodes and Fiuncolinus, genera of Gallinee, 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, Eachiodontidse, Dendraspidse, and Atrac-
taspidse and 1 of lizards, Chamsesauridse.
Psammophidse (desert snakes) are abundant, as are Lycodontidse
(fanged ground-snakes), and Yiperidse (vipers). The following
genera of snakes are peculiar or highly characteristic : — Lepto-
rhynchiLS, Wiamnophis, Herpetethiops and Grayia (Colubridse) ;
HopsidropMs and Bucephalus (Dendrophidee) ; Langalia (Dryo-
phidse) ; Pythonodipsas (Dipsadidse) ; Boedon, Lycop)]iidion, Holu-
ropholis, Simoceplialus and Lamprophis (Lycodontidte) ; Hortulia
and Sanzinia (Pythonidse) ; Gyrptophis, Blapsoidea and Poecilo-
phis (Elapidee) ; and Athens (Viperidse). The following genera
CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 255
of lizards are the most characteristic : — Monotrojjhis (Lepidos-
ternidse) ; Corclylus, Pseudocordylus, Platysaurus, Cordylosaurus,
Pleurostichus, Saiiroplds and Zomirus (Zonuridse) ; Splimnops,
Sceloies, S2Jhcenoeep]ialus and Sepsina (Sepidse) ; Pachydadylus
(Geckotid8e);^^ama (Agaraidi^); and Chameleon (Chameleonidse).
Of tortoises, Cynyxis, Pyxis and Chersina (Testudinidse), and
Cydoderma (Trionychidee) are the most characteristic.
AmpMhia. — Of the 9 families of amphibia there is only
1 peculiar, the Dactylethridffi, a group of toads ; but the
Alytidse, a family of frogs, are abundant.
Fresh-water Fish. — Of the 14 families of fresh-water fishes
3 are peculiar : Mormyridaj and Gymnarchidse, small groups
not far removed from the pikes ; and Polypteridpe, a small group
of ganoid fishes allied to the gar-pikes (Lepidosteidse) of North
America.
Summary of Ethiopian Vertehrates. — 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.
Inseds: Zepidoptera. — 11 out of the 16 families of butter-
flies have representatives in Africa, but none are peculiar.
Acrseidse is one of the most characteristic families, and there
256 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part iir.
are many interestiug forms of Nymphalidte, Lycseuidse, and
Papilionidse. The peculiar or cliaracteristic forms are Amauris
(D.anaidse) ; Gnophodes, Leptoneura, Bicyclus, Heteropsis and
Cmnyra (Satyridse) ; Acrcea (Acraeidse) ; LacJwioptera, Precis,
Salamis, Crenis, Godartia, Ainphidema, Pseudacrcea, Catuna,
Euryphene, . Bomalmosoma, Havianumida, Aterica, Harma,
Meneris, Charaxes, and PMlognoma (Nymphalidse) ; Pentila,
Liptena, Durhania, Zcritis, Capys, Phytala, Epitola, Heioitsonia
and Peloneura (Lycsenidse) ; Pseudopontia, Idmais, Teracolus,
Callosune (Pieridse) ; Ahantis, Ceratrichia and Ccqjrona (Hes-
peridse). 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.
Colcoptera. — In our first representative family, Cicindelidce
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, Myrmecopitera oxi^ Dromica ;
with Megacepliala, a genus only found elsewhere in Australia
and South America.
In Carabidse or carnivorous ground beetles, there are
about 75 peculiar genera. Among the most characteristic
are Anthia, Polyrliina, GrapMpierus and Piezia, which are
almost all peculiar ; while Ortliogonius, Hexagonia, Macrocliilus,
Thyreopterus, Eudema, and Ahacetics are common to this and
the Oriental region ; and Hypolithus to the Neotropical.
Out of 27 genera of Buprestidse, or metallic beetles, only 6 are
peculiar to the region, one of the most remarkable being Poly-
hothrus, confined to Madagascar. Sternocera and Chrysochroa are
characteristic of this region and the Oriental ; it has Julodis in
common with the Mediterranean sub-region, and Belionota
with the Malayan.
The region is not rich in Lucanidse, or stag-beetles, possessing
only 10 genera, 7 of which are peculiar, but most of them con-
CHAP. XL] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 257
sist of single species. The other three genera, Cladognatlms,
Nigidius, and Figulus, are the most characteristic, though all
have a tolerably wide range in the Old AVorld.
In the elegant Cetoniidse, or rose-chafers, this region stands
preeminent, possessing 76 genera, 64 of which are peculiar to
it. The others are chiefly Oriental, except Oxythrcea which is
European, and Stetliodesma which is ISTeotropical. Preeminent
in size and beauty is Goliathus, comprising perhaps the most
bulky of all highly-coloured beetles. Other large and char-
acteristic genera are Ceratorliina, Ischnostoma, Anocliilia,
Diplognatha, Agenvus, and many others of less extent.
In the enormous tribe of Longicorns, or long-horned beetles,
the Ethiopian is not so rich as the other three tropical regions ;
but this may be, in great part, owing to its more productive
districts having never been explored by any competent entomo-
logists. It nevertheless possesses 262 genera, 216 of which are
peculiar, the others being mostly groups of very wide range.
Out of such a large number it is difficult to select a few as most
characteristic, but some of the peculiarities of distribution as
regards other regions may be named. Among Prionidae, TitJioes
is a characteristic Ethiopian genus. A few species of the
American genera Farandra and Mallodon occur here, while the
North Temperate genus Prionus is only found in Madagascar.
Among Cerambycidse, Promeces is the most characteristic. The
American genera Oeme and Cyrtomerus occur; while Horiialacli-
nus and Philagaihes are Malayan, and Zeptocera occurs only in
Madagascar, Ceylon, Austro-Malaya, and Australia. The Laniiidse
are very fine; Sternotomis, Tragoccphala. Cerojjlesis, Phrynda,
Volumnia, and Nitocris, being very abundant and characteristic.
Most of the non-peculiar genera of this family are Oriental,
but Spalacopsis and Acanthoderes are American, while Tetraglcnrs
and Schoenionta have been found only in East and South AlVJca
and in Malaya.
Terrestrial Mollusca — In the extensive family of the HelicidiC
or snails, 13 genera are represented, only one of wliich,
Columna, is peculiar. This region is however the metropolis of
Achatina, some of the species being the largest land-shells
258 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part iir.
known. Bulimiims, SUnogijra, and Bwpci are characteristic
genera, Bidimus is absent, though one species inhabits St.
Helena. The operculated shells are not very well represented,
the great family of Cyclostomidse having here only nine genera,
with but one peculiar, Lithiclion, found in Madagascar, Socotra,
and Arabia. None of the genera appear to be well represented
throughout the region, and they are almost or quite absent from
West Africa.
According to Woodward's Manual (1868) West Africa has
about 200 species of land-shells, South Africa about 100,
Madagascar nearly 100, Mauritius about 50. All the islands
have their peculiar species; and are, in proper don to their
extent; much richer than the continent ; as is usually the case.
The Ethiopian Sub-eegions.
It has been already explained that these are to some extent
provisional ; yet it is believed that they represent generally the
primary natural divisions of the region, however they may be
subdivided when our knowledge of their productions becomes
more accurate.
I. The East African Suh-region, or Central and East Africa.
This division includes all the open country of tropical Africa
south of the Sahara, as well as an undefined southern margin of
that great desert. With the exception of a narrow strip along
the east coast and the valleys of the Niger and Nile, it is a vast
elevated plateau from 1,000 to 4,000 feet high, hilly rather than
mountainous, except the lofty table land of Abyssinia, with
mountains rising to 16,000 feet and extending south to the
equator, where it terminates in the peaks of Kenia and Kili-
mandjaro, 18,000 and 20,000 feet high. The northern portion
of this sub-region is a belt about 300 miles wide between the
Sahara on the north and the great equatorial forest on the south,
extending from Cape Verd, the extreme western point of Africa,
across the northern bend of the Niger and Lake Tchad to the
mountains of Abyssinia. The greater part of this tract has a
CHAP. XI.] THE ETPIIOPIAN EEGION. 259
moderate elevation. The eastern portion readies from about the
second cataract of the Nile, or perliaps from about the parallel
of 20° IST. Latitude, down to about 20° S. Latitude, and from the
east coast to where the great forest region commences, or to Lake
Tanganyika and about the meridian of 28° to 30° E. Longitude.
The greater part of this tract is a lofty plateau.
The surface of all this sub-region is generally open, covered
with a vegetation of high grasses or thorny shrubs, with scat-
tered trees and isolated patches of forest in favourable situations.
The only parts where extensive continuous forests occur, are on
the eastern and western slopes of the great Abyssinian plateau,
and on the Mozambique coast from Zanzibar to Sofala. The
whole of this great district has one general zoological character.
Many species range from Senegal to Abyssinia, others from
Abyssinia to the Zambesi, and a few, as Mungos fasciatus and
Phacochcerus cetliiopicus, range over the entire sub-region. Fenne-
cus, Idonyx, and several genera of antelopes, characterise every
part of it, as do many genera of birds. Coracias ncevia, Cory-
tJiornis cyanostigma, Tochus nasntus, T. erythrorliynchus, Paries
leucopterus, Buphctg.i africana, Vidua paradisea, are examples
of species, which are found in the Gambia, Abyssinia and South
East Africa, but not in the West African sub-region ; and con-
sidering how very little is known of the natural history
of the country immediately south of the Sahara, it may
well be supposed that these are only a small portion of the
species really common to the whole area in question, and which
prove its fundamental imity.
Although this sub-region is so extensive and so generally
uniform in physical features, it is by far the least peculiar part
of Africa. It possesses, of course, all those wide-spread Ethiopian
types which inhabit every part of the region, but it has hardly
any special features of its own. The few genera which are
peculiar to it have generally a limited range, and for the most
part belong, either to the isolated mountain-plateau of Abyssinia
which is almost as much Palajarctic as Ethiopian, or to the woody
districts of Mozambique where the fauna has more of a West
or South African character.
s 2
260 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
Mainmalia. — The only forms of Mammalia peculiar to this
sub-region are Theropithecus, one of the Cynopithecidse confined
to Abyssinia ; Petrodromus and Rhyncliocyon, belonging to the
insectivorous jNIacroscelididse, have only been found in Mozam-
bique ; the Antelopine genus Neotragus, from Abyssinia south-
ward ; Saccostomus and Felomys genera of Muridse inhabiting
Mozambique ; Heterocephalus from Abyssinia, and Heliophohius
from Mozambique, belonging to the Spalacidse ; and Pedinatur
from Abyssinia, belonging to the Octodontidse. CynocepJialus,
Rhinoceros, Camelopardalis, and antelopes of the genera Oryx,
Cervicapra, Kohus, Nanotragus, Cephalophus, Hippotragus, Alce-
phcdus, and CatoUepas, are characteristic ; as well as Felis,
Hymna, and numerous civets and ichneumons.
Birds. — Peculiar forms of birds are hardly to be found here ;
we only meet with two — Hypocolius, a genus of shrikes in Abys-
sinia ; and Balceyiiceps, the great boat-billed heron of the Upper
Nile. Yet throughout the country birds are abundant, and most
of the typical Ethiopian forms are well represented;
Reptiles. — Of reptiles, the only peculiar forms recorded are
Xenoccdamus, a genus of snakes, belonging to the Calamariidai ;
,ind Pythonodipsas, one of the Dipsadidte, both from the Zambesi ;
and among lizards, Pisturus, one of the Geckotidse, from Abys-
sinia.
Amphibia and Fishes. — There are no peculiar forms of amphibia
or of fresh-water fishes.
/tiscc's.— Insects are almost equally unproductive of peculiar
forms. Among butterflies we have Abantis, one of the Hesperidse,
from Mozambique ; and in Coleoptera, 2 genera of Cicindelidse,
8 of Carabidse, 1 or 2 of Cetoniidae, and about half-a-dozen of
Longicorns : a mere nothing, as we shall see, compared with the
hosts of peculiar genera that characterise each of the other sub-
regions. Neither do land-shells appear to present any peculiar
forms.
The fact that so very few special types characterise the exten-
sive area now under consideration is very noteworthy. It justifies
us in uniting this large and widespread tract of country as
forming essentially but one sub-division of the great Etliiopian
PLATE TV
CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS OF EAST AFRICA.
CHAP. XL] THE ETHIOPIAN EEGION. 261
region, and it suggests some curious speculations as to the former
history of that region, a subject which must be deferred to the
latter part of this chapter. In none of the other great tropical
regions does it occur, that the largest portion of their area,
although swarming with life, yet possesses hardly any distinctive
features except the absence of numerous types characteristic of
the other sub-regions.
Plate IV, — Illustrating the Zoology of East Africa. — Although
this sub-region has so little speciality, it is that which abounds
most in large animals, and is, perhaps, the best representative of
Africa as regards zoology. Some of the most distinctive of African
animals range over the whole of it, and as, from recent explora-
tions, many parts of this wide area have been made known to the
reading public, we devote one of our plates to illustrate the
especially African forms of life that here abound. The antelopes
represented are the koodoo (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) one of the
handsomest of the family, Avhich ranges over all the highlands
of Africa from Abyssinia to the southern districts. To the left
is the aardvark, or earth pig, of North Eastern Africa {Oryderoims
a'thiopiciis) which, to the north of the equator in East Africa,
represents the allied species of the Cape of Good Hope. These
Edentata are probably remnants of the ancient fauua of Africa,
when it was completely isolated from the northern continents
and few of the higher types had been introduced. The large
bii'd in the foreground is the secretary-bird, or serpent-killer
{Serpentarius reptilivoriis), which has affinities both for the birds-
of-prey and the waders. It is common over almost all the open
country of Africa, destroying and feeding on the most venomous
serpents. The bird on the wing is the red-billed promerops
(Irrisor efythrorhynclius), a handsome bird with glossy plumage
and coral-red bill. It is allied to the hoopoes, and feeds on
insects which it hunts for among the branches of trees. This
species also ranges over a large part of east and central Africa to
near the Cape of 'Good Hope. Other species are found in the
w^est; and the genus, which forms a distinct family, Irrisoridce, is
one of the best marked Ethiopian types of birds. In the distance
is a rhinoceros, now one of the characteristic features of African
262 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
zoology, though there is reason to believe that it is a compara=-
tively recent intruder into the country.
//. The Wed- African Suh- region.
This may be defined as the equatorial-forest sub-region, since it
comprises all that portion of Africa, from the west coast inland,
over which the great equatorial forests prevail more or less unin-
terruptedly. These commence to the south of the Gambia Eiver,
and extend eastwards in a line roughly parallel to the southern
margin of the great desert, as far as the sources of the upper
Nile and the mountains forming the western boundary of the
basin of the great lakes ; and south v;ard to that high but marshy
forest-country in which Livingstone was travelling at the time
of his death. Its southern limits are undetermined, but are pro-
bably somewhere about the parallel of 11'^ S. Latitude.^
This extensive and luxuriant district has only been explored
zoologically in the neighbourhood of the West coast. Much, no
doubt, remains to be done in the interior, yet its main features
are sutficiently well known, and most of its characteristic types
of animal life have, no doubt, been discovered,
Mammalia. — Several very important groups of mammals are
peculiar to this sub-region. Most prominent are the great
anthropoid apes — the gorilla and the chimpanzee — forming the
genus Troglodytes ; and monkeys of the genera Myiopithecus
and Cercocchus. Two remarkable forms of lemurs, Perodicticus
and Arctocehus, are also peculiar to West Africa. Among the
Insectivora is Fotaniogale, a semi-aquatic animal, forming a
distinct family; and three peculiar genera of civets (Viverridce)
have been described. Hyomoschus, a small, deer-like animal,
belongs to the Tragulidte, or chevrotains, a family otherwise
^ Dr. Scliweinfurtli has accurately determined the limits of the sub-region
at the point where he crossed the watershed between the Nile tributaries and
those of the Shari, in 4^° N. Lat. and 28^° E. Long. He describes a sudden
change in the character of the vegetation, which to the southward of this
point assumes a West- African character. Here also the chimpanzee and
grey parrot first appear, and certain species of pLmts only known elsewhere
ill Western Africa.
CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN EEGION. 2G3
confined to the Oriental region ; and in tlie squirrel family is a
curious genus, Anomalurus, wliicli resembles the flying squirrels
of other parts of the world, without being directly allied to them.
Birds. — In this class we find a larger proportionate number
of peculiar forms. Hyper gerus and Alethe, belonging to the
Timaliidse, or babblers, are perhaps allied to Malayan groups ;
Parinia, a peculiar form of tit, is found only in Prince's Island ;
Ixonotus is an abundant and characteristic form of Pycnonotidse;
Fraseria, Hypodes, Cuphoptenis, and Chaunonufus, are peculiar
genera of shrikes ; Picathartes is one of the many strange forms
of the crow family ; Cimiyricinchis is a peculiar genus of sun-
birds ; Pliolidornis is^^supposed to belong to the Oriental Dicasidce,
or fiower-peckers ; Waldcnia is a recently-described new form
of swallow ; Ligumus, a finch, Spermospiga, a weaver bird, and
OnycJiognathus a starling, are also peculiar "West African genera.
Coming to the Picarise we have Verreauxia, a peculiar wood-
pecker ; three peculiar genera of barbels (Megalsemidse) ;
the typical plantain-eaters (Musophaga) ; Myioceyx, a peculiar
genus of kiugfishers ; while Berenicorrds is a genus of crested
hornbills, only found elsewhere in Malaya. The grey parrots,
of the genus Psittacus, are confined to this sub-region, as are
two peculiar genera of partridges, and three of guinea-
fowl. We have also here a species of Pitta, one of the Ori-
ental family of ground-thrushes ; and the Oriental paroquets,
Palceomis, are found here as v/ell as in Abyssinia and the
Mascarene Islands.
We thus find, both in the Mammalia and birds of West Africa,
a special Oriental or even Malayan element not present in the
other parts of tropical Africa, although appearing again in
Madagascar. In the Mammalia it is represented by the anthro-
poid apes ; by Colobus allied to Semnopitheeus, and by Cercocebus
allied to Macacus ; and especially by a form of the Malayan
family of chevrotains (Tragulidse). The Malayan genus of otters,
Aonyx, is also said to occur in West and South Africa. In
birds we have special Oriental and Malayan affinities in Alethe,
Pholidornis, Berenicornis, Pitta, and Palccornis ; while the
Oriental genus Trcron has a wide range in Africa. We shall
264 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
endeavour to ascertain the meaning of this special relation at
a subsequent stage of our inquiries.
Plate V. — River Scene in West Africa, with Characteristic
Animals. — Our artist has here well represented the luxuriance
and beauty of a tropical forest ; and the whole scene is
such as might be witnessed on the banks of one of the
rivers of equatorial West Africa. On the right we see a
red river-hog (Potamochcerus penicillatus), one of the hand-
somest of the swine family, and highly characteristic of the
West African sub-region. In a tree overhead is the potto
{Peroclicticus potto), one of the curious forms of lemur con-
fined to West Africa. On the left is the remarkable Pota-
mogale velox, first discovered by Du Chaillu, — an Insectivorous
animal, with the form and habits of an otter. On the other
side of the river are seen a pair of gorillas {Troglodytes gorilla),
the largest of the anthropoid apes.
The bird on the wing is the Whydah finch ( Vidua paradisea),
remarkable for the enormous plumes with which the tail of the
male bird is decorated during the breeding season. The crested
bird overhead is one of the beautiful green touracos {Turacus
macrorhynchus), belonging to the Musophagida", or plantain-eaters,
a family wholly African, and most abundant in the western
sub-region.
Eeptiles. — In this class we find a large number of peculiar
forms ; 13 genera of snakes, 3 of lizards, and 2 of tortoises being
confined to the sub-region. The snakes are Pariasp)is, PJlajwps,
and Prosymna (Calamariidce), RhamnopMs, Herpetethiops, and
Grayia (Colubrida?), Neusterophis and Limnophis (Homalopsidse),
Simoceidhalus and HoliLropiliis (Lycodontida?) ; Pelophilus (Pytho-
nidse) ; Elapsoidea (Elapidse) ; and Atheris (Viperidse). The
lizards are Dalophia (Lepidosternidai) ; Otosaurus (Scincidse) ;
Psilodactylus (Geckotidae). The tortoises, Cinyxis (Testudinidse)
and Tetrathyra (Trionichidse).
Ariiphibia. — Of Amphibia, there are 2 peculiar genera of tree-
ii'ogs, Hylamhatis and Hemimantis, belonging to the Polype-
datidee.
'"-'"FT
\l 1 iiiijii
CHAP. xi.J THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 265
Here, too, we find some interesting relations witli the Oriental
region on tlie one side, and the Neotropical on the other. The
snakes of the family Homalopsidse have a wide range, in America,
Europe, and all over the Oriental region, but are confined to
West Africa in the Ethiopian region. Dryiophis (Dryiophidte)
and BiiJsaclohoa (Dipsadidee) on the other hand, are genera of
tropical America which occur also in West Africa. The family
of lizards, Acontiadae, are found in West and South Africa,
Ceylon, and the Moluccas. The family of toads, Engystomidse,
in West and South Africa and the whole Oriental region ; while
the Phrjaiiscidse inhabit tropical Africa and Java.
Insects. — We have here a large number of peculiar genera.
There are 10 of butterflies, Laclinoiptera, Amphidema, and Catuna
belonging to the Nymphalidee, while four others are Lycsenidse.
The genus Euxanthe is common to West Africa and Madagascar.
Of Coleoptera there are 53 peculiar genera ; 20 are Carabidse,
2 Lucanidse, 12 Cetoniidffi, 3 Prionidse, 16 Cerambycidge, and
34 Lamiidse. Besides these there are 4 or 5 genera confined to
West Africa and Madagascar.
Land Shells. — West Africa is very rich in land shells, but it
does not appear to possess any well-marked genera, although
several of the smaller groups or sub-genera are confined to it,
Helicidse of the genera Nanina, Bulimiiius and Achatina are
abundant and characteristic.
Islands of the West African Suh-region. — The islands in the
Gulf of Guinea are, Fernando Po, very near the main land, with
Prince's Island and St. Thomas, considerably further away to the
south-west. Eernando Po was once thought to be a remarkable
instance of an island possessing a very peculiar fauna, although
close to the main land and not divided from it by a deep sea.
This, however, was due to our having obtained considerable
collections from Eernando Po, while the opposite coast was
almost unknown. One after another the species supposed to be
peculiar have been found on the continent, till it becomes prob-
able, that, as in the case of other islands similarly situated, it
contains no peculiar species whatever. The presence of nume-
rous mammalia, among which are baboons, lemurs, Hyrax, and
266 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.
Anomalurus, shows that this island has probably once been united
to the continent.
Prince's Island, situated about 100 miles from the coast, has
no mammals, but between 30 and 40 species of birds. Of these
7 are i^eculiox sj)ecies,Yiz., Zosterops JlceduUna, Cuphopterus dohrni
(a peculiar genus of Sylviidse), Sympledes princejps, Crithagra
Tufilata, Cohtmha chlo7'op)h(Ba, Peristera principalis, and Strix
thoviensis.
In the Island of St. Thomas, situated on the equator about 150
miles from the coast, there are 6 peculiar species out of 30 known
birds, viz., Scops Uiicopsis, Zosterops luguhris, Turdus olivacco-
fuscus, Oriol'us crassirostris, Synfiplectes sancti-thomce and Ap)loi3elia
simplex; dX^o Stilx thorn ensis in common with Prince's Island.
The remainder are all found on the adjacent coasts. It is re-
markable that in Prince's Island there are no birds of prey, any
that appear being driven off by the parrots {Psittacus erithacus)
that abound there ; whereas in St. Thomas and Fernando Po
they are plentiful.
///. South-African Suh-region.
This is the most peculiar and interesting part of Africa, but
owing to the absence of existing barriers its limits cannot be
well defined. The typical portion of it hardly contains more
than the narrow strip of territory limited by the mountain range
which forms the boundary of the Cape Colony and Natal, while
in a wider sense it may be extended to include Mozambique. It
may perhaps be best characterised as bounded by the Kalahari
desert and the Limpopo river. It is in the more limited district
of the extreme south, that the wonderful Cape flora alone exists.
Here are more genera and species, and more peculiar types of
plants congregated together, than in any other part of the globe
of equal extent. There are indications of a somewhat similar
richness and specialization in the zoology of this country; but
animals are so much less closely dependent on soil and climate,
that much of the original peculiarity has been obliterated, by
long continued interchange of species with so vast an area as
CEAr. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 267 ;
that of Africa south of the equator. The extreme peculiarity
aud isolation of the flora must not, however, be lost sight of, if
we would correctly interpret the phenomena afforded by the dis-
tribution of animal life on the African continent.
Mammalia. — A much larger number of peculiar forms of mam-
mals are found here than in any of the other sub-regions,
although it is far less in extent than either of the three divi-
sions of the continent. Among Insectivora we have the
Chrysochloridae, or golden moles, consisting of two genera confined
to South Africa ; ^vhile the Macrosceiididse, or elephant shrews,
are also characteristically South African, although ranging as far as
Mozambique and the Zambezi, with one outlying species in North
Africa. The Viverridse are represented by three peculiar genera,
Ariela, Cynictis, and Suricata. The Carnivora present some
remarkable forms : Frotelcs, forming a distinct family allied to
the hysenas and weasels ; and two curious forms of Canidte —
Megalotis (the long-eared fox) and Lycaon (the hysena-dog), the
latter found also in parts of East Africa. Hydrugale is a
peculiar form of Mustelidse ; rdea one of the antelopes ; Dcn-
clromys, Malacothrix, and Mystromys are peculiar genera of the
mouse family (Muridse) ; Bathycrges one of the mole-rats (Spa-
lacidae) ; Pedctes, the Cape-hare, a remarkable form of jerboa ; and
Pdromys, one of the spiny-rats (Echimyidse). The remarkable
Oryderopus, or earth-pig, has one spccies in South and one in
North East Africa. "We have thus eighteen genera of mammalia
almost or quite peculiar to South Africa,
Birds. — These do not present so many peculiar forms, yet
some are very remarkable. Climtops is an isolated genus of
thrushes (Turdidai). Lioftilus, one of the fruit-thrushes (Pycno-
notidse). Pogonocidila, one of the fly-catchers ; Urolestes, a
slirike ; Promerops, a sun-bird ; PMletcerus and Chcra, weaver-
birds ; and three peculiar genera of larks — Bpizocorys, Hderocorys,
and Teplirocorys, complete the list of peculiar types of Passeres.
A wood-pecker, GeocolapUs, is nearly allied to a South American
genus. The Cape-dove, CEna, is confined to South and East Africa
and Madagascar ; and Thalassornis is a peculiar form of duck.
Several genera are also confined to West and South Africa ; —
268 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part itt.
as Phylladrephus (Pycnonotidoe), Smithornis (Muscicapiclce),
Corvindla (Laniidse) ; Barhatula and Xylohucco (Megalsemidai) ;
Ceuthmochares, also in Madagascar, (Cuculidai) ; Typanistria
(Columbidse). Other remarkable forms, though widely spread
over Africa, appear to have their metropolis here, as Colius and
Indicator. Others seem to be confined to South Africa and
Abyssinia, as the curious Buphaga (Sturnidse) ; and Apalo-
dcrma (Trogonidse). Maclicerhamphus (Falconidte) is found only
in South- West Africa, Madagascar, and the Malay Peninsula.
Reptiles. — There are 4 peculiar genera of snakes, — Typhline,
belonging to the blind burrowing snakes, Typhlopidse ; Lamyro-
pJiis (Lycodontidse) ; Cyrtophis and Pcecilophis (Elapidse), a
family which is chiefly Oriental and Australian. Of Lizards
there are 10 peculiar genera ; Monotrophis (Lepidosternidaj), but
with an allied form in Angola; Cordylus, Pseudocordylus, Platy-
saurus, Cordylosaurus, Pleurostichus, and BaurGp)liis, all peculiar
genera of Zonuridse ; Chamossaura, forming the peculiar family
Chamsesauridse ; Golopus and Ehopitropus (Geckotidse).
Amphibia. — Of Amphibia there are 4 peculiar genera :
Schismadertiia (Bufonida)) ; Bracliymerus (Engystomidse) ; Phry-
nobatraclius and Stenorhynchus (Eanidse). These last are allied
to Oriental genera, and the only other Engystomidse are Oriental
and JSTeotropical.
Fresh-water Fish. — Of fresh-water fishes there is 1 genus — Ah-
rostomus — belonging to the carp family, peculiar to South Africa.
Insects. — South Africa is excessively rich in insects, and the
number of peculia,r types surpasses that of any other part of the
region. We can only here summarize the results.
lepidoptera. — Of butterflies there are 7 peculiar genera ; 2
belonging to the Satyridse, 1 to Acrseidee, 3 to Lycfenida?,
and 1 to Hesperidse. Zeritis (Lycsenidse) is also characteristic
of this sub-region, although 1 species occurs in West Africa.
•Coleoptera. — These are very remarkable. In the family of
Cicindelidae, or tiger-beetles, we have the extraordinary Manticora
and Platychile, forming a sub-family, whose nearest allies are in
North America ; as well as Ophryodera and Dromica, the latter
an extensive genus, whi-ch ranges as far north as Mozambique
CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN EEGION. 2G9
and Lake Ngami. Another genus of this family, Jansenia, is
common to South Africa and South India.
In the large family of Carabidse, or ground-beetles, there are
17 peculiar South African genera, the most important being
Crepidogaster, Hytricliopus, Arsinoe, and Fiezia. Three others —
Eunostus, Glyphodadyla, and Megalonychus — are common to
South Africa and Madagascar only. There is also a genus in
common with Java, and one with Australia.
Of Lucanidse, or stag-beetles, there are 3 peculiar genera ; of
Cetoniidse, or rose-chafers, 14; and of Buprestidse, 2.
In the great family of Longicorns there are no less than 67
peculiar genera — an immense number when we consider that the
generally open character of the country, is such as is not usually
well suited to this group of insects. They consist of 5 peculiar
genera of Prionidte, 25 of Cerambycidse, and 37 of Lamiidae.
Summary of South-African Zoology. — Summarizing these re-
sults, we find that South Africa possesses 18 peculiar genera of
Mammalia, 12 of Birds, 18 of Eeptiles, 1 of Fishes, 7 of Butter-
flies, and 107 of the six, typical families of Coleoptera. Besides
this large amount of speciality it contains many other groups,
which extend either to West Africa, to Abyssinia, or to Mada-
gascar only, a number of which are no doubt to be referred as
originating here. "We also find many cases of direct affinity with
the Oriental region, and especially with the Malay districts, and
others with Australia ; and there are also less marked indica-
tions of a relation to America.
Atlantic Islands of the Ethiopian Region. St. Helena. — The
position of St. Helena, about 1,000 miles west of Africa and 16°
south of the equator, renders it difficult to place it in either of
the sub-regions ; and its scanty fauna has a general rather than
any special resemblance to that of Africa. The entire destruc-
tion of its luxuriant native forests by the introduction of goats
which killed all the young trees (a destruction which was nearly
completed two centuries ago) must have led to the extermination
of most of the indigenous birds and insects. At present there is
no land bird that is believed to be really indigenous, and but one
270 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [part til
wader, a small plover {JEgialitis sandce-helence) which is peculiar
to the island, but closely allied to African species. Numerous
imported birds, such as canaries, Java sparrows, some African
finches, guinea-fowls, and partridges, are now wild. Tliere are
no native butterflies, but a few introduced species of almost
world-wide range. The only important remnant of the original
fauna consists of beetles and land shells. The beetles are the
more numerous and have been critically examined and described
by Mr. T. V. Wollaston, whose researches in the other Atlantic
islands are so well known.
Coleoptera of St. Helena. — Omitting those beetles which get
introduced ever} v\'here through man's agency, there are 59 species
of Coleoptera known from St. Helena ; and even of these there
are a few widely distributed species that may have been intro-
duced by man. It will be well therefore, to confine ourselves
almost wholly .'o the species peculiar to the island, and, therefore,
almost certainly forming part of the endemic or original fauna.
Of these we find that 10 belong to genera which have a very
wide range, and thr=! afford no indication of geographical affinity ;
2 belong to genera which are characteristic of the Palcearctic
fauna (Bemhidium, Longitarsus) ; 3 to African genera {Adorctus,
Sciohius, Asijidomorplia) ; and two species of Calosoma are most
allied to African species. There are also 4 African species,
which may be indigenous in St. Helena. The peculiar genera,
7 in number, are, however, the most interesting. We have first
Haplothorax, a large beetle allied to Carahus and Ca/osoma, though
of a peculiar type. This may be held to indicate a remote
Palsearctic affinity. Melissius, one of the Dynastidse, is allied to
South African forms. Microxyldbius, one of the Cossonides (a
sub-family of Curculionidse) is the most important genus, com-
prising as it does 13 species. It is, according to Mr. Wollaston,
an altogether peculiar type, most allied to Pentarthrum, a genus
found in St. Helena, Ascension, and the south of England, and
itself very isolated. Nesiotes, another genus of Curculionida?,
belongs to a small group, the allied genera forming which inhabit
Europe, Madeira, and Australia. A third peculiar and isolated
genus is TracJiypJdmosoma. The Anthribidee are represented by
CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN EEGION. 271
2 genera, Notioxenus and Homceodera, whicli are altogether
peculiar and isolated, and contain 9 species. Thus no less than
27 species, or more than half of the undoubtedly indigenous
beetles, belong to 5 peculiar and very remarkable genera of
Ehyncophora.
It appears from this enumeration, that the peculiar species as
a whole, exhibit most affinity to the Ethiopian fauna ; next to
the South European fauna ; and lastly to that of the islands of
the North Atlantic ; while there is such a large amount of pecu-
liarity in the most characteristic forms, that no special geogra-
phical affinity can be pointed out.
Land Shells. — These consist of about a dozen living species, and
about as many extinct found in the surface soil, and probably
exterminated by the destruction of the forests. The genera are
Succinea, Zonites, Helix, Bidimus, Pupa, and Achatina. The
Bulimi (all now extinct but one) comprise one large, and
several small species, of a peculiar type, most resembling forms
now inhabiting South America and the islands of the Pacific.
Zonites is chiefly South European, but the other genera are of
\\ ide range, and none are peculiar to the island.
The marine shells are mostly Mediterranean, or West Indian
species, with some found in the Indian Ocean ; only 4 or 5 species
being peculiar to the island.
Tristan d'Acunha. — This small island is situated nearly mid-
way between the (^ape of Good Hope and the mouth of the La
Plata, but it is rather nearer Africa than America, and a little
nearer still to St. Helena. An island so truly oceanic and of whose
productions so little is known, cannot be placed in any region,
and is only noticed here because it comes naturally after St. Helena.
It is known to possess three peculiar land birds. One is a thrush
(Ahsocichla eremita) whose exsLct affir'ties are not determined;
the other a small water-hen (Gallimda nesiotis) allied to our
native species, but with shorter and softer wings, which the bird
does not use for flight. A finch of the genus Crithagra shows
African affinities ; while another recently described as Nesospiza
acnnlice (Journ. liir Orn. 1873, p. 154) forms a new genus said to
resemble more nearly some American forms.
272 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
The only known land-shells are 2 peculiar species of Balm, a
genus only found elsewhere in Europe and Brazil.
IV. Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands, or the Malagasy
Siib-region.
This insular sub-region is one of the most remarkable zoo-
logical districts on the globe, bearing a similar relation to Africa
as the Antilles to tropical America, or New Zealand to Australia,
but possessing a much richer fauna than either of these, and in
some respects a more remarkable one even than New Zealand,
It comprises, besides Madagascar, the islands of Mauritius,
Bourbon, and Eodriguez, the Seychelles and Comoro islands.
Madagascar itself is an island of the first class, being a thousand
miles long and about 250 miles in average width. It lies
parallel to the coast of Africa, near the southern tropic, and is
separated by 230 miles of sea from the nearest part of the con-
tiuent, although a bank of soundings projecting from its western
coast reduces this distance to about 160 miles. Madagascar is
a mountainous island, and the greater part of the interior consists
of open elevated plateaus ; but between these and the coast there
intervene broad belts of luxuriant tropical forests. It is this
forest-district which has yielded most of those remarkable types
of animal life which we shall have to enumerate; and it is
probable that many more remain to be discovered. As all the
main features of this sub-region are developed in Madagascar,
we shall first endeavour to give a complete outline of the fauna
of that country, and afterwards show how far the surrounding
islands partake of its peculiarities.
Mammalia. — The fauna of Madagascar is tolerably rich in
genera and species of mammalia, although these belong to a very
limited number of families and orders. It is especially charac-
terized by its abundance of Lemuridse and Insectivora ; it also
possesses a few peculiar Carnivora of small size ; but most of
the other groups in which Africa is especially rich — apes and
monkeys, lions, leopards and hysenas, zebras, giraffes, antelopes,
elephants and rhinoceroses, and even porcupines and squirrels,
are wholly wanting. Xo less than 40 distinct families of land
CHAP. XI.]
THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.
273
mammals are represented on the continent of Africa, only 11 of
which occur in Madagascar, which also possesses 3 families
peculiar to itself. The following is a list of all the genera of
Mammalia as yet known to inhabit the island : —
PEIMATES.
INSECTIVORA,
Lemurid^.
Indrisiuse.
Indris ...
Lemuriute.
Lemur ...
Hapalemur
Microcebus
Chirogaleus
Lepilemur
Species.
6
.. 15
2
4
5
2
Centetid^e.
Centetes
Hemicentetes ...
Ericulus
Oryzorictes
Echinops
SORICID^.
Sorex
Species.
2
2
2
1
3
1
CHIROMYIDiE.
Chiromys
1
CARNIVORA.
Oryptoproctid.^.
Cryptoprocta
i
BATS— (Chiroptera).
VlVERRlD.^.
Pteropid^.
Pteropus
Ehinolophid^
Ehinolophus ...
2
1
Fossa
Galidia
Galidictis
Eupleres
UNGULATA.
SUID^.
2
3
2
1
Vespertilionid^.
Potamochoerus
1
Vespertilio
Taphozous
NOCTILIONID^,
Nyctinomus
1
1
1
EODENTIA.
MuRIDyE.
Nesomys
Hyp>ogeomys ...
Brachytarsomys
1
1
1
We have here a total of 12 families, 27 genera, and 65 species
of Mammals ; 3 of the families and 20 of the genera (indicated
by italics) being peculiar. All the species are peculiar, except
perhaps one or two of the wandering bats. Kemains of a Hip-
po2ootamus have been found in a sub-fossH condition, showing
that this animal probably inhabited the island at a not very
remote epoch.
The assemblage of animals above noted is remarkable, and
seems to indicate a very ancient connection with the southern por-
tion of Africa, before the apes, ungulates, and felines had entered
it. The lemurs, which are here so largely developed, are repre-
274 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [p^.rt ni.,
sentecl by a single group in Africa, with two peculiar forms on
the "West coast. They also re-appear under peculiar and isolated
forms in Southern India and Malaya, and are evidently but the
remains of a once wide-spread group, since in Eocene times they
inhabited North America and Europe, and very probably the
whole northern hemisphere. The lusectivora are another group
of high antiquity, widely scattered over the globe under a
number of peculiar forms ; but in no equally hmited area repre-
sented by so many peculiar types as in Madagascar. South and
West Africa are also rich in this order.
The Carnivora of Madagascar are mostly peculiar forms of
Viverridse, or civets, a family now almost confined to the
Ethiopian and Oriental regions, but which was abundant in
Europe during the Miocene period.
The Potamoclioerus is a peculiar species only, which may be
perhaps explained by the unusual swimming powers of swine,
and the. semi-aquatic habits of this genus, leading to an immi-
gration at a later period than in the case of the other Mammaha.
The same remark will apply to the small Hippopotamus, which
was coeval with the great Struthious bird JEpiornis.
Eodents are only represented by three peculiar forms of
MuridfB, but it is probable that others remain to be discovered.
Birds. — Madagascar is exceedingly rich in birds, and espe-
cially in remarkable forms of Passeres. No less than 88 genera
and 111 species of land-birds have been discovered, and every
year some additions are being made to the hst. The African
families of Passeres are almost all represented, only two being
absent — Paridte and Eringillidge, both very poorly represented in
Africa itself. Among the Picariffi, however, the case is very
different, no less than 7 families being absent, viz. — Picidse,
or woodpeckers ; Indicatoridse, or honey-guides ; Megalasmidse,
or barbets ; Musophagidse, or plantain-eaters ; Coliidse, or colies ;
Bucerotidce, or hornbills ; and Irrisoridse, or mockers. Three of
these are peculiar to Africa, and all are well represented there,
so that their absence from Madagascar is a very remarkable fact.
The number of peculiar genera in Madagascar constitutes one of
the main features of its ornithology, and many of these are so
CHAP. XI.]
THE ETPIIOPIAN REGION.
275
isolated that it is very difficult to classify them, and they
remain to this day a puzzle to ornithologists. In order to
exhibit clearly the striking characteristics of the bird-fauna of
this island, we shall first give a list of all the peculiar genera ;
another, of the genera of which the species only are peculiar ;
and, lastly, a list of the species which Madagascar possesses
in common with the African continent.
Genera of Birds peculiar to Madagascar, or found elsewhere
ONLY IN THE MaSGARENE ISLANDS.
Sylviid^.
Species.
Sturnid^.
Species.
1. Bernieria
2
19. Euryceros (?)
1
2. Ellisia
1
20. Hartlaubia ...
1
3. Mystacornis ...
1
21. Falculia
1
4. Eroessa
1
6. Gervasia
1
Paictid^,
TlMALIID^.
22. Philepitta ...
1
6. Oxylabes
2
Cuculid^.
ClNCLID^ (?).
23. Coua
9
7. Mesites
1
24. Cochlothraustes
1
SlTTID^.
Leptosomid^.
8. Mypherpes
1
25. Leptosomus ...
1
Pycnonotid^ (?)
CORACIID^.
9. Tylas
1
26. Atelornis
2
27. Bracliypteracias
1
Oriolid/e.
28. Geobiastes ...
1
10. AitaBiia
3
11. Cyanolanius ...
1
PsiTTACID^.
29. Coracopsis. ...
2
MUSCICAPID^.
12. Newton ia
1
COLUMBID^.
13. Pseudobias ...
1
30. Aledrcenas ...
1
Laniid^.
Tetraonid^e.
14. Calicalicus (?)
15. Vanga
1
4
31. Margaroperdix
1
Nectariniid^.
FALCONIDiE.
16. Neodrepanis
1
32. Nisoides
1
33. Eutriorchis ...
1
HlRUNDlNID^.
—
17. Pliedina
1
Total species of peculiar g
enera 50
Ploceid^.
^PYORNiTHiD^ (extinct).
18. Nelicurvius ...
1
34, ^pyornis
1
T 2
276
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
Ethiopian or Oriental Genera which are represented in
Madagascar by peculiar species.
TuRDIDiE. Species. AlCEDINID^.
Species.
1. Bessonomis
1 21. Corythornis ...
1
22. Ispidina
1
Sylviid.e.
2. Acrocophalus
1 Upupid^.
3. Copsychus (Or.)
4. Pratincoh
J 23. Upupa (?) ...
1
PrCNONOTID^.
Caprimulgid^,
5. Hijpsipetes (Or.)
J 24. Caprimulgus
1
6. Andropadus
CYPSELIDiE.
Campephagid^e.
25. Cypselus
2
7. Campephaga ...
J 26. Chsetura
1
DlCRURID^.
Psittacid^.
8. Dicrurus
1 27. Poliopsitta ...
1
MUSCICAPID^.
OOLUMBID^.
9. Tchitrea
1 28. Treron
1
29. Columba
1
Laniid^.
30. Turtur
1
10. Laniarius
Pteroclid^.
Nectariniid^.
31. Pterocles
1
11. Nectarinia ...
Tetraonid^.
Ploceiid^.
32. Francolinus ...
1
12. Foudia
13. Hypargos
1 Phasianid^.
14. Spermestes
^ 33. Numida
1
AlAUDIDjE.
15. Mirafra
, TtTRNICID^.
34. Turnix
1
Motacillid^.
16. Motacilla
- Falconid^.
35. Polyboroides
1
CUCULID^.
36. Circus
1
17. Ceuthmochares
18. Centropus
, 37. Astur
j 38. Accipiter
: 39. Buteo
3
1
1
19. Cuculus
40. Halieeetus ...
1
CORACIID^.
41. Pernis
42. Baza
1
1
20. Eurystomu3
1 43. Cerchneis
I
CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 277
StRIGID^. species. PlaTALEID^. Spscies
f' ^thene 1 ^g^ j^.
45. Scops 1
Rallid^. Podicipid^.
46. Eallus 3 -^ ^ J.
47. Porzana 1 ^^- P*^^^«^P« J-
ScoLOPACiD^. Total peculiar species of Eth. ) _„
48. GaUinago 1 or Or. genera j
Species of Birds common to Madagascar and Africa or Asia.
1. Cisticola cursitans. 7. Aplopelia tympanistria.
2. Corvus scapulatus. • 8. Falco minor.
3. Crithagra canicoUis. 9. Falco concolor.
4. Merops superciliosus. 10. Milvus segyptius.
5. Collocalia fuciphaga. 11, Milvus migrans.
6. (Ena capensis. 12. Strix flammea.
These three tables show us an amount of speciality hardly to
be found in the birds of any other part of the globe. Out of
111 land-birds in Madagascar, only 12 are identical with species
inhabiting the adjacent continents, and most of these belong to
powerful-winged, or wide-ranging forms, which probably now
often pass from one country to the other. The peculiar species
— 49 land-birds and 7 waders, or aquatics — are mostly well-
marked forms of African genera. There are, however, several
genera (marked by italics) which have Oriental or Pal?earctio
affinities, but not African, viz. — Copsychus, Hypsipetes, Hyplurpcs,
AledrcBnas, and Margaroinrclix. These indicate a closer ap-
proximation to the Malay countries than now exists.
The table of 33 peculiar genera is of great interest. Most of
these are well-marked forms, belonging to families which are
fully developed in Africa; though it is singular that not
one of the exclusively African families is represented in
any way in Madagascar. Others, however, are of remote or
altogether doubtful affinities. Sittidce is Oriental and Palrearctic,
but not Ethiopian. Oxy lobes and Mystacornis are of doubtful
affinities. Artamia and Cyaiwlanius still more so, and it is
quite undecided what family they belong to. Calicalicus is
almost equally obscure. Neodrepcmis, one of the most recent
discoveries, seems to connect the Nectariniida3 with the Pacific
278 ZOOLOGICAL (GEOGRAPHY. [part in.
Depanididse. Euryceros is a complete puzzle, having been
placed with the hornbills, the starlings, or as a distinct family.
Falculia is an exceedingly aberrant form of starling, long thought
to be allied to Irrisor. Pliileioitta, forming a distinct family,
(Paictidse), is most remarkable and isolated, perhaps with remote
South American affinities. Leptosoma is another extraordinary
form, connecting the cuckoos with the rollers. Atelornis,
Brack ypteracias, and Geobiastes, are terrestrial rollers, with the
form and colouring of Pitta. So many perfectly isolated and
remarkable groups are certainly nowhere else to be found ; and
they fitly associate with the wonderful aye-aye {Chiromys),
the insectivorous Centetidse, and carnivorous Cryptoprocta
among the Mammalia. They speak to us plainly of enormous
antiquity, of long-continued isolation ; and not less plainly of
a lost continent or continental island, in which so many, and
various, and peculiarly organized creatures, could have been
gradually developed in a connected fauna, of which we have
here but the fragmentary remains.
Plate VI. — Illustrating the characteristic features of the
Zoology of Madagascar. — The lemurs, which form the most
prominent feature in the zoology of Madagascar, being com-
paratively well-known from the numerous specimens in our
zoological gardens ; and good figures of the Insectivorous genera
not being available, we have represented the nocturnal and
extraordinary aye-aye (Chiromys madagascariensis) to illustrate
its peculiar and probably very ancient mammalian fauna ; while
the river-hogs in the distance [Potarnochmrus edwardsii) allied to
African species, indicate a later immigration from the main-
land than in the case of most of the other Mammalia. The
peculiar birds being far less generally known, we have figured
three of them. The largest is the Euryceros prevosti, here classed'
with the starlings, although its remarkable bill and other pecu-
liarities render it probable that it should form a distinct family.
Its colours are velvety black and rich brown with the bill of a
pearly grey. The bird beneath ( Vanga ctcrvirostris) is one of the
peculiar Madagascar shrikes whose plumage, variegated with
green-black and pure white is very conspicuous; while that in
PLATE Vr.
SCENE IN MADAGASCAR, WITri CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS.
CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 273
the right hand corner is the Lc'ptosoma discolor, a bird which
appears to be intermediate between such very distinct fjimilies
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 sj^eciosa), one of
the peculiar forms of vegetation in this marvellous island.
Be2Jtihs. — These present some very curious features, compara-
tively few of the African groups being represented, while there
are a coiisiderable number of Eastern and even of American
forms. Beginning with the snakes, we find, in the enormous
family of Colubridse, none of the African types ; but instead of
them three genera — Herpetodryas, Fhilodryas, and Reterodon —
only found elsewhere in South and North America. The
Psammophidse, which are both African and Indian, are repre-
sented by a peculiar genus, Mimophis. The Dendrophidse are
represented by Ahwtulla, a genus which, is both African and
American. The Dryiophidse, which inhabit all the tropics but
are most developed in the Oriental region, are represented by
a peculiar genus, Langaha. The tropical Pythonidae are repre-
sented by another peculiar genus, Sanzinia. The Lycodontidae
and Viperidse, so well developed in Africa, are entirely absent.
The lizards are no less remarkable. The Zonuridte, abun-
dantly developed in Africa, are represented by one peculiar
genus, Cicigna. The wide-spread Scincidse by another peculiar
genus, Pygovules. The African Sepsidas, are represented by three
genera, tw^o of which are African, and one, Amjjhiglosstts, peculiar.
The Acontiadffi are represented by a species of the African genus
Acontias. Of Scincidfe there is the wide-spread Euprepes. The
Sepidse are represented by the African genera Saps and Scelotes.
The Geckotidse are not represented by any purely African
genera, but bj Phyllodadylus, wdiich is American and Aus-
tra,lian ; Heniidactylus, which is spread over all the tropics ; by
two peculiar genera ; and by Urojjlatis, Geckolepis, and Phclsuma,
confined to Madagascar, Bourbon, and the Andaman Islands.
The Agamidfe, which are mostly Oriental and arc represented in
280 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPIIY. [part hi.
Africa by the single genus Agania, have here three peculiar
gencira, Tracheloptyclius, Chalarodon, and Hoplarus. Lastly, the
American Iguanida3 are said to be represented by a species of the
South American genus Opiums. The classification of Eeptiles
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 relationsliip.
The other groups are of less interest. Tortoises are repre-
sented by two African or wide-spread genera of Testudinidae,
Testudo and Chersina, and by one peculiar genus, Fyxis ; and
there are also two African genera of Chelydidte.
The Amphibia are not very well known. They appear to be
confined to species of the wide-spread Ethiopian and Oriental
genera — Hplarana, Folypcdates, and Bappia (Polyp edatidse) ;
and Pyxiceplialus (Ranidse).
Fresh-ioater 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, Eodriguez, 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
mayottcnsis, a peculiar species, is found in the Comoro Islands,
where a Madagascar species of Viverra also occurs.
Bourbon and Mauritius may be taken together, as they much
resemble each other. They each possess species of a peculiar
genus of Campephagidse, or caterpillar shrikes, Oxynotus ; while
the remarkable Fregilupus, 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, Hypsipctes, Phedina, Tchitrea,
Zosterops, Foudia, Colloccdia, and Coracopsis ; while Mauritius has
a very peculiar form of dove of the sub-genus Trocaza ; an AUc-
trcenas, extinct within the last thirty years ; and a species of the
Oriental genus of parroquets, Palceornis. The small and remote
island of Eodriguez has another Palceornis, as well as a peculiar
Foudia, and a Drymceca of apparently Indian affinity.
Coming to the Seychelle Islands, far to the north, we find the
only mammal an Indian species of bat (Pteropus edivardsii). 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 Palceornis. This is an Oriental genus, but found also in several
Mascarene Islands and on the African continent. A species of
black parrot {Coracopsis harklayi) and a weaver bird of peculiar
type {Foudia seychcllarum) show, however, a decided connection
with Madagascar. There are also two peculiar pigeons — a short-
winged Turtur and an Alectrcenas.
Most of the birds of the Comoro Islands are Madagascar spe-
cies, only two being African. Five are peculiar, belonging to the
genera Nectarinia, Zoster ops, Dlcrurus, Foudia, and Alectrcenas.
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 Se^'chelle Islands. Lizards are fairly represented.
Mauritius has CryptoUepharus, an Australian genus of Gymno-
pthaLmidte ; Hemidactylus (a wide-spread genus) ; Peropus
(Oriental and Australian) — both belonging to the Geckotidse.
Bourbon has Hcterop)Us, a Moluccan and Australian genus of
Scincidee; Phelsuma (Geckotidse), and Ghameleo, both found also
in Madagascar ; as well as Pyxis, one of the tortoises. The
Seychelles have Theconyx, a peculiar genus of Geckotidae, and
Ghameleo. 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-
pedatidaj are found ; one {Megalixalus) peculiar, the other
{BappicL) found also in Madagascar and Africa.
282 ZOOLOOICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
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 {Bidus ineptus), but an allied genus, Pezopliaps, in-
habited Rodriguez, and of both of these almost perfect skeletons
have been recovered. Other species probably existed in Bourbon.
Eemains of two genera of flightless rails have also been found,
Aplianajpteryx and Erythromachus ; and even a heron (Ardea
niegac&phala) which was short-winged and seldom flew ; while
in Madagascar there lived a gigantic Struthious bird, the
JEpyornis. Some further details as to these extinct forms will
be found under the respective families, Dididse, Eallidfe, and
-^pyornithidse, in the fourth part of this work ; and i.heir 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
Eodriguez, — 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 (Satyridae). The other genera are
African, leptoncura being confined to Madagascar and South
Africa, There are some fine Pnpilios 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 aflinities. There is but one peculiar genus of
Cicindelidse, Pogonostoma, which is allied to the South American
genus, Ctenostowa. Another genus, Peridcxia, is common to
Madagascar and South America. None of the important African
genera are represented, ey^ce^i Eurymorpha ; while Meglaomma
is common to Madagascar and the Oriental region.
In the Carabidse we have somewhat similar phenomena on a
CHAP. XL] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 283
wider scale. Sucli large and important African genera as
Polyhirma and Antliia, are absent ; but there are four genera
in common with South Africa, and two with AVest Africa ; while
three others are as much Oriental as African. One genus,-
Disirigus, is wholly Oriental ; and another, Homalosoma, Aus-
tralian. Col'podGs, well developed in Bourbon and Maimtius, is
Oriental and South American. Of the peculiar genera, SphcBro-
stylis has South American affinities ; Microchila, Oriental ; the
others being related to widely distributed genera.
The Lucanida3 are few in number, and all have African affini-
ties. Madagascar is very rich in Cetoniidse, and possesses 20
peculiar genera. Bothrorhina, and three other genera belonging
to the Ichnostoma group, have wholly African relations. Bory-
scelis and Chromoptila are no less clearly allied to Oriental
genera. A series of eight peculiar genera belong to the Schizo-
rhinidse, 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 Buprestidse of Madagascar consist mainly of one large
and peculiar genus, Polyhothris, allied to the almost cosmopolite
Psiloi^tcra. Most of the other genera are both Ethiopian and
Oriental ; but Polyccsta 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 Prionidse
are very isolated, while a third, Closterus, belongs to a group
which is Malayan and American.
Of the Cerambycid^e, Philematmm ranges to Africa and the
West Indies ; Leiotocera is only found eastward in Ceylon and
the New Hebrides ; while Eiiporus is African. Of the peculiar
genera, 2 are of African type ; 3 belong to the Leptura group,
which are mostly Pala^arctic and Oriental, with a few in
South Africa ; while PMlocalocera is allied to a South American
genus.
Among the Lamiida? there are several wide-ranging and 7
284 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
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, SuUmus, and Coedomcea, are
allied to Malayan and American genera.
General Remarhs on the Insect-fauna of Madagascar.— Toking
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 Cetoniidse and Lamiidee — the African element
appears to preponderate ; in others — as Cicindelidse — the South
American affinity seems strongest ; in Carabidse, perhaps the
Oriental ; while in Buprestida^ and Cerambycid^e 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
^ There are also some special resemblances between the plants of Mada-
gascar and South Africa, according to Dr. Kirk.
CHAP. XL] THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 285
to introduce, as some writers are disposed to do, a special land
connection or near approach between Madagascar and all 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
rich in land-shells. The genera of Helicidse are Vitrina, Helix,
AcJiatina, Golumna (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 Truncatella (widely scattered, but not African) ;
Cyclotus (South American, Oriental, and South African) ; Cyclo-
pJiorus (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 Ireland) ; 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 prohahle Fast 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. [pabt. hi.
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 hysenas, 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 tlie 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. XL] THE ETHIOPIAN EEGION. 287
and helped to form a 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 — "vvere 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 hi.
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 Palai-
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 rhmoceros 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 Palsearctic 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 Eed Sea at
a somewhat later date. By this route the old South-Paltearctic
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 firtally
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 countiy ; 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 Eodriguez, 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
(5^ feet long) is now in our Zoological Gardens. The only
other place where ecpially 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
u
290 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [part m.
carnivora had reached it; and wo consequently find there, no
wholly terrestrial form of bird but the gigantic and powerful
JEjjyornis, 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 tliis 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
tlie 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. ^'.ll
tolerable rapidity, or if the elevatory force acted from the nortli
towards the south, there would he 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 -organised types from the great northern continent, how-
ever, would inevitably prevail ; and w^e should thus have
explained the curious uniformity in the fauna of so large an
area, togesther 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 Eelidse, Viverrid^, Mnstelidae,
and ancestral forms of Hymna, 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 tlie 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 Eocks, 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 palaeontology of Africa
u 2
292 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
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.
CHAP, xr.] THE ETHIOPIAN EEGION. 203
TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION".
In drawing up these tables showing the distribution of various
classes of animals in the Ethiopian Eegion, 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 ^NTorth East Africa ; Grandidier
Schlegel, &c., for Madagascar; the local lists given by Mr.
Andrew Murray ; numerous papers by Eraser, Gray, Kirk,
Mivart, Peters, Sclater, and Speke; and a MS. list of Bovidpe
from Sir Victor Brooke.
Birds. — Einsch and Hartlaub for East Africa; Heuglin for
ISTorth-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 111
TABLE L
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 proj)erly
to belong to it.
Numbers are not consecutive, but correspond to those in Part IV.
Order and Family.
Sub-regions.
MAMMALIA.
Primates.
1. Simiid?e
2. Semnopithecidffi
3. Cynopithecidae
6. Lemuridte
8. Chiromyidce ...
Cheieopteka.
9. PteropidiB
11. Pthinolophidfe
12. Vesper tilionidte
13. NoctilionidcB . . .
Insectivora.
15. Macroscelididse
17. Erinaceidre ...
IS. Centdidce
19. PotamogaUdce
20. Chrysochloridce
22. Soricidse
Carnivora.
23. Felidffi
24. Cruptoprodidoe
25. Viverridse
26. Protelidce
27. Hyainidfe
28. Canidse
29. Mustelidie ...
33. OtariidiE
Cetacea.
36 to 41
Siuenia.
■12. ManatiJiC
U.NGULATA.
43. Ei^uidic ... ..-v
■3 =3
Bange beyond the Region.
Oriental
Oriental
Oriental, Paljearctic
Oriental
Oriental, Australian
The Eastern Hemisphere
Cosmopolite
All Tropical regions
South Palnearctic
Palisarctic, Oriental
Greater Antilles
All regions but Australian and Neotroiiical
All regions but Australian
Oriental, S. Palaiarctic
S. Palajarctic, India
Almost cosmopolite
All regions but Australian
All temperate regions
Oceanic
Neotropical, Oriental, Australian
PalcC arctic
CHAP. XI.]
THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.
295
Sub-regious.
Range licj-ond the Region.
Order and Family.
^ r
+j d ! .g g
=« ii
^sl
■a g
<
|| ...
on
03 <5
^1
45. Rhinocerotidse
_
Oriental
46. Hrp'popotamidce
—
47. Suidcie
—
—
Cosmopolite ; excl. Australia
49. Tragulidae ...
' ~
Oriental
51. Camclopardidce
52. Bovidfe
—
—
All regions but Neotroj-). and Australian
Peoboscidea.
53. Elepliantidce ...
—
—
Oriental
Hyracoidea.
54. Hyi-acidse
—
—
—
Syria
EODENTIA.
55. Muridfe
_
__
Cosmopolite ; excl. Oceania
56. Spalacidse
57. Dipodidse
58. Myoxidae
61. ScinridEe'
—
—
—
Palsearctic, Oriental
Palaearctic, Nearctic
Palsearctic
All regions but Australian
64. Octodontidse ...
N. Africa, Neotropical
65. Echimyidse ...
67. Hystricidae ...
70. Leporidse
. ,
Neotropical
—
—
—
S. Palsearctic, Oriental
All regions but Australian
Edentata.
.
72. Manididse
—
Oriental
74. Orycteropodidcc.
BIEDS.
Passeres.
1. Turdidse
Almost Cosmopolite
2. Sylviidse
3. Timaliidse
Cosmopolite
Oriental, Australian
5. Cinclidae ?
Widely scattered
6. Troglodytidas
9. Sittidse
Almost Cosmopolite
.
Palffiarctic, Oriental, Australian
10. Paridse
All regions but Australian
13. Pycnonotidse . ;.
14. Oriolidse
—
—
Oriental
Oriental, Australian
15. Campeiihagidse
16. Dicruridse
—
—
Oriental, Australian
Oriental, Australian
17. Muscicapidse . . .
19. Laniidse
,
The Eastern Hemisphere
The Eastern Hemisphere and North Amerii
'a
20. Corvidrc
—
Cosmopolite
23. Nectariuiidse...
Oriental, Australian
24. Dicseidse
__
_
Oriental, Australian
30. Hirundinidse...
—
Cosmopolite
33. Eringillidse ...
Cosmopolite, except Australian region
34. Ploceidffi
—
—
Oriental, Australian
35. Sturuidse
,
__
Eastern Hemisphere
37. Alaudidas
—
—
—
—
Eastern Hemisphere and North America
296
ZOOLOGICAL GEOaEAPHY
[part I it.
Sub-regions.
Order and Family.
38. Motacillidse ...
47. PittidfB
48. Paididce
PlCAKMi;.
61. Picidne
52. yiingidse
63. Indicatoridee ...
54. Megalsemidse . . .
56. Musophacjidce
57. Coliidce
68. Cuculidfe
69. LcptosomidcR ...
62. Coraciidfe
63. Meropidse
66. Trogonidffi ...
67. Alcedinidae ...
68. Bucerotidse ...
69. Upupidpe.
70. Irrisoridce
73. CaprimulgidsB
74. Cypselidse
PSTTTACI.
78. Palseornithidfe
81. Psittacidse
COLITMB^.
84. Columbidse ...
85. Dididce
Galling.
86. PteroclidfE ..
87. Tetraouidas ..
88. Phasianidse ..
89. Turnicidse
ACCIPTTRES.
94. Viilturidse
95. Palconidse
96. Se7'pentariidce
97. Pandiouidffi ..
98. Strigidse
Grall^.
99. Rallidfe
100. Scolopacidse...
103. Parridse
104. Glareolid.T. ..
105. Charadriidse
Range beyond the Region.
The Eastern Hemisphere
Oriental, Australian
Cosmopolite, excl. Australian region
Palaearctic
Oriental
Oriental, Neotropical
Cosmopolite
Oriental, Australian
Oriental, Australian
Oriental, Neotropical
Cosmopolite
Oriental and to N. Guinea
Palasarctic, Oriental
Cosmoj)olite
Almost Cosmopolite
Oriental
Neotropical
Cosmopolite
(Extinct)
Palfearctic, Oriental
Eastern Hemisphere and N. America
Old World and N. America
Eastern Hemisphere.
All the continents but Australia
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Trojiical
Eastern Hemisphere
Cosmopolite
CHAP. XI.]
THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.
297
Sub-regions.
Order and Family.
106. Otididae
107. Gruidfe
lia. Ardeidffi
114. Plataleidse ...
115. Ciconiidfe ...
117. Phcenicopteridse
Anseees.
118. Anatidfe
119. Laridte
120. ; Procellariidte
121. Pelecauidse ...
122. Spheniscid.'B
124. Podicipidffi ..
126. StrutMonida3
131. jEijyornitliidce
REPTILIA.
Ophidia.
1. Typlilopid* ...
5. Calamariidse ...
7. Colnbrida3
8. Homalopsidfe
9. Psammophidfe
10. Eachiodontidce
11. Dendrophidas
12. Dryiophidse ...
13. Dipsadidse
15. Lycodontidse...
17. Pythonidse ...
18. Erycidie
20. Elapidffi
21. Dendraspididce
22. Atradaspididce
23. Hydropliidse ...
25. Viperidse
Lacertilia.
28. Amphisbsenidse
29. Lepidosternidse
30. Varanidae
33. Lacertidse
34. ZoniiridEe
40. Chamccsauridce
41. Gymnopthal- ^
midffi ... )
45. Scincidaj
47. Sepidffl
48. Acontiadse
49. Geckotidse
'=^ fan
Range Leyond the Region.
Eastern Hemisphere
All regions but Neotropical
Cosmopolite
Almost Cosmojiolite
Almost Cosmopolite
Oriental and Neotropical
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Sontb temperate regions
Cosmopolite
Temperate S. America
(Extinct)
All regions but Nearctic
Wai'ms parts of all regions
Almost Cosmopolite
Oriental, and all other regions '
Oriental and S. Paltearctic
Oriental, Australian, Neotropical
Oriental, Neotropical
Oriental, Australian, Neotropical
Oriental
All tropical regions
Oriental, S. Palajarctic
Tropical regions, S. U. States and Japan
Oriental, Australian, Panama
Oriental, Palsearctic
S.. Europe, Neotropical
N. America
Warm parts of E. Hemisphere
All continents but America
All America, N. India, S. Europe
Palffiarctic, Australian, Netropical
Almost Cosmopolite
South Palaearctic
Ceylon and Moluccas.
.\lmo3t cosmopolite
298
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY.
[PAKT ill.
Sub-regions.
Range beyond the Region.
Order and Family.
So
^ to
51. AgamidiB
52. Chamffileonidaj
Oriental, Australian, S. Palrearctic
Oriental, S. Paleearctic
Crocodilia.
^'5. Crocodilidfe ...
—
—
—
—
Oriental, Neotropical
ClIELOKIA.
.
57. Testudinidte ...
58. Chelydidre ...
59. Trionycliidge ...
60. OheloiiiidEe ...
—
—
—
All continents but Australia
Australia, S. America
Oriental, Japan, E. United States
Marine
AMPHIBIA.
PSEUDOPHIDIA.
1. Cseciliadse
Oriental, Neotropical
Anouea.
7. Phryniscidae ...
9. Bufonidse
11. Engystomidfe..
14. Alytidffi
17. PolypedatidiB
18. Eanidse
19. Discoglossidae
21. Dactijlcthridce
—
—
—
—
Neotropical, Australia, Java
All regions but Australian
All regions but Paltearctic
All regions but Oriental
All the regions
Almost Cosmopolite
All regions but Nearctic
FISHES (FRESH-
WATER).
*_
ACANTHOPTEKYGII.
3. Percidge
12. Scienidffi
35. Labyrinthici . .
38. Mugillidaj ...
52. Chromidse
—
—
—
—
All regions but Australian "
All regions but Australian
Oriental, IMoluccas
Australian, Neotropical
Oriental, Neotropical
Physostomi.
59. Sihiridfe
60. Characinidfe ...
68. Mormyridcc ...
69. Gymnarchidxc
73. Cyprinodontidic
75. Cyprinidse ...
78. Osteoglossidse
82. Notopteridse ...
—
—
~
—
All warm regions
Neotropical
Palasarctic, Oriental, American
Absent from Australia and S. America
All tropical regions
Oriental
Ganojdei.
92. Sirenoidei
94. Polypt&ridoi ...
—
Neotropical, Australian
CHAP. XI.]
THE ETHIOPIAN liEGION.
299
Sub-regions.
Order and Fauiily.
"S 5?
"S "^
-^ o3
« 6
Range beyond the Region.
"Ss
-g 1
lis
^£
OCi
<
'^<
M<-
^ M
INSECTS. LEPI-
DOPTEEA (PART).
DiURMi (Butter-
flies).
1. Danaidee
All warm countries and Canada
2. Satyridse
^
_
Cosmopolite
3. Elymniidse ...
Oriental, Moluccas
6. Acrasidse
All tropical regions
8. Nymphalidfe . . .
—
—
Cosmopolite
9. Libytheidse ...
Absent from Australia only"
10. Nemeobiidje ..
Absent from Australia and Nearctic region
13. Lycrenidse
— .
Cosmopolite
14. Pierida3
—
.
Cosmopolite
15. Papilionidse ...
—
Cosmopolite
16. HesperidjE
—
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
Sphingidea.
17. Zygaenidse
.
Cosmopolite
19. AgaristidiB ...
—
Australian, Oriental
20. Uraniidie
All tropical regions
22. jEgeriidae
—
Cosmopolite, excl. Australia
23. Sphingidffi ...
—
Cosmopolite
300
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[rART in.
TABLE n. '
LIST OF GENERA OF TEERE^TRTAL MAMMALIA AND BIRDS
INHABITING THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.
Explanation.
Names in italics show genera peculiar to tlie 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.
V.2
c S
Range within tlie Region.
Range Ijeyoud tlie
Region.
PRIMATES.
SlMIID^.
1. Troglodytes
2
W. Africa to Western Nile
Sources
Semnopithecid^.
2. Colobus
11
Abyssinia to West Africa
Cynopithecid^.
-
3. Myio^nthecus ...
1
West Africa
4. Cercointlieous ...
21
Tropical Africa
5. Cercocebus
5
West Africa
6. Theropitliecus . . .
2
North-east Africa, Arabia,
Palestine
7. Cynocejihalics ...
10
Nubia to Cape, W. Africa,
Arabia
(Sub-Order)
LEMUROIDEA.
LEMURIDiE.
8. Indris
6
IMadagascar
9. Lmiur
15
Madagascar
10. HapaUmur
2
Madagascar
11. Microcebus
4
Madagascar .
12. Ghirogaleus ...
5
Madagascar
13. Lepileimor
2
Madagascar
1 L Perodicticus . . .
1
Sierra Leone
15. Ardocehus
1
Old Calabar
16. Galago
14
Tropical and S. Africa
CHIEOMTIDiE.
17. Chiromys
1
Madagascar
CHIKOPTERA.
PTEROPIDiE.
18. Pteropus
7
Africa and Madagascar
Tropics of Ea.stcri
phere
Hemis-
19. Xantharpya ...
1
All Africa
Oriental, Austro-'
Vlalayan
CHAP. XI.]
THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.
301
Order, Family, and
Genus.
20. Cynopterns
21. EpomoinlioTus ...
22. Mypsigiutth'us ...
Ehinolophidjj.
23. Rhinolophus ...
24. Macrmiycterys . . .
25. Phyllorhiiia ...
26. Asellia
27. Megaderniii
28. Nycteris
V£SPERTILI0N1DJ>.
29. Vesperlilio
30. Kerivoii]a
31. Miniopteris
32. Kycticejns
33. Tapliozous
NoCTILIONIDiE.
34. ISTyctinomiTS ..
35. Molossus ...
mSECTIVORA.
Macroscelidid^.
3G. ]\Iacro,scelides ..
37. Petrodromus
38. llhyncliocyon ..
EllINACEID^.
39. Eriiiaceus
CE^'TETIDiE.
40. Cenletes ...
41. Hcmicentetes
42. Ericulus ...
43. Oryzorictes
44. EchinojJS ...
POTAMOGALIt)^.
45. PotamogaJe
Chry.sochlorid/e.
40. Chrysocldoris ..
SoEICIDjB.
47. Sorex
Range within llie Eeirion.
Tropical iifrica
Trojjical Africa and Abyssiiii;
W. Africa
Africa and Madagascar
W. Africa
Tropical Africa
Nubia
Senega], Upper Nile
All Africa
Africa and Madagascar
S. Africa
S. Africa
Tropical Afiica
Africa and Madagascar
Madagascar
Africa, Bourbon
Soutli and East Africa
Mozambique
Mozambii|ue
Can. and South Africa
Madagascar and Mauritius
Madagascar
Madagascar
!\1 adagascar
Madagascar
Old Calabar
Cape to Mozambique
15 All Africa aiul Madagascar
Range beyond the Region.
Oriental
Warmer parts of Eastern
Hemisphere
Indo-Malaya, Austro-
Malaya
Indo-Malaya, Austro-
Malaya
Oriental, Moluccas ,
Java
Cosmopolite
Orieni al
Indo-Malaya
India
Oriental, Austro-Malay-
an, Neotropical
Oriental, American, S.
Pal fe arctic
Neotropical, S. Palasarc-
tic
N. Africa.
Palsearctic, N. India
Pahearc, Nearc, Ori
02
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part in.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
O X
d g
Range within tlio Region.
Range beyond the Region.
CARNIVORA.
FELIDiE.
48. Felis
8
All Africa
All reg. but Australian
49. Lynx[?]
1
N. and S. Africa
Palcearctic and Nearcti.j
50. Cynselurus
1
Cape of Good Hope
Persia, India
Cryptoproctid^e.
5 1 . Cryiptoinocta . . .
1
Madagascar
VlVERRID^.
52. Viverra
1
Tropical Africa
Oriental
53. Genetta
4
Tropical and S. Africa
S. Palsearctic
54. Fossa
2
Madagascar
55. Poiana
1
W. Africa
56. Galidia
3
Madagascar
57. Nandinia
1
W. Africa
58. Galididis
2
Madagascar
59. Hevpestes
13
All Africa
S. Europe, Oriental
60. Athylax
3
S. and E. Africa (?) Madagascar
61. Calogale
9
Tropical and S. Africa
Oriental
62. Galerella
1
E. Africa
63. Ariela
1
S. Africa
64. Ichueumia
4
E. Africa, Senegal, S. Africa
65. Bdeogale
3
Tropical Africa
66. HelogaU
2
E. and S. Africa
67. Gynictis
3
S. Africa
68. Rhinogale
1
E. Africa
69. Mungos
3
Tropical and S. Africa
70. Grossarchus ...
1
Tropical Africa
71. EwpUrcs
1
Madagascar
72. Suricata
1
S. Africa
PrOTELID/E.
73. Protales
1
S. Africa
HY.iENIDiE.
74. Hyaena
3
All Africa
S. Palseartic, India
Canid^.
75. Lycaon
1
S., Central, and E. Africa
76. Canis
5
All Africa
Almost Cosmopolitan
77. Megalotis
1
S. Africa
MtrSTELID^.
78. Mustek
1
Angola
Palsearctic, Nearctic
79, Gymnopiis [?] ...
1
S. Africa
Oriental
80. Aonyx
1
S. and W. Africa
Oriental
81. Hydrogale
1
S. Africa
82. Mellivora
2
South and Tropical Africa.
India
83. Ictonyx
2
Tropical and S. Africa
Otartid^.
84. Aretoeeplialus
1
Cape of Good Hope
South Temperate Zone
CHAP. XI,]
THE ETHIOPIAN EEGION.
303
Order, Family, and.
Genus.
o t
Range within tlie Region.
Range bej'ond the Region.
SIRENIA.
MANATIDiE.
85. Manatus
1
W. Africa
Tropical America
88- Halicore
1
E. Africa
Oriental and Australian
UNGULATA.
EQUID.E.
87. Eqiius
o
Tropical and S. Africa
Palrearctic
RHIXOCEROTIDiE.
88. Ehinoceros ..
4
All Tropical and S. Africa
Oriental
HiPPOPOTAMIDiE.
89. Hi2}popotamus
2
Great Elvers of Africa
SuiD^.
90. Potamoc7u£rus
3
Tropical Africa and Madg.
91. Phacochcej'ics . . .
2
Abyssinia to Gatfraria
TRAGULIDiE.
92. Uyomoschus ,.
1
\V. Africa
Camelopaedalid^.
93. Camelopardalis
1
All open country
BoAaD^.
94. Bubalus
3
Trop. and S. Africa
India
95. Oreas
2
Africa S. of Sahara
96. Tragelapli us . . .
8
Africa S. of Sahara
97. Oryx
3
Arabian and African deserts
S. Palisarctic
98. Gazella
12
Africa N. of Etj^uator and S.
Africa
PaJpearctic Deserts
99. ^pyceros
1
S. E. Africa
100. Cervicapira ...
4
All Tropical Africa
101, Kobus
6
Pastures of all Africa
]02. Feka
1
South Africa
103. Nanotragus ..
9
Africa S. of Sahara
104. Neotragus
1
Abyssinia and N. E. Africa
105. Ceplialoplius ...
2-2
All tropical Africa
106. Hipi^otragus ...
3
Gambia, Central Africa to Cape
107. Alcephalus ...
9
All Africa
108. CcUoblepas ...
2
Africa S. of Equator
(Capra
1
Abyssinia, high)
Palnearctic genus
PEOBOSCIDEA.
ELEPIIANTIDiE.
109. Elephas
1
Tropical and S. Africa i
Oriental
304
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part hi.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
6 £
CD
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
HYRACOIDEA.
Hybacid^.
110. Hyrax
10
Tropical and S. Africa
Syria
EODENTIA.
MuiUDiE.
111. Mus
26
All Africa
E, Hemis. excl. Oceania
112. Luslomys . .
1
W. Africa
113. Acaiitliomys ...
4
Tropical Africa
India
114. Cricetorays
1
Tropical Africa
115. Saccostomus ...
2
Mozambique
116. Dendromys ...
2
S. Africa
117. Nesomys
1
Madagascar
118. Steatomys
2
East and S. Africa
119. Pelomys
1
Mozambique
120. Otomys
6
S. and E. Africa
121. Merioues
14
Africa
Palfearctic, India
122. Malacothrix ...
2
S. Africa
123. Mystromys ...
1
S. Africa
124. Brachytarsomys
1
Madagascar
125. Hypogeoniys ...
1
Madagascar
126. Lophiomys ...
1
S. Arabia and K E. Africa
SPALAOIDiE.
127. Ehizomys
4
Abyssinia
Oriental to Malacca
128. JJatJiyerges ..
1
S. Africa
129. Georychus
6
E. Centra], and S. Africa
130. Heliophobius . . .
1
Mozambitiue
DlPODID^.
131. Dipns
7
N. and Central Africa
Central Palsearctic
132. Pedetes
1
S. Af. to Mozambique and Angoh
.
Myoxid^.
133. Myoxus
1
Africa to Cape
Palafarctic
SCUIEID^.
134. Sciurus
18
All woody districts of Africa
A 11 regions but Au stralia
135. Anomalurus ...
5
W. Africa and Feruando Po.
OCTODONTID.*;.
136. Pedinator ...
1
Abyssinia
' ECHIMYID^.
137. Petromys
1
S. Africa
133. Aidacodcs
1
W., E., andS. Africa
HYSTRICIDiE.
139. Hystrix
1
Africa to Cape
S. Palfearctic Oriental
140. Allierura
1
AY. Africa
Palfearctic
CHAP. XI.]
THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.
305
Order,. Family, and
i&enus.
o S
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
Leporid^.
141. Lepus
5
East and South. Africa
All regions but Australian
EDENTATA.
MANIDIDiE.
142. Manis
4
Sennaar to "W. Africa and Ca^De
Oriental
Orycteropodid^.
143. Oryderopus ...
2
N. E. Africa to Nile Sources, and
S. Africa
BIRDS.
PASSERES.
TURDIBA
1. Turdus
13
The whole reg. (excl. Madngas.)
Almost Cosmopolite
2. Monticola
2
S. Africa
Palasarctic and Oriental
3. Chcetops
3
S. Africa
4. Bcssonornis
15
The whole region
Palestine
SYLVIID.ffi!.
5. Drymceca
6. J Cisticola
70
The whole region
Palestine
13
The whole region
Palse.arc, Orion., Austral
^•1
8.
SphencBacus . . .
]
S. Africa
Australian
.Camaroptera ...
5
Africa
9.
Acrocejilialus ...
8
The whole region
Paliearc. , 0 rien . , A ustral
10.
Bradyptetus . . .
8
Abyssinia and S. Africa
S. Europe, Palestine
11.
Catriscus
3
All Africa
12.1
Bernieria
1
JMadagascar
13.
Ellisia
1
Madagascar
14.
Mijstacoroiis
1
Madagascar
15. [Phylloscopus ...
\%.\Eremomela
1
S. Africa
Palsearctic, Oiiental
16
All Africa
\7.\Eroessa
18. iHypolais
1
Madagascar
2
S. Africa
Palsearctic, Oriental
19. ("Aedon
20. J Sylvia
8
E. and S. Africa
Palfearctic
3
N. E. Africa, Gambia, Cape
Palfearctic, Oriental
21. ICiirruca
Verd Ids.
2
S. Africa
Palfearctic
22.JEuticilla
23.\Cyauecula
2
Abyssinia and Senegal
Paltearctic, Oriental
2
N E. Africa
Palfearctic
24.
Copsychus
2
Madagascar and Seychelle Ids.
Oriental
25.
Thamnobia
7
All Alrica
Oriental
26.
Cercotriclms . . .
2
W. andN E. Africa
27.
PceopUra
1
AV. Africa
28.;
Gervasia
2
Madagascar and Sej'chelle Ids.
29.
Dromolrea
13
All Africa
S. Palajarctic, India
30.
Saxicola
14
Central, E. and S. x^frica
Palfearctic, India
31.
Cercomela
3
N. E. Africa
Palestine, N. "W. India
32.
Pratincola
7
Africa and Madagascar
Palfearctic, Oriental
X
30C
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
6 S
12; ^
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
TlMALIID^.
33. Chatarrhpea
1
Abyssinia
Oriental, Palestine
34. Crater opus
17
All Africa
N. Africa, Persia
35. Hypergerus
36. Cichladusa
1
3
W. Africa
W. and E. Africa
37. Alethe
4
W. Africa
38. Oxylabes
2
Madagascar
ClKCLIDiS. [?]
39. Mesites
1
Madagascar
Troglodytid^.[0
40. Sylvietta
2
Central, E. and S. Africa
SiTTIDiE.
41. Hyphcrpes
1
Madagascar
PAKIDiE.
42. Parus
5
All Africa
Palaearc, Orien., Nearc.
43. Parismna
5
All Africa
44. ^githalus
4
W., Central, and S. Africa
Palsearctic
45. Parinia
1
W. Africa, Prince's Island
PYCNONOTIDiE.
46. Pja'iionotus ...
8
All Africa
S. Palsearctic, Oriental
47. Phyllastrejohus
48. Hypsipetes
4
4
W. and S. Africa
Madagascar and Mascarene Ids.
Oriental
49. Tylas
50. Criniger
1
14
Madagascar
W. and S. Africa
Oriental
51. Txonotus
8
W. Africa
52. Andropadus ...
9
Africa and Madagascar
53. Lioptilus
1
8. Africa
Oriolid^.
54. Oriolus
10
All Africa
Palsearctic, Oriental
65. Artamia [?] ...
3
Madagascar
"56. Cyanolanius [?]
1
iladagascar
Campephagid^.
57. Laiiictcrus
5
All Africa
58. Oxynotits
2
Mauritius and Bourbon
59. Campephaga ...
5
The whole region
Celebes to New Caledonia
DiCRURIDiE
60. Dicrunis
11
The whole region
Oriental, Australian
MuSClCAPIDiE.
61. Butalis
3
All Afr-ica
Palsearctic, N. Oriental
62. Muscicapa
63. Alseonax
10
4
All tropical Africa
S. Africa
Palsearctic
Oriental
64. Nexcfonia
1
Madagascar
CHAP. XI.]
THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.
307
Order, Family, and
Geuus.
6.^. Hyliota ...
66. Erythrocercus .
67. Artomyias
68. Pseudobias
69. Sinithorius
70. J\Iegabias ...
71. Vassinia ...
72. Bias... .... .
73. Elminia ..
74. Platystira
75. Tchitrea ... .
76. Pogonocichla .
77. Bradyornis
Laniid^.
78. Parmojdila [?].
79. Calicalicus
80. Lanius
81. Hypocolius
82. Corvinella
83. Urolestes ...
84. Fraseria ...
85. Hypodcs ...
86. Cuphoterus
87. Nilmis ... .
88. Priono2)s ...
89. Eurocephaius .
90. Chaiinonotus .
91. Vanga
92. Laidarius
93. Meristes ...
94. Nicator ...
Tde2)honns
95
CORVIDiE.
96. Ptilostomus
97. Coitus
98. Corvultur
99. Picatharbcs
(Fregilus
Nectarinhd^.
100. Nectarinia ...
101. Promerops
102. Cinnyricindus
103. Neodrepanis ..
DlC^IDiE.
104. Zosterops
105. Pholidornis ...
HiRUNDINID.E.
106. Hirimdo
Range within the Resion.
Range lievond tlie Region.
W. Africa
Tropical Africa
W. Africa
Madagascar
AV. and S. Africa
W. Africa
W. Africa
Tropical Africa
Tropical Africa
All Africa
The whoJe region
S. Africa
All Africa
W. Africa
Madagascar
All Africa
Abyssinia
S. and W. Africa
S. Africa
W. Africa
W. Africa
Prince's Island
All Africa
All Africa
N. E. and S. Africa
W. Africa
Madagascar
All Africa, Madagascar [?]
W. and S. E. Africa
E. Africa
All Africa
"W. and E. Africa
All Africa and Madagascar
N. E. to S. Aliica
W. Africa
Abyssinia)
The whole region
S. Africa
W. Africa
Madagascar
The whole region
W. Africa
Oriental
Paloearc, Orien , > eaio.
N. Africa
Cosmop., excl. S. Anier.
Palsearctic genus
17 j The whole region
Oriental and Australian
Cosmopolite
X 2
308
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[PAPwT ]1I.
tt-i -A
Onlor, Family, and
Genus.
6 S
Range within the Begion.
Range beyond the Region.
107. Psalidoprognc
10
The whole region
108. Phedina
2
Madagascar and Mauritius
109. Petrochelidou
1
S. Africa
Neotropical
110. Chelidon
1
Bogos-land
Palsearctic, Oriental
111. Cotyle
6
All Africa
Palffiarctic, Oriental
112. Waldenia ...
1
W. Africa
FRINGILLIDiE.
113. Dryospiza
8
All Africa
S. Palaearctic
114. Chlorospiza ...
4
Abyssinia to Cape
Palsearctic
11.5. Passer
18
All Africa
PalEearctic, Oriental
116. Critliagra
12
All Africa
N. Africa, Syria .
117. Ligurnus
2
W. Africa
(Eiythrospiza
1
Nubia, Arabia)
S. Palsearctic genus
118. Pinicola [?] ...
1
Cameroons, W. Africa
N. Temperate genus
119. Fringillaria ...
9
All Africa
South PaliEarctic
PLOCEIDiE.
120. Textor
5
AH Africa
121. Hyphantornis
32
Tropical and S. Africa
122. SympUctcs ,,..
8
Tropical and S. Africa
123. Malimbus
9
W. and E. Africa
124. Ploceus
2
W. and E. Africa
Oriental
12.5. NelicioTvius ...
1
Madagascar
126. Foudia
n
Trojiical Africa, Madagascar, &c.
127. Sijoropipes
1
Tropical and S. Africa
128. Pyromelaiia ...
J2
Tropical and S Africa
129. Philetcerus ...
1
S. Africa
130. Nigrita
7
W. and ISr. E. Africa
131. Plocepasser ...
4
E. and S. Africa
132. Vidua
6
Tropical and S. Africa
133. Coliiuspasser...
9
Tropical and S. Africa
134. Chera
1
S. Africa
13r>. Spermospiza ...
2
W. Africa
136. Pyrenestcs
6
'IVopical and S. Africa
137. Estrikla
16
Tropical and S. Africa
Oriental
138. Pytelia
20
Tropical and S. Africa
139. Hypargos
2
E. Africa, Madagascar
140. Amadincb
6
Tropical and S. Africa
141. Spermestes
7
The whole region
1 i'Z.^Aviaurestlic.s . . .
1 iZ/lIypochera . . .
1
E. and W. Africa
2
Tropical and S. Africa
StURNIDjE.
144. Diloplvus
1
S. Africa, Loanda, Senuaar
145. Buphaga
2
Trop. and S. Africa ([?] a family)
146. Euryccros
1
Madagascar ([?] a family)
147. Jidda
5
Tropical and S. Africa
148. Lamprocolius
16
Tropical and S. Africa
149. Cinnyricinclus
2
Tropical and S. Africa
150. Onychognathus
2
W. Africa
151. Spreo ...
5
Tropical and S. Africa
152. Amydrus
5
N. E. Africa
Palestine
153. Hartlaubhis ...
1
Madagascar
CHAP. XI.]
THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.
309
Order, Family, and
Genus.
ii
1
1
Kange within tlie Region.
154. Falculia
155. Frcgilupnis ...
Madagascar
Bourbon
ALATJDIDiE.
156. Alauda
157. Spizocorys
158. Galerida... ...
159. Caleiidula
(Melanocorjrpha
160. Certhilauda ...
161. Alaemon
162. Heterocorys ...
163. Mirafra
164. Ammomanes ..
165. Megaloplionus
166. Tephrocorys ...
167. Pyrrhulauda ..
3
1
4
2
1
3
3
1
10
4
5
2
6
Abyssinia and S. W. Africa
South Africa
North of tropical Africa
Abyssiuia, S. Africa
Abyssinia)
South Africa
South Africa
South Africa
South Africa, Madagascar
African deserts
Tropical and S. Africa
S. Africa
Tropical and S. Africa
MOTACILLID^.
168. Motacilla ...
8
The whole region
169. Anthus
170. Macronyx
10
4
Tropical and S. Africa
Tropical and S. Africa
PlTTID^.
171. Pitta
1
W. Africa
PAICTIDiE.
172. PMleintta ...
2
Mad igascar
PICAEI^.
PlCID^.
173. Verrcauxia ...
174. Deiidropicus ...
175. Oampethera ...
176. Geocolapites ...
1
14
14
1
W. Africa
Tropical and S. Africa
Tropica] and S. Africa
South Africa
YUNGID^.
177. Yunx
1
N. E. Africa, S. Africa
Indicatokib^.
178. Indicator
8
Tropical and S. Africa
Megal^mid^.
179. Pogonorhynchus
180. Buccanodon ...
181. Stactolceina ...
182. Barhatula ...
183. Xylohucco
184. Gymnohucco ...
185. Trachyphmuis
14
1
1
9
3
3
6
Tropical and S. Africa
West Africa
West Africa
West and South Africa
West and South Africa
West Africa
Tropical and South Africa
MuSOPHAGIDiE.
186. 3Iusop]iaga ...
2
West Africa
liange bej'ond the Pveglou.
Palsearctic, Indian
Palssarctic, Indian
Palaiarctic genus
S. Europe
3. Palmare tic
Oriental, Australian
S. Palffiarctic, Indian
Oriental, Canary Islands
Palffiarctic, Oriental,
Australian
All regions, exc. Australia
Oriental, Australian
Palfearetic
Oriental
310
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part 111.
V- T
Order, Family, and
Genus.
^T
]87. 'f uracils
10
1S8. ISchizorhis
6
CoLiin.E.
189. Colius
7
CvcvhlhM.
190. Ceuthmochares
2
191. Coua
9
192. CochJofhraustcs
1
193. Centropus
8
1 . 4. Cuculus
10
195. Clivysococcj'x
7
196. Coccystes
6
Leptosomid^.
197. Lc2Jtosovius
COEACIID^.
198. Coracias
199. Eurystomiis ...
200. Atelomis
201. BracJiypteracias
202. Geobiastes
MEIlOPIDiE.
203. Meiops
204. Melitto})]uigus
TiiuuoNiD^K.
205. j4paIodcr/na ...
Alcedinii>.e.
206. Alcedo ...
207. CoryHiornis
208. Ceryle ...
209. Mi/ioccy,]c
210. Ispidina. .
211. Halcyon...
BUCEltOTID.E.
212. Boreniconiis
213. Tochus ...
214. Bycaiiistes
215. Buc/rcus
UpuriD.E.
216. Upnpa ...
lKni.SORlD.E.
217. Irrisor ...
n
RaiiRe within the Bcgion.
Trojiical and S. Africa
Tropical and S. Africa
Tropical and S. Africa
Africa and Madagascar
jNladagascar
Madagascar
Africa and JVradagascar
Africa and Madagascar
Tropical and S. Africa
Tropical and S. Africa
Madagascar
Africa and Madagascar
Africa and Madagascar
Madagascar
Madagascar
Madaga.scav
Africa and Madagascar
Tropical and S. Africa
Tropical and S. Africa
\V. Africa, ATiys.sinia, Natal
Africa and Madagascar
W. Africa, Abyssinia, Natal
West Africa
Africa and Madagascar
Africa, Prince's Is., St. Tliome
West Africa
Trojiical and S. Africa
Tropical and S. Africa
Tropical and S. Africa
Africa and Madagascar
Africa and Madagascar
Range beyond the Begion.
Oriental, Australian
Palaearc, Orien., Austral.
Oriental, Australian
S. PalsRarctic, Oriental
S. Palsearctic, Oriental
Oriental, Australian
S. Palrear. , Orien. , Austral.
Paltear., Orien., Austral.
American, Palfearctic
S.Pa]a?ar., Orien. Austral.
JIalaya
vS. Palsearctic, Oriental
CHAP. XI.]
THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.
311
Order, Family, and
Genus.
CAPr.IMULGID^.
218. Caprimulgus .
219. Scortornis
220. Macrodiptcryx
221. Cosmetornis
CyPSELIDiE.
222. Cypselus ... .
223. CoUocalia
224. Chsetura ... .
PSITTACI.
PALiEORNITHID^.
225. Palaeornis
PsiTTACIDiE.
226. Coracopsis
227. Psittaciis
228. PcEocephalus
229. Agapornis
230. Poliopsitta
COLUMBiE.
CoLUMBIDiB.
231. Treron ... .
232. Aledrcenas .
233. Columba
234. (Ena ... .
235. Turtur ... .
236. Aplopelia
237. Chalcopclia .
DlBiDiE, (extinct)
238. Bidus ... .
GALLING.
PXEROCLIDiE.
239. Pterocles
Teteaonid^.
240. Ptilopachus ...
241. Francolinus ...
242. Peliperdix
243. Margaroperdix
244. Coturnix
(Caccabis
Phasianid^.
245. Phasidus
Range within the Region.
Africa and Madagascar
Tropical Africa
W. Africa to Abyssinia
Tropical Africa to the Zambesi
The whole region
Mascarene Ids., Madagascar
Tropical Africa and Madagascar
Range beyond the Region.
Palcearc. , 0 rien. , Austral .
Paljearctic, Oriental
Oriental, Australian
Cosmop., exc. W. Pala-
arctic
W. Africa to Abys. & Mauritius Oriental
Madagascar and Seychelle Ids.
W. Africa
Tropical and S. Africa
Tropical and S. Africa
Trop. Africa and Madagascar
Africa and Madagascar
Madagascar and Masc. Ids. (extct
in Mauritius and Rodriguez)
Africa and Madagascar
Tropical and S. Africa
Africa, Madagascar, Comoro am
Seychelle Islands
Abyssinia, S. Africa and "West
African Islands
Tropical and S. Africa
Mascarene Islands
Africa and Madagascar
West Africa
Africa and Madagascar
West Africa
Madagascar
Tropical and S. Africa
Abyssinia)
Oriental
Palai arctic, Oriental
Palffiarctic, Oriental
1 I West Africa
S. Palsearctic, Indian
S. Palsearctic, Indian
Pal?ear., Orient., Austral.,
Paltearctic genus
312
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGBAPHY.
[part hi.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
d S
Range within the Begion.
246. Agclastes
1
West Africa
247. Acryllium ...
1
West Africa
248. Numida
9
Africa to Natal and Madagascar
TURNICIDiE.
249. Turnix
4
S. Africa and Madagascar
250. Ortyxelos
1
Africa
ACCIPITRES.
VULTTJBIDiE.
251. Gyps
2
Africa, except W. sub-region
252. Pseudogyps ...
1
N. E. Africa to Senegal
253. Otogyps
1
N. E. and S. Africa
254. Lophogyps
1
N". E. and S. Africa and Senegal
255. ISreoj)hron
2
Africa, excl. west coast
Falconid^.
256. Polyboroides ...
2
Africa and Madagascar
257. Circus
4
Africa and Madagascar
258. UrotriorcMs ...
1
W. Africa
259. Melierax
5
Africa, excl. west coast
260. Astur
5
Africa and Madagascar
261. Nisoidcs
1
Madagascar
262. E'UtriorcMs ...
1
Madagascar
263. Accipiter
8
Africa and Madagascar
264. Buteo
5
Africa and Madsgascai"
265. Gypaetus
1
N. E. and S. Africa
266. Aqiiila
5
All Africa
267. Msaetus
1
W. Africa
268. Spizaetus
3
All Africa
269. Lophowtus ...
1
All Africa
270. Asturinula ...
1
Tropical Africa
271. DryotriorcMs
1
W. Africa
272. Circaetiis
5
All Africa
273. Biitastur
1
N. E. Africa
274. Helotarsus ...
2
Tropical and S. Africa
275. Haliseetus
2
The whole region
276. GypoMcr'ax ...
1
West and East Africa
277. Elanoides
1
West and N.E. Africa
278. Milvus
1
The whole region
279. Elaniis
1
Africa
280. Machserliamphus
1
S. W. Africa and Madagascar
281. Periiis
1
S. Africa and Madagascar
282. Baza
3
Africa and Madagascar
283. Polioliierax ...
1
East Africa
284. Palco
4
All Africa
285. Cerclineis
8
The whole region
SERPENTARlIDiB.
286. Serpentaritcs ...
1
The greater part of Africa
Range "beyond tlie Region.
Paleearc, Orient., Austrl.
Palfearctic, Oriental
Oriental
Palfearctic, Oriental
S. Palsearctic, Oriental
Almost Cosmopolite
Almost Cosmopolite
Almost Cosmopolite
Cosmop., excl. Austral.
S. Palsearctic
Nearc, Palsearc, Indian
S. Palfearctic, Oriental,
Australia
Neotropical, Oriental to
N. Guinea
Palsearctic, Oriental
Oriental to New Guinea
Cosmopolite, excl. Neo-
tropical region
The Eastern Hemisphere
India to Australia
Malacca
Paleearctic, Oriental
India to N. Australia
Bur;nah
Almost Cosmopolite
Almost Cosmopolite
CHAP. XI.]
THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.
813
Order, Family, and
Genus.
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
Pandionid^.
287. Pandion
1
All Africa
Cosmopolite
Stkigid^.
288. Athene
5
Africa and Madagascar, Eodri
Falsearctic, Oriental,
quez (extinct)
Australian
289. Bubo
8
Africa and Madagascar
Cosmopolite
290. Scotopelia
2
West and S. Africa to Zambesi
291. Scops
3
W. and S. Africa, Madagascar,
Comoro Islands
Almost Cosmopolite
292. Syrnium
2
Africa
Palcearctic, Oriental,
American
293. Asio
1
N. E. and S. Africa
Cosmopolite
294. Strix
4
Africa and Madagascar
Cosmopolite
Peculiar or very CJiaraderistic Genera of Wading or Swimming Birds.
GEALL^.
Pallida.
Himaiitornis
Podica...
Glareolid^.
Cursorius
Otidid^.
Eupodotis
Gruid^.
Balearica.
Ardeid^.
Balceniceps .
PLATALEID^ffi.
Scopus
ANSEEES.
Anatid^.
Thalassornis .
STEUTHIONES.
Struthionid^.
295. Struthio
iEPYORNITHIDiE.
296. ^pyornis
16
3[?]
West Africa
Africa
All Africa
All Africa
All Africa
Upper Nile
Tropical and S. Africa
South Africa
AU Africa
(Extinct)
Madagascar
Burmali
S. Europe, India
India, Australia
Syria
CHAPTEE XII.
THE OEIENTAL REGION.
This region is of comparatively small extent, but it has a very
diversified surface, and is proportionately very rich. The de-
serts on the north-west of India are the debatable land that
separates it from the Palsearctic and Ethiopian regions. The
great triangular plateau which forms the peninsula of India is
the poorest portion of the region, OAving in part to its arid climate
and in part to its isolated position ; for there can be little doubt
that in the later Tertiary period it was an island, separated by an
arm of the sea (now forming the valleys of the Ganges and
Indus) from the luxuriant Himalayan and Burmese countries.
Its southern extremity, with Ceylon, has a moister climate and
more luxuriant vegetation, and exhibits indications of a former
extension southwards, with a richer and more peculiar fauna,
partly Malayan and partly Mascarene in its character. The
whole southern slopes of tire-Himalayas, with Burmah, Siam and
Western China, as well as the Malay peninsula and the Indo-
Malay islands, are almost everywhere covered with tropical
forests of the most luxuriant character, which abound in varied
and peculiar forms of vegetable and animal life. The flora and
fauna of this extensive district are essentially of one type
throughout; yet it may be usefully divided into the Indo-
Chinese and the Malayan sub-regions, as each possesses a
number of peculiar or characteristic animals. The former sub-
region, besides having many tropical and sub-tropical types
of its own, also possesses a large number of peculiarly modi-
fied temperate forms on the mountain ranges of its northern
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 315
boundary, wliicli are wholly wanting in the Malayan sub-
region. The Philippine islands are best classed with the Indo-
Malay group, although they are strikingly deficient in many
Malaj^an types, and exhibit an approach to the Celebesian divi-
sion of the Austro-Malay sub-region.
Zoological Characteristics of the Oriental Region. — The Oriental
Eegion possesses examples of 35 families of Mammalia, 71 of
Birds, 35 of Keptiles, 9 of Amphibia, and 13 of Fresh-water
Fishes. Of these 163 families, 12 are peculiar to the region;
namely, Tarsiidse, Galeopithecidse, and Tupaiidse among Mam-
malia, while ^luridse, though confined to the higher Himalayas,
may perhaps wdth more justice be claimed by the Palsearctic re-
gion ; Liotrichidse, Phyllornithidse, and Eurylsemidae among birds;
Xenopeltidse (extending, however, to Celebes), Uropeltidse, and
Acrochordidae among reptiles ; Luciocephalidfe, Ophiocephalidae
and Mastacembelidse among fresh-water fishes. A number of
other families are abundant, and characteristic of the region ; and
it possesses many peculiar and characteristic genera, which must
be referred to somewhat more in detail.
Mammalia. — The Oriental region is rich in quadrumana, and
is especially remarkable for its orang-utans and long-armed apes
{Simia, Hylobates, and Siamangct) ; its abundance of monkeys
of the genera Presbytes and Macacus ; its extraordinary long-nosed
monkey {Preslytes nasalis) ; its Lemuridee (Nycticehus and Loris) ;
and its curious genus Ta^^sius, forming a distinct family of
lemurs. All these quadrumanous genera are confined to it,
except Tarsius which extends as far as Celebes. It pos-
sesses more than 30 genera of bats, which are enumerated in
the lists given at the end of this chapter. In Insectivora it is
very rich, and possesses several remarkable forms, such as the
flying lemur (GaJeojnthccus) ; the sqtiirrel-like Tupaiidse consisting
of three genera ; and the curious Qymnura allied to the hedge-
hogs. In Carnivora, it is especially rich in many forms of civets
(Viverridse), possessing 10 peculiar genera, among which Frio-
nodun and Cynogale are remarkable; numerous Mustelidte, of
which Gymnopiis, Mydaus, Aonyo: and Helictis are the most con-
spicuous ; ^Elnrus, a curious animal, cat-like in appearance but
316 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY, [part hi.
more allied to the bears, forming a distinct family of Carnivora,
and confined to the high forest-districts of the Eastern Hima-
layas and East Thibet ; Melursus and Helardos, peculiar forms of
bears ; Platanista, a dolphin peculiar to the Ganges and Indus.
Among Euminants it has the beautiful chevrotain, forming
the genus Tragulus in the family Tragulidse ; with one peculiar
genus and three peculiar sub-genera of true deer. The Antilo-
pinae and Caprinse are few, confined to limited districts and not
characteristic of the region ; but there are everywhere wild cattle
of the genera Bibos and Buhalus, which, with species of Rhinoceros
and EU'phas, form a prominent feature in the fauna. The Eodents
are less developed than in the Ethiopian region, but several forms
of squirrels everywhere abound, together with some species of
porcupine; and the Edentata are represented by the scaly manis.
Birds. — The families and genera of birds which give a cha-
racter to Oriental lands, are so numerous and varied, that we
can here only notice the more prominent and more remarkable.
The Timaliidse, represented by the babblers {Qarrulax, Pomator-
hinus, Timalia, &c.), are almost everywhere to be met with, and
no less than 21 genera are peculiar to the region; the elegant
fork-tailed Enicurus and rich blue Myiophonus, though com-
paratively scarce, are characteristic of the Malayan and Indo-
Chinese faunas ; the elegant little " hill-tits " (Liotrichidae)
abound in the same part of the region ; the green bulbuls {Pliyl-
lornis) are found everywhere ; as are various forms of Pycnono-
tidse, the black and crimson " minivets " {Pericrocotus), and the
glossy " king-crows " {Dicrurus) ; Urocissa, Platyloplius and Den-
drociita are some of the interesting and characteristic forms
of the crow family ; sun-birds (Netariniidse) of at least three
genera are found throughout the region, as are the beautiful little
liower-peckers (Dicseid*), and some peculiar forms of weaver-
birds {Ploceus and Munia). Of the starling family, the most
conspicuous are the glossy mynahs (Eulahes). The swaUow-
shrikes (Artamus) are very peculiar, as are the exquisitely
coloured pittas (Pittidse), and the gaudy broad-bills (Eury-
laemidee). Leaving the true Passeres, we find woodpeckei's,
barbets, and cuckoos everywhere, often of peculiar and re-
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 317
markable forms; among the bee-eaters we have the exquisite
Nydiornis with its pendent neck -plumes of blue or scarlet ;
brilliant kingfishers and strangely formed hornbills abound
everywhere ; while brown-backed trogons with red and orange
breasts, though far less frequent, are equally a feature of the
Ornithology. ISIext we have the frog-mouthed goatsuckers {Bat-
tracJiostomus) , and the whiskered swifts (Dendrochelidon), both
wide-spread, remarkable, and characteristic groups of the Oriental
region. Coming to the parrot tribe, we have only the long-tailed
Palceornis and the exquisite little Loriculus, as characteristic
genera. We now come to the pigeons, among which the fruit-
eating genera Treron and Carpophaga are the most conspicuous.
The gallinaceous birds offer us some grand forms, such as
the peacocks (Pavo) ; the argus pheasants {Argusianus) ; the fire-
backed pheasants {Euplocamus) ; and the jungle-fowl {Cfallus), all
strikingly characteristic ; and with these we may close our sketch,
since the birds of prey and the two Orders comprising the
waders and swimmers offer nothing sufficiently remarkable to
be worthy of enumeration here.
Beptiles. — Only the more abundant and characteristic groups
will here be noticed. In the serpent tribe, the Oligodontidas,
a small family of ground-snakes; the Homalopsidse, or fresh-
water snakes ; the Dendrophidse, or tree-snakes ; the Dryiophidse,
or whip-snakes ; the Dipsadidse, or nocturnal tree-snakes ; the
Lycodontidse or fanged ground-snakes ; the Pythonidse, or rock-
snakes ; the Elapidye, or venomous colubrine snakes (including
the " cobras ") ; and the Crotalidse, or pit-vipers, are all abundant
and characteristic, ranging over nearly the whole region, and pre-
senting a great variety of genera and species. Among lizards, the
Varanidae or water-lizards ; the Scincidse or " scinks ; " the Gecko-
tidee, or geckoes ; and the Agamidse, or eastern iguanas ; are the
most universal and characteristic groups. Among crocodiles the
genus Crocodihcs is widely spread, Gavialis being characteristic
of the Ganges. Among Chelonia, or shielded reptiles, forms of
fresh-water Testudinidse and Trionychidse (soft tortoises) are
tolerably abundant.
Amphibia. — The only abundant and characteristic groups of
318 ZOOLOGICAL aEOGRAPHY. [part m.
this class are toads of the family Engystomidce ; tree-frogs of
the family Polypedatidse ; and several genera of true frogs,
Eanidse.
Fresh-water Fishes. — The more remarkable and characteristic
fishes inhabiting the fresh waters of the Oriental region belong
to the following families : ISTandidae, Labyrinthici, Ophiocephalidee,
SiluridsB, and Cyprinidse ; the last being specially abundant.
The sketch here very briefly given, must be supplemented by
an examination of the tables of distribution of the genera of all
the Mammalia and Birds inhabiting the region. We will now
briefly summarize the results.
Summary of the Oriental Vertehrata. — The Oriental region
possesses examples of 163 families of Vertebrata of which 12
are peculiar, a proportion of a little more than one-fourteenth
of the whole.
Out of 118 genera of Mammalia 54 seem to be peculiar to
the region, equal to a proportion of /^ or a little less than half
Of Land-Birds there are 342 genera of which 165 are peculiar,
bringing the proportion very close to a half.
In the Ethiopian region the proportion of peculiar forms
both of Mammalia and Birds is greater ; a fact which is not
surprising when we consider the long continued isolation of the
latter region — an isolation which is even now very complete,
owing to the vast extent of deserts intervening between it and
the Palaearctic region ; while the Oriental and Palsearctic were,
during much of the Tertiary epoch, hardly separable.
Insects.
Zejpidoptera. — We can only glance hastily at the more pro-
minent features of the wonderfully rich and varied butterfly-
fauna of the Oriental region. In the first family Danaidse, the
genera Danais and Euplcea are everywhere abundant, and the
latter especially forms a conspicuous feature in the entomo-
logical aspect of the country; the large "spectre-butterflies"
{Hestia) are equally characteristic of the Malayan sub-region.
Satyridffi, though abundant are not very remarkable, Delis,
Melanitis, Mycalesis, and Ypthima being the most characteristic
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 319
genera. Morphidse are well represented by the genera Ama-
ihusia, Zeuxidia, Discophora, and Thaumantis, some of the
species of which almost equal the grand South American
Morphos. The Nymphalidae furnish us with a host of charac-
teristic genera, among the most remarkable of which are,
Terinos, Adolias, Cethosia, Cyrestis, Limeyiitis, and Nymphalis,
all abounding in beautiful species. Among the Lycsenidse are
a number of fine groups, among which we may mention Ilerda,
Myrina, Deudoryx, Aphneus, lolaus, and Amblypodia, as charac-
teristic examples. The Pieridae furnish many fine forms, such
as Tliyca, Ipliias, Thestias, Eronia, Prioneris, and Dercas, the last
two being peculiar. The Papilionidae are unsurpassed in the
world, presenting such grand genera as Teinopalpus and Bhu-
tanitis; the yellow-marked Ornithopterm ; the superb "Brookiana;"
the elegant Leptocercus ; and Fapilios of the " Coon," " Philo-
xenus," " Memnon," " Protenor," and especially the ' green-and-
gold-dusted ' " Paris " groups.
The Moths call for no special observations, except to notice
the existence in Northern India of a number of forms which
resemble in a striking manner some of the most remarkable
of the above mentioned groups of the genus Papilio, espe-
cially the " Protenor " group, which there is reason to believe is
protected by a peculiar smell or taste like the Heliconias and
Danaidse.
Coleoptefa. — The most characteristic Oriental form of the
Cicindelidse or tiger beetles, is undoubtedly the elegant genus
Collyris, which is found over the whole region and is almost
confined to it. Less abundant, but equally characteristic, is the
wingless ant-like Tricondyla. Two small genera Apteroessa and
Dromicidia are confined to the Indian Peninsula, while Therates
only occurs in the Malayan sub-region.
The Carabidffi, or ground carnivorous beetles, are so numerous
that we can only notice a few of the more remarkable and
characteristic forms. The wonderful 3formolyce of the In do-
Malay sub-region, stands pre-eminent for singularity in the
entire family. Thyreopterus, Orthogonnis, Catascopus, and Peri-
callus are very characteristic forms, as well as Planetes and
320 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGKAPHY. [part hi.
Distrigus, the latter having a single species in Madagascar.
There are 80 genera of this family peculiar to the region, 10
of which have only been found in Ceylon.
Among the Lucanidae, or stag-beetles, Lucanus, Odontolabris,
and Cladognathus are the most characteristic forms. Sixteen
genera inhabit the region, of which 7 are altogether peculiar,
while three others only extend eastward to the Austro-Malayan
sub-region.
The beautiful Cetoniidee, or rose-chafers, are well represented
by Bhomhorhina, Heterorhina, Cliiiteria, Macronota, Agestrata,
Ghalcothea and many fine species of Cetonia. There are 17
peculiar genera, of which Myderistes, Phcedimus, Plectrone, and
Rhago23tcryx, are Malayan ; while Nary cms, Chrota, Bombodes,
and Chiloloha are Indian.
In Buprestidse — those elongate metallic-coloured beetles whose
elytra are used as ornaments in many parts of the world — this
region stands pre-eminent, in its gigantic Gatoxantha, its fine
Chrysocliroa, its Indian Sternocera, its Malayan Ghalcophora
and Belionota, as well as many other beautiful forms. It
possesses 41 genera, of which 14 are peculiar to it, the rest
being generally of wide range or common to the Ethiopian and
Australian regions.
In the extensive and elegant group of Longicorns, the Oriental
region is only inferior to the Neotropical. It possesses 360
genera, 25 of which are Prionidse, 117 Cerambicidse, and 218
Lamiidse; — about 70 per cent, of the whole being peculiar.
The most characteristic genera are BhapJddopodtcs and yEgosoma
among Prionidse ; Neoceramhyx, Euryarthrum, Pachyteria, Acro-
cyrta, Tetraommatus, Chloridolum, and Polyzonus among Ceram-
bycidse; and Godosterna, Bhytido^phora, Batocera, Agelasta, and
Astathes among Lamiidse.
Of remarkable forms in other families, we may mention the
gigantic horned Ghalcosoma among Scarabasidse ; the metallic
Gampsosternus among Elateridse ; the handsome but anomalous
Trictenotoma forming a distinct family; the gorgeous Pachy-
rhynchi of the Philippine Islands among Curculionidee ; Diurus
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 321
among Brentliidiie ; with an immense number and variety of
Anthotribidse, Heteromera, Malacoderma, and Phytophaga.
The Oriental Sub-regioxs.
The four sub-regions into which we have divided the Oriental
region, are very unequal in extent, and perhaps more so in
productiveness, but they eacli have well-marked special features,
and serve well to exhibit the main zoological characteristics of
the region. As they are all tolerably well defined and their
faunas comparatively well-known, their characteristics will bo
given with rather more than usual detail.
/, Hindostan, or Indian Sub-region.
This includes the whole peninsula of India from the foot of the
Himalayas on the north to somewhere near Seringapatani on the
south, the boundary of the Ceylonese sub-region being unsettled.
The deltas of the Ganges and Brahmaputra mark its eastern
limits, and it probably reaches to about Cashmere in the north-
west, and perhaps to the valley of the Indus further south ; but
the great desert tract to the east of the Indus forms a transition
to the south Palsearctic sub-region. Perhaps on the whole the
Indus may be taken as a convenient boundary. Many Indian
naturalists, especially Mr. Blyth and Mr. Blanford, are impressed
with the relations of the greater part of this sub-region to the
Ethiopian region, and have proposed to divide it into several
zoological districts dependent on differences of climate and vege-
tation, and characterized by possessing faunas more or less allied
either to the Himalayan or the Ethiopian type. But these sub-
divisions appear far too complex to be useful to the general stu-
dent, and even were they proved to be natural, would be beyond
the scope of this work. I agree, however, with Mr. Elwes in
thinking that they really belong to local rather than to geo-
graphical distribution, and confound "station" with " habitat."
Wherever there is a marked diversity of surface and vegetation
the productions of a country will correspondingly differ; the
groups pecnliar to forests, for example, will be absent from open
Y
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGKAPHY.
[part :ii.
plains or arid deserts. It happens that the three great Old
World, regions are separated from each other by a debatable land
which is chiefly of a desert character ; hence we must expect to
find a resemblance between the inhabitants of such districts in
each region. We also find a great resemblance between the aquatic
birds of the three regions ; and as we generally give little weight
to these in our estimate of the degree of affinity of the faunas of
different countries, so we should not count the desert fauna as of
equal weight with the more restricted and peculiar types which
are found in the fertile tracts, — in the mountains and valleys, and
especially in the primeval forests. The supposed preponderance
of exclusively Ethiopian groups of Mammalia and Birds in this,
sub-region, deserves however a close examination, in order to
ascertain how far the facts really warrant such an opinion.
Mammalia.- — The following list of the more important genera
of Mammalia wdiicli range over the larger part of this sub-region
will enable naturalists to form an independent judgment as to
the preponderance of Ethiopian, or of Oriental and Palsearctic
types, in this, the most important of all the classes of animals
for geographical distribution.
Eange of the Genera of Mammalia which .Inhabit the Sub-region
OF HiNDOSTAN.
1. Presbytes
2. Macacus
3. Erinaceus
4. Sorex ...
5. Felis ...
6. -Cynselurus
7. Viverra
8. Viverricula
9. Pararloxurus
10. Herpestes
n. Ciilogale
12. Tfeniogale
13. Hynena
14. Canis ...
15. Cuon ...
16. Vulpes
17. Lutra ...
18. Mellivora
19. Melursus
20. Sas
21. Tragrnlus
Oriental only.
Oriental only.
Palaearctic genus.
Widely distributed.
.A.lmost Cosmopolitan.
Ethiopian and S. Palsearctic.
Ethiopian and Oriental to China and Malaya.
Oriental only.
Oriental only.
Ethiopian, S. Paltearctic, and Oriental to Malaya,
Ethiopian, Oriental to Cambodja,
Oriental.
Palsearctic and Ethiopian (a Palsearctic species.)
Palseai'ctic and Oriental to Malaya.
Oriental to Malaya.
Very wide range.
Oriental and Palaearctic.
Ethiopian.
Oriental only; family not Ethiopian.
Palsearctic and Oriental, not Ethiopian.
Oriental.
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 323
22. Cerviis ... Oriental and Palaearctic •; family not Ethiopian,
23. Cervnlus ... Oriental; family not Ethiopian,
24. Bibos ... ... Palsearctic and Oriental.
25. Portax ... Oriental.
26. Gazella . . . Palaearctic and Ethiopian.
27. Antilope ... Oriental.
28. Tetraceros ... Oriental.
29. Elephas . . . Oriental species,
30. Mus ... ... Cosmopolite nearly,
31. Platacanthomys Oriental.
32. Meriones ... Very wide range.
33. Spalacomys ... Oriental.
34. Sciurus ... Almost Cosmopolite.
35. Pteromys . . . Palaearctic and Oriental to China and Malaya.
36. Hystrix ... Wide range.
37. Lepus ... ... Wide range.
38. Manis ... ... Ethiopian and Oriental to Malaya.
Out of tlie above 38 genera, 8 have so wide a distribution as
to give no special geographical indications. Of the remaining 30,
wliose geographical position we have noted, 14 are Oriental only ;
5 have as much right to be considered Oriental as Ethiopian,
extending as they do over the greater part of the Oriental
region ; 2 (the hyaena and gazelle) show Palsearctic rather than
Ethiopian affinity ; 7 are Palsearctic and Oriental but not Ethio-
pian ; and only 2 {Cynmlurits and Mellivora) can be considered
as especially Ethiopian. We must also give due weight to the
fact that we have here Ursidaj and Cervidse, two families entirely
absent from the Ethiopian region, and we shall then be forced
to conclude that the affinities of the Indian peninsula are not
only clearly Oriental, but that the Ethiopian element is really
present in a far less degree than the Palgearctic.
Birds. — The naturalists who have adopted the " Ethiopian
theory " of the fauna of Hindostan, have always supported their
views by an appeal to the class of birds ; maintaining, that not
only are almost all the characteristic Himalayan and Malayan
genera absent, but that their place is to a great extent supplied
by others which are characteristic of the Ethiopian region. After
a careful examination of the subject, Mr. Eiwes, in a paper read
before the Zoological Society (June 1873) came, to the conclu-
sion, that this view was an erroneous one, founded on the fact
that the birds of the plains are the more abundant and mure
V 2
324 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
open to observation ; and that these are often of wide-spread
types, and some few ahnost exclusively African. The facts he
adduced do not, however, seem to have satisfied the objectors ;
and as the subject is an important one, I will here give lists
of all the genera of Passeres, Picariffi, Psittaci, Oolumbse, and
GallinsB, which inhabit the sub-region, leaving out those whicli
only just enter within its boundaries from adjacent sub-regions.
These are arranged under four heads: — 1. Oriental genera; which
are either wholly confined to, or strikingly prevalent in, the
Oriental region beyond the limits of the Indian peninsula. 2.
Genera of Wide Eange ; which are fully as much entitled to be
considered Oriental or Palsearctic as Ethiopian, and cannot be
held to prove any Ethiopian affinity. 3. Palsearctic genera ;
which are altogether or almost absent from the Ethiopian region.
4. Ethiopian genera ; which are confined to, or very prevalent
in, the Ethiopian region, whence they extend into the Indian
peninsula but not over the whole Oriental region. The last are
the only ones which can be fairly balanced against those of the
first list, in order to determine the character of the fauna.
1. Oriental Genera in Central India.
Geocichla, Orthotoinus, Frinia, Megcdurus, Alromis, Larvi-
vora, Copsyclms, Kittacincla, Fomatorhinus, Malacocercus, Chatar-
rhcea, Layardia, Qarrulax, TrocftdlopUvon, Fellorneum, Dumetia,
Fyctoris, Alcippe, Myioplionus, Sitta, Dendrophila, Fhyllornis,
lava, Hy'psi'petes , Fericrocotus, Graucalus, Volvocivora, Chihia,
Chaptia, Irena, Frythrosterna, Hemipus, Hcviiclielidon, Niltava,
Cyornis, Fumyias, Hypothymis, MyiaUstes, Tephrodornis, Dendro-
citta, Arachneclithra, Nedarophila, Arachnothera, Dicceum, Fipri-
soma, Munia, Fulabes, Pastor, Acridotheres, Sturnia, Sturnopastor,
Artamus, Nemoricola, Fitta, Yungipicus, ChrysocolapUs, Hemi-
circus, Gecvnus, MulUripicus, Brachypternus, Tiga, Micropternus,
Megalcema, Xantholccma, Rhopodytes, Taccocoua, Surniculus,
Hierococeyx, Fudynamnis, Nyctiornis, Harpades, Felargopsis,
Ceyx, Hydrocissa, Meniceros, FatracJiostomus, Dendroclididon,
Collocalia, Falceornis, Treron, Carpophaga, Chalcophaps, Orty-
gornis, Perdix, Favo, Gallus, Galloperdix ; — 87 genera; and
CHAP. xiL] THE OKIENTAL KEGION. 325
one peculiar genus, Salfornis, whose affinities are Paleearctic or
Oriental.
2. Geneka of Wide Eange occueking in Central India.
Tardus, Monticola, Drymceca, Cisticola, Acrocephalus, Phyllo-
scopus, Pratincola, Fanes, Pycnonotus, Criniger, Oriolus, Dicrurus,
2'chitrea, Lanius, Corvus, Zosterops, Hirundo, Cotyle, Passer,
Ploceus, Estrilda, Alauda, Cakcndrella, Mirafra, Ammomanes,
Motacilla, Antlvus, Picus, Yunx, Centropus, Cuculus, Chrysoccocyx,
Coccystes, Coracias, Eurystomus, M crops, Alcedo, Ceryle, Halcyon,
Vpupa, Capriimdgus, Cyjjselus, Chmhira, Coluinha,Turkir,Pterocles^
Coturnix, Turnix ; — 48 genera.
3. PaLxEArgtic Genera occurring in Central India.
Hypolais, Sylvia, Ciirruca, Cyanecula, Calliope, Chelidon, Eu-
spiza, Ertiheriza, Galerita, Calohates, Gorydalla ; — 11 genera.
4. Ethiopian Genera occurring in Central India.
TJiamnohia, Pyrrhulaicda, Pterocles, Francolinus ; — 4 genera.
A consideration of the above lists shows us, that the Hinclostan
sub-region is by no means so poor in forms of bird-life as is
generally supposed (and as I had myself anticipated, it would
prove to be), possessing, as it does, 151 genera of land-birds,
^\■ithout counting the Accipitres. It must also set at rest the
question of the zoological affinities of the district, since a pre-
ponderance of 88 genera, against 4, cannot be held to be insuffi-
cient, and cannot be materially altered by any corrections in
details that may be proposed or substantiated. Even of these
four, only the first two are exclusively Ethiopian, Pterocles and
Francolmus both being Palsearctic also. It is a question, indeed,
whether anywhere in the world an outlying sub-region can
be found, exhibiting less zoological affinity for the adjacent
regions ; and we have here a striking illustration of the necessity
of deciding all such cases, not by examples, which may be so
chosen as to support any view, but by carefully weighing and
contrastinfT the whole of the facts on which the solution of the
326 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.
problem admittedly depends. It ^vill, perhaps, be said that a
iiieat many of the 88 genera above given are very scarce and very
local ; but this is certai::ly not the case with the majority of them ;
and even where it is so, that does not in any degree affect their
value as indicating zoo-geographical affinities. It is the 'pre-
sence of a type in a region, not its abundance or scarcity, that is
the important fact ; and when we have to do, as we have here,
with many groups whose habits and mode of life necessarily
seclude them from observation, their supposed scarcity may not
even he a fact.
Eeptiles and Amphibia. — Reptiles entirely agree with ]\Iam-
malia and Birds in the main features of their distribution.
Out of 17 families of snakes inhabiting Hindostan, 16 range
over the greater part of the entire region, and only two can
be supposed to show any Ethiopian affinity. These are the
Psammophida3 and Erycidte, both desert-haunting groups, and
almost as much South Palffiarctic as African. The genus Tro-
pidococnjx is peculiar to the sub-region, and Aspidura, Passerita
and Cynophis to the peninsula and Ceylon ; while a large number
of the most characteristic genera, as Dip>sas, Simofes, Bungancs,
Naja, Trimeresurvs, Lycodon and Python, are characteristically
Oriental.
Of the six families of lizards all have a wide range The
gQ^QXii EiLineces, Pe7itadactylus, Gecko, JEuhlepharis, a.Tid Draco, are
characteristically or wholly Oriental ; Ophiops and Uromnstix
are Palsearctic ; while Chameleon is the solitary case of decided
Ethiopian affinity.
Of the Amphibia not a single family exhibits special Ethiopian
affinities.
// Si/b-rcgion of Ceylon and South-India.
The Island of Ceylon is characterised by such striking pecu-
liarities in its animal productions, as to render necessary its
separation from the peninsula of India as a sub-region ; but it
is found that most of these special features extend to the iSTeil-
gherries and the whole southern mountainous portion of India,
and that the two must be united in any zoo-geographical pro-
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 327
vince. Tiie main features of this division are, — the appearance
of nnmerons animals allied to forms only found again in the
Himalayas or in the Malayan sub-region, the possession of
several peculiar generic types, and an unusual number of
peculiar species.
Mammalia. — Among Mammalia the most remarkable form
is Loris, a genus of Lemurs altogether peculiar to the sub-
region ; several peculiar monkeys of the genus Freshytcs ; the
Malayan genus TiqMia ; and Plaiacantliomys, a peculiar genus
of Muridse.
Birds. — Among birds it has Ochromela, a peculiar genus of
flycatchers ; Phcenico'phaes (Cuculidge) and Drymocata'plius (Tima-
liidse), both Malayan forms ; a species of Myiophonus whose
nearest ally is in Java; TrocJialoineron, Bracliyiiteryx, Buceros
and Zoricvlns, which are only found elsewhere in the Himalayas
and Malayana. It also possesses about 80 peculiar species of
birds, including a large jungle fowl, one owl and two hornbills.
BejJtiles. — It is however by its Eeptiles, even niijre than by its
higher vertebrates, that this sub-region is clearly characterised.
Among snakes it possesses an entire family, Uropeltidse, consisting
of 5 j:enera and 18 species altogether confined to it, — BhinopMs
and Uro2Jeltis in Ceylon, Silyhura, Pledurus and 3[elanopMdimn
in Southern India. Four other genera of snakes, Haploccrcus,
Cercasins, Peltopelor, Qi\(\. JlyjJnale a.Ye also peculiar; Ghersydrus
is only found elsewhere in Malaya; ^^XvlIq Aspidura, Passerita,
and Cynophis, only extend to Hindostan ; species of Eryx, Echis,
and Psaminophis show an affinity with Ethiopian aiid Palpearctic
forms. Among lizards several genera of Agamidce are peculiar,
such as Otocryptis, Lyricoephalus, Cerafop)hora, Cophotis, Salca,
Sitana and Charasia. In the family Acontiadje, JVessia is
peculiar to Ceylon, while a species of the African genus Acontias
shows an affinity for the Ethiopian region.
Amphibia. — The genera of Amphibians that occur here are
generally of wide range, but Nannoplirys, HaplobatracJms,
and Cacopns are confined to the sub-region ; while Megalo-
plirys is IMalayan, and the species found in Ceylon also inlmbit
Java.
328 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [pakt hi.
Insects. — The insects of Ceylon also furnisli some curious
examples of its distinctness from Hindostan, and its affinity with
Malaya. Among its butterflies we find Pcqnlio jophon, closely
allied to P. antijjhus of Malaya. The remarkable genus Hcstia, so
characteristic of the Malay archipelago, only occurs elsewhere on
the mountains of Ceylon ; while its Cynthia and Farthenos are
closely allied to, if not identical with, Malayan species. Among
Coleoptera we have yet more striking examples. The highly cha-
racteristic Malayan genus Tricondyla is represented in Ceylon by
no less than 10 species ; and among Longicorns we find the genera
Tetraommatus, Thranius, Gacia, Praonetlia, Ropica, and Serixia,
all exclusively Malayan or only just entering the Indo-Chinese
peninsula, yet all represented in Ceylon, while not a single
species occurs in any part of India or the Himalayas.
The Past History of Ceylon and South-India as indieated hy its
Fauna. — In our account of the Ethiopian region we have already
had occasion to refer to an ancient connection between this sub-
region and Madagascar, in order to explain the distribution of
the Lemurine type, and some other curious affinities between the
two countries. This view is supported by the geology of India,
which shows us Ceylon and South India consisting mainly of
granitic and old metamorphic rocks, while the greater part of the
peninsula, forming our first sub-region, is of tertiary formation,
with a few isolated patches of secondary rocks. It is evident
therefore, that during much of the tertiary period, Ceylon and
South India were bounded on the north by a considerable extent
of sea, and probably formed part of an extensive southern con-
tinent or great island. The very numerous and remarkable cases
of affinity with Malaya, require however some closer approxima-
tion to these islands, which probably occurred at a later period.
When, still later, the great plains and table-lands of Hindostan
were formed, and a permanent land communication effected with
the rich and highly developed Ilimalo-Chinese fauna, a rapid im-
migration of new types took place, and many of the less specia-
lised forms of mammalia and birds (particularly those of ancient
Ethiopian type) became extinct. Among reptiles and insects the
competition was less severe, or the older forms were too well
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 329
adapted to local conditions to be expelled ; so that it is among
these groups alone that we find any considerable number, of what
are probably the remains of the ancient fauna of a now sub-
merged southern continent.
///. Himalayan or Indo-Chinese Sitb-region.
This, which is probably the richest of all the sub-regions, and
perhaps one of the richest of all tracts of equal extent on the
face of the globe, is essentially a forest-covered, mountainous
country, mostly within the tropics, but on its northern margin
extending some degrees beyond it, and rising in a continuous
mountain range till it meets and intercalates witli the Man-
churian sub-division of the Paltearctic region. The peculiar
mammalia, birds and insects of this sub-region begin to appear
at the very foot of the Himalayas, but Dr. Gunther has shown
that many of the reptiles characteristic of the plains of India
are found to a height of from 2,000 to 4,000 feet.
In Sikhim, which may be taken as a typical example of the
Himalayan portion of the sub-region, it seems to extend to an
altitude of little less than 10,000 feet, that being the limit of the
characteristic Timaliida? or babbling thrushes ; while the equally
characteristic Pycnonotidse, or bulbuls, and Treronidce, or thick-
billed fruit-pigeons, do not, according to Mr. Blanford, reach
quite so high. We may perhaps take 9,000 feet as a good
approximation over a large part of the Himalayan range ; but
it is evidently not possible to define the line with any great
precision. Westward, the sub-region extends in diminishing
breadth, till it terminates in or near Cashmere, where the fauna
of the plains of India almost meets that of the Pal?earctic
region, at a moderate elevation. Eastward, it reaches into East
Thibet and North-west China, where Pere David has found a
large number of the peculiar types of the Eastern Himalayas. A
fauna, in general features identical, extends over Burmah and
Siam to South China; mingling with the Palaearctic fauna in
the mountains south of the Yang-tse-kiang river, and with
that of Indo-Malaya in Tenasserim, and to a lesser extent in
Southern Siam and Cochin China.
330 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [pakt in.
Zoological Characteristics of the Himalayan Siib-region. —
Taking this sub-region as a whole, we find it to be charac-
terised by 3 genera of mammalia (without counting bats), and
44 genera of land-birds, which are altogether peculiar to it ;
and by 13 genera of mammalia and 36 of birds, which it
possesses in common with the Malayan sub-region ; and
besides these it has almost all the genera before enumerated
as " Oriental," and several others of wide range, more especially
a number of Palsearctic genera \A'hicb appear in the higher
Himalayas. The names of the more characteristic genera are
as follows : —
Peculiar Himalo-Chinese Genera.
Mammalia. — Urva, Arctonyx, ^lurus.
Birds. — Suya, Sorites, Channarrhornis, Tarsiger, Oreicola,
Acantho2)tila, Gramniatoptila, TrochaloiJteron, Actinodurct, Sihia,
Suthorcc, Paracloxornis, Chlenasicus, Tesia, Rimator, JEgitlialiicus,
Ceplialopyrus, Liothrix, Siva, MinJa, Proparus, Gutia, Yuhina,
Txulus, Myzornis, Erpornis, Hemixus, Chibia, Niltava, Anthipes,
ChelidorJiynx, Urocissa, Pachyglossa, Hcterura, Hcematospiza,
Ampeliceps, Saroglossa, Psarisomus, Scriloplius, Vivia, Hyopiciis,
Gicimdus, Aceros, Ceriornis.
Genera common to the Himalo-Chinese and Malayan
Sub-regions.
Mammalia. — IJylohates, Nycticchus, Viverricida, Prionodon,
Arctitis, 'Pctguma, Arctogale, Cuon, Gymn.opus, Aonyx, Helictis,
Rhinoceros, Nemorliedus, Rhizomys.
Birds. — Oreocincla, Notodela, Jctntliocincla, Tinudia, Stachyris^
Mixornis, Trichastoma, Enicurus, Pncepyga, Melanochlora, Allo-
trius, Microscelis, lole, Ancdcipus, Cochoa, Bhringa, Xardliopygia
Hylocharis, Cissa, Temnurus, Crypsirhina, Chalcostctha, An-
threptes, Chalcoparia, Cymhirhynchus, Hydrornis, Sasia, Venilia,
Indicator, Carcineutes, Lyncornis, Macropygia, Argusianus Poly-
plcctron, Euplocamiis, PJwdilus.
Plcde VII. Scene in Nepal, with Characteristic Himalayan
Animals. — Our illustrp.tion contains figures of two mammals
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 331
and two birds, characteristic of the higher woody region of the
Himahiyas. The lower figure on the left is the Helictis nepahnsis,
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 {u3^lurus fulge7is), 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 {Geriornis satyra), one of the fine Himalayan pheasants,
magnificently spotted with red and white, and ornamented with
fieshy erectile v/attles and horns, of vivid blue and red colours.
The bird in the foreground is the IhidorlujncJuis 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 : — Typhline, Cylindrophis, Xenopeltis, Galamaria, Xenela-
phis, HypsirJiina, Fordonia, several small genera of Homalop-
sidse {Herpeton and Hipistes being characteristic of Burmah and
Siam) Psammodynastcs, Gonyosoma, Ghrysopelea, Tragops, Dipsas,
J'areas, FytJion, Buvgarus, Raja, Gallophis, and Trimeresiirus.
Kaja reaches 8,000 feet elevation in the Himalayas, Trojndonotus
9,000 feet, AUabes 10,000 feet, and Siinotes 15,000 feet.
Of lizards, Pseudop)us has one species in the Khasya hills
while the other inhabits South-east Europe ; and there are two
small genera of Agamidse peculiar to the Himalayas, while
Draco and Gcilotes have a wide range and AcantJiosaurcl, Dilo-
phyrus, Physignathns, and Liolepis are found chiefly in the
Indo-Chinese peninsula. There are several genera of Scincidae;
and the extensive genus of wall-lizards, Gccl'o, ranges over the
whole region.
Of Amphibia, the peculiar forms are not numerous. Icthyopsis
332 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part uj.
a genus of Ceciliadee, is peculiar to tlie Kliasya Hills ; Tylo-
tritron (Salamandridse) to Yunan in Western China, and perhaps
belongs to the Palsearctic region.
Of the tail-less Batrachians, Glyphoglossus is found in Pegu ;
Xeno;phys in the Eastern Himalayas; while Gallula, Ixalus,
llhacopliorus, Hylurdna, Oxyglossus, and Phrynoglossus, are com-
mon to the Himalo-Chinese and Malayan sub-regions.
Of the lizards, Colotes, Barycephalus, and Himclia, — 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-regious, 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 Geogi^a-
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 RhapMvera, genera of Satyridee ;
Enispe (Morphidse) ; Ilestina, Penthema, and Ahrota (Nympha-
lidse) ; Dodona (Erycinidse) ; Her da (Lycsenidae) ; Calinaga, Teino-
palpus, and Bhutanitis (Papilionidoe). Its more prominent fea-
tures are, however, derived from what may be termed Malayan,
or even Old World types, such as Ewplma, among Danaidce ;
Amathusia, Chrome, and. Thaumantis, among Morphidse ; Euripus,
Diadema, Athyma, Limenitis, and Adolias, among ISTymphalidse,
Zemeros and Taxila among Erycinidse; Amtlypodia, Miletus,
llerda, and Myrina, among Lycsenidse ; Thyca, Frioneris, Dercas,
Iphias, and Thestias among Pieridse ; and Papilios of the
" Amphrisms," " Coon" " Philoxenus" " Protenor" " Paris" and
" Sarpiedon " groups. In the Himalayas there is an unusual
abundance of large and gorgeous species of the genus Papilio,
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 3.^3
and of large and showy Nymphalidse, Morphidae, and Danaidre,
whicli 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 Cc-
toniidse, chiefly of the genus Bhomborhima ; a magnificent Lamel-
licorn, Etichirus macleayii, allied to the gigantic long-armed
beetle {E. lovgimanus) of Amboyna ; superb moths of the
families Agaristidee and Sesiidpe ; elegant and remarkable Ful-
goridse, and strange forms of the gigantic Phasmidee ; most of
which appear to be of larger size or of more brilliant colours
than their Malayan allies.
Islands of the Indo-Chhiese Suh-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. Eeptiles 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 fislies, closely
resembling those of Burmah. The absence of such mammalia
as monkeys and squirrels, which abound on the mainliand, 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. [pa it r i it.
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 foims. 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, Sciuropterus, Pteromys, Mus, Sits,
Cervtts, 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-Malay an. Mr. Swinhoe also ob-
tained 24 species of mammalia, all being Chinese, Himalayan,
or IndorMalayan 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, cr- 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
CHAr. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 335
not superior, in the variety and beauty of its productions, to that
whicli 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
Palsearctic 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 crested
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 Isvel
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.
It is not necessary to suppose, nor is it probable, that all these
33G ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [paut iir.
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 w^e 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. ]f
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 PalEearctic forms of wide
rangCc Of this latter class the Malay islands have compara-
tively few, but they possess no less than 14 peculiar genera, viz-
Simia, Siamanga, Tarslus, Gahopithecics, Hylomys, Ptilocerus,
Gymnura, Cynogale, Hemigalea, Ardogale, Barangia, Mydaus,
Helardos, and Tapiriis. 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.
Flate VIII. Scene in Borneo ivifh 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 {Tragulns javanicus). These are delicate little
PLATE VII r.
A FOREST IN BORNEO, WITH CHARACTERISTIC MAMMALIA.
CHAP, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. ?,?,7
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 lowii), 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 {Galceopithecus 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 {Twpirus 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 closelj' 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 650 species of laud-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 ludo-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: — Timalia, Mala-
copteron, Macronus, Napotlura, Tiirdinus, and Trichixos — genera
z
338 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part. in.
of Timaliidse ; Uupetes, a most remarkable form, perlia,ps allied
to EnicuTus, and Cinclus ; Bhabclornis (Certhiidse) found only in
tlie Philippines; Psaltria, a diminutive bird of doubtful aftiiiities,
provisionally classed among the tits (Paridse) ; ^e^ar7Us(Pycnono-
tidpe) ; Laloge (Campephagidas) extending eastward to the Pacific
Islands ; Pycnosplirys, Philentoma (Muscicapidse) ; Laniellus,
a beautiful bird doubtfully classed with the shrikes (Laniidae);
Platyloplms and Pityriasis, the latter a most anomalous form —
perhaps a distinct family, at present classed with the jays, in
Corvidse ; Prionodiilus, a curious form classed with Dicseidse ;
Erythrura (Ploceidfe), extending eastwards to the Fiji Islands ;
Gymno2JS, Calornis, (Sturnidse) ; Eurylcemus, Corydon, and Calyp-
tomena (Eurylsemidae) ; Eucichla, the longest tailed and most
elegantly marked of the Pittidse ; Beinwardtipicus and Miglyptes
(Picidoe) ; Psilopogon and Calorhmnphus, (Megalcemidse) ; Ehino-
coccyx, BasylopMis, Lepidogrammus, Cdrpococcyx, Zandostomus,
Poliococcyx, Bhinortlm, (Cuculidee) ; Eerenicornis, Caldo, Granor-
Tiinus, Penclopides, BMnoplax, (Bucerotidas) ; Psittinus, (Psitta-
cidse) ; Ptiloptis, Phclpitreron, (Columbidse) ; Eollulus, (Trero-
nid?e) ; MachcerhampJius, (Falconidse). 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 Timaliidse and Pycnonotidse stand pre-eminent; the
former represented chiefly by the genera Timalia, Malacopteron,
Macronus, and Tridiastoma, the latter by Criniger, Microscelis,
and many forms of Pycnonotus. The Muscicapidse, Dicruridse,
Campephagidse, Ploceidse, and Nectariniidse are also well
developed ; as well as the Pittidse, and the Eurylsemidse, the
limited number of species of the latter being compensated by
a tolerable abundance of individuals. Among the Picarise are
many conspicuous groups ; as, woodpeckers (Picidse) ; barbets
(Megalsemidse) ; trogons (Trogonidse) ; kingfishers (Alcedinidse) ;
and hornbills (Bucerotidse) ; five families which are perhaps the
most conspicuous in the whole fauna. Lastly come the pigeons
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 339
(Columbidae), and the pheasants (Phasianidse), which are fairly
represented by such fine genera as Treron, Ptilopus, Uujjlocamus,
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 {lUiipidura); the green fruit-
doves (Ptilofnis) ; 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 Maclimi^hamphiLS, a genus of hawks, and Bcrenicornis,
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 ISTeotropical Rffinity, indicated by Garpococcyx, a large
Bornean ground-ciickoo, whoS3 nearest ally is the genus Neo-
morphus of South America; and b}^ the lovely green- coloured
Calyptomena which seems unmistakably allied to the orange-
coloured Bupicola, 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 peeuliar 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 Ehinoceros 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 gigantens) 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
z 2
•540 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [pap.t hi.
developed for display (as shown in our figure) tliat they
become almost, if not quite, useless for tlieir original purpose of
flio-lit ; yet tlie 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- {Edolius 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 {Cory don sumatraniis), 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
{Hylolatcs lar) swings and gambols among the topmost branches
of the forest.
Bejytiles and A^nphiUa. — 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 FJiahdosoma, TyjDhlocalamus, Tetragono-
soma, Acrockordus, and Atrojoos, are the most peculiar, and there
are several peculiar genera of Homalopsidse. Of Oriental genera,
Cylindrophis, XenopeUes, Calamaria, Hypdrhina, Psammody-
ouistcs, Gonyosoma, Tragops, Dipsas, Pareas, Python, Piingarus,
Naja, and Callophis are abundant; as wxll as Simotes, Ablates,
Tropidonotus, and Dcndrophis, which are widely distributed.
Among lizards Hydrosaurus and Oecho are common; there are
many isolated groups of Scincidse; while Draco, Calotes, and
many forms of Agamidte, some of which are peculiar, abound.
Among the Amphibia, toads and frogs of the genera Micrhyla,
PLATE IX.
A MALAYAN FOREST, WITH ITS CHARACTERISTIC BIRDS.
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 341
Kalopliryiius, Ansonia, and Pseuchhufo, ave peculiar : while the
Oriental Megcdophrys, Ixalus, Rhacopliorus, and IJijlorana 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 fhc
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 ScienidcB and Symbranchidas have mostly a wide
range in the tropics. Ophiocephalidje are exclusively Oriental,
reaching Borneo and the Philippine islands. The ]\rastacem-
belidae are also Oriental, but one species is found as far as Ceran\
Of the IsTandidcB, 3 genera range over the wdiole region. The
Labyrinthici extend from Africa through the Oriental region to
Amboyna. The single species constituting the family Lucio-
cephalidse is confined to Borneo and the small islands of Bilitoii
and Banca. Of the extensive family Siluridas 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 Cyprinidffi offer an equally striking example, 23
genera ranging eastward to Java and Borneo and not one
beyond; 14 of these being exclusively Mala3^an. 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 jMoluccas, 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. — Eew countries in the world can present a richer and
more varied series of insects than the Indo-J\Ialay islands, and
we can only here notice a few of their more striking peculiarities
and more salient features.
342 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
Tlie butterflies of this sub-region, according to the best esti-
mate that can be formed, amount to about 650 described species,
a nuniber tliat will yet, no doubt, be very considerably increased.
The genera which appear to be peculiar to it are EriUs (Saty-
ridffi) ; Zeuxidia (Morphidaj) ; Amnosia, XantliotcBnia, and
TcmcGcm (Nymphalidte). 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 ^'-zep/cea ; the large semi-transparent Hestia; the plain-
coloured Mycalesis, which replace our meadow-brown butterflies
{HilDparcliia) ; the curious Elymnias, which often closely resemble
Euplasas ; the large and handsome T/uimantis and Zeuxidia,
which take the place of the giant Morphos of South America ;
the CetJiosia, of the brightest red, and marked with a curious
zigzag pattern ; the velvety and blue-glossed Terinos ; the jDale
and delicately-streaked Cyrcstis ; the thick-bodied and boldly
coloured Adolias ; the small wine-coloured Taxila ; the fine blue
AmUypodia ; the beautiful Thyca, 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 Iphias. The genus Pcvpilio
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 Euplffias 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 " pjolydorus" group; the " meimion" group, of the
largest size and richly-varied colours ; and the " eurypilus "
group, elegantly banded or spotted with blue or grec^n : 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 the}'' 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, xn.] THE OEIENTAL 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 Ehyncophora. At
Sarawak in Borneo I obtained 400 species in 15 days, and
600 in a 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 mouth, I obtained only 235 species of
Coleoptera, and about COO 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 100 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 Cicindelidse the most peculiarly Malayan form is Therates,
found always on leaves in the forests in tlie same localities as
the more widely spread Collyris. Five genera of this family are
In do-Malayan.
The Carabidte, though sufficiently plentiful, are mostly of small
size, and not conspicuous in any way. But there is one striking-
exception in the j)urely Malayan genus Mormolyce, the largest
and most remarkable of the whole family. It is nocturnal,
resting during the days on the under side of lai'ge huleti in the
virgin forest. Pericallus and Catascopus are among the few
genera which are at all brillantly coloured.
Buprestidffi are abundant, and very gay ; the genus Bdionoia
being perhaps one of the most conspicuous and characteristic.
The giant Catoxantha is, however, the most peculiar, thongh
comparatively scarce. Chrysochroa and Chalcopliora are also
Ui ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [paut hi.
alniiidant and characteristic. Out of the 41 Oriental genera 21
are Malayan, and 10 of these are not found in the other sub-
regions.
In Lucanidte the Malay islands are rich, 14 out of the 16
Oriental genera occurring there, and 3 being peculiar. There
are many fine species of Odontolccbris, which may be considered
the characteristic genus of the sub-region.
The Cetoniidae are well represented by 16 genera and about 120
species. The genera Myderistes, Phmdimus, Plectrone, Euremina,
JRhagopteryx and Centrognathus are peculiar, while Agestrata,
Ghcdcothea, 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 Cerambycidse being much the most numerous.
Uuryarthrtmn, Ccelosternct, 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 Tndo-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
Helicidse inhabit the sub-region ; Pfeifferia is found in the
Philippines and INIoluccas, while the large genus Coclilodyla is
almost peculiar to the Philippines. Of the Operculata there are
representatives of 20 genera, of which Permatoma and Ptipi-
nella are peculiar, while Registoma and Gallia extend to the
Australian region. Ci/clophorns, Leptojwma, 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
Suh -region.
Although we liave grouped the Philippine islands with the
Indo-Malay snb-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.
Ma7nmals of the Philippine Islands. — The only mammalia re-
corded as inhabiting the Philippine Islands are the following : —
QuADRTiMANA. 1. Macacus cynomolgiis.
2. Cyiiopithecus niger. Dr. Semper doubts this being
a Philippine species.
Lemuroidea. 3. Tarsins spectrum.
Insectivora. 4. Galeopithecus philippinensis.
5. Tupaia (species). On Dr. Seniper's authority,
Carnivora. 6. Viverra ttingalunga.
7. Paradoxurus philippensis.
Ungulata. 8. Sus (species). On Dr. Semper's authority,
9. Cervus mariannus.
10. Cervus philippensis.
11. Cervus alfredi.
12. Bos (species). Wild cattle ; perhaps intro-
duced.
RoDENTiA, 13. Phlfeomys cumniingii, ^
14. Scuirus philippinensis.
Also 24 species, belonging to 17 genera, of bats.
^ 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 nnist be remembered M'hen consulting the tables of dis-
tribution at the end of this chapter.
346 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
The foregoing list, altliougii small, contains an assemblage of
species which are wholly Oriental in character, and several of
which (Tarsius, Galeopithecus, Txhixda) 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 Semnointhecus, Hylobates, Felis, Helardos, 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, Galeoijithecus, and squirrel, in which the species are distinct
from any others ; and a more recent series, 'represented by
Macacus cynoinolgus, and Viverra tangalitnga, 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.
Birds of the Phili232^ine 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. xiL] THE OKIENTAL REGION, 347
of all these are fouud in the Philippiues except four, viz., Cin-
clidse, Phyllornithidse, Euiylgemidse, and Podargidas. The only
Philippine families which are, otherwise, exclusively Austro-
Malayan are, Cacatuidte and Megapodiidee. 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, — Eurylmmus, Nyctiornis, Arachnothera , Geocichla,
Malacopteron, Timalia, Pomatorhinus, Phyllornis, lora, Criniger,
EnicuTUS, Cluvptia, Tchitrea, Dendrocitta, Euktbes, Paloiornis,
Miglyptes, Tirja, 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, Xantholcema
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 in.
or mainly Oriental, and most of tliem are genera wliich range
widely over the region, only two {Philentoma and Rolhdus) being
exclusively Malayan, and two others [Megalurus and Malacocircus)
more especially Indian or continental. Five other genera, though
having a wide range, are typically Palasarctic, and have reached
the islands through North China. Tliey are, Monticola, Acro-
ccphalus, 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 Molnccan forms ; such as — Campephaga,
Alcyone, Cacatua, Tanygnathus, Ptilojms, Janthcenas, Phlogcenas,
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
LoricidiLS, 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 Flores. There remain
six peculiar genera — Rluibclornis, an isolated form of creepers
(Certhiidse) : Gymnops, a remarkable bareheaded bird belonging
to the starlings (Sturnida3) ; Dasyloplius, and Zepidogrammus,
remarkable genera of cuckoos (Cuculidpe) ; Penclopides, a peculiar
hornbill, and Phapitreron, a genus of pigeons. Besides these there
are four other types (here classed as sub-genera, but considered
to be distinct by Lord Walden) which are peculiar to the Philip-
pines. These are Pseudoptynx, an owl of the genus Athene ;
Pseudolalage, a sub-genus of Lalage ; Zeoeeplius, a sub-genus of
Teliitrea ; and Ptilocolpa, included under Carpopliaga.
When we look at the position of the Philippine group, con-
nected by the Eashee 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 difiiculty in
accounting for the peculiarities of its bird fauna. The absence
of a large number of Malayan gronps 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.l THE ORIENTAL REGION. 349
once existed for immigration from Southern China, perhaps by
a land connection through Formosa, at whicli 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 mammalian 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 ]\Ialay
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 in.
localities and wliicli must therefore be held to be typical Ma-
layan groups, the following are absent from Java : Viveri^a,
Gymnopus, Lutra, Helardos, I'apirus, ElepJias, and Gymnura ;
while of those known to occur in two, and wdiich, owing to our
imperfect knowledge, may very probably one day be discovered in
the third, the following are equally wanting : Simia, Siamanga,
Hemigalea, Paguma, Rhinosciurus, 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 roa,ds traverse it in every direction, and ex-
perienced naturalists have been resident in 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 iind new species of mammalia
in Central Europe as in Java ; and therefore the absence of
such anim.als 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 wdiich are found in the three other divisions,
and only 3 which are found in two others. A fact to be noted
also is, that the only genus found in Java but not in other parts
of the sub-region {Helidis) occurs again in North India; and
that some Javan species, as RJiinoceros javanicus, and Lepiis kur-
gosa occur again in the Indo-Chinese sub-region, but not in the
Malayan.
Among the birds we meet with facts of a similar import ;
and though the absence of certain types from Java is not quite
so certain as among the mammalia, this is more than balanced
by the increased number of such deficiencies, so that if a few
CHAP. XII.] THE OKIENTAL REGION. 351
shoujcl be proved to be erroneous, the main result will remain
unaltered.
Java possesses about 270 species of land birds, of wliicli about
40 are peculiar to it. There are, however, very few peculiar
genera, Zaniellus, a beautiful spotted shrike, being the most
distinct, while CocJioa and Psaltria are perhaps not different from
their Indian allies. The island has however a marked indivi-
duality in two ways — in the absence of characteristic Malayan
types, and in the presence of a number of forms not yet found
in any of the other Malay islands, but having their nearest allies
in various parts of the Indo-Chinese sub-region. The following
16 genera are all found in Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo,
but are absent from Java : Setornis, Teonnwms, Dendrocitta,
Corydon, Calyytomena, Venilia, Beinwardtipicus, Caloramphus,
Bliinoi'tlia, Nydiornis, Cranorliinus, Psittinus, Polyphdron, Ar-
gusianus, PJuplocamus, and Rollulus. The following 9 are known
from tioo of the above localities, and will very probably be
found in the third, but are absent from, and not likely to
occur in, Java : Tricliixos, Eupetes, Melanochlora, Chaptia, Pity-
riasis, Lyncornis, Garpococcyx, Poliococcyx, and B,hinop)lax. We
have thus 25 typically Malayan genera which are not known
to occur in Java.
The following genera, on the other hand, do not occur in any
of the Malayan sub-divisions except Java, and they all occur
again, or under closely allied forms, in the Indo-Chinese sub-
region : Brachypteryx (allied species in Himalayas) ; Zoothera
allied species in Aracan) ; Notodela (allied species in Pegu) ;
Pnoepyga (allied species in Himalayas) ; Allotrius (allied species
in the Himalayas) ; Coclioa (allied species in the Himalayas) ;
Crypsirhina (allied species in Burmah) ; Estrilda (allied species
in India) ; Psaltria (allied genus — jEgitlialiscus—in Himalayas) ;
Pavo muticus and Harpactes oreskios (same species in Siam
and Burmah) ; Cecrojns striolata (same species in Java and
Formosa, and allied species in India).
Here we have 12 instances of very remarkable distribution,
and considering that there are nearly as many birds known from
Sumatra and Borneo as from Java, and considerably more from
352 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
the Malay peninsula, it is not likely that many of these well
marked forms will be discovered in these countries.
There are also a considerable number of species of birds
common to Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo, but represented in
Java by distinct though closely allied species. Such are, — •
Venilia malaccensis (represented in Java by) V. miniata.
JJrymocataphus nigrocafitatus „ „ D. capistratus,
Malacopteron coronatum „ „ M. rufifrons.
Irena cyanea „ „ I. turcosa.
Ploceus baya „ „ P. hypoxantha.
Loriculus galgulus „ „ L. pusillus.
Ftilopus jambu , „ „ P. poiphyreus.
Now if w^e look at our map of the region, and consider the
position of Java with regard to Borneo, Sumatra, and the Indo-
Chinese peninsula, the facts just pointed out appear most
anomalous and perplexing. First, we have Java and Sumatra
forming ona continuous line of volcanoes, separated by a very
narrow strait, and with all the appearance of having formed one
continuous land ; yet their productions differ considerably, and
those of Sumatra show the closest resemblance to those of
Borneo, an island ten times further off than Java and differing
widely in the absence of volcanoes or any continuous range of
lofty mountains. Then again, not only does Java differ from
these two, but it agrees with a country beyond them both —
a country from which they seem to have a much better chance
to have been supplied by immigration than Java has, and to
have (almost necessarily) participated, even more largely, in the
benefits of any means of transmission capable of reaching the
latter island. Yet more; whatever changes have occurred to
bring about the anomalous state of things that exists must have
been, zoologically and geologically, recent ; for the strange cross-
affinities between Java and the Indo-Chinese continent (in
which Sumatra and Borneo have not participated), as well as
that between Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo (in which Java has
not participated) are exhibited, in many cases by community of
species, in others by the presence of very closely allied forms
of the same genera, of mammalia and birds. Now we know that
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL IlEGION. 353
tliese Ir'gher animals become replaced by allied species much
more rapidly than the moUusca; and it is also pretty certain
Ihat the modification by which this replacement is effected
takes place more rapidly when the two sets of individuals are
isolated from each other, and especially when they are restricted
to islands, where they are necessarily subject to distinct and
pretty constant conditions, both physical and organic. It
becomes therefore almost a certainty, that Siam and Java on
the one hand, and Sumatra, Borneo, and Malacca on the other
must have been brought into some close connexion, not earlier "
than the newer Pliocene period ; but while the one set of
countries were having their meeting, the other must have been
by some means got out of the way. Before attempting to
indicate the mode by which this might have been effected in
accordance with what we know of the physical geography,
geology, and vegetation of the several islands, it will be as well
to complete our sketch of their zoological relations to each
other, so as ascertain with some precision, what are the facts
of distribution which we have to explain.
Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo. — After having set apart the
Philippine Islands and Java, we have remaining two great
islands and a peninsula, which, though separated by con-
siderable arms of the sea, possess a fauna of wonderful uni-
formity having all the typical Malayan features in their full
development. Their unity is indeed so complete, that we can
find hardly any groups of sufficient importance by which to
differentiate them from each other ; and we feel no confidence
that future discoveries may not take away what speciality they
possess. One after another, species or genera once pecuhar to
Borneo or Sumatra have been found elsewhere; and this has
gone to such an extent in birds, that hardly a peculiar genus
and very few peculiar species are left in either island. Borneo
however is undoubtedly the most peculiar. It possesses three
genera of Mammalia not found elsewhere : Cynogale, a curious
carnivore allied to the otters ; with DendrogaU and Ftilocerus,
small insectivora allied to Tupaia. It has Simia, the Orang-
A A
354 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [pakt hi.
utan, and Pagunia, one of the Viverridse, in common with
Sumatra ; as well as Bhinosciurus, a peculiar form of squirrel, and
HemigaUa, one of the Viverridse, in common with Malacca.
Sumatra has only one genus not found in any other Malayan
district — JS^emorhediis, a form of antelope which occurs again
in North India. It also has Siamanga in common with Malacca,
Mydaus with Java, and Bhizomys with India. The Malay Penin-
sula seems to have no peculiar forms of Mammalia, though
it is rich in all the characteristic Malay types.
The bats of the various islands have been very unequally
collected, 36 species being recorded from Java, 23 from Sumatra,
but only 16 each from Borneo and Malacca. Leaving these out
of consideration, and taking into account the terrestrial mam-
mals only, we find that Java is the poorest in species, while
Borneo, Sumatra, and Malacca are tolerably equal ; the numbers
being 55, 62, &Q, and 65 respectively. Of these we find that
■ the species confined to each island or district are (in the same
order) 6, 16, 5, and 6. It thus appears that Borneo is, in its
mammalia, the most isolated and peculiar ; next comes Sumatra,
and then Malacca and Java, as shown by the following table.
Peculiar
Species.
16
5
6
6
This result differs from that which we have arrived at by the
more detailed consideration of the fauna of Java; and it serves
to show that the estimate of a country by the number of its
peculiar genera and species alone, may not always represent its
true zoological importance or its most marked features. Java,
as we have seen, is differentiated from the other three districts
by the absence of numerous types common to them all, and by
its independent continental relations. Borneo is also well dis-
tinguished by its peculiar genera and specific types, yet it is at
the same time more closely related to Sumatra and Malacca
than is Java. The two islands have evidently had a very
different history, which a detailed knowledge of their geology
Peculiar
Geuera.
Borneo ...
4
Sumatra
1
Malacca
0
Java
0
OHAP. 511.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 355
would alone enable us to trace. Should Vv'e ever arrive at a .
fair knowledge of the physical changes that have resulted in
the present condition, we shall almost certainly find that many
of the differences and anomalies of their existing fauna and
iiora will be accounted for.
In Birds we hardly find anything to differentiate Borneo and
Sumatra in any clear manner. Pityriasis and Caiyococcyx, once
thought peculiar to the former, are now found also in the latter ;
and we have not a single genus left to characterize Borneo except
Schvjaneria a peculiar fly-catcher, and Indicator, an i\frican and
Indian group not known to occur elsewhere in the Malay
sub-region. Sumatra as yet alone possesses Psilo'pogon, a remark-
able form of barbet, but we may well expect that it will be soon
found in the interior of Borneo or Malacca ; it also has Bcreni-
cor7iis, an African form of hornbill. The Malay Peninsula
appears to have no genus peculiar to it, but it possesses
some Chinese and Indian forms which do not pass into the
islands. As to the species, our knowledge of them is at present
very imperfect. The Malay Peninsula is perhaps the best
known, but it is probable that both Sumatra and Borneo are
quite as rich in species. With the exception of the genera
looted above, and two or three others as yet found in two islands
only, the three districts we are now considering may be said to
have an almost identical bird-fauna, consisting largely of the
same species and almost wholly of these together with closely
allied species of the same genera. There are no well-marked
groups which especially characterise one of these islands rather
than the other, so that even the amount of speciality which
Borneo undoubtedly exhibits as regards mammalia, is only
faintly shown by its birds. The Pittidse may perhaps be named
as the most characteristic Bornean group, that island possessing
six species, three of Avhich are peculiar to it and are among the
most beautiful birds of an unusually beautiful family. Yet Suma-
tra possesses two peculiar, and hardly less remarkable species.
In other classes of vertebrates, in insects, and in land-shells,
our knowledge is far too imperfect to allow of our making any
useful comparison between the faunas.
A A 2
356 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [pakt hi.
Banca. — We must, however note the fact of peculiar species
occurring in Banca, a small island close to Sumatra, and thus
offering another problem in distribution. A squirrel (Sciurus
hangkanus) is allied to three species found in Malacca, Sumatra,
and Borneo respectively, but quite as distinct from them all as
they are from each other. More curious are the two S23ecies of
Pitta peculiar to Banca ; one, Pitta megarhynclius, is allied to
the P. hrachyurus, which inhabits the whole sub-region and ex-
tends to Siam and China, but differs from it in its very large bill
and differently coloured head ; the other, P. hangkanus, is allied
to P. cucullat'us, which extends from Nepal to Malacca, and to
P. sordidus, which inhabits both Borneo and Sumatra as well as
the Philippines.
We have here, on a small scale, a somewhat similar problem
to that of Java, and as this is comparatively easy of solution we
will consider it Mrst. Although, on the map, Banca is so very
close to Sumatra, the observer on the spot at once sees that the
proximity has been recently brought about. The whole south-
east coast of Sumatra is a great alluvial plain, hardly yet raised
above the sea level, and half flooded in the wet season. It is
plainly a recent formation, caused by the washing down into a
shallow sea of the dehris from the grand range of volcanic
mountains 150 miles distant. Banca, on the other hand is,
though low, a rugged and hilly island, formed almost wholly of
ancient rocks of apparently volcanic origin, and closely resem-
bling parts of the Malay Peninsula and the intervening chain of
small islands. There is every appearance that Banca once
formed the extremity of the Peninsula, at which time it would
probably have been separated from Sumatra by 50 or 100 miles
of sea. Its productions should, therefore, most resemble those of
Singapore and Malacca, and the few pecuhar species it possesses
will be due to their isolation in a. small tract of country, sur-
rounded by a limited number of animal and vegetable forms, and
subject to the influence of a peculiar soil and climate. The
parent species existing in such large tracts as Borneo or Suma-
tra, subjected to more varied conditions of soil, climate,
vegetation, food, and enemies, would preserve, almost or quite
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL EEGION. 357
unchanged, the characteristics which had been developed under
nearly identical conditions when the great island formed part
of the continent. Geology teaches us that similar changes in
the forms of the higher vertebrates have taken place during the
Post-Tertiary epoch ; and there are other reasons for believing
that, under such conditions of isolation as in Banca, tho
change may have required but a very moderate period, even
reckoned in years. We will now return to the more difficult
problem presented by the peculiar continental relations of Java,
as already detailed.
PrdbcMe Recent Geographical Chawies in the Indo-Malay
Islands. — Although Borneo is by far the largest of the Indo-
Malay islands, yet its physical conformation is such that, were
a depression to occur of one or two thousand feet, it would be
reduced to a smaller continuous area than either Sumatra or
Java. Except in its northern portion it possesses no lofty
mountains, while alluvial valleys of great extent penetrate far
into its interior. A very moderate depression, of perhaps 500
feet, would convert it into an island shaped something like Cele-
bes ; and its mountains are of so small an average elevation, and
consist so much of isolated hills and detached ranges, that a
depression of 2,000 feet would almost certainly break it up into
a group of small islands, with a somew^hat larger one to the
north. Sumatra (and to a less extent Java) consists of an almost
continuous range of lofty mountains, connected by plateaus from
3,000 to 4,000 feet high ; so that although a depression of 2,000
feet would greatly diminish their size, it would probably leave
the former a single island, while the latter would be separated
into two principal islands of still considerable extent. The en-
ormous amount of volcanic action in these two islands, and the
great number of conical mountains which must have been slowly
raised, chiefly by ejected matter, to the height of 10,000 and
12,000 feet, and whose shape indicates that they have been for-
med above water, renders it almost certain that for long periods
they have not undergone submersion to any considerable extent.
In Borneo, hoAvever, we have no such evidences. No volcano,
358 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part iii.
active or extinct, is known in its entire area ; while extensive
"beds of coal of tertiary age, in every part of it, prove that it has
been subject to repeated submersions, at no distant date geolo-
gically. An indication, if not a proof, of still more recent sub-
mersion is to be found in the great alluvial valleys which on
the south and south-west extend fully 200 miles inland, while
they are to a less degree a characteristic feature all round the
island. These swampy plains have been formed by the combined
action of rivers and tides ; and they point clearly to an immedi-
ately preceding state of things, when that which is even now
barely raised above the ocean, was more or less sunk below it.
These various indications enable us to claim, as an admissible
and even probable supposition, that at some epoch during the
Pliocene period of geology, Borneo, as we now know it, did not
exist ; but was represented by a mountainous island at its present
northern extremity, with perhaps a few smaller islets to the
south. We thus have a clear opening from Java to the Siamese
Peninsula ; and as the whole of that sea is less than 100 fathoms
deep, there is no difficulty in supposing an elevation of land
connecting the two together, quite independent of Borneo on the .
one hand and Sumatra on the other. This union did not prob-
ably last long ; but it was sufficient to allow of the introduction
into Java of the Rhinoceros javanicus, and that group of Indo-
Chinese and Himalayan species of mammalia and birds which
it alone possesses. "When this ridge had disappeared by sub-
sidence, the next elevation occurred a little more to the east,
and produced the union of many islets which, aided by sub-
aerial denudation, formed the present island of Borneo. It is
probable that this elevation was sufficiently extensive to unite
Borneo for a time with the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, thus
helping to produce that close resemblance of genera and even of
species, which these countries exhibit, and obliterating much
of their former speciality, of which, however, we have still
some traces in the long-nosed monkey and Ftilocerus of
Borneo, and the considerable number of genera both of mam-
malia and birds confined to two only out of the three divisions
of typical Malaya. The subsidence which again divided these
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 359
countries by arms of the sea rather wider -than at present,
might have left Banca isolated, as already referred to, with its
proportion of the common fauna to be, in a few instances
subsequently modified.
Thus we are enabled to understand how the special relations
of the species of these islands to each other may have been
brought about. To account for their more deep-seated and
general zoological features, we must go farther back.
Probable Origin of the Malayan Fauna. — The typical Malayan
fauna is essentially an equatorial one, and must have been
elaborated in an extensive equatorial area. This ancient land
almost certainly extended northward over the shallow sea as far
as the island of Palawan, the Paracels shoals and even Hainan.
To the east, it may at one time have included the Philippines
and Celebes, but not the Moluccas. To the south it was limited
by the deep sea beyond Java. It included all Sumatra and the
Nicobar islands, and there is every reason to believe that it
stretched out also to the west so as to include the central peak
of Ceylon, the Maldive isles, and the Cocos islands west of
Sumatra. We should then have an area as extensive as South
America to 15° south latitude, and well calculated to develop
that luxuriant fauna and flora which has since spread to the
Himalayas. The submergence of the western half of this area
(leaving only a fragment in Ceylon) would greatly diminish the
number of animals and perhaps extinguish some peculiar types ;
but the remaining portion would still form a compact and exten-
sive district, twice as large as the peninsula of India, over the
whole of which a uniform Malayan fauna would prevail. The
first important change would be the separation of Celebes ; and
this was probably effected by a great subsidence, forming the deep
strait that now divides that island from Borneo. During the
process Celebes itself was no doubt greatly submerged, leaving
only a few islands in which were preserved that remnant of the
ancient Malayan fauna that now constitutes one of its most
striking and anomalous features. The Philippine area would
next be separated, and perhaps be almost wholly submerged ; or
360 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [paut hi.
broken Tip into many small volcanic islets in wliicli a limited
number of Malayan types alone survived. Such a condition of
tilings will account for the very small variety of mammalia com-
pared with the tolerably numerous genera of birds, that now
characterise its fauna ; while both here and in Celebes we find
some of the old Malayan types preserved, which, in the extended
area of the Sunda Isles have been replaced by more dominant
forms.
The next important change would be the separation of Java ;
and here also no doubt a coDsiderable submergence occurred,
rendering the island an unsuitable habitation for the various
Malay types whose absence forms one of its conspicuous features.
It has since remained permanently separated from the other
islands, and has no doubt developed some peculiar species, wdiile
it may have preserved some ancient forms which in the larger
area have become changed. From the fact that a number of its
species are confined either to the western or the eastern half of
the island, it is probable that it long continued as two islands,,
which have become united at a comparatively recent period.
It has also been subjected to the immigration of Indo-Chinese
forms, as already referred to in the earlier part of this sketch.
We have thus shown how the main zoological features of the
several sub-divisions of the Malayan sub-region may be
accounted for, by means of a series of suppositions as to past
changes which, though for the most part purely hypothetical,
are always in accordance with what we know both of the
physical geography and the zoology of the districts in question
and those which surronnd them. It may also be remarked, that
w^e know, with a degree of certainty which may be called absolute,
that alternate elevation and subsidence is the normal state of
things all over the globe ; that it was the rule in the earliest
geological epochs, and that it has continued down to the
historical era. We know too, that the amount of elevation and
subsidence that can be proved to have occurred again and again
in the same area, is often much greater than is required for the
changes here speculatad on, — while the time required for such
changes is certainly less than that necessitated by the changes
CHAP. XII.] THE OEIENTAL EEGION. 361
of specific and generic forms whicli have coincided with, and been
to a large extent dependent on tliem. "We liaye, therefore, true
causes at work, and our only suppositions have been as to how
those causes could have brought about the results which we
see ; and however complex and unlikely some of the supposed
changes may seem to the reader, the geologist who has made a
study of such changes, as recorded in the crust of the earth,
will not only admit them to be probable, but will be inclined
to believe that they have really been far more complex and
more unexpected than any supposition we can make about
them.
There is one other external relation of the Malayan fauna
about which it may be necessary to say a few words. I have
supposed the greatest westward extension of the Malayan area
to be indicated by the Maldive islands, but some naturalists
would extend it to include Madagascar in order to account for
the range of the Lemuridte. Such an extension would, however,
render it difficult to explain the very small amount of corre-
spondence with a pervading diversity, between the Malayan and
Malagasy faunas. It seems more reasonable to suppose an
approximation of the two areas, without actual union having
ever occurred. This approximation would have allowed the
interchange of certain genera of birds, which are common to
the Oriental Eegion and the Mascarene islands, but it would
have been too recent to account for the diffusion of the lemurs.,
which belong to distinct genera and even distinct families. This
probably dates back to a much earlier period, when the lemurine
type had a wide range over the northern hemisphere. Sub-
jected to the competition of higher forms, these imperfectly
developed groups have mostly died out, except a few isolated
examples, chiefly found in islands, and a few groups in Africa.
In our discussion of the origin of the Ethiopian fauna, we
have supposed that a close connection once existed between
Madagascar and Ceylon. This was during a very early tertiary
epoch ; and if, long after it had ceased and the fauna of Ceylon
and South India had assumed somewhat more of their present
character, we suppose the approximation or union of Ceylon
362 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
and Malaya to have taken place, we shall perhaps be able to
account for most of the special af&nities they present, with the
least amount of simultaneous elevation of the ocean bed ; which
it must always be remembered, requires a corresponding de-
pression elsewhere to balance it.
Concluding Remarks on the Oriental Region. — We have already
so fully discussed the internal and external relations of the
several sub-regions, that little more need be said. The rich and
varied fauna which inhabited Europe at the dawn of the ter-
tiary period, — as shown by the abundant remains of mammalia
wherever suitable deposits of Eocene age have been discovered, —
proves, that an extensive Palsearctic continent then existed ;
and the character of the flora and fauna of the Eocene deposits
is so completely tropical, that we may be sure there was then no
barrier of climate between it and the Oriental region. At that
early period the northern plains of Asia were probably under
water, while the great Thibetan plateau and the Himalayan range,
had not risen to more than a moderate height, and would have
supported a luxuriant sub-tropical flora and fauna. The Upper
Miocene deposits of northern and central India, and Burmah,
asree in their mammalian remains with those of central and
southern Europe, while closely allied forms of elephant, hysena,
tapir, rhinoceros, and Chalicotherium have occurred in North
China; leading us to conclude that one great fauna then
extended over much of the Oriental and Palsearctic regions.
Perim island at the mouth of the Ked Sea, where similar
reniains are found, probably shows the southern boundary of
this part of the old Palsearctic region in the Miocene period.
Towards the equator there would, of course, be some peculiar
groups ; but we can hardly doubt, that, in that A\-onderful time
when even the lands that stretched out furthest towards the
pole, supported a luxuriant forest vegetation, substantially one
fauna ranged over the Avhole of the great eastern continent of the
northern hemisphere. During the Pliocene period, however, a
progressive change went on which resulted in the complete
differentiation of the Oriental and Palsearctic faunas. The
CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 363
causes of this change were of two kinds. There was a great
geographical and physical revolution effected by the elevation
of the Himalayas and the Thibetan plateau, and, probably at
the same time, the northward extension of the great Siberian
plains. This alone would produce an enormous change of
climate in all the extra-tropical part of Asia, and inevitably
lead to a segregation of the old fauna into tropical and tem-
perate, and a modification of the latter so as to enable it to
support a climate far more severe than it had previously known.
But it is almost certain that, concurrently with this, there was
a change going on of a cosmical nature, leading to an alteration
of the climate of the northern hemisphere from equable to
extreme, and culminating in that period of excessive cold wdii(jli
drove the last remnants of the old sub-tropical fauna beyond
the limits of the Palsearctic region. From that time, the Oriental
and the Ethiopian regions alone contained the descendants of many
of the most remarkable types wdiich had previously flourished
over all Europe and Asia; but the early history of these two
regions, and the peculiar equatorial types developed in each,
sufficiently separate them, as we have already shown. The
Malayan sub-region is that in which characteristic Oriental
types are now best developed, and wdiere the fundamental con-
trast of the Oriental, as compared with the Ethiopian and
Pala^arctic regions, is most distinctly visible.
364 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part iti.
TABLES OF DISTPJBUTIOK
In constructing these tables, showing the distribution of
various classes of animals in the Oriental region, the following
sources of information have been chiefly relied on, in addition
to the general treatises, monographs, catalogues, &c., used for
the compilation of the Fourth Part of this work.
Mainmalia. — Jerdon's Indian Mammalia ; Kelaart's Fauna of
Ceylon : Horsfield and Moore's Catalogue of the East India
Museum ; Swinhoe's Catalogue of Chinese Mammalia ; S.
Mliller's Zoology of the Indian Archipelago ; Dr. J. E. Gray's
list of Mammalia of the Malay Archipelago (Voyage of Sama-
rang) ; and papers by Anderson, Blyth, Cantor, Gray, Peters,
Swinhoe, &c.
Birds. — Jerdon's Birds of India ; Horsfield and Moore's Cata-
logue ; Holdsworth's list of Ceylon Birds ; Schlegel's Catalogue
of the Leyden Museum ; Swinhoe on the Birds of China, For-
mosa, and Hainan ; Salvador! on the Birds of Borneo ; Lord
Walden on the Birds of the Philippine Islands ; and papers
by Blyth, Blanford, Elwes, Elliot, Stoliczka, Sclater, Sharpe,
Swinhoe, Verreaux, and Lord Walden.
jReptiles. — Giinther's Eeptiles of British India; papers by
same author, and by Dr. Stoliczka.
CHAP. XII.J
THE OllIENTAL EEGION.
365
TABLE I.
FAMILIES OF ANIMALS INHABITING THE ORIENTAL REGION.
EXPLANATIOK.
Names in italics show families peculiar to the region.
Numbers correspond with those in Part IV.
Names enclosed thus ( ) barely enter the region, and are not considered really to
belong to it.
Order and Family.
MAMMALIA.
Pp.imates.
1. Simiidse
2. Semnopithecidfe
3. Cynopithecidse
6. Lemuridse
7. Tarsiidce
Chiroptera.
9. Pteropidaj
IL Rhinolophidfe
12. Vespertilionidse
13. Noctilionidge ...-
Insectivoka .
14. Galeopithecidce
16. Tupaiidce
17. Erinaceidse
21. Talpidfe
22. Soricidee
Carnivora.
23. Felidse ...
25. Viverridffi
27. Hyffinidie
28. Canidai ...
29. Mustelidse
31. iEhrridaj ...
32. UrsidiB ...
Cetacea.
SiRENIA.
42. Manatidee
TJngulata.
3. (Eqiiidcc)...
Sub-reaions.
C b
Range beyond the Region.
W. Africa
Tropical Africa
All Africa, S. PalEearctic
Ethiopian
Celebes
Ethiopian, Australian
The Eastern Hemisphere
Cosmopolite
Tropical regions
Pal^arctic, S. Africa
Palsearctic, Nearctic
Palsearctic, Ethiopian, N. America
All regions but Australian
Ethiopian, S. Palsearctic
Ethiopian, S. Palpearctic
All regions but Australian [?]
All regions but Australian
Palajarctic
Paleearctic, Nearctic, Chili
Oceanic
Ethiopian, N. Pacific
Palccarctic, Ethiopian
366
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part hi.
Order and Family.
44. Tapiridse . . .
45. Einocerotidae
Suidee
Tragulid^
Cervidse ...
Bovidse ,
Elepliaiitidse
RODENTIA.
55. Muridse ...
56. Spalacidffi
61. Sciuridse ...
67. Hystricidffi
70. Leporidse
Edentata.
72. Manididse
BIRDS.
Passeres.
1. Turdidge
2. Sylviidffi
3. Tiraaliidse
4. Panuridse
5. Cinclidse
6. Troglodj'tidaj . .
' 8. Certhiidse
9. Sittidse ...
10. Paridse
11. LiotrichidcB ..
12. Fhyllornithidce
13. PycnoiiotidBe ..
14. Oriolidffl
15. Campephagidse
16. Dicruridffi
17. Muscicapidse ..
IS. Pachycephalidee
19. Laniidae
20. Corvidse
23. Nectariniidse ..
24. Dicffiidse
30. Hirundinidse ..
33. Fringillidse ..
34. Ploceidse
35. Sturnidse
36. Artamidaj
37. Alaudidffi
38. Motacillidffi ..
43. Eurylcp.miclce ..
47. Pittidee
Sub-regions.
o g
Range beyond the Region.
Neotropical
Ethiopian
Palsearctic, Ethiopian, Neotropical
W. Africa
All regions but Ethiopian and Australian
Al] regions but Australian and Neotropical
Ethiopian
Cosmopolite, excl. Oceania
Palaearctic, Ethiopian
All regions but Australian
S. Palaearctic, Ethiopian
All regions but Australian
Ethiopian
Almost Cosmopolite
Almost Cosmopolite
Ethiopian, Australian
Palaearctic
Not Ethiopian or Australian
American and Palaearctic
Palaearctic, Nearctic, Australian
Palaearctic, Nearctic, Australian, Madagascar
The Eastern Hemisphere and North America
Ethiopian, Moluccas
The Eastern Hemisphere
Ethiopian, Australian
Ethiopian, Australian
The Eastern Hemisphere
Australian
The Eastern Hemisphere and North America
Cosmopolite
Ethiopian, Australian
Ethiopian, Australian"
Cosmopolite
All regions but Australian
Ethiopian, Australian
The Eastern Hemisphere
Australian
All regions but Neotropical
Cosmopolite
Ethiopian, Australian
CHAP. XII.]
THE OKIENTAL EEGION.
367
Sub-regions.
Order and Family.
o .
d
„
1 cS
Range beyond the Region.
^
■§.2
M"
6
w3
S
PlCARI^.
51. Picidse
All regions but Australian
52. Yungidee
Palsearctic
53. Indicatoridse
Ethiopian
54. Megalaemidee
—
—
—
Ethio23ian, Neotropical
58. CuculidfE
i
—
Cosmopolite
62. Coraciidse
—
Ethiopian, Australian
63. Meropidpe
—
—
Ethiopian, Aiistralian
66. Trogonidce ...
—
—
—
Neotropical, Ethiopian
67. Alcedinidse ...
—
. —
—
Cosmopolite
68. Bucerotidse ...
—
—
—
Ethiopian, Austro-Malayan
69. Upupidai
—
—
—
Ethiopian, S. Palsearctic
71. Podargidse ...
—
—
—
Australian
73. Caprimulgidse
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
74. Cypselidse ...
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
PSITTACI.
76. (Cacatuidse) ...
Austi-alian
78. Palseornithidse
—
—
—
Ethiopian, Austro-Malayan
COLUMB^.
84. Columbidse ...
—
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
GALLINiE.
86. Pteroclidse ...
Ethiopian, Palsearctic
87. Tetraonidse ...
__
Eastern Hemisphere and North America
88. Phasianidee
—
Ethiopian, Palsearctic, North Amei'ica
89. Turnicidse ...
—
—
—
Ethiopian, Australian, S. Palsearctic
90. Megapodiidse
—
Australian
ACCIPITRES.
94. Vulturidse ..
All regions but Australian
96. Falconidffi ...
__
Cosmopolite
97. Paudionidffi ...
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
98. Strigidffi
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
Grall^.
99. Eallidse
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
100. Scolopacidfe...
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
]03. Parridse
—
—
—
Tropical regions
104. Glareolidse ...
—
—
—
Eastern Hemisphere
105. Charadriidse . . .
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
106. Otididffi.:. ...
—
—
—
Eastern Hemisphere
107. Gruida;
—
—
—
All regions but Neotropica
113. Ardeidse
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
114. PlataleidfE ...
—
—
. —
Almost Cosmopolite
115. Giconiidse ...
—
—
—
Almost Cosmopolite
117. Phsenicopteridse
Ethiopian, Neotropical, S. Palsearctic
368
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY.
[part iji.
Order and Faiuily.
Anseees.
118. Anatidse
119. Laridae
120. Procellariidaj
121. Pelecanidffi ...
124. Podicipidse ...
EEPTILTA.
Ophidia.
1. Typhlopidse ...
2. Tortricidfe
3. Xenopeltidce ...
4. Uropeltidce
5. Calamariidse ...
6. Oligodontidse . . .
7. Colubridse
8. Homalopsidce . . .
9. Psammophidce
11. Dendrophidse . . .
12. Uryiophidae ..
13. Dipsadidse
14. Scytalidae
15. LycodontidfTe ...
16. Amblycephalidai
17. Pythonidaj ...
18. Erycidae ...
19.^ crochordidce . . .
20. Elapidse
23. Hydrophidfe ...
24. Crotalida3
25. Viperid*
Lacertilia.
30. Yaranidne
33. LacertidiB
34. ZonuridEe
45. Scincidae
48. Acontiadcc
49. Geckotidse
51. Agamidse
62. Cliamaeleouidie
Ckocodilia.
54. Gavialidse
55. Crocodilida; ...
Chelonia.
57. Testudinidse ...
59. Trionychidae ...
60. Cheloididte ...
Sub-regions.
Range beyond tlie Region.
Cosmopolite
Oo.sniopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
All regions but Nearctic
Austro-Malaya, S, America
Celebes
All the warmer regions
S. America, Japan
Almost Cosmopolite
All the regions
Ethiopian, S. Paliearctic
Ethiopian, Australian, Neotropical
Ethiopian, Neotropical
Ethiopian, Australian, Neotropical
Tropical America
Ethiopian
Neotropical
The tropical region?, and California
Ethiopian, S. Pal^arctic
Trojiical regions, Japan, S. Carolina
Australian, Panama, Madagascar
America, E. Paltearctic
Ethiojjian, Palaearctic
Africa, Australia
The Eastern Hemisphere
America, S. Europe, Ethiopian
Almost Cosmopolite
Ethiojjian, Moluccas
Almost Cosmopolite
The Eastern Hemisphere
Ethiopian
N. Australia
Ethiopian, Neotropical, N. Australia
All continents but Australia
Japan, E. of N. America, Africa
Marine
CHAP. XII.]
THE ORIENTAL REGION.
369
Sub-regions.
Order and Family.
a "3
Eange bej'ond the Region.
AMPHIBIA.
PSEtTDOPHIDIA.
1. CEEciliadse
—
—
—
Ethiopian, Neotropical
Urodela.
5. Salamandridae
—
North temperate zone
Akoura.
7. Phryniscidai ..
9. Bufonidae
11. Eugystomidse...
16. Hylidai
17. Polypedatidse...
18. Eanidae ...
19. Discoglossidse
—
—
—
Ethiopian, Australian, Neotropical
All continents but Australia
All regions but False arctic
All regions but Ethiopian
Neotropical and all other regions
Almost Cosmopolite
All regions but Nearctic
FISHES.
(FRESHWATEE).
ACANTHOPTERYGII.
3. Percidse
12. ScienidEe
33. Nandidae
35. Labyrinthici ...
36. LuciocepliaKdce
39. Opldocephalidce
46. Mastaccmbelidce
52. Chromidag
—
—
—
—
All regions but Australian
All regions but Australian
Neotropical
S. Africa, Moluccas
Ethiopian, Neotropical
Physostomi.
59. Siluridse
73. Cyprinodoutidffi
75. Cyprinidse
78. Osteoglossidse...
82. Notopteridfe ...
85. SyIl^branchid£e
—
—
—
—
All warm regions
S. Palrearctic, Ethiopian, American
Not in S. America and Australia
All tropical regions
W. Africa
Australian {? Marine) Neotropical
INSECTS.
LEPIDOPTEEA
(PART).
DiURNI
(Butterflies.)
1 . Danaidse
2. Satyridse
3. Elymniidse ...
4. Morphidse
6. Acrseidfe
8. Nymphalidte ...
—
—
—
All warm regions and to Canada
Cosmopolite
Ethiopian, Moluccas
Neotropical, Moluccas, and Polynesia
All tropical regions
Cosmopolite
B B
370
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
Sub-regions.
Order arid Family.
S6
Range beyond the Region.
9. Libytheidie
10. Nemeobeidae ..
13. Lycaenidae
14. Pieridae
15. Papilionidae ...
16. Hesperidae
Sphingidea.
17. Zygaenidae
19. Agaristidae
20. Uraniidae
22. iEgeriidae
23. Spliingidae ...
—
—
—
—
Absent from Australia
Not in Australia or Nearctic regions
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Australian, Ethiopian
All ti'opieal regions
Absent from Australia
Cosmopolite
CHAP. XII.]
THE OEIENTAL EEGIOX.
371
TABLE 11.
GENERA OF TERRESTRIAL 31 A MM ALT A AND BIRDS INHABITING
THE ORIENTAL REGION.
Explanation.
Names in italics 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 truly belonging to the region are numbered consecutive!}?.
MAMMALIA.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
PRIMATES.
SlMIID^.
1. Simia
2. Hylolates
3. Siamaiiga
2
7
1
Borneo and Sumatra
Sylhet to Java and S. Ghina
Malacca and Sumatra
SEMNOPITHECID.E.
4. Preshytes
Ctnopithecid^.
28
Simla to Aracan and E. Thibet,
Ceylon, and Java
Moupiu, Palsearctic [?]
5. Macacus
6. Cynopitliecus ..
22
1
The whole region
Philippines
S. Palsearctie
Celebes
[Sub-Order)
LEMUROIDEA.
Lemurid.4;.
7. Nycticehus
8. Loris
3
1
E. Bengal to Java, and S. China
Ceylon and S. India
Taesiid^.
9. Tarsius ... ..
1
Sumatra and Borneo
N. Celebes
CHIROPTERA.
PTEROPIDiE.
10. Pteropus
11. Xantharpyia ...
12. Cynopterus
13. Megoerops
14. Macroglossus ...
15. Harpyia
6
1
3
1
1
1
The whole region
The whole region
The whole region
Sumatra
Java, Borneo, Philippines
Philippines
Tropics of E. Hemisp.
Austro-Mala3ra, Ethiop.,
S. Paleearctic
Tropical Africa
Austro-Malaya
Austro-Malaya
Ehinolophjd^.
16. Aquias
2
Nepal to Java
BB 2
?>T1
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
Onlev, Family, and
Genus.
d a
Range within the Begion.
Bange beyond the Reyion.
17. Phyllotis
1
Philippines
18. Rhinoloplius ...
10
The whole region
Wanner parts of E. Hem.
19. Hipposideros ...
8
The whole region
Austro-Malaya
20. Phyllorbina ...
4
Indo-Malay subregion
Austro-Malaya, Tropical
Africa
21. Asellia
1
Java, Sumatra
Amboyna, Egypt
22. Petalia
1
Java
23. 'Ccelops
1
India (Bengal)
24. Rhinopoma
1
All India
Egypt, Palestine
25. Megailerma
2
The whole region
Ternate, N. Ethiopian
26. ]S^ycteris
1
Java
Ethiopian
YESPERTILIONIDiB.
27. Scotophilus
10
The whole region
Austral.,]Srcarc.,]Sreotrop.
28. Vespertilio
12
The whole region
Cosmopolite
29. Keriovula
8
The whole region
S Africa, N. China
30. TrilatitAts
2
I udo- Malaya
?
31. Nodulina
3
Nepal to Philippines
?
32. Miniopteris
3
Java, Philippines, and China
S. Africa, S. Palsearctic,
Australian
33. Miorina
2
Himalayas to Java
?
34. JSTycticejus
8
All India
Trop. Africa, Temp. Amer.
35. Harpiocephahis
2
Java and Philippines
36. Taphozous
4
The whole region
Ethiop. , Austro-Malayan,
Neotropical
37. Mijotis
3
Himalayas
38. Plecotus
1
1 'arjeeling
Timor, S. Palfearctic
39. Barbastelhis ...
1
Himalayas
Europe
40. JSTyctophilus ...
1
Mussoorie
Australian
NOCTILIONID^E.
41. Chiromeles
1
Indo-Malaya, Siam
42. Nyctinoinus ...
The whole region
Madagascar, America
INSECTIVORA.
Galeopithecid^.
43. Galeopithccus ...
2
Indo-Malay and Philippines,
excl. Java
TUPAIID^.
44. Tupaia
7
S. and E. of India to Borneo
45. Hylomys
2
Tenasserim to Java and Borneo
46. Ptilocerus
1
Borneo
EEINACEID.ffi!.
47. Erinaceus
2
Hindostan and Formosa
Palsearctic, S. Africa
48. Gymnura
1
Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo
Talpid^.
49. Talpa
2
Himalayas to Assam, & Formosa
Palaearctic
SORICIDJB.
50. Sorex
2:)
1
The whole region
All regions but Aiistral.
and S. America
CHAP, xn.]
THE ORIENTAL REGION.
373
Order, Faniil}', and
Genus.
Range within the Kegion.
Range lii-yond the Region.
CARNIVOKA.
Felid^.
51. Felis
20
The whole region
All regions but Austral.
(Lynx
1
Central India)
Palc^arctic, Ethiopian
52. Cj'nselurus
1
S. and W. India
S. Palaiarctic, Ethiopian
VlVEERID^E.
53. Viverra
2
The whole region '
Ethiopian, Moluccas
54. Viverricula
'I
India to China and Java
55. Prionodoii
2
Nepal to Borneo and Java
56. Hemigalea
2
Malacca and Borneo
57. Arctitis
1
Nepal to Sumatra and Java
58. Paradoxurns ...
8
The whole region
Ke Islands (? introduced)
59. Paguma ... ...
3
Nepal to Malaya and China
60. Arctogale
1
Tenasserim and Malaya
61. CynogaU
1
Borneo
62. Herpestes
7
The whole reg. , excl. Philippines
S. Palffiarctic, Ethiopian
63. Calogale
4
India to Carabodjia
Ethiopian
64. Calictis
1
Ceylon ?
65. Vrva
1
N. India
66. Tccniogale
1
Central India
67. Onychngule
1
Ceylon
Hy^nid^.
68. Hyaena
1
Hindostan, open country
S Pala?arctic, Ethiopian
Canid^.
69. Canis
2
All India
Almost Cosmopolite
70. Cuon
1
India to Java
71. Vulpes
4
All India
All Continents but S.
America and Australia
(Nycterentes ...
1
China)
Japan and Amoorland
MUSTELID.E.
72. Martes
2
India, Ceylon, Javo, and China
Palsearctic, Nearctic
73. Mustek
3
Himalayas to Bhotau and China
Palfearc ., Ethiop. , Nearc.
74. Gymnopus
Nepal to Borneo
75. Barangia
1
Sumatra
76. Lutra
5
The whole region
Palsearctic
77. Aonyx
2
N. India, Malaya
W. and S. Africa
78. Ardonyx
1
Nepal to Aracan
(Meles
1
S. China)
PaliBarctic genus
79. Mydaus
1
Sumatra, Java
80. Mellivora
1
Hindostan
Ethiopian
81. Hclictis
4
Nepal, Formosa, China & Java
MhVV^lDM.
82. ^lurus
1
E. Himalayas to E. Thibet
Palsearctic ?
Ursid^.
83. Ursus
2
Himalayas to China
Paltearctic, Nearctic
84. Helardos..
1
Indo-Malaya
85. Mclursios
1
Ganges to Ceylon
374
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY.
[part III.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
4
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Region,
CETACEA.
Delphinice.
86. PlatoMista ...
2
Ganges to India
SIRENIA.
MANATIDiE.
87. Ilalicore
UNCtULATA.
1
Coasts of W. India, Ceylon, and
Indo-Malaya
E. Africa, N. Australia
Tapuud^.
88. Tapirus
1
Malay Pen., Sumatra, Borneo
Neotropical
Rhinocep.otid^e.
89. Rhinoceros ...
5
Nepal to Bengal, Siam, & Java
Ethiopian
SUID^.
90. Sus
6
The whole region
Palsearc, Austro-Malaya
Tbagulid^.
91. Tragulus
Cervid^.
5
India and Ceylon to Cambodja
and Java
92. Cervus
93. Gervitlus
(Moschus
15
4
1
The whole region
The whole region
Himalayas above 8,000 feet)
Palsearc, Amer., Moluc.
Central Asia, Pal^arctic
Boviri.E.
94. Bihos
95. Bubalus
96. Portax
97. Gazella
98. Antilope
99. Tetraceros
100. Nemorhedus
101. Capra
3
1
1
1
1
2
3
1
India to Burmah, Formosa, and
Java
N. andN. Central India
Peninsula of India
Deserts and plains of India
Open country of India
Hilly districts all over India
E. Himalayas and Sumatra
Neilgherries
Ethiopian, S. Palpearctic
Palssarctic deserts
N. China and Japan
Palsearctic, Nearctic
PROBOSCIDEA.
Elephantid^.
102. Elephas
1
India to Siam, Sumatra & Borneo
Ethiopian
RODENTIA.
MuRID^i
103. Mus
104. Acanthomys ...
105. Phlceomys
106. Platacanthomys
107. Meriones
108. Spa lacomys . . .
109. Arvicola
50
1
1
1
2
1
2
The whole region
India
Philippines
S. W. India
India and Ceylon
India
Himalayas
The E. Hemisphere
Ethiopian, Australian
Palffiarctic, Ethiopian
Palasarctic, Nearctic
CHAP. XII.]
THE OEIENTAL REGION.
375
Order, Family, and
Genus.
0.2
^1
Spalacid^.
110. Ehizomys
3
ScitJRIDiE.
111. Sciurus
50
112. Sciuroptenis . . ,
9
113. Pteromys
9
( Arctomys
2
HYSTKICIDiS,
114. Hystrix
3
115. Atherura
116. ylcanihion
2
2
Leporid^.
117. Lepus
5
ENDENTATA.
MANIDIDiE.
118. Manis
2
Eange within the Region.
Nepal to Canton, Malacca and
Sumatra
The whole region
India, and Ceylon to Java,
Formosa
India & Ceylon to Borneo, Java,
Formosa
W. Himalayas above 8,000 ft.)
India and Ceylon, to Malacca
S. China
India to Malaya
Nepal to Borneo and Java
India and Ceylon to S. China and
Formosa
Range beyond the Region.
Abyssinia
Cosmop., excl. Austral.
region
]Sr. and E. Palsearctic
Japan
Palrearctic and Nearctic
S, Palfearctic, Ethiopian
West Africa
All regions but Austral.
Nepal to Ceylon, S. China and Ethiopian
BIEBS.
PASSERES.
TURDID^.
1. Brachypteryx ...
8
Himalayas, Ceylon and Java
2. Oreocincla
8
N. W. Himalayas to E. Thibet
Ceylon, Burmah, Malaya, For-
mosa
Palsearctic, Australian
3. Turdus
26
The whole region
Almost Cosmopolite
4. Geocichla
9
India & Ceylon to Java, Formosa
Celebes, Lombock, to N.
Australia
5. Monticola
3
The whole region
Pal9earctic, Ethiojiiau,
Moluccas
6. Oroccetes
2
N. W. Himalayas, and India
7. Zoothera
3
"W. Himalayas to Aracan, Java
Lombock, Timor ?
Stlviid^.
8. / Orthotomics
13
The whole region
9. Prinia
11
The whole reg. , excl. Philippines
10. j Drymseca
13
The whole reg., excl. Philiiipines
Ethiopian
11.^ Cisticola
6
The whole region
Ethiopian Australian
12. Suya
5
Nepal to S. China and Formosa
13. {Megalums
3
Central India, Java, Philippines
14. [Acrocephalus ...
9
India to Ceylon, S. China, and
Palsearc. , Ethiop. , Austra 1 .
I (Dumeticola .,
Philippines
2
Nepal and E. Thibet)
A Palffiarctic genus
376
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part hi.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
Range wilhin the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
15. f Locustella
4
Nepal, Himlostan, S. China
Palsearctic
16.SHorites
2
Himalayas, Formosa
HighHimal.,E. Thibet
17.
Phylloscopus ...
10
All India and Ceylon, to China
Philippines
Palsearctic, Ethiopian
(Gerygone
1
Philippine Islands)
Australian genus
(
(Hypolais
1
All India, ? migrant)
Palfearctic genus
18.
Abrornis
26
The whole reg., excl. Philippines
Cashmere, E. Thibet
19.
Eeguloides
2
Himalayas and Central India
Palfearctic
(Regulus
1
N. W. Himalayas and E.Thibet)
Pahearctic and Nearctic
■
(Sylvia
2
India and Ceylon)
Palffiarctic genus
i,(Curruca
2
India)
Palsearctic genus
(Cyanecula
1
India)
Palaearctic genus
20.
Calliope
2
Himalayas and Central India,
Philippine Islands
Palsearctic
21.
Piuticilla
8
Himalayas to China and Formosa
Palasarctic, Ethiopian
22.
Chccmm'rhomis
1
Himalayas to Burmah
23.^
Larvivora
10
W.Himalayas to Ceylon, Malacca
and China
24.
Notodela
3
Himalayas to Pegu, Java,
Formosa
,
25.
Tarsiger
2
Nepal and W. Himalayas
(Grandala
1
Nepal and E. Thibet, high)
Palsearctic genus
26.
Copsychus
6
The whole region
Madagascar
27.
Kittacincla
5
The whole region
28.
Thamnobia
2
N. W. India, Hindostan, and
Ceylon
Ethiopian
<
(Dromolaea
1
N. W. India)
Ethiopian genus
(Saxicola
2
N. W. India)
Palffiarctic and Ethiopian
29.
Oreicola ?
1
Burmah
Timor
(Cercomela
1
N. W. India, a desert genus)
N. E Africa, S. W. Asia
30.
Piatincola
5
The whole region
Pahearctic, Ethiopian,
Celebes, and Timor
(Accentor
2
Himalayas, in winter)
Palfearctic genus
TlMALIID^.
31 . Pomatorhiiius . . .
20
The whole region
A nytralinTi
32. Malacocercus ...
14
All India to Burmah, Philippines
33. Chatarrligea
5
India, Burmah, Philippines
Palestine, Abyssinia
34. Layardia
3
India and Ceylon
3.5. Acanthoptila ...
1
Nepal
36. Garrulax
22
The whole region
37. Janthocincla ..
8
HimalayastoE. Thibet, Sumatra,
Formosa
33. Gampsorhynchus
1
Nepal
39. Grammatoptila
1
N. India
40. Trochaloptcron
22
N. W. Himalayas, India, China,
Formosa
41. Adinodura
3
E. Himalayas, 3,000 to 10,000
42. PdlorneiLm
3
India, Ceylon, Tenasserim
43. Bumetia
2
India and Ceylon
44. Timalia
10
Malacca to Java
45. Stachyris
6
N. W. Himalayas to China, For-
mosa, Sumatra
46. Pyctoris
3
India, Ceylon, and Up. Burmah
47. Mixornis
8
Himalayas to Borneo and Java
•48.
Malacopteron ...
3
Malacca to Java
CHAr. XII.]
THE ORIENTAL REGION.
377
Order, Family, and
Genus.
c ,^^
6 %
16
1
5
9
5
6
4
1
6
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
49. Alcij^pe
50. Macronus
51. Cacopitta
52. Trichastoma ...
53. Napothera
54. Drymocataphus
55. Ttirdinus
56. Trichixos
67. SiUa
Tlie whole region
Malacca to Java
Java, Borneo, Sumatra
Nepal, Malacca to Java
Malacca to Java
Malacca to Java, Ceylon
Tenasserim, Malacca
Malacca, Borneo
N. W. Himalayas to Tenasserim,
Formosa
New Guinea
Celebes
Timor
Panurid^.
58. Pctradoxornis ...
59. Suthora
60. Chlenasicus
3
8
1
Nepal to Aracan and E. Thibet,
3,000-6,000 ft.
Himalayas to E. Thibet, Chinr,
Formosa
Sikhim
N. W. China, E. Thibet
C1NCLID.E.
w:
61. Cinclus
62. Eupetes
63. Enicurus
64. Myiophonus ...
TkOGLODYTID/B.
2
2
9
6
Himalayas, China, and Formosa
Malacca and Sumatra
N. W. Himalayas (to 11,000 ft.)
to Java and West China
All India (to 9,000 ft. in N. ^^\
Himalayas) S. China, Formoss,
Java, Sumatra
Palffiarctic and American
Mew Guinea
Turkestan
65. Tesia
66. Pnoepiyga
67. Troglodytes ...
68. Rimator
2
6
I
2
Eastern Himalayas
N. W. Hiniilayas to E. Thibet,
Java
Himalayas to E. Thibet
Darjeeling
Palsearctic and American
Certhiid^.
69. Certhia
70. Salpornis
71. Rhaidornis
(Ticliodroma ...
2
1
1
1
Himalayas
Central India
Philippine Islands'
Himalayas in winter)
Palaearctic and Nearctic
Palsearctic genus
SlTTIDiB.
72. Sitta
73. Dendrophila ...
PArJD^.
5
2
Himala}'as to S. India, S. China
All India and Ceylon to Pegu
and Java
Palaearctic and Nearctic
74. Parus
75. 3felanochlora ...
76. Fsaltria
77. ^githaliscics ..
78. Sylviparus
79. Cc2JhaIopyrus ...
16
2
1
6
1
1
The whole region
Nepal to Malacca and Sumatra
West Java
W. Himalayas to China
W. Himalayas to Centra India
and E. Tliiliet
N. W. Himalayas
Palaearctic and Nearctic
Afghanistan
L10TKICHID.E.
80. Liothrix ......
3
Nepal to S. W. China
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part hi.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
81. Siva
82. Minla ... .
83. Proparus
84. AUotriiis
85. Cutia
86. Yuhina ...
87. Ixulus ...
88. Myzornis
PHTLLOENITHIDiE
89. Phyllornis
90. lora
91. Erpornis
Pycnonotid^.
92. Microscelis
93. Pycnonotus
94. HemixtLS
95. Hypsipetes
96. Criniger . . .
97. Setornis . . .
98. loU
Oeiolid^.
99. Oriolus
100. Analcipus
Campephagid^.
101. Pericrocotus ..
102. Graucalus
103. Campepliaga . .
104. Volvocivora ..
105. Lalage
106. Cochoa
'i
107. Dicrunis
108. Bhringa
109. CMUa ...
110. ChcqMa ...
111. Irena
MUSCICAPID^.
112. Muscicapula ..
113. Ei'ytlirosterna
\Z, Q,
10
22
Range within the Region.
Himalayas :— 3,000— 7,000 ft.
Nepal to E. Thibet ; moderate
heights
N. W. Himalayas to E. Thibet ;
high
N. W. Himalayas to Tenasssrim
E. Thibet and Java
Nepal and Sikhim
Himalayas to E. Thibet, high
Darjeeling to Tenasserrm
Nepal and Sikhim
The whole region ; excluding
China and Philii^pines
The whole reg. , excl. Philippines
Nepal and Hainan
Burmah, China, Malaya
The whole region
Himalayas and Hainan
The whole region
India, Ceylon, Malaya, Hamau
Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo
Aracau and Malaya
The whole region
Himalayas, Malaya, Formosa,
Hainan
The whole region
India, Ceylon, Malaya, Philip-
pines, Hainan and Formosa
Philippine Islands
The whole reg. , excl. Philippines
Malaya and Philippines
Himalayas and Java
The whole region
Himalayas to Burmah and Java
India to China
India to Borneo and Formosa
S. India and Ceylon, Assam to
Malaya and Philippines
Cashmere to W. China, S. India
The whole region, excluding
Philippines
Range bej^oud the Region.
Perhaps also Palsearctic
Perhaps Palsearctic
Japan
Ethiopian
Madagascar
Africa, Moluccas
Palmare. Ethiopian, Ce-
lebes, Flores
Lombock ; the Amoor,
migrant
Australian
Celebes to N. Guinea
Celebes to Pacific Is.
Ethiop. and Australian
Pekin in summer
Paleearctic
gascar
and Mada
CHAP. XII.]
THE ORIENTAL REGION.
379
Order, Family, and
Genus.
. a
O CB
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
114. Xantlipygia ...
2
Malacca to China
N. Cliina and Japan
115. Eemipxis
1
India and Ceylon
116. Pijcnoiplirys ...
1
Java
117. Hemichelidon
3
N. India to Ceylon, and Cliina ;
? Philippines
Eastern Asia
118. Niltava
3
Himalayas to W. China
119. Cyornis
14
The whole region
Celebes and Timor
120. Cj'anoptila ...
1
Hainan to Japan
Japan and N. China
121. Eumyias
8
The whole reg. , excl. Philippines
122. SipUa
9
N. "VV. India, Ceylon, Formosa,
E. Thibet
123. AntM^xs
1
Nepal
124. Schwatieria ...
1
Borneo
125. Hypothymis ...
1
The whole region
Celebes
126. Ehipidura ..
7
All India and Ceylon, Malaya,
Philippines
Australian
127. Clielidorhynx
1
N. India
128. Cryptoloplia ...
1
The whole region
Celebes
129. Tchitrea
6
The whole region
ISr. China, and Japan,
Flores, Ethiopian
130. Philentoma ...
4
Malaya and Philippines
Pachycephalid^.
131. Hylochaiis ...
2
Aracan to Malaya & Philippines
Celebes, Timor
LANIIDiE.
132. Lanius
16
The whole region
ISTearc. , Palsearc. , Ethiop.
133. Laniellus . .
1
Java
134. Teplirodomis...
5
India, Ceylon, and Malaya ;
Hanian
CoiiviD^.
135. Pityriasis
1
Borneo, Sumatra
136. Platylophus ..
4
Malaya
137. Garralus
4
Himalayas, S. China, Formosa
Palsearctic
138. Cissa
3
Himalayas and Aracan to Java
139. Urodssa
7
K". W. Himalayas, Ceylon, Bur-
mah, China, Formosa
N. China and Japan
140. Temnurus
3
Malaya and Cochin China
141. Dcndrocitta ...
8
All India to S. China, Formosa,
and Sumatra
142. Crypsirhina ...
2
Java and Burmah
143. Nucifraga
2
Himalayas and E. Thibet ;—
8,000—10,000 feet
Palsearctic genus
144. Pica
2
China and Himalayas of Bcetan
Paljearctic and Nearctic
145. CorYUS
9
The whole region
Cosmop., excl. S. Am.
(Fregilus
2
Himalaj'as, high)
Palsearctic genus
Nectariniid^.
146. JEtJwpaga
13
Himalayas to W. China & Java,
Central India
Celebes
147. Chalcostetha...
1
Malaya and Siam
Celebes to New Guinea
148. Arachuothera
12
The whole reg., excl. Philippines
Celebes, Lombock, New
Guinea
149. Arachnecthera
7
The whole region, excl. China
Celebes to New Iceland
380
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
o .2
. o
O <D
4
Range within tlie Hegion.
Rang9 beyond the Region.
150. Nactaropliila ...
India, Ceylon, Malaya, Philipp.
Celebes
151. Anthrcptcs
1
Malaya and Indo-Ohiua
Celebes
DiCiEIDiE.
152. DiccTenm
10
The whole region
Australian
153. Pachj'glossa ...
1
Nepal
Celebes
154. Piprisoma
1
India and Ceylon
155. P7'ionochilus ...
4
Malaya
156. Zosterops
8
The whole region
Ethiopian, Australian
157. Chalcoparia ...
1
Aracan to Malaya
HlRUNDINID^,
158. Hirimdo
10
The whole region
Cosmopolite
159, Cotyle
5
India to China
Paleearc, Ethiop., Amer.
160. Chelidon
3
India, Borneo
Palsearctic
Fringillid^.
(Fringilla
1
Himala5ras, in Avinter)
Palsearctic genus
(Acanthis
1
N. W. Himalayas, in winter)
Palsearctic genus
(Procarduelis...
1
High Himalayas)
Palsearctic genus
(Chlorospiza ...
1
China)
Palsearctic and Ethiopian
161. Passer
6
The whole region
Palajarctic and Ethiopian
(Fringillauda
1
High Himalayas)
Palsearctic genus
(Cocootliraustes
2
High Himalayas)
Palsearctic and Nearctic
(Mycerobas . . .
1
High Himalayas)
Palsearctic genus
162. Eophona
]
China
Palsearctic
(P3'rrhula
4
Himalayas, winter)
Palsearctic
(Carpodacus ...
4
Himalayas and Central India, in
winter)
Palsearctic and Nearctic
(Loxia
1
Snowy Himalayas)
Palsearctic and Nearctic
(Propyirlmla ...
1
Darjeeling, in winter)
[?] Palsearctic
163. HcemcUospiza
1
S. E. Himal., 5,000 to 10,000 ft.
{S. Fam. EMBERiziNJi)
164. Euspiza . .
4
N. W. India to Burmah, & China
Palsearctic and Nearctic
165. Emberiza
7
All India and China, in winter
Palsearctic genus
PLOCEIDiE.
166. Ploceus
4
India & Ceylon, Burmah, Malaya
Ethiopian
167. Miinia
20
The whole region
Austro-Malayan
168. Estrilda
2
India and Ceylon, Burmah, Java
Ethiopian, Australian
169. Erythrui-a ...
1
Java, , Sumatra
Moluccas to Fiji Islands
Sturnid^.
170. Eulabes
7
The whole reg., excl. Philippines
Flores, Papua
171. Ampeliceps ...
1
Tenasserim to Cochin-China
172. Gijmnops
1
Philippine Islands
173. Pastor
1
All India to Burmah
S. Palsearctic
174. Acridotheres ...
6
The whole region
Celebes
175. Sturnia
12
The whole region
N. China& Japan, Celebes
176. Sturnns
3
India and China
Palsearctic
177. Sturnopastor ...
3
Cen. India to Burmah & Malaya 1
178. Calovnis
2
Malaya and Philippines [?] Celebes, Moluccas to
Samoan Islands
179. Saroglossa
1
W. and Central Himalayas
CHAP. XII.]
THE ORIENTAL REGION.
381
AllTAMID^.
180. Artamus
Alaudid^.
(Otocorys
181. Alauda
182. Galerita
183. Calandrella ...
(Melanocoryplia
184 Mirafra
185. Ammomanes...
186. Pyrrhulauda...
MOTACILLID^.
187. Motacilla
188. Budytes
189. Calobates
190. Nevioricola ...
191. Autlius
192. Corydalla
193. Heterura
EURYLiEMIDiB.
194. Eurylcemus ...
195. Serilophus
196. Psariscmus ..
197. Corydon...
198. Cymbirhynchus
199. Calypto-nuna . . .
PlTTID.®
200. Pitta
201. Eucichla
202. Hyclrornis
PICAEIiE.
PlCID^.
203. Vivla
204. Sasia
205. Picus
206. Hyopicus
207. Yungipicus ...
208. Reinivardtipicus
209. Venilia
210. Ghrysocolaptes
211. Hemicercus ...
212. Gecinus
The whole region
N. India, in winter)
India and China
Central India
India and Burmah
N. W. India)
India, Ceylon, and Java
Central India
India and Ceylon
India and Ceylon to China anc
PhilippinesJ
China and Philippines
The whole region
India, Ceylon, and Malaya
India and China
The whole region
Himalayas
Malaya
Himalayas
Himalayas
Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo
Aracan, Siam, and Malaya
Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo
The whole region
Malaya
Himalayas and Malaya
N. W. Himalayas to E. Thibet,
3,000-6,000 ft.
Nepal to Malaya and Borneo
The whole region, excl. Philip-
I)ines
Himalayas
The whole region
Penang to Sumatra and Borneo
Nepal to Sumatra and Borneo
India, Ceylon, Malaya, Philip-
pines
Malabar, Pegu to Malaya
All India and Ceylon to Pegu | Pal&arctic
and Malaya
Australian
Palsearctic and Nearctic
Palsearctic and Ethiopian
Palaearctic
Palsearctic and Ethiopian
Palaearctic
Ethiopian
Palsearctic and Ethiop an
Ethiopian
Palajarctic and Ethiopian
Palisarctic & Ethiopian,
Moluccas
Palsearctic
Cosmopolite
Palsearctic, Australian
Australian, Ethiopian
Palsearctic, American -
N. China
N. China, Japan, Celebes
382
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[PAET III.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
213. Mulleripicus . . .
214. Bracliypternus
215. Tiga
216. Gecinulios
217. Miglyptes
218. MicropterriKyS . . .
YUNGID^.
219. Yunx
Indicatoeid^.
220. Indicator
Mbgal^mid^.
221. Megalcema ...
222. Xantltoloema ...
223. Psilopogon
224. Caloramphus . . .
CUCULID^.
225. Phcenicopliaes
226. Rhinococcyx ...
227. Dasylophus ...
228. Lepidogrammus
229. Carpococcyx ...
230. Zanclostomus ..
231. Bhopodytes ...
232. Taccocoua
233. Poliococcyx ...
234. RMiiortha
235. Centropus
236. Cuciilus
237. Cacomantis ...
238. Chrysococcyx
239. Surnic'ulus ...
240. Hierococcyx . . .
241. Coccystes
242. Eudynamis ...
C0RACIID.ai].
243. Goracias...
244. Eurystomus ...
Meeopid^.
245. Nyctioniis ...
Range within tlie Region.
Malabar, Aracaii to Malaya aud
Philippines
India, Ceylon, and China
India to Malaya
S. Himalayas to Burmah
Malaya
India and Ceylon, to Borneo and
S. China
Central and S. China
Himalayas and Borneo
The whole region, excl. Philip
pines
All India and Cej'^lon to Pegu
and Malaya
Sumatra
Malacca, Sumatra and Borneo
Ceylon
Java
Philippine Islands
Philippine Islands
Borneo, Sumatra
Malaya
Nepal to Ceylon, Hainan and
Malaya
All India, Ceylon, Malacca
Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo
Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo
The whole region
The whole region
The whole region
The whole region
India, Ceylon and Malaya
The whole region
The whole region, excl. Philip-
pines
The whole regioa
India, Ceylon and Burmah
The whole res;ion
S. India to Himalayas, Burmah,
Sumatra, and Borneo
Range beyond tlie Region.
Celebes
Paljearctic, S Africa
Ethiopian
Ethiopian, Australian
Paleearc, Ethiop., Aust.
Australian
Ethiopian, Australian
^Celebes, N. China and
Amoorland
Ethiopian
Australian
Ethiopian, S. Palsearctic
Celebes
Ethiopian, Australian
CHAP. XII.]
THE OEIENTAL EEGION.
383
Order, Family, and
Genus.
246. Merops
Trogonid^.
247. Harpades
Alcedinid^.
248. Halcyon
249. Pelargopsis ...
250. Carcineittes ...
251. Ceyx
252. Alcedo
253. Alcyone
254. Ceryle
BUCEROTID^.
255. Buceros
256. Hydrocissa ...
257. Berenicornis ...
258i Calao
259. Aceros
260. Craiiorrhinus
261. Penelopides ...
262. Rhinoplax ^ ...
263. Meniceros
TJpuPiD-a;.
264. Upupa
PODARGID^.
265. Batracliostomus
Caprimtjlgid^.
266. Caprimulgus . . .
267. Lyncomis
CTPSELIDiE.
268. Cypselus
269. Dendrochelidon
270. CoUocalia
271. Chsetura
PSITTACI.
Caoatuid^.
(Cacatua
PAL^ORNITHIDiE.
272. Palseornis
10
Ranse within tlie Region.
Range beyond tlie Region.
The whole region
The whole region, excl. China
The whole region
The whole region, excl. China
Burmah, Siam, and Malaya
India and Ceylon, Malaya and
Philippines
The whole region
Philippines
India to S. China
Nepal to Malaya, S. India,
Philippines
India, Ceylon and Malaya
Sumatra
Tenasserim, Malaya
S. E. Himalayas
Malacca to Borneo and Philip-
pines
Philippines
Sumatra, Borneo
India and Ceylon to Tenasserim
India, Ceylon and Burmah
India, Ceylon and Malaya
The whole region
Burmah, Malaya, & Philippines
The region, excl. Philippines
Ceylon, India, Malaya, Philipp.
The whole region
Ceylon, India, Malaya, Hainan
Philippines)
N. W. India to Ceylon, Siam &
Malaya
S. Palsearctic, Ethiopian,
Australian
S. Palgearctic, Ethopian,
Australian
Celebes and Timor
Moluccas & New Guin.
Palaearctic, Ethiopian,
Austro-Malayan
Australian genus
Ethiopian, S. Palsearctic,
American
W. Africa
Austro-Malaya
Celebes
Ethiopian, S. Palsearctic
Moluccas
The Eastern Hemisphere
Celebes
The OldWorld & S.Amer.
Austro-Malaya
Madagascar, Moluccas,
Pacific Islands
America, Africa
Australian genus
'Ethiopian
384
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part ur.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
273. Prionitunis .
274. Cyclopsitta .,
275. Psitiinus
276. Tanygnathus.,
277. Loricuhis
COLUMB^.
C0LTJMBID.S;.
278. Treron
279. Ptilopus
280. Carpopliaga ..
281. Columba
282. Janthsenas
283. Macropygia ..
284. Turtur
285. Chalcophaps ..
286. Phapitreron ..
287. Caloeiias
288. Phlegoenas ..
289. Geopelia
GALLING.
PXEROCLIDiE.
290. Pterocles
Tetraonid^.
291. Francolinus ..
292. Ortygornis ..
293. Perdix
294. Coturnix
295. Rollulits
(Caccabis
Phasianid^.
296. Pavo
297. Argusianus ..
298. Polyplectron ..
(Lophophorus
(Tetraophasis
299. Ceriornis
(Pucrasia
300. Phasianus
801. Eaplocamus ..
302. Galkis ,
303. Qalloperclix ...
Range within the Region.
Philippine Islands
Philippine Islands
Malaya, excl. Java
Philippine Islands
Ceylon, India, Malaya,
pines
Philip-
The whole region
Malaya and Philippines
India and Ceylon to Hainan and
Philippines
Ceylon and India to Tenasserim
Philippine, Andaman & Nicobar
Islands
Nepal, Java, Hainan, Philippines
The whole region
India, Ceylon, Malaya, Hainan,
Philippines, Formosa
Philippine Islands
Nicobar and Philippine Islands
Philippine and Sooloo Islands
Philippine Islands, Java
Central and S. India
Ceylon and India to S. China
Ceylon to Himalayas, Sumatra &
Borneo
India, Malaya, Philippines, China
The whole region
Malacca, Siam, Borneo, Philipp,
W. Himalayas)
Ceylon to Himalayas, S.W. China
and Java
Siam, Malacca, Borneo
Upper Assam to S. W. China &
Sumatra
Cashmere and E. Thibet)
E. Thibet)
N. W. Himalayas to W. China
N". "W. Himalayas to N. China
and Mongolia)
W. Himalayas, S. China, Formosa
iST. W. Himalayas to China
Sumatra and Borneo
The region, excl. China
Central India to Ceylon
Range bej'ond the Region.
Celebes
Papuan Islands
Austro-Malaya
Celebes and Moluccas,
Flores
Ethiopian, Moluccas
Australian
Australian
Palsearc, Ethiop., Amer.
Japan, Moluccas to Sa-
moan Islands
Austro-Malaya, Australia
Old World, Austro-Malay .
Austro-Malaya, Australia
Austro-Malaya
Austro-Mal. & Polynesia
Austro-Malaya &Austral.
S. Palsearctic, Ethiopian
S. Palsearctic, Ethiopian
Palsearctic
The Eastern Hemisphere
Palsearctic genus
Palsearctic genus
Palsearctic genus
S. E. Palsearctic
Palsearctic genus
S. Palsearctic
Celebes and Timor
CHAP. XII.]
THE ORIENTAL REGION.
385
Order, Family, and
Genus.
fl
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
TURNICir).E.
304. Tuniix
9
Tlie whole region
S. Palsearc, Ethiojiian,
Australian
MEGAPODIIDiE.
305. Megapodius ..
2
Nicobar Is., Philippines, N. W.
Celebes to Samoan Is.,
Borneo
N. Australia
ACCIPITRES.
VULTURID^.
306. Vultur
1
Himalayas
S. Palfsarctic, Ethiopian
307. Gyps
3
India and Siam
3. Palsearctic, Ethiopian
308. Pseudogyps ...
1
India and Burmah
N. Ethiopian
309. Neophron
1
All India
S. Palseaictic, Ethiopian
FALCONIDiE.
310. Circus
4
India and China
Almost Cosmopolite
311. Astur
4
The whole region
Almost Cosmopolite
312. Accipiter
2
The whole region
Almost Cosmopolite
313. Buteo
2
India to China
Cosmopolite ; excl. Austl.
314. Aquila
4
India tolChina
Nearc, Pala;arc. , Ethiop.
315. Nisaetus
2
India and Ceylon
S. Paleear., Ethiop., Aus.
316. Lopliotriorchis
1
Indo-Malaya
Neotropical
317. Neopus
1
India to Burmah and Malaya
Celebes and Moluccas
318. Spizaetus
5
India to Malaya and Formosa
Neotropical, Ethiopian,
Austro-Malayan
319. Circaetus
1
Indian peninsula
Palaearc, Ethiop., Timor
320. Spilornis
5
The whole region
Celebes
321. Butastur
3
The whole region
N. E. Africa, Celebes,
New Guinea
322. Haliseetus ...
2
The whole region
Cosmopolite ; excl. Neo-
tropical region
323. Haliastur
1
India to Malaya
.\ustro-Malaya, Austral.
324. Milviis
3
The whole region
The Eastern Hemisphere.
325. Elanus
2
India, Malaya
Africa, Australia
326. Machserhamphus
1
Malacca
S. W. Africa & Madag.
327. Peruis
1
India
Palsp.arctic and Ethiopian,
Celebes
328. Baza
3
India to Malaya
Moluccas and N. Austrl.
329. Hierax
4
N. India, Burmah, Malaya
330. Poliohierax ...
1
Burmah
E. Africa
331. Falco
8
The whole region
Almost Cosmopolite
332. Cerchneis
3
The whole region
Almost Cosmopolite
PANDIONIDiE.
333. Pandion
1
The whole region
Cosmopolite
334, Polioaetus ...
2
India to Malaya
Indo-Malaya & Polynesia
STRIGID.ffi:.
335. Athene
9
The whole region
The Eastern Hemisphere
336. Ninox
7
The whole region
N. China and Japan
337. Bubo
4
India, Ceylon, Malaya and Philip.
Cosmop. exc. Austr. reg.
338 Ketupa
3
The whole region
339. Scops
7
The whole region
Almost Cosmopolite
C 0
386
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
O 01
"^ ft
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
340. Syrniura
(Asio
Sil. Sti-ix
342. Phodilus
6
2
4
2
The whole region
India)
The whole region
Nepal, Malaya
Cosmop. exc. Austr. reg.
Palsearc. , Ethiop . Amer.
Cosmopolite
Peculiar or verij Characteristic Genera of Wading or Swimming Birds.
GRALL^.
RALLIDiE.
Eallina
PARRIDiE.
Hydrophasian us
ClIARADKIID^.
iEsacns
10
The whole region
The whole region
The whole region
Austro-Malaya
Austro-Malayan, Aiistra
CHAPTER XIIT.
THE AUSTRALIAN REGION".
The Australian is the great insular region of the earth. As a
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 isknds 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,
G c 2
388 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
where a fine range of mountains readies, in the Colony of Vic-
toria,, tlie 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 poi^tions 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
great 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 (in
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
diificult 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-
liarities.
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 ]Sew
390 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
Hebrides have ratlier an uncertain position, and it is difficult
to decide whether to class them Avith 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 ;
l)ut 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. — The 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 Muridse — (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 AUSTEALIAN REGION. 391
Marsupialia and Monotremata, found nowliere 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, Ornithorhyncliiis 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 Eodents are more interest-
ing. They are all more or less modified forms of mice or rats.
Some belong to the widely distributed genus Mus, 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, so that although not yet known from
New Guinea or 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 Fringillidee (true finches), Picidse (wood-
peckers), Yultiiridffi (vultures), and Phasianidas (pheasants).
392 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
and among prevalent Oriental groups, Pycnonotidse (bulbuls),
Phyllornithida3 (green bulbuls), and Megalsemidse (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 Paridiseidse (paradise-birds), Meliphagidse
(honey-suckers), Menuridse (lyre-birds), Atrichidse (scrub-birds),
Cacatuidse (cockatoos), Platycercidse (broad-tailed and grass-
paroquets), Trichoglossidse (brush-tongiied paroquets, Megapo-
diidse (mound-makers), and Casuariidse (cassowaries). There are
also eight very characteristic families, of which four, — Pachy-
cephalidffi (thick-headed shrikes), Campephagidie (caterpillar
shrikes), Dicseidse (flower-peckers), and Artamidse (swallow-
shrikes) — are feebly represented elsewhere, while the other four
— Ploceidte (weaver-finches), Alcsedinidse (kingfishers), Podargidaj
(frog-mouths), and Columbidse (pigeons) — although widely dis-
tributed, are here unusually abundant and varied, and (except
in the case of the Ploceidse) better represented in the Australian
than in any other region. Of all these the Meliphagidae (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 limits, with the excep-
tion of one {Ptilotis limhata) 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 Trichoglossidse 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 AUSTKALIAN 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 Trichoglossidse, as already intimated, are 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 Paradiseidse (birds of paradise and allies) are
another remarkable family, confined to the Papuan group of
Islands, and the tropical parts of Australia. The Megapodiidse
(or mound-builders) are another most remarkable and anomalous
group 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
394 ZOOLOaiCAL GEOGRAPHY. [part iir.
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
luxmious 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 Platycercidse, or broad-tailed paroquets, are anotlier
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 Pachycephalidae, 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 Artamidae, 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 Podargidae, 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-
pephagidai (caterpillar-shrikes) also abound, but they are fairly
represented both in India and Africa. The Ploceidse, 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. XIII.] 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
Columbidse or pigeons. Three-fourths of the genera have represen-
tatives in the Australian region, while two-fifths of the whole are
confined to it ; and it possesses as many species of pigeons as any
other tM^o 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 dauger,
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
irom 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 Ptiloptis,
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 aerial 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
39G ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
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 Eeptiles 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 famiKes Pythonidae and Elapidse. About
two-thirds of the Australian snakes belong to the latter family,
and are poisonous ; so that although the Crotalidae and Viperidse
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-tropioal
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 Agamidse, Gymnopthalmidse, and Varanidae.
The three peculiar families are the Pygopodidae, Aprasiidse and
Lialidae; comprising only 4 genera and 7 species. The above
all belong to Australia proper. Those of the other sub-regions
are 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 lizards ; 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 Chelydidse
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 (Xenorhinidse), consisting of
a single species, is found in New Guinea; the true toads
(Bufonidse) 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 : — Pseudopliryne (Phryniscidee), Pachy-
hatrachus, and Chelydobatrachus (Engystomydse) ; Helioporus
(Alytidae) ; Pelodyras and Gliirodyras (Pelodryadee) ; Notad&n
(Bufonidse).
Fresh-water Fish. — There is only one peculiar family of fresh-
water fishes in this region — the Gadopsidae — represented by a
single genus and species. The other species of Australia belong
to the families Trachinidse, Atherinidee, Mugillid*, Siluridse,
Homalop terse, Haplochitonidse, Galaxidas, Osteoglossidse, Sym-
branchidse, and Sirenoidei ; most of the genera being peculiar.
The large and widely-distributed families, Cyprinodontidse and
Cyprinidse, are absent. The most remarkable fish is the recently
discovered Geratodits, 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,
Nummary of Australian Vertehrata. — 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 hi.
The Australian region, then, possesses examples of 18 families
of Mammalia, 8 of which are peculiar ; 71 of Birds, 16 being
peculiar; 31 of Keptiles, 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.
Sup2^oscd Land Connection behoccn Australia and South A^nerica.
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 Sovith America, and extending even
into the temperate regions of I^orth 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; and this implies that the point of common origin is very
remote in geological time. But the most conclusive fact is that
in the Eocene and Miocene periods this very family, Didel-
phyidse, 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 supplied 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 {Meiucra)
is believed by some ornithologists to be decidedly allied to the
South American Pteroptochidae, while others maintain that
it is altogether peculiar, and has no such affinity. The Aus-
tralian Pachycephalidse have also been supposed to find their
nearest allies in the American Vireonidae, but this is, perhaps,
e-qually problematical. That the mound-makers (Megapodiida?)
of the Australian region are more nearly allied to the South
American curassows (Cracidse) 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 Eudyptes ; and these
have almost certainly passed from one region to the other, but
400 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
no actual land connection is required for birds which can cross
considerable arms of the sea.
Eeptiles 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 Gymnopthalmidse are the only family that favour the
notion, since they are found in Australia and South America,
but Hot in the Oriental region. Yet they occur in both the
Palsearctic and Ethiopian regions, and their distribution is alto-
gether too erratic to be of any value in a case of this kind ;
and the same remarks apply to the tortoises of the family
Chelydidse.
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 ; Litoria, a genus of the family Hylidse
peculiar to Australia, but with one species in Paraguay ; and in
the family Discogiossidse, the Australian genus Chirole^ptes has
its nearest ally in the Chilian genus Calyptocephalus.
Presh-water fishes give yet clearer evidence. Three groups are
exclusively found in these two regions ; Aphritis, a fresh- water
genus of Trachinidse, has one species in Tasmania and two
others in Patagonia ; the Haplochitonidse inhabit only Terra del
Fuego, the Falkland Islands and South Australia; while the
genus Galaxias (forming the family Galaxidse) 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 Eeptilia
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 af&nity
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. XIII.] 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)
inhabitiDg Tasmania, New Zealand, the Ealkland 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,
D D
402 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [part hi.
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 we 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 tlie
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 foimer land- connection be-
tween the Australian and Neotropical regions ; but that the
various scattered resemblances in their natural productions
CHAP, xiii.] THE AUSTEALIAN REGION. 403
that undoubtedly occur, are probably due to three distinct
causes.
First, we have the American Didelphyidse, among Mammals,
and the Cracidas, among birds, allied respectively to the Marsu-
pials and the Megapodiidfp, 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
great 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 whicli 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 species 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, V7e 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
D D 2
404 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [paet hi.
wliicli 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 Austro-Malayan, the Pacific Islands and New
Zealand being very poor in insect life.
Lepidoptera. — Australia itself is poor in butterflies, except in
its northern and more tropical parts, where green Ornithopterce
and several other Malayan forms occur. In South Australia
there are less than thirty -five species, whereas in Queensland there
are probably over a hundred. The peculiar Australian forms
are few. In the family Satyridse, Xenica and Heteronympha,
with Hypocista extending to New Guinea ; among the Lycee-
nidae, Ogyris and Utica are confined to Australia proper, and
Hypoclirysops to the region ; and in Papilionidee, the remark-
able Eurycus is confined to Australia, but is allied to Euryades,
a genus found in Temperate South America (La Plata), and to
the Parnassius of the jSTorth-Temperate zone.
The Austro-Malay sub-region has more peculiar forms. Hama-
dryas, a genus of Danaidse, approximates to some South American
forms ; Hy cedes and Hyantis are remarkable groups of Morphidse;
Mynes and Prothoe are fine Nymphalidae, the former extending to
Queensland ; Diccdlaneura, a genus of Erycinidse, and Elodina,
of Pieridse, are also peculiar forms. The fine ^geus group of
Papilio, and Priamus group of Ornithoptera, also belong exclu-
sively to this region.
Xois is confined to the Fiji Islands, Bletogona to Celebes, and
Acroptlialmia to New Zealand, all genera of Satyridte. Seven-
teen genera in all are confined to the Australian region.
Among the Sphingina, Pollanisus, a genus of Zygaenidte, is
Australian ; also four genera of Castniidse — Synemon, Euschejiion,
Daniias, and Cocytia, the latter being confined to the Papuan
islands. The occurrence of this otherwise purely South American
family in the Australian region, as well as the affinity of Eurycus
and Euryades noticed above, is interesting ; but as we have seen
that the genera and families of insects are more permanent than
those of the higher animals, and as the groups in question are
CHAP, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN EEGION. 405
confined to the warmer parts of both countries, they may be best
explained as cases of survival of a once wide-spread type, and
may probably date back to the period when the ancestors of the
Marsupials and Megapodii were cut off from the rest of the world.
CoUopUrct. — The same remark applies here as in the Lepidop-
tera, respecting the affinity of the Austro-Malay fauna to that of
Indo-Malay Islands; but Australia proper is much richer in
beetles than in butterflies, and exhibits much more speciality.
Although the other two parts of the Australian region (Polynesia
and New Zealand) are very poor in beetles, it will, nevertheless,
on the whole compare favourably with any of the regions except
the very richest.
Cicindelidee are not very abundant. Therates and Tricondyla
are the characteristic genera in Austro-Malaya, but are absent
from Australia, where we have Tetracha as the most character-
istic genus, with one species of Megacephala and two of Distyp-
sidera, a genus which is found also in New Zealand and some
of the Pacific Islands. The occurrence of the South American
genus, Tetraclia, may perhaps be due to a direct transfer by
means of intervening lands during the warm southern period ;
but considering the permanence of coleopterous forms (as shown
by the Miocene species belonging almost wholly to existing
genera), it seems more probable that it is a case of the survival
of a once wide-spread group.
Carabidte are w^ell represented, there being no less than 94
peculiar genera, of which 19 are confined to New Zealand. The
Australian genera of most importance are Carenum (68 species),
Promecoderm (27 species), Silp)ho7norpha (32 species), Adelotopus
(27 species), Scaraphites (25 species), Notonomus (18 species),
Gnathoxys (12 species), Eutoma (9 s^qqaq^), JEnigma (15 species),
Lacordcdrea (8 species), Pamhorus (8 species), Catadromus (4 spe-
cies),— the latter found in Australia and Celebes. Common to
Australia and New Zealand are Mecodema (14 species), Homcdo-
soma (32 species), Dicrocliile (12 species), and Scopodes (5 species).
The larger genera, confined to New Zealand only, are Metaglymma
(8 species), and Demetrida (3 species). The curious genus
Pseudomorpha (10 species), is divided between California., Brazil,
406 ZOOLOGICAL GEOaRAPHY. [part ni.
and Australia ; and the Australian genera, Adelotopus, Silplio-
morplia, and Splicdlomorpha, form with it a distinct tribe of Cole-
optera. These being all confined to the warmer regions, and having
so scattered a distribution, are no doubt the relics of a wide-
spread group. The Australian genus, Promecoderus, has, how-
ever, closely allied genera {Cascelius and its allies), in Chili and
Patagonia; while two small genera confined to the Auckland
Islands {Heterodactyliis and Pristancyclus) are allied to a group
found only in Terra- del-Fuego and the Falkland Islands,
{Migadops) ; and in these cases we may well believe that a direct
transmission has taken place by some of the various means
already indicated.
In Lucanidse, Australia is only moderately rich, having 7
peculiar genera. The most important are Ceratognatlius SbudWiys-
sonotus, confined to Australia ; Lissotes to Australia and New
Zealand; Lamprima to Australia and Papua. Mitopliyllus and
DendroUax inhabit New Zealand only ; while Syndesus is found
in Australia, New Caledonia, and tropical South America.
The beautiful Cetoniidse are poorly represented, there being
only 3 peculiar genera ; — 8chizor]iina, mainly Australian, but
extending to Papua and the Moluccas ; Anacamptorhina, con-
fined to New Guinea, and Sternoplus to Celebes. Lomaptera is
very characteristic of the Austro-Malay Islands. This almost
tropical family shows no approximations bet'veen the Australian
and Neotropical faunas.
In Buprestidse, the Australian region is the richest, possessing
no less than 47 genera, of which 20 are peculiar to it. Of these, 15
are peculiar to Australia itself, the most important being Stig-
rn.odera (212 species), Ethon (13 species), and Nascio (3 species) ;
Cisseis (17 species), and the magnificent Calodeona (3 species),
are common to Australia and Austro-Malaya ; while Samhus
(10 species) and Anthaxomorpha (4 species), with some smaller
groups, are peculiarly Austro-Malayan. In this family occur
several points of contact with the Neotropical region. Stigmo-
dera is said to have a species in Chili, while there are undoubt-
edly several allied genera in Chili and South Temperate America.
The genus Curis has 5 Australian and 3 Chilian species, and
CHAP, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 407
Ackerusia has 2 species in Brazil, 1 in Australia. These re-
semblances may probably have arisen from intercommunication
during the warm southern period, when floating timber would
occasionally transmit a few larvse of this family from island to
island across the antarctic seas. When the cold period returned,
they would spread northward, and become more or less modified
under the new physical conditions and organic competition, to
which they were subjected.
We now come to the very important group of Longicorns, in
which the Australian region as a whole, is very rich, possessing
360 genera, of which 263 are peculiar to it. Of these about 50
are confined to the Austro-Malay Islands, 12 to New Zealand,
and the remainder to Australia proper with Tasmania. Of the
genera confined to, or highly characteristic of Australia, the
following are the most important : — Cnemoplites, belonging to
the Prionidae ; Plioracantha, to the Cerambycidfe ; Zygocera,
Hebeceriis, Symphyletes, and Rhytidopliora, to the Lamiidse.
Confined to the Austro-Malay Islands are Tetliionea (Ceramby-
cidse) : TmesisUrnus, Arrhenotus, Micracantlia, and Syhra
(Lamiidse) ; but there are also such Malayan genera as Batocera
Gnoma, Praonetha, and Sphenura, which are very abundant in
the Austro-Malay sub-region. A species of each of the Austra-
lian genera, Zygocera, Syllitus, and Pseucloceplialus, is said to
occur in Chili, and one of the tropical American genus, Hamma-
tochcerus, in tropical Australia ; an amount of resemblance
which, as in the case of the Buprestidse, may be imputed
to trans-oceanic migration during the Southern warm period.
This concludes our illustrations of the distribution of some of
the more important groups of Australian insects ; and it will be
admitted that we have not met with any such an amount of
identity with the fauna of Temperate South America, as to
require us to modify the conclusions we arrived at from a con-
sideration of the vertebrate groups.
Land-Shells. — The distribution of many of the larger genera
of land-shells is very erratic, while others are exceedingly re-
stricted, so that it requires an experienced conchologist to
investigate the affinities of the several groups, and thus work
408 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [pakt hi.
out the important facts of distribution. All that can be done
here is to note the characteristic and peculiar genera, and any
others presenting features of special interest.
In the great family of the snails (Helicidffi), the only genera
strictly confined to the region are, Partula, now containing above
100 species, and ranging over the Pacific from the Solomon Isles
on the west, to the Sandwich Islands and Tahiti on the east ;
and Achatinella, now containing nearly 300 species, and wholly
confined to the Sandwich Islands. Pfeifferia is confined to the
Philippine Islands and Moluccas ; Cochlostyla to the Indo-Malay
Islands and Australia ; Bulimns occurs in most of the insular
groups, including New Zealand, but is absent from Australia.
Among the Aciculidse, the widely-scattered Truncatclla is the
only genus represented. Among Diplommatinidte, Piplommatina
is the characteristic genus, ranging over the whole region,
and found elsewhere as far as India, with one species in
Trinidad. The extensive family Cyclostomidge, is not well
represented. Seven genera reach the Austro-Malay Islands,
one of which, Begistoma, is confined to the Philippines, Moluc-
cas, New Caledonia, and the ^larshall Islands. Omphalotropis
is the most characteristic genus, ranging over the whole region ;
Gallia is confined to the Philippines, Ceram, and Australia ;
Realia to New Zealand and the Marquesas. The genus Hdicina
alone represents the Helicinidse, and is found in the whole region
except New Zealand. The number of species known from
Australia is perhaps about 300; while the Polynesian sub-region,
according to Mr. Harper Pease, contains over 600 ; the Austro-
Malay Islands w^U furnish probably 200; and New Zealand
about 100 ; making a total of about 1,200 species for the whole
region.
Australian Sue-eegions.
Pew of the great zoological regions comprise four divisions so
strongly contrasted as these, or which present so many interesting
problems. We have first the Austro-Malay Islands, an equatorial
forest-region teeming with varied and beautiful forms of life ;
next we have Australia itself, an island-continent with its satellite
CHAP, xiii.] THE AUSTKALIAN EEGION. 409
Tasmania, both tropical and temperate, but for the most part
arid, yet abounding in peculiar forms in all the classes of animals;
then come the Polynesian Islands, another luxuriant region of
tropical vegetation, yet excessively poor in most of the higher
groups of animals as well as in some of the lower ; and lastly,
we have New Zealand, a pair of temperate forest-clad islands
far in the southern ocean, with a very limited yet strange and
almost wholly peculiar fauna. We have now to consider the
general features and internal relations of the faunas of each of
these sub-regions, together with any external relations which
have not been discussed while treating the region as a whole.
/. Austro-Malayan Suh-region.
The central mass on which almost every part of this sub-
region is clearly dependent, is the great island of ISTew Guinea,
inhabited by the Papuan race of mankind ; and this, with the
surrounding islands, which are separated from it by shallow seas
and possess its most marked zoological features, are termed Papua.
A little further away lie the important groups of the Moluccas
on one side and the Eastern Papuan Islands on the other, which
possess a fauna mainly derivative from New Guinea, yet wanting
many of its distinctive types ; and, in the case of the Moluccas
possessing many groups which are not Australian, but derived
from the adjacent Oriental region. To the south of these we
have the Timor group, whose fauna is clearly derivative, from
Australia, from Java, and from the Moluccas. Lastly comes
Celebes, whose fauna is most complex and puzzling, and, so far
as we can judge, not fundamentally derivative from any of the
surrounding islands.
Pa'pua, or the New Guinea Group. — New Guinea is very
deficient in Mammalia as compared with Australia, though this
apparent poverty may, in part, depend on our very scanty know-
ledge. As yet only four of the Australian families of Marsupials
are known to inhabit it, with nine genera, several of which
are peculiar. It also possesses a peculiar form of wild pig;
but as yet no other non-marsupial terrestrial mammal has been
discovered, except a rat, described by Dr. Gray as Uromys
410 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPPIY. [part hi.
aruensis, but about the locality of which there seems some
doubt.^ Omitting bats, of which our knowledge is very imperfect,
the Papuan Mammals are as follows : —
Family.
Genus.
Species.
Suidis
Sus
1
Eastern limit of the genus,
Muridse
Uromys
1
Am Islands (?)
Dasyuridse
Phascogale
1
Australian genus.
j> . . .
Antechinus
1
93 ??
„
Dactylopsila
1
To North Australia only.
,,
, Myoictis
1
Aru islands only.
Peramelidse . . .
Perameles
1
New Guinea only.
Macropodidse ...
Dendrolagus
2
New Guinea only.
"
. Dorcopsis
2
Papua only.
Phalangistidss..
. Cuscus
7
Celebes to New Guinea.
,,
. Belideus
1
Australia and Moluccas.
We have here no sign of any approach to the Mammalian
fauna of the Oriental region, for though Sus has appeared, the
Muridse (rats and mice) seem to be wanting.
In Birds the case is very different, since we at once meet
with important groups, either wholly, or almost peculiar to
the Papuan fauna. According to a careful estimate, embodying
the recent discoveries of Meyer and D'Albertis, there are
350 species of Papuan land-birds comprised in 136 genera.
About 300 of the species are absolutely peculiar to the dis-
trict, while 39 of the genera are exclusively Papuan or just
extend into the Moluccas, or into ISTorth Australia where it
closely approaches New Guinea. In analysing the genera we
may set aside 31 as having a wide range, and being of no signifi-
cance in distribution ; such are most of the birds of prey, with
the genera Hirundo, Caprimulgus, Zosterops ; and others widely
spread in both the Oriental and Australian regions, as Dicceum,
Munia, Eudynamis, &c. Of the remainder, as above stated,
about 39 are peculiar to the Papuan fauna, 50 are characteristic
Australian genera ; 9 are more especially Malayan, and as much
Australian as Oriental; while 7 only, appear to be typically
Oriental with a discontinuous distribution, none of them occurring
in the Moluccas.
1 iSee Ann. Nat. Hist, 1873, p. 418, where the species is said to inhabit
the Aru Islands and Celebes, which renders it not improbable that it may
have been carried to the former islands from the latter.
CHAP. XIII.]
THE AUSTRALIAN REGION.
411
This Papuan fauua is so interesting and remarkable, that it
seems advisable to give lists of these several classes of generic
types.
I. Genera occurring in the Papuan Islands which are charac-
teristic of the Australian region (89). Those marked with an
asterisk are exclusively Papuan.
Sylviidse...
Certliiidee
Sittidse ...
Oriolidge . . .
Campephagidse
Dicruridse
Mudcicapidse
Pachycephalidfe .
Laniidse ...
Corvidge ...
Paradiseidse
Meliphagidse
Nectariniidse
Artamidse
Pittidse . . .
Cuculidge
Alcedinidse
Podargidse
Caprimulgidse
Cacatuidse
Platycercidse
Palaeornithidse
Trichoglossidae
Nestoridse
Columbidse
Megapodiidse
Falconidse
Casuariidse
Malurus, Oerygone,, Petroica, Orthonyx.
Climacteris.
Sittella.
Mimeta.
Graucahis, Lalage.
*Chcdorhynchus.
*Peltops, Monarcha, *Leucophantes, Micrceca,
Sisura, Myiagra, "^Machcerirhynchus, Phi-
pidura, *Todopsis.
Pccchycephala,
*Pectes.
Cracticus, ^Gymnocorvus.
^Paradisea, *Manucodia, *Astrapia, *Parotia,
*Lop)horina, *Di2}hyUodes, "^Xanthomelus,
^Cicinnunis, *Paradigalla, ^Epimaclms,
*l)repanornis, "^Seleucides, Ptilorhis,^luroe-
dus, * Amhlyornis.
Myzomela, Entomopliila, Glicyphila, Ptilotis,
^Melidedes, *Melipotes, *Meliirhophetes,
Anthochmra, Philemon, *Puthyrhynchus,
Melithreptes.
Chalcostctha, ^Gosmetira.
Artamus.
*Melampitta.
^Caliechthrus.
Alctjone, ^Synia, Dacelo, * Tanysiptera,
*Melidora.
Podargus, ^gotheUs.
Eurostopodus.
Cacatua, ^Microglossus, Licmetis, *NasiteTna.
Aprosmictus
Tanygnathus, Ecledus, Geo^royus, *Cyclopsitta.
Trichoglossus, *Charmosyna, Eos, Lorius.
*Dasyptilus.
Ptilopus, Garpophaga, lanthoenas, Peinward-
tcenas, ^Trugon, *ilenicophaps, Phlogc&nas,
*Otidiphaps, *Goura.
Talegallus, Megapodius.
* Senicopernis.
Casuarius,
The chief points of interest here are the richness and speciali-
zation of the parrots, pigeons, and kingfishers ; the wonderful para-
dise-birds ; the honeysuckers ; and some remarkable flycatchers.
412 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
The most prominent deficiencies, as compared witli Australia,
are in Sylviidse, Timaliidse, Ploceidse, Platycercidce, and Falconidae.
II. The genera whicli are cliaracteristic of the whole ]\Ialay
Archipelago are the following (10) : —
1. Erythrura ... (Ploceidse) 6. Loriculus ... (Psittacldge)
2. Pitta (Pittidse) 7. Macropygia ... (ColumbidEe)
3. Ceyx (Alcedinidge) 8. Chalcophajjs ... „
4. Calao ... (Bucerotidse) 9. Calmias ... „
5. Dendrochelidon (Cypselidis) 10. Baza (Falconidse)
III. The curious set of genera apparently of Indo-Malayan
origin, but unknown in the Moluccas, are as follows : —
1. Eupetes ... (CinclidEe) - 4. Arachnotliera (Nectariniidae)
2. Alcippe, ... (Timaliidje) 5. Prionochilus... (Dicteidas)
3. Pomatorhinus „ 6. Eulabes ... (Sturnida^)
The above six birds are very important as indicating past
changes in the Austro-Malay Islands, and we must say a few
words about each. (1) Eupetes is very remarkable, since the
New Guinea birds resemble in all important characters that
which is confined to Malacca and Sumatra. They are pro-
bably the survivors of a once wide-spread Malayan group.
(2) Alcijjpe or Drymocataphus (for in which genus the birds
should be placed is doubtful) seems another clear case of
a typical Indo-Malayan form occurring in l^ew Guinea and
Java, but in no intervening island. (3) Pomatorhinus is a most
characteristic Himalayan and Indo-Malayan genus, occurring
again in New Guinea and also in Australia, but in no interme-
diate island. The New Guinea bird seems as nearly related to
Oriental as Australian species. (4) Arachnotliera is exactly
parallel to Alcippc, occurring nowhere east of Borneo except in
New Guinea. (5) Prionochilus, a small black bird, sometimes
classed as a distinct genus, but evidently allied to the Prionochili of
the Indo-Malay Islands. (6) Eulcibes, the genus which contains
the weU known Mynahs of India, extends east of Java as far as
riores, but is not found in Celebes or the Moluccas. The two New
Guinea species are sometimes classed in different genera, but they
are undoubtedly allied to the Mynahs of India and Malaya.
We find then, that while the ornithology of New Guinea is
CHAP. xiiL] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 413
preeminently Australian in character and possesses many peculiar
developments of Australian types, it lias also — as miglit be ex-
pected from its geographical position, its climate, and its vege-
tation— received an infusion of Malayan forms. But while one
group of these is spread over the whole Archipelago, and occa-
sionally beyond it, there is another group which presents the
unusual and interesting feature of discontinuous distribution,
jumping over a thousand miles of island-studded sea from Java
and Borneo to New Guinea itself. It is a parallel case to that
of Java in the Oriental region, which we have already discussed,
but the suggested explanation in that case is more dihicult to
apply here. The recent soundings by the Challenger show us,
that although the several islands of the Moluccas are surrounded
by water from 1,200 to 2,800 fathoms deep, yet these seas form
inclosed basins with rims not more than from 400 to 900
fathoms deep, suggesting the idea of great lakes or inland seas,
which have sunk down bodily with the surrounding land, or that
enormous local and restricted elevations and subsidences have
here occurred. We have also the numerous small islands and coral
banks south of Celebes and eastward towards Timor-Laut and the
Aru Islands, indicating great subsidence ; and it is possible that
there was an extension of Papua to the west, approaching suffi-
ciently near to Java to receive occasional straggling birds of Indo-
Malay type, altogether independent of the Moluccas to the north.
Bright Colours and Ornamental Plumage of New Guinea Birds.
— One of the most striking features of Papuan ornithology is the
large proportion which the handsome and bright-coloured birds
bear to the more obscure species. That this is really the case
has been ascertained by going over my own collections, made at
Aru and ISTew Guinea, and comparing them with my collection
made at Malacca — a district remarkable for the number of hand-
some birds it produces. Using, as nearly as possible, the same
standard of beauty, about one-third of the Malacca birds may be
classed as handsome,^ while in Papua the proportion comes out
exactly one-half This is due, in part to the great abundance of
1 I also find about this proportion in my Amazonian collections, even
counting all tlie hnmming-birds, parrots, and toucans as handsome birds.
414 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [part hi.
parrots, cockatoos, and lories, almost all of which are beautiful ;
and of pigeons, more than half of which are very beautiful ; as
well as to the numerous kingfishers, most of which are excessively
brilliant. Then we have the absence of thrushes, and the very
small numbers of the warblers, shrikes, and Timaliidse, which are
dull-coloured groups ; and, lastly, the presence of numerous gay
pittas, flycatchers, and the unequalled family of paradise-birds.
A large number of birds adorned with metallic plumage is also a
marked feature of this fauna, more than a dozen genera being so
distinguished. Among the remarkable forms are Peltops, a fly-
catcher, long classed as one of the Indo-Malayan Euryleemidse,
which it resembles both in bill and coloration ; Machceriy'hynchus,
curious little boat-billed flycatchers ; and Todopsis, a group of ter-
restrial flycatchers with the brilliant colours of Pitta or Malurus.
The x^aradise-birds present the most wonderful developments of
plumage and the most gorgeous varieties of colour, to be found
among passerine birds. The great whiskered-swift, the handsomest
bird in the entire family, has its head-quarters here. Among king-
fishers the elegant long-tailed TanysiptercB are preeminent, whether
for singularity or beauty. Among parrots, New Guinea j^ossesses
the great black cockatoo, one of the largest and most singular birds
in the order ; Nasitei^na, the smallest of known parrots ; and
Charmosyna, perhaps the most elegant. Lastly, among the
pigeons we have the fine crowned-pigeons, the largest and most
remarkable group of the order.
Plate X. Illustrating the Ornithology of New Guinea. — The
wonderful ornithological fauna we have just sketched, could
only be properly represented in a series of elaborate coloured
plates. We are obliged here to confine ourselves to representing
a few of the more remarkable types of form, as samples of the
great number that adorn this teeming bird-land. The large
central figure is the fine twelve-wired paradise-bird (PJpimachus
alius), one of the most beautiful and remarkable of the family.
Its general plumage appears, at first sight, to be velvety black ;
but on closer examination, and by holding the bird in various
lights, . it is found that every part of it glows with the most ex-
quisite metallic tints — rich bronze, intense violet, and, on the
PLA'J'E X.
SCENE IN NEW GUINEA, WITH CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS.
CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTEALIAN REGION. 415
edges of the breast-feathers, brilliant green. An immense tuft of
dense plumes of a fine orange-buff colour, springs from each side
of the body, and six of these on each side terminate in a black
curled rachis or shaft, which form a perfectly unique adornment
to this lovely bird. To appreciate this wonderful family (of
which no good mounted collection exists) the reader should
examine the series of plates in Mr. Elliot's great work on the
Paradiseidffi, where every species is figured of the size of life, and
with a perfection of colouring that leaves little to be desired.
Below the Epimaclius is one of the elegant racquet-tailed
king-hunters {Tanysiptera galatea) whose plumage of vivid blue
and white, and coral-red bill, combined with the long spatulate
tail, renders this bird one of the most attractive of the interest-
ing family of kingfisliers. On a high branch is seated the little
Papuan parroquet {Cliarmosyna 2^a2^uensis), one of the Tricho-
glossidce, or brush-tongued parrots, — richly adorned in red and.
yellow plumage, and with an unusually long and slender tail. On
the ground is the well-known crowned pigeon {Goura coronata^
a genus which is wholly confined to New Guinea and a few of
the adjacent islands. One of, the very few Papuan mammals, a
tree-kangaroo {Dendrolagus inustus), is seated on a high branch.
It is interesting, as an arboreal modification of a family which in
Australia is purely terrestrial ; and as showing how very little
alteration of form or structure is needed to adapt an animal to
such a different mode of life.
Beptiles and Amphibia. — Of these classes comparatively little
is at present known, but there is evidence that the same inter-
mixture of Oriental and Australian forms that occurs in birds and
insects, is also found here. Dr. A. B. Lleyer, the translator of this
work into German, and well known for his valuable discoveries in
l^ew Guinea, has kindly furnished me with a manuscript list of
Papuan reptdes, from which most of the information I am able
to give is derived.
Of Snakes, 24 genera are known, belonging to 11 families. Six
of the genera are Oriental, — Calamaria, Cerberus, ChrysojKlca,
Lycodon, Chersydrus, and OpJiiophagtis. Four are Australian,
416 ZOOLOaiCAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
— Morelia, Liasis, Biemenia, and AcantJiopMs ; while four others
are more especially Papuan, — Dihamus (Typhlopidse), Brachy-
orros — a sub-genus of the wide-spread Bhabdosoma (Calamariidae),
found also in Timor ; Nardoa and Enygrus (Pythonidse), ranging
from the Moluccas to the Fiji Islands. The rest are either com-
mon to the Oriental and Australian regions or of wide range.
Of Lizards also, 24 genera are recorded, belonging to 5 families.
Three only are peculiarly Oriental, — Eumeces, Tiaris, and Nyde-
ridmm ; but another, Gonyocephalus, is Malayan, ranging from
Java and Borneo to the Pelew Islands. Three are Australian, —
Cydodus, Heteropus, and Gehyra ; while six are especially Papuan,
■ — Keneuxia (extending to the Philippines), Elania, Carlia (to
North Australia), Bipinia (to the Philippine Islands), and Tri-
&o/owoi^i(;s, —all belonging to the Scincidse ; and Arua belonging
to the Agamidffi. AVe must add CryptobUijlmrus, which is con-
fined to the Australian region, except a species in Mauritius.
The other genera have a wider distribution.
The preponderant Oriental element in the snakes as compared
with the lizards, is suggestive of the dispersal of the former being
dependent on floating trees, or even on native canoes, which for
an unknown period have traversed these seas, and in which
various species of snakes often secrete themselves. This seems
the more probable, as snakes are usually more restricted in their
range than lizards, and exhibit less numerous examples of wide-
spread genera and species. The other orders of reptiles present
no features of interest.
Of Amphibia only 8 genera are known, belonging to 6 families.
Bana, Hylarana, and Hyla are wide-spread genera, the former
being, however, absent from Australia. Hyperolius, Belodryas,
Litoria, and Asteroplirys are Australian; while Blatymantis is
Polynesian, with a species in the Philippine Islands. Hence
it appears that the amphibia, so far as yet known, exhibit
no Oriental affinity; and this is a very suggestive fact. AVe
have seen (p. 29) that salt water is almost a complete barrier
to the dispersal of these creatures ; so that the wholly Aus-
tralian character of the Papuan batrachia is what w^e might
expect, if, as here advocated, no actual land connection between
CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 417
the Oriental and'Australian regions, lias probably occurred during
the entire Tertiary and Post-tertiary periods.
Insects. — The general character of the Papuan insects has
been sufficiently indicated in our sketch of the Entomology of
the region. We will here only add, that the metallic lustre so
prevalent among the birds, is also apparent in such insects as
Spliingnotus mira'bilis,^, most brilliant metallic Longicorn; Lomap-
tera locdlacei and A7iacai7iptorIiina fulgida, Cetonii of intense
lustre ; Calodema wallacei among the Buprestidte ; and the ele-
gant blue E'uplioli among the weevils. Even among moths
we have Cocytict durvillii, remarkable for its brilliant metallic
colours.
The Ifoluccas. — The islands of Gilolo, Bourn, and Ceram, with
several smaller islands adjacent, together with Sanguir, and
perhaps Tulour or Salibaboo to the north-west, and the islands
from Ke to Timor-Laut to the south-east, form the group of the
Moluccas or Spice-Islands, remarkable for the luxuriance of
their vegetation and the extreme beauty of their birds and
insects. Their Mammalia are of Papuan character, with some
foreign intermixture. Two genera of the ISTew Guinea marsu-
pials, Belideus and Guscus, abound ; and we have also the wide-
spread 8us. But besides these, we find no less than five genera
of placental Mammals quite foreign to the Papuan or Australian
faunas. These are 1. Gyno^oithecus nigrescens, found only in the
small island of Batchian, and probably introduced from Celebes,
where the same ape occurs. 2. Viverra tangalunga, a common
Indo-Malayan species of civet, probably introduced. 3. Gervus
hi23pelapMis, var. Moluccensis, a deer abundant in all the islands,
very close to a Javan species and almost certainly introduced
by man, perhaps very long ago. 4. Babirusa alfurus, the
babirusa, found only in the island of Bourn, and perhaps origi-
nally introduced from Celebes. 5. Sorex sp., small shrews.
With the exception of the last, cdl these species are animals
habitually domesticated and kept in confinement by the Malays ;
and when we consider that none of the smaller Mammalia of Java
and Borneo, numbering at least fifty different species, are found
E E
418 » ZOOLOGICAL GEOGKAPHY. [part. in.
in any of the Moluccas, we can hardly suppose that such large
animals as the deer and ape, could have reached them by
natural means. There is every reason to believe, therefore, that
the indigenous Mammalia of the Moluccas are wholly of Papuan
stock, and very limited in number.
The birds are much more varied and interesting. About 200
species of land-birds are now known, belonging to 85 genera. Of
the species about 15 are Indo-Malayan, 32 Papuan, and about
140 peculiar. Of the genera only two are peculiar, — Semioptera,
a paradise bird, and Lycocorax, a singular form of Corvidee ; but
there is also a peculiar rail-like wader, Hahroptila. One genus,
Basilornis, is found only in Ceram and Celebes ; ^no\h&]:,Scythrops,
is Australian, and perhaps a migrant. About 30 genera are
characteristic Papuan types, and 37 others, of more or less wide
range, are found in New Guinea and were therefore probably
derived thence. There remains a group of birds which are not
found in ISTew Guinea, and are either Pala3arctic or Oriental.
These are 13 in number as follows : —
1. Moiiticola. 8. Corydalla.
2. Acroceplialus. 9. Hydrornis.
3. Cisticola. 10. Batrachostomus.
4. Ilypolais. 11. Loriculus.
5. Criniger. 12. Treron.
6. Butalis. 13. Neopus.
7. Budytes.
Of these the Monticola, found only in Gilolo, appears to be a
straggler or migrant from the Philippine islands. Acrocephalus,
of which four species occur, is a wide-spread group ; one of
the Moluccan birds is an Australian and another a North- Asian
species, which perhaps indicates that there has long been some
migration southward from island to island, across the Moluccas.
Cisticola is a genus of very wide range, extending to Australia.
Hypolais is probably a modified form of a Chinese or Java-
nese species. Criniger is a pure Indo-Malay form, represented
here by three fine species. Butalis is a Chinese species, no
doubt straggling southward. Budytes and Corydalla are wide-
spread Oriental and Palsearctic species or slight modifications of
them. Hydrornis is a Malayan form of Pittidae. Batrachostomus
is a distinct representative of a purely Indo-Malay genus. Lori-
CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTEALIAN EEGION. 419
cuius is Malayan, and especially Philippine, but it reaches as far
as Mysol. Treron is here at its eastern limit, and is represented
in Bouru and Cerani by one of the most beautiful species.
Neopus, a Malayan eagle, is said to occur in the Moluccas. AVe
find then only three characteristic Indo-Malay types in the
Moluccas, — Criniger,BatracIiostomus, and Treron. All are repre-
sented by distinct and well marked species, indicatiog a some-
what remote period since their ancestors entered the district
but all are birds of considerable powers of flight, so that a very
little extension of the islands in a south-westerly direction
would afford the means of transmission, but this could not well
have been by way of Celebes, because the two former genera are
unknown in that island.
It is evident, therefore, that the Moluccas are wholly Papuan
in their zoology ; yet they are no less clearly derivative, and must
have obtained their original immigrants under conditions that
rendered a full representation of the fauna impossible. Such
remarkable and dominant types as the eleven genera of Para-
diseidas, with Cracticus, Bedcs, Todopsis, MaclicerirhyncJius, Gery-
gone, Dacelo, Podargus, Cydopsitta, Microglossum, Nasiterna, Clicd-
copsitta, and Goura, — all characteristic Papuan groups, found in
almost all the islands and most of them very abundant, are yet
totally absent from the Moluccas. Taking this, in conjunction
with the absence of the two genera of Papuan kangaroos and
the other smaller groups of marsupials, and we must be
convinced that the Moluccas cannot be mere fragments of the
old Papuan land, or they would certainly, in some one or other
of their large and fertile islands, have preserved a more com-
plete representation of the parent fauna. Most of the Moluccan
birds are very distinct from the allied species of New Guinea ;
and this would imply that the entrance of the original forms
took place at a remote period. The two peculiar genera with
clearly Papuan affinities, show the same thing. The cassowary,
found only in the large island of Ceram and distinct from any
Papuan species, would however seem to have required a land
connection for its introduction, almost as much as any of tlie
larger mammalia,
E E 2
420 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
Taking all the facts into consideration, I would suggest as the
most probable explanation, that if the Moluccas ever formed part
of the main Papuan land, they were separated at an early date,
and subsequently so greatly submerged as to destroy a large
proportion of their fauna. They have since risen, and have
probably been larger than at present, and rather more closely
approximated to the parent land, whence they received a con-
siderable immigration of such animals as were adapted to cross
narrow seas. This gave them several Papuan forms, but still
left them without a number of the types more especially con-
fined to the forest depths, or powerful enough to combat the
gales which often blow weaker flyers out to sea. Most of the
birds whose absence from the Moluccas is so conspicuous belong
to one or other of these classes.
Amons the most characteristic birds of the Moluccas are the
handsome crimson lories of the genera Lorius and Eos. These
are found in every island (but not in Celebes or the Timor
group) ; and a fine species of Eos, peculiar to the small islands of
Siau and Sanguir, just north of Celebes, obliges us to place
these with the Moluccas instead of with the former island, to
■ which they seem most naturally to belong. The crimson parrots
of the genus Ededus are almost equally characteristic of the
Moluccas, and add greatly to the brilliancy of the ornithology of
these favoured islands.
Reptiles. — The Pteptiles, so far as known, appear to agree in
their distribution with the other vertebrates. In some small
collections from Ceram there were no less than six of the genera
peculiar to the Australian region, and which were before only
known from Australia itself. These are, of snakes, Liasis and
Enygrus, genera of Pythonidte ; with Diemenia and Acanihophis
(Elapidae) ; of lizards, Cydodus, a genus of Scincidse ; and of
Amphibia, a tree-frog of the genus Pdodryas.
Inseds — Peculiarities of the Molucca7i Fauna. — In insects the
Moluccas are hardly, if at all, inferior to New Guinea itself. The
islands abound in grand Papilios of the largest size and extreme
beauty ; and it is a very remarkable fact, that when the closely-
allied species of the Moluccas and New Guinea are compared.
CHAP, xiii.j THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 421
the former are almost always tlie largest. As examples may be
mentioned, OrnitJwptera priamus and 0. lielena of the Moluccas,
both larger than the varieties (or species) of Papua ; Papilio
ulysses and deijohohus of Amboyna, usually larger than their
allies in New Guinea ; Hestia idea, the largest species of the
genus ; Diadema 2Jcindarus and Charaxes euryalus, both larger
than any other species of the same genera in the whole archi-
pelago. It is to be noted also, that in the ISIoluccas, the very
largest specimens or races seem always to come from the small
island of Amboyna ; even those of Ceram, the much larger island
to which it is a satellite, being almost always of less dimensions.
Among Coleoptera, the Moluccas produce Fuchirus longimanus,
one of the largest and most remarkable of the Lamellicornes ;
SiJhingnotus dunningi, the largest of the Austro-Malayan Tme-
sisterninse ; a Sphenura, the largest and handsomest of an exten-
sive genus ; an unusually large Scliizorhina (Cetoniidse) ; and
some of the most remarkable and longest-horned Anthotribidse.
Even in birds the same law may be seen at work, — in the Tany-
siptera nais of Ceram, which has a larger tail than any other in
the genus ; in Cenhvpus goliath of Gilolo, being the largest and
longest-tailed species ; in Hydrornis inaximus of Gilolo, the
largest and perhaps the most elegantly and conspicuously
coloured of all the Pittidas ; in Platycercus amhoinensis, being
pre-eminent in its ample blue tail ; in the two Moluccan lories
and Eos ruhra, being more conspicuously red than the alhed New
Guinea species ; and in Megapodius wallacei of Bouru, being the
only species of the genus consjjicuously marked and banded.
All these examples, of larger size, of longer tails or other
appendages, and of more conspicuous colouring, are probably
indications of a less severe struggle for existence in these islands
than in the larger tract of JSTew Guinea, with a more abundant
and more varied fauna ; and this may apply even to the smaller
islands, as compared with the larger in the immediate vicinity.
The limited number of forms in the small islands compared
with a similar area in the parent laud, implies, perhaps, less
competition and less danger ; and thus allows, where all other
conditions are favourable, an unchecked and continuous de-
422 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.
velopment in size, form, and colour, until they become positively
injurious. This law may not improbably apply to the ISTew
Guinea fauna itself, as compared with that of Borneo or any
other similar country ; and some of its peculiarities (such as its
wonderful paradise-birds) may be due to long isolation, and con-
sequent freedom from the influence of any competing forms.
The difference between the very sober colours of the Coleoptera,
and in a less degree of the birds, of Borneo, as compared witli
their brilliancy in New G-uinea, always struck me most forcibly,
and was long without any, even conjectural, explanation. It is
not the place here to go further into this most curious and
interesting subject. The reader who wishes for additional facts
to aid him in forming an opinion, should consult Mr. Darwin's
Descent of Man, chapters x. to xv. ; and my own Contributions
to the Theory of Natural Selection, chapters iii. and iv.
Timor Group. — Mammalia.— In the group of islands between
Java^and Australia, from Lombok to. Timor inclusive, we find a
set of mammals similar to those of the Moluccas, but some of
them different species. A wide-spread species of Cuscus repre-
sents the Papuan element. A Sorex and a peculiar species of
wild pig, we may also accept as indigenous. Three others have
almost certainly been introduced. These are, (1.) Macacus cyno-
molgus, the very commonest Malay monkey, which may have
crossed the narrow straits from island to island between Java
and Timor, though it seems much more probable that it was in-
troduced by Malays, who constantly capture and rear the young
of this species. (2.) Cervus timoriensis, a deer, said to be a dis-
tinct species, inhabits Timor, but_it is probably only a variety of
the Cervus hippelajohus of Java. This animal is, however, much
more likely to have crossed the sea than the monkey. (3.) Para-
doxurus fasciatus, takes the place of Viverra tangalunga in the
Moluccas, both common and wide-spread civets which are often
kept in confinement by the Malays. The Felis megalotis, long
supposed to be a native of Timor, has been ascertained by Mr.
Elliot to belong to a different country altogether.
Birds. — The birds are much more interesting, since they are
CHAP, xiii.] THE AUSTEALIAN EEGION. 423
sufficiently numerous to allow us to determine their relations,
and trace their origin, with unusual precision. There are 96
genera and 160 species o± land-birds known to inhabit this group
of islands ; and on a careful analysis, they are found to be almost
equally related to the Australian and Oriental regions, 30 genera
being distinctly traceable to the former, and the same number to
the latter. Their connection with the Moluccas is shown by the
presence of the genera Mimeta, Geoffroyus, Cacatua, Ptilopus, and
lanthmnas, together with Megapodius and Cerchneis represented
by Moluccan species. Turaccena, shows a connection with
Celebes, and Scops is represented by a Celebesian species. The
connection with Australia is shown by the genera Sphmcotliera,
Gerygone, Myiagra, Pardalotus, Glicijjliila, Aonadina, and Apros-
midus ; while Milviis, Hypotriorcliis, Eudynamis, and Eurysto-
mus, are represented by Australian species. Other genera con-
fined to or characteristic of the Australian region, are RMpidnra,
Monarcha, Artamus, Ca^wpephctga, Pachycep)hala, Philemon, Ptilo-
tis, and Myzomela.
We now come to the Indo-Malay or Javan element represented
by the following genera :
1. Tardus (T.) 11. Oriolus. 21. Yungipicus.
2. Geocichla (T.) 12. Pericrocotus. 22. Merops.
3. Zoothera. 13. Cyornis (T.) 23. Pelargopsis.
4. Megalurus (T.) 14. Hypothymis. 24. Ceyx.
5. Orthotomus. 15. Tchitrea. 25. Loriculus.
6. Pratincola (T.) 16. Laiiius (T.) 26. Treron (T.)
7. Oreicola (T.) 17. Anthreptes. 27. lotreron (s.g. of Pi-iZop/s).
8. Drymocataphus (T.) 18. Eulabes. 28. Clialcophaps (T.)
9. Parus. 19. Estrilda (T.) 29. Gallus (T.)
10. Pycnonotus, 20. Erythrura (T.) 30. Strix.
Such genera as Merops and Strvx, which are as much Austra-
lian as Oriental, are inserted here because they are represented by
Javan species. The list is considerably swelled by genera which
have reached Lombok across the narrow strait from Baly, but
have passed no further. Such are Zoothera, Orthotomus, Pycno-
notus, Pericrocotus and Strix. A much larger number (12) stop
short at Flores, leaving only 13, indicated in the list by (T) after
their names, which reach Timor. It is evident, therefore, that
these islands have been stocked from three chief sources, — th e
424 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in
Mokiccas (with New Guinea and Celebes,) Australia, and Java.
The Moluccan forms may well have arrived as stragglers from
island to island, aided by whatever facilities have been afforded
by lands now submerged. Most of the remainder have been de-
rived either from Australia or from Java ; and as their relations
to these islands are very interesting, they must be discussed
with some detail.
Origin of the Timorese Fauna. — We must first note, that 80
species, or exactly one-half of the land-birds of the islands, are
peculiar and mostly very distinct, intimating that the immigra-
tion commenced long enough back to allow of much specific
modification. There is also one peculiar genus of kingfishers,
Caridonax, found only in Lombok and Flores, and more allied
to Australian than to Oriental types. The fine white-banded
pigeons (s. g. Leucotreroii) are also almost peculiar ; one other
less typical species only being known, a native of JST. Celebes.
In order to compare the species with regard to their origin, we
must first take away those of wide distribution from which no
special indications can be obtained. In this case 49 of the land-
birds must be deducted, leaving 111 species which afford good
materials for comparison. These, when traced to their origin,
show that 62 came from some part of the Australian region, 49
from Java or the Oriental region. But if we divide them into
two groups, the one containing the species identical with those
of the Australian or Oriental regions, the other containing allied
or representative species peculiar to the islands, we have the fol-
lowing result :
Species common to tlie Timorese Islands and the Oriental Region 30
Peculiar Timorese species allied to those of the Oriental Region 19
Total 49
Species common to the Timorese Islands and the Australian
Region ... ... ... ... ... ... ' ... ... 18
Peculiar Timorese species allied to those of the Australian Region 44
Total 62
This table is very important, as indicating that the connection
CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTEALIAN REGION. 425
with Australia was probably earlier than that with Java ; since
the majority of the Australian species have become modified,
while the majority of the Oriental species have remained un-
changed. This is due, no doubt, in part to the continued im-
migration of fresh individuals from Java, after that from Australia,
the Moluccas and New Guinea had almost wholly ceased. We
must also notice the very small proportion of the genera, either
of Australia or Java, that have found their way into these islands,
many of the largest and most wide-spread groups in both coun-
tries beino- altogether absent. Taking these facts into considera-
tion, it is pretty clear that there has been no close and long-
continued approximation of these islands to any part of the
Australian region ; and it is also probable that they were fairly
stocked with such Australian groups as they possess before the
immigration from Java commenced, or a larger number of cha-
racteristic Oriental forms would have been able to have estab-
lished themselves.
On looking at our map, we find that a shallow submerged bank
extends from Australia to within about twenty miles of the coast
of Timor; and this is probably an indication that the two
countries were once only so far apart. This would have allowed
the purely Australian types to enter, as they are not numerous;
there being about 6 Australian species, and 10 or 12 representa-
tives of Australian species, in Timor. All the rest may have been
derived from the Moluccas or New Guinea, being mostly wide-
spread genera of the Austrahan region ; and the extension of
Papua in a south-west direction towards Java (which was sug-
gested as a means of providing New Guinea with peculiar Indo-
Malay types not found in any other part of the region) may
have probably served to supply Timor and Flores with the mass
of their Austro-Malayan genera across a narrow strait or arm of
the sea, Lombok, Baly, and Sumbawa were probably not then
in existence, or nothing more than small volcanic cones rising-
out of the sea, thus leaving a distance of 300 miles between
Flores and Java. Subsequently they grew into islands, which
offered an easy passage for a number of Indo-Malay genera
into such scantily stocked territories as Flores and Timor. The
426 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
north coast of Australia then sank, cutting off the supply from
that country ; and this left the Timorese group in the position it
now occupies.
The reptiles and fishes of this group are too little known to
enable us to make any useful comparison.
Insects. — The insects, though not mnnerous, present many fine
species, some quite unlike any others in the Archipelago. Such
are — Papilio liris, Pieris Iceta, Cirrochroa lamarckii and C lesche-
ndultii among butterflies. The Coleoptera are comparatively little
known, but in the insects generally the Indo-Malay element pre-
dominates. This may have arisen from the peculiar vegetation
and arid climate not being suitable to the Papuan insects. Why
Australian forms did not establish themselves we cannot conjec-
ture ; but the field appears to have been open to immigrants from
Java, the climate and vegetation of which island at its eastern ex- ,
tremity approximates to that of the Timorese group. The insects
are, however, so peculiarly modified as to imply a very great anti-
quity, and this is also indicated by a group of Sylviine birds here
classed under Oreicola, but some of which probably form distinct
genera. There may, perhaps, have been an earlier and a later
approximation to Java, which, with the other changes indicated,
would account for most of the facts presented by the faima of
these islands. One deduction is, at all events, clear : the ex-
treme paucity of indigenous mammals along with the absence of
so many groups of birds, renders it certain that the Timorese
islands did not derive their animal life by means of an actual
union with any of the large islands either of the Australian or
the Oriental regions.
Celebes Group. — We now come to the Island of Celebes, in
many respects the most remarkable and interesting in the whole
region, or perhaps on the globe, since no other island seems to
present so many curious problems for solution. We shall there-
fore give a somewhat full account of its peculiar fauna, and
endeavour to elucidate some of the causes to which its zoological
isolation may be attributed.
Mammalia,. — The followincj is the list of the mammalia of
CHAP, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 427
Celebes as far as at present known, thougli many small species
may yet be discovered.
1. Cynopithecus nigrescens. 7. Barbirusa alfurus,
2. Tarsins spectrum. 8. Sciurus (5 peculiar sp.)
3. Viverra tangalunga. _ 9. Mus (2 peculiar sp.)
4. Cervus hippelaphus. 10. Cuscus (2 peculiar sp.)
5. Anoa depressicornis Also 7 species of bats, of
6. Sus celebensis. which 5 are peculiar.
The first — a large black ape — is itself an anomaly, since it is not
closely allied to any other form of quadrumana. Its flat projecting
muzzle, large superciliary crests and maxillary ridges, with the form
and appearance of its teeth, separate it altogether from the genus
Maeacus, as represented in the Indo-Malay islands, and ally it
closely to the baboons of Africa.^ We have already seen reason
to suppose that it has been carried to Batchian, and there is some
doubt about the allied species or variety (C. niger) of the Philip-
. pines being really indigenous there ; in which case this interesting
form will remain absolutely confined to Celebes. (2.) The tarsier
is a truly Malayan species, but it is said to occur in a small island
at the northern extremity of Celebes, It might possibly have been
introduced there. (3) and (4) — a civet and a deer — are, almost cer-
tainly, as in the Moluccas, introduced species. (5.) Anoa depressicor-
nis. This is one of the peculiar Celebesian types ; a small straight-
horned wild-bull, anatomically allied to the buffaloes, and some-
what resembling the bovine antelopes of Africa, but having no
near allies in the Oriental region. (6.) tSus Celebensis ; a peculiar
species of wild-pig. (7.) Bahirusa alfurus ; another remarkable
type, having no near allies. It differs in its dentition from the
typical Suidse, and seems to approach the African Phacochoeridse,
The manner in which the canines of the upper tusks are reversed;
and grow directly upwards in a spiral curve over the eyes, is
unique among mammalia. (8.) Five squirrels inhabit Celebes, and
all are peculiar species. (9.) These are forest rats of the sub-genus
Oymnomys, allied to Australian species. 10. Ctcscus. This typical
^ The general form of the skull agrees best with that of Cynocephalus
mormon, the largest and most typical of the African baboons ; while the
position of the nostrils brings it nearer the macaques.
428 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
Australian form is represented in Celebes by two peculiar
species.
Leaving out the Indo-Malay species, which may probably have
been introduced by man, and are at all events comparatively
recent immigrants, and the wild pig, a genus which ranges over
the whole archipelago and which has therefore little significance,
we find two genera which have come from the Australian side,
— Cuscus and Mus ; and four from the Oriental side, — Cynopi-
thecus, Anoa, Babirusa, and Scmrus. But Sciurus alone corre-
sponds to Cusctis, SiS a genus still inhabiting the adjacent islands ;
the other three being not only peculiar to Celebes, but incapable
of being affiliated to any specially Oriental group. We seem, then,
to have indications of two distinct periods ; one very ancient,
when the ancestors of the three peculiar genera roamed over some
unknown continent of which Celebes formed, perhaps, an outlying
portion ; — another more recent, when from one side there entered
Scmrus, and from the other Cuscus. But we must remember
that the Moluccas to the east, possess scarcely any indigenous
mammals except Cuscus ; whereas Borneo and Java on the west,
have nearly 50 distinct genera. It is evident then, that the
facilities for immigration must have been much less with the
Oriental than with the Australian region, and we may be pretty
certain that at this later period there was no land connection
with the Indo-Malay islands, or some other animals than squirrels
would certainly have entered. Let us now see what light is
thrown upon the subject by the birds.
Birds. — The total number of birds known to inhabit Celebes
is 205, belonging to about 150 genera. We may leave out of
consideration the wading and aquatic birds, most of which are
wide-ranging species. There remain 123 genera and 152 species
of land-birds, of which 9 genera and 66 species are absolutely
confined to the island, while 20 more are found also in the Sula
or Sanguir Islands, so that we may take 86 to be the number of
peculiar Celebes species. Lord Walden, from whose excellent
paper on the birds of Celebes {Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. viii. p. 23)
most of these figures are obtained, estimates, that of the species
"which are not peculiar to Celebes, 55 are of Oriental and 22 of
CHAP. XIII.]
THE AUSTRALIAN REGION.
429
Australian origin, the remainder being common to both regions.
This shows a preponderant recent immigration from the West
and North, which is not to be wondered at when we look at the
long coast line of Java, Borneo, and the Philippine islands, with
an abundant and varied bird population, on the one side, and
the small scattered islands of the Moluccas, with a compara-
tively scanty bird-fauna, on the other.
But, adopting the method here usually followed, let us look
at the relations of the genera found in Celebes, omitting for
the present those which are peculiar to it. I divide these genera
into two series : — those which are found in Borneo or Java but
not in the Moluccas, and those which inhabit the Moluccas and
not Borneo or Java ; these being the respective sources from
which, primd facie, the species of these genera must have been
derived. Genera which range widely into both these districts
are rejected, as teaching us nothing of the origin of the Cele-
besian fauna. In a few cases, sub-genera which show a decided
eastern or western origin, are given.
Genera derived from Borneo and Java.
1. Geocichla.
2. Pratincola (sp.)
3. Trichastoma.
4. Oiiolus (sp.)
5. Cyornis
6. Hypothymis.
7. Hylocharis.
8. ^thopyga.
9. Nectarophila.
10. Anthreptes (sp.)
11. Mania (sp.)
12. Acridotlieres.
13. Yungipicus.
14. MuUeripicus.
1.5. Rhamphococcyx.
16. Hierococcyx.
17. Hydrocissa.
18. Cranorrhinus.
19. Lyncornis.
20. Treron (sp.)
21. Gallus (sp.)
22. Spilornis.
23. Butastur.
24. Pernis.
Genera derived from the Moluccas or Timor.
1. Graucalus (sp.) 6. Tanygnathus. 11. Myristicivora (s. g.)
2. Chalcostetha. 7. Trichoglossus. 12. Ducula (s. g.)
3. Myzomela. 8. Scythrops (sp.) 13. Zonoenas (s. g.)
4. Munia(sp.) 9. Turacoena. 14. Lamproteron (s. g.)'
5. Cacatua (sp.) 10. Reinwardtoenas (sp.) 15. Megapodius.
These tables show a decided preponderance of Oriental
over Australian forms. But we must remember that the imme-
diately adjacent lands from whence the supply was derived, is
430
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
very mucli richer in the one case than in the other. The 24
genera derived from Borneo and Java are only about one fourth
of the characteristic genera of those islands; while the 15
Moliiccan and Timorese genera are fully one third of their
characteristic types. The proportion derived from the Australian,
is greater than that derived from the Oriental side.
We shall exhibit this perhaps more clearly, by giving a list of
the important groups of each set of islands which are absent
from Celebes.
Important Families of Java and. Borneo
absent from Celebes.
1. Eurylsemidse. 5. Laniiclae.
2. Timaliidge. 6. Megaleemidse.
3. Phyllornithidse. 7. Trogonidse.
4. Pycnonotklse 8. Phasianidae.
Important Families of the Moluccas
absent from Celebes.
1. Meliphagidee.
Important genera of the Moluccas
absent from Celebes.
1. Mimeta.
2. Monarcha.
3. Rhipidura.
4. Pachycepliala.
5. Lycocorax.
6. Alcyone.
7. Tanysiptera.
8. Geoffroyus.
9. Eclectus.
10. Platycercus.
11. Eos.
12. Lorius.
Additional important genera of Java or
Borneo absent from Celebes.
1. Orthotomus.
2. Copsychus.
3. Enicnrus.
4. Tchitrea.
5. Pericrocotus.
6. Irena.
7. Platylophus.
8. Dendrocitta.
9. Eulabes.
10. Hemicercus.
11. Chrysocolaptes,
12. Tiga.
13. Micropternus.
14. Batrachostomus.
15. Palasornis.
16. Rollulus.
If we reckon the absent families to be each represented by
only two important genera, we shall j&nd the deficiency on the
Oriental side much the greatest ; yet those on the side of the
Moluccas are sufficiently remarkable. The Meliphagidse are not
indeed absolutely wanting, since a Myzomela has now been
found in Celebes ; but all its larger and more powerful forms
which range over almost the entire region, are absent. This
may be balanced by the absence of the excessively abundant
Timaliidse of the Indo-Malay islands, which are represented by
CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 431
only a single species ; and by the powerful Phasianidae, repre-
sented only by the common Malay jungle fowl, perhaps intro-
duced. The entire absence of Pycnonotidse is a very anomalous
fact, since one of the largest genera, Griniger, is well represented
in several islands of the Moluccas, and one has even been found
in the Togian islands in the great northern inlet of Celebes ;
but yet it passes over Celebes itself. Ceyx, a genus of small
kingfishers, is a parallel case, since it is found everywhere from
India to JSTew Guinea, leaving out only Celebes ; but this comes
among those curiosities of the Celebesian fauna which we shall
notice further on. In the list of genera derived from Borneo or
Java, no less than 6 are represented by identical species . (indi-
cated by sp. after the name) ; while in the Moluccan list 5
are thus identical. These must be taken to indicate, either that
the genus is a recent introduction, or that stragglers still occa-
sionally enter, crossing the breed, and thus preventing specific
modification. In either case they depend on the existing state
of things, and throw no light on the different distribution of
land and sea which aided or checked migration in former times ;
and they therefore to some extent diminish the weight of the
Indo-Malay afiinity, as measured by the relations of the peculiar
species of Celebes.
From our examination of the evidence thus far, — that is, taking
account firstly, of the species, and, secondly, of the genera, which
are common to Celebes and the groujDS of islands between which
it is situated, we must admit that the connexion seems rather
with the Oriental than with the Australian region; but when we
take into account the proportion of the genera and species pre-
sent, to those which are absent, and giving some weight to the
greater extent of coast line on the Indo-Malay side, we seem
justified in stating that the Austro-Malay element is rather the
most fully represented. This result applies both to birds and
mammals ; and it leads us to the belief, that during the epoch of
existing species and genera, Celebes has never been united with
any extensive tract of land either on the Indo-Malay or Austro-
Malay side, but has received immigrants from both during a very
long period, the facilities for immigration having been rather the
432 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.
greatest on the Austro-Malay or Australian side. We have now
to consider what further light can be thrown on the subject by
the consideration of the peculiar genera of Celebes, and of those
curiosities or anomalies of distribution to which we have
referred.
Mne genera of birds are altogether peculiar to Celebes ; three
more are found only in one other island, and seem to be typi-
cally Celebesian ; while one is found in the Sula islands (which
belongs to the Celebes group) and probably exists in Celebes
also. The following is a list of these 13 genera :
1. Artamides... (Campepliagidfe) 8. Monachalcijon (Alcedinidse)
2. Streptocitta .. (Corvidge) 9. Cittura ... „
3. Gharitornis.. „ 10. Ceycopsis ... „
4. Oazzola, (s. g.) „ H. Meropogon .. (Meropidse)
5. Basilornis .. (Sturnidae) 12. Prioniturus. (Psittacidse)
6. Enodes ... „ 13. Megacephaion (Megapodiidse)
7. Scissirostrum „
Of the above, Artamides, Monachalcyon, Cittura, and Megace-
phaion, are modifications of types characteristic of the Australian
region. All are peculiar to Celebes except Cittura, found also in
the Sanguir islands to the northward, but which seems to belong
to the Moluccan group. Streptocitta, Cliaritornis, and Gazzola,
are peculiar types of Corvidse; the two former allied to the
magpies, the latter to the jackdaws. Charitornis is known only
from the Sula islands east of Celebes, and is closely related to
Streptocitta. There is nothing comparable to these three groups
in any of the Malay islands, and they seem to have relations
rather v^^ith the Corvidge of the old-world northern continent.
Basilornis, Enodes, and Scissirostrum, are remarkable forms of
Sturnidse. Basilornis has a beautiful compressed crest, which in
the allied species found in Ceram is elongated behind. Enodes
has remarkable red superciliary streaks, but seems allied to
Calornis. Scissirostrum seems also allied to Calornis in general
structure, but has a very peculiarly formed bill and nostrils. We
can hardly say whether these three forms show more affinity to
Oriental or to Australian types, but they add to the weight of
evidence as to the great antiquity and isolation of the Celebesian
fauna. Scissirostrum has been classed with Euryceros, a Mada-
CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 483
gascar bird, and with Bupliaga, an African genus ; but the pecu-
liar beak and nostrils approximate more to Gracticus and its
allies, of the Australian region, which should probably form a
distinct family. Geycopsis is undoubtedly intermediate between
the Malayan Geyx and the African Ispidina, and is therefore es-
pecially interesting. Meropogon is a remarkable form of bee-
eater, allied to the Indo-Malayan Nydiornis. Prionititrus (the
raquet-tailed parrots) of which two species inhabit Celebes, and
one the Philippines, appears to be allied to the Austro-Malayan
Oeoffroyivs.
We must finally notice a few genera found in Celebes, whose
nearest allies are not in the surrounding islands, and which thus
afford illustrations of discontinuous distribution. The most re-
markable, perhaps, is Goracias, of wliich a fine species inhabits
Celebes ; while the genus is quite unknown in the Indo-Malay
sub-region, and does not appear again till we reach Burmah and
India ; and the species has no closer affinity for Indian than for
African forms. MyiaUstes, a small yellow flycatcher, is another
exmple; its nearest ally {M. cinereocapilla) being a common Indian
bird, bu.t imknown in the Malay islands. The Celebesian bird
described by me as PHonochihts cmreolwibatus, is probably a
third case of discontinuous distribution, if (as a more careful
examination seems to show) it is not a PrionocMlus, but con-
generic with Pachyglossa, a bird only found in the Himalayas.
The fine pigeon, Garpophaga forsteni, belongs to a group found in
the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand ; but the Celebes
species is very distinct from all the others, and seems, if any-
thiiig, more allied to that of New Zealand.
The Sula islands (Sula-mangola, Sula-taliabo, and Sula-besi)
lie midway between Celebes and the Moluccas, being 80 miles
from the nearest part of Celebes, with several intervening
islands, and 40 miles from Bouru, all open sea. Their birds
show, as might be expected, a blending of the two faunas, but
w4th a decided preponderance of that of Celebes. Out of 43
land birds which have been collected in these islands, we may
deduct 6 as of wide range and no significance. Of the 37 re-
maining, 21 are Celebesian species, and 4 are new species but
F F
434 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [PArrr iii.
allied to those of Celebes ; while there are 10 Moluccan species
and 2 new species allied to those of the Moluccas. It is curious
that no less than 3 Moluccan genera, quite unknown in Celebes
itself, occur here, — Monarclia, Pachyce])liala, and Griniger; but all
these, as well as several other of the Moluccan birds, are rather
weak flyers, and such as are likely to have been carried across
by strong winds. Of the genera, 23 are from Celebes, 10 frotu
the Moluccas. These facts show, that the Sula islands form part
of the Celebes group, although they have received an infusion of
Moluccan forms, which will perhaps in time spread to the main
island, and diminish the remarkable individuality that now cha-
racterises its fauna.
Insects. — Of the reptiles and fishes of Celebes we have not
sufficient information to draw any satisfactory conclusions. I
therefore pass to the insects of which something more is
known.
The Butterflies of Celebes are not very numerous, less than
200 species in all having been collected ; but a very large pro-
portion of them, probably three-fourths of the whole, are peculiar.
There is only one peculiar genus, Amechania, allied to Zethera (a
group confined to the Philippine Islands), with which it should
perhaps be united. Most of the genera are of wide distribution
in the archipelago, or are especially Malayan, only two truly
Australian genera, Ullodma and Acropthalmia, reaching Celebes.
On the other hand, 7 peculiar Oriental genera are found in Celebes,
but not further east, viz., Chrome, Aclolias, Eiiripus, Apatura,
Limenitis, lolaiis, and Leptoeireus. There are also several indi-
cations of a direct affinity with the continent rather than wdth
Malaya, as in the cases already enumerated among birds. A
fine butterfly, yet unnamed, almost exactly resembles Dichorra-
gia nesimachus, a Himalayan species. Euripus robustus is closely
allied to E. halitherses of N. India ; there are no less than 5 species
of Limenitis, all quite unlike those found in other parts of the
archipelago. The butterflies of Celebes are remarkably distin-
guished from all others in the East, by peculiarities of form, size,
and colour, which run through groups of species belonging to
different genera. Many Papilionidfe and Pieridse, and some
CHAP, xiii.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 435
Nymphalidse, have the anterior wings elongated, with the apex
often acute, and, what is especially remarkable, an abrupt bend
or shoulder near the base of the wing. (See Malay Archipelago,
8rd Ed. p. 281, woodcut.) No less than 13 species of Papilio, 10
Pieridse, and 4 or 5 Nymphalidse, are thus distinguished from
their nearest allies in the surrounding islands or in India. In
size again, a large number of Celebesian butterflies stand pre-
eminent over their allies. The fine Papilios — adamantius, hlumei,
and gigon—Rre perfect giants by the side of the closely-allied
forms of Java ; while P. androcles is the largest and longest-tailed,
of all the true swallow-tailed group of the Old World. Among
ISTymphalidse, the species of Rhinopalpa and Euripus, peculiar to
Celebes, are immensely larger than their nearest allies ; and
several of the Pieridse are also decidedly larger, though in a less
marked degree. In colour, many of the Celebesian butterflies differ
from the nearest allied species; so that they accjuire a singu-.
larity of aspect which marks them off from the rest of the group.
The most curious case is that of three butterflies, belonging
to three distinct genera {Cetliosia myrina, Messaras mceonides,
and Atella celehensis) all having a delicate violet or lilac gloss in
lines or patches, which is wholly wanting in every allied species
of the surrounding islands. These numerous peculiarities of
Celebesian butterflies are very extraordinary ; and imply isolation
from surrounding lands, almost as much as do the strange forms
of mammals and birds, which more prominently characterise this
interesting island.
Of the Coleoptera we know much less, but a few interesting
facts may be noted. Tliere are a number of fine species of
Cicindcla, some of peculiar forms ; and one Odontochila, a South
American genus; while Collyris reaches Celebes from the
Oriental region. In Carabidse it has one peculiar genus, Dicra-
sjjeda ; and a species of the fine Australian genus Catadromus.
In Lucanidae it has the Oriental genus, Odontolahris. In Ceton-
iidse it has a peculiar genus, Sternoplits, and several fine Getonice;
but the characteristic Malayan genus, Lomaptera, found in every
other island of \hid archipelago from Sumatra to New Guinea,
is absent — an. analogous fu.ct to the case of Ccyx among birds.
F F 2
436 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part ni.
In Bupreslidee, the principal Austro-Malay genus, Samhus, is
found here ; while Sponsor, a genus 8 species of which inhabit
Mauritius, has one species here and one in New Guinea. In
Longicorns there are four peculiar genera, Gomusia, Pytholia,
Bityle, and Omhrosaga ; but the most important features are the
occurrence of the otherwise purely Indo-Malayan genera Age-
lasta, Nyctimene, and As'athes ; and of the purely Austro-
Malayan Arrhenotus, Trysimia, Xenolm, AmUymora, Biallus,
and yEgocidnus. The remaining genera range over both portions
of the archipelago. In the extensive family of Curculionidte
we can only notice the elegant genus, Celebia, allied to Ewplio-
his, which, owing to. its abundance and beauty, is a conspicuous
feature in the entomology of the island.
Origin of the fauna of Celebes. — We have now to consider,
briefly, what past changes of physical geography are indicated
lay the curious assemblage of facts here adduced. We have
evidently, in Celebes, a remnant of an exceedingly ancient land,
which has undergone many and varied revolutions ; and the
stack of ancient forms which it contains must be taken account
of, when w^e speculate on the causes that have so curiously
limited more recent immigrations. Going back to the arrival
ftf those genera which are represented in Celebes by peculiar
species, and taking first the Austro-Malay genera, we find,
among them such groups as Zonoenas (s.g.), Phlogcenas, Leuco-
tr^ron (s.g.), and Turaccena, which are not found in the Moluccas
at all ; and Myzomela, found in Timor and Banda, but not in
Ceram or Bouru, which are nearest to Celebes. This, combined
with the curious absence of so many of the commonest Moluccan
genera, leads to the conclusion that the Austro-Malay immigra-
tion took place by way of Timor and the southern part of New
Guinea. It will be remembered, that to account for the Indo-
Malayan forms in New Guinea, we suggested an extension of
that country in a westerly direction just north of Timor. Now
this is exactly what we require, to account for the stocking
af Celebes with the Australian forms it possesses. At this time
Borneo did not approach spi near, and it wa,s at a somewhat later
perioci that the last great Indo-j\Ialay migration set in; but
CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTEALIAN REGION. 437
finding the country already fairly stocked, comparatively few
groups were able to establish themselves.
Going back a little farther, we come to the entrance of those
few birds and insects which belong to India or Indo-China ; and
this probably occurred at the same time as that continental
extension southward, which we found was required to account for
a similar phenomenon in Java. Celebes, being more remote,
received only a few stragglers. We have now to go much
farther back, to the time when the ancestors of the peculiar
Celebesian genera entered the country, and here our conjectures
must necessarily be less defined.
On the Australian side we have to account for Megacc23lialon,
and the other genera of purely Papuan type. It may perhaps
be sufficient to say, that we do not yet know that these genera,
or some very close allies, do not still exist in New Guinea ; in
which case they may well have entered at the same time with
the sioecies, already referred to. If, on the other hand, they are
really as isolated as they appear to be, they represent an earlier
communication, either by an approximation of the two islands
over the space now occupied by the Moluccas ; or, what is per-
haps more probable-, through a former extension of the Moluccas,
which have since undergone so much subsidence, as to lead to
the extinction of a large proportion of their ancient fauna.
The wide-spread volcanic action, and especially the prevalence of
raised coral-reefs in almost all the islands, render this last
supposition very probable.
On the Oriental side the difficulty is greater ; for here We find,
what seem to be clear indications of a connection with Africa, as
well as with Continental Asia, at some immensely remote epoch,
Cynopithecus, Bahirusa, SindA'noa; Ceyco2Jsis, Streptocitta, and Gaz~
zolct (s. g.), and perhaps Scissirostrum, may be well explained as
descendants of ancestral types in their respective groups, which
also gave rise to the special forms of Africa on the one hand, and of
Asia on the other. For this immigration we must suppose, that at
a period before the formation of the present Indo-Malay Islands,
a great tract of land extended in a north-westerly direction, till
it met the old Asiatic continent. This may have been before
438 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [part ni.
the Himalayas had risen to any great height, and when a large
part of what are now the cold plateaus of Central Asia may
have teemed with life, some forms of which are preserved in
Africa, some in Malaya, and a few in Celebes. Here may
have lived the common ancestor of Sus, Babirusa, and Phaco-
clicerus ; as well as of Cynopithecus, Cynocejjhalus, and Macacus ;
of Anoa and Buhalus; of Scissirostrum and Uuryceros ; of Ceyx,
Ceycopsis, and Isjndina. Such an origin accounts, too, fur the
presence of the North-Indian forms in Celebes ; and it offers less
difficulties than a direct connection with continental Africa, which
once appeared to be the only solution of the problem. If this
south-eastward extension of Asia occurred at the same time as
the north-eastward extension of South Africa and Madagascar,
the two early continents may have approached each other suffi-
ciently to have allowed of some interchange of forms : Tarsius
msij be the descendant of some Lemurine animal that then
entered the Malayan area, while the progenitors of Cryptoprocta
may then have passed from Asia to Madagascar.
It is true that we here reach the extremest limits of specula-
tion ; but when we have before us such singular phenomena as
are presented by the fauna of the island of Celebes, we can hardly
help endeavouring to picture to our imaginations by what past
changes of land and sea (in themselves not improbable) the actual
condition of things may have been brought about.
//. Australia and Tasmania, or the Australian Sub-region.
A general sketch of Australian zoology having been given in the
earlier part of this chapter, it will not be necessary to occupy much
time on this sub-region, which is as remarkably homogeneous as
the one we have just left is heterogeneous. Although much of
the northern part of Australia is within the tropics, while Vic-
toria and Tasmania are situated from 36° to 43° south latitude,
there is no striking change in the character of the fauna
throughout the continent ; a number of important genera extend-
ing over the whole country, and giving a very uniform character
to its zoology. The eastern parts, including the colonies of New
South Wales and Queensland, are undoubtedly the richest, several
CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 439
peculiar types being found only here. The southern portion is
somewhat poorer, and has very few peculiar forms ; and Tasmania
being isolated is poorer still, yet its zoology has much resem-
blance to that of Victoria, from which country it has evidently
not been very long separated. The north, as far as yet known, is
characterised by hardly any peculiar forms, but by the occurrence
of a number of Papuan types, which have evidently been derived
from New Guinea.
Mammalia. — The Australian sub-region contains about 160
species of Mammalia, of which 3 are Monotremata, 102 Marsu-
pials, 23 Chiroptera, 1 Carnivora (the native dog, probably not
indigenous), and 31 Muridse. The north is characterised by a
species of the Austro-Malayan genus Guscus. Phascolarctos (the
koala, or native bear) is found only in the eastern districts;
Phascolomys (the wombat) in the south-east and Tasmania;
Petaurista (a peculiar form of flying opossum) in the east. Thy-
lacinus (the zebra-wolf), and SarcopliiliLs (the "native devil"),
two carnivorous marsupials, are confined to Tasmania. West
Australia, the most isolated and peculiar region botanically,
alone possesses the curious little honey-eating Tarsijpes, and the
Peragalea, or native rabbit. The remarkable MyrmecoMus, a
small ant-eating marsupial, is found in the west and south ;
and Onycliogalea, a genus of kangaroos, in West and Central
Australia. All the other genera have a wider distribution, as
will be seen by a reference to the list at the end of this
chapter.
Plate XP A Scene in Tas7nania,with Characteristic Mammalia.
— As some of the mpst reniarkable Mammalia of the Australian
region are now found only in Tasmania, we have chosen this
island for the scene of our first illustration of the fauna of the
Australian sub-region. The pair of large striped animals .are
zebra-wolves {Thylacinus cynocephahis), the largest and most de-
structive of the carnivorous marsupials. These creatures used to
be tolerably plentiful in Tasmania, where they are alone found.
They are also called "native tigers," or " native hyaenas;" and being
destructive to sheep, they have been destroyed by the farmers
and will doubtless soon be exterminated. In the foreground on
440 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [part hi.
the left is a bandicoot {Perameles gunnii). These are delicate little
animals allied to the kangaroos ; and they are found in all parts of
Australia, and Tasmania, to which latter country this species
is confined. On the right is the wombat {Phascolomys vjomlat),
a root-eating marsupial, with large incisor teeth like those of our
rodents. They inhabit south-east Australia and Tasmania. In
the foreground is the porcupine ant-eater {Echidna sctosa), belong-
ing to a distinct order of mammalia, Monotremata, of which the
only other member is the duck-billed Ornithorhynclms. These
animals are, however, more nearly allied to the marsupials, than
to the insectivora or edentata of the rest of the world, which in
some respects they resemble. An allied species {Echidna hystrix)
inhabits south-east Australia.
Birds. — Australia (with Tasmania) possesses about 630 species
of birds, of which 485 are land-birds. jSTot more than about one-
twentieth of these are found elsewhere, so that it has a larger
proportion of endemic species than any other sub-region on the
globe. These birds are divided among the several orders as
follows :
Passeres
.. 306
Accipitres . . .
.. 36
Picarire
41
Grallse
.. 11
Psittaci
.. 60
Anserea
.. 65
Colurabffi . . .
,. 24
Struthiones
3
Gallinaj
15
The Psittaci, we see, are very richly represented, while the
Picarise are comparatively few ; and the Columbae are scarce
as compared with their abundance in the Austro-Malay sub-
region.
Birds seem to be very evenly distributed over all Australia ;
comparatively few genera of importance being locally re-
stricted. In the eastern districts alone, we find Origma,
and Orthonyx (Sylviidse) ; Sericulus and Ptilorhynchus (Para-
diseidfe); Leucosarcia (Columbidee) ; and Talegalla (Megapodiidse).
Nectarinia, Pitta, Ptilorliis, Chlamydodera, and Sphecotheres,
range from the north down the east coasts. Nanodes (Psittacidse),
and Lipoa (Megapodiidee), are southerii forms, the first extending
CHAP, xiir.] THE AUSTRALIAN EEGION. 441
to Tasmania ; which island appears to possess no peculiar
genus of birds except Eudyptes, one of the penguins. West
Australia has no wholly peculiar genus except Geo^psittacus, a
curious form of ground parroquet; the singular AtricJiia, first
found here, having been discovered in the east. In North
Australia, EmUema (Ploceidse) is the only peculiar Australian
genus, but several Austro-Malayan and Papuan genera enter, —
as, Syma and Tanysiptera (Alcedinidse) ; Machcerihynchus
(Muscicapidge) ; Calornis (Sturnidse) ; Manucodia, Ptilorliis, and
^hirc&dus (Paradiseidte) ; Megapodius ; and Casuarius. The pre-
sence of a species of bustard {Eupodotis) in Australia, is very
curious, its nearest allies being in the plains of India and Africa.
Among waders the genus Tribonyx, a thick-legged bird some-
what resembling the Notornis of New Zealand, though not closely
allied to it, is the most remarkable. The district where the
typical Australian forms most abound is undoubtedly the eastern
side of the island. The north and south are both somewhat
poorer, the west much poorer, although it possesses a few very
peculiar forms, especially among IMammalia. Tasmania is the
poorest of all, a considerable number of genera being here want-
ing ; but, except the two peculiar carnivorous marsupials, it
possesses nothing to mark it off zoologically from the adjacent
parts of the main land. It is probable that its insular climate,
more moist and less variable than that of Australia, may not be
suitable to some of the absent forms ; while others may require
more space and more varied conditions, than are offered by a
comparatively small island.
The remaining classes of animals have been already discussed
in our sketch of the region as a whole (p. 396).
Plate XII. Illustrating the Fauna of Australia. — In this
plate we take New South Wales as our locality, and represent
chiefly, the more remarkable Australian types of birds. The
most conspicuous figure is the wonderful lyre-bird {Mcnura su-
perha), the elegant plumage of whose tail is altogether unique in
the whole class of birds. The unadorned bird is the female. In
the centre is the emu {Droma3us novw-holkmdia:), the represen-
tative in Australia, of the ostrich in Africa and America, but be-
442 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
longing to a different family, the Casurariida3. To the right are
a pair of crested pigeons {Ocyphaps lojoliotes), one of the many sin-
gular forms of the pigeon family to which the Australian re-
gion gives birth. In every other part of the globe pigeons are
smooth-headed birds, but here they have developed three dis-
tinct forms of crest, as seen in this bird, the crowned pigeon
figured in Plate X., and the double-crested pigeon {Loijholmmus
antarcticus). The large bird on the tree is one of the Australian
frog-mouthed goat-suckers (Podargus strigoides), which are
called in the colony " More-pork," from their peculiar cry. They
do not capture their prey on the wing like true goat-suckers, but
hunt about the branches of trees at dusk, for large insects, and
also for unfledged birds. A large kangaroo (Macropus giganteus)
is seen in the distance ; and passing through the air, a flying
opossum {Pitaurus semreus'), a beautiful modification of a marsu-
pial, so as to resemble in form and habits the flying squirrels
of the northern hemisphere.
///. The Pacific Islands, or Polynesian S^ib-region.
Although the area of this sub-region is so vast, and the
number of islands it contains almost innumerable, there is a
considerable amount of uniformity in its forms of animal life.
From the I>adrone islands on the west, to the Marquesas on the
east, a distance of more than 5,000 miles, the same characteristic
genera of birds prevail ; and this is the only class of animals on
which we can depend, mammalia being quite absent, and reptiles
very scarce. The Sandwich Islands, however, form an exception
to this uniformity; and, as far as we yet know, they are so
peculiar that they ought, perhaps, to form a separate sub-region.
They are, however, geographically a part of Polynesia; and a
more careful investigation of their natural history may show
more points of agreement with the other islands. It is therefore
a matter of convenience, at present, to keep them in the Poly-
nesian sub-region, which may be divided into . Polynesia proper
and the Sandwich Islands.
Polynesia proper consists of a number of groups of islands of
some importance, and a host of smaller intermediate islets.
■;.-rrlr^!«=^ ^-.-'v.
CHAP. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 443
For the purpose of zoological comparison, we may class them in
four main divisions. 1. The Laclrone 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 jDeculiarly Polynesian.
The characteristic Australian genera are the following : Petroica
(Sylviidfe) ; Lalage (Campephagid^e) ; Monarclia, Myiagra, Rhijn-
dura (Muscicapidse) ; Fachycephala (Pachycephalidse) ; Bectes
(Laniidse) ; Myzomela, Ptilotis, Anthoclimra (Meliphagidpe) ; Ama-
dina, Eytlirura, (Ploceidse) ; Artamus (Artamidte) ; Lorius (Tri-
choglossidae) ; Ptilopus, Phlogmnas (Columbidae) ; Megapodius
(MegapodiideB).
The peculiar Polynesian genera are : — Tatare, Lamproh'a
(Sylviidse) ; Aplonis, Sturnodes (Sturnidfe) ; Todiramphus
(Alcedinidse) ; Pyrhulopsis, Cyanorampjlius, (Platycercidse) ; Cori-
pMlus (Trichoglossidse) ; Pidunculus (Didunculidse).
The wide-spread genera are Turdus, Zosierops, Hiriindo, Hal-
cyon, Collocalia, Endynainis Cucidus, lanthcenas, Carpopliaga,
Turtur, Halimetus, Astur, Circus, Strix, Asio. The aquatic birds
are fifteen in number, all wide-spread species except one — a form
of moor-hen (Gallinulidte), 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 ; — Monarclia,
Anthochmra, Trichoglossus, Ptilopus, and Phloganas. The Poly-
nesian genera are 4 ; — Tatare, Todiramphus, Cyanoramphus,
Coripihihis, and one recently described genus, Serresius, an ex-
traordinary form of large fruit pigeon, here classed under Car-
popliaga. These remote groups have thus all the character of
Oceanic islands, even as regards the rest of Polynesia, since they
444 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
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 consideral3le
number of birds have been obtained. They possess two
peculiar Polynesian genera, Tatare and Sturnodes ; one peculiar
sub-genus, Psammathia (here included under Acroceplialus) ;
and ten of the typical Australian genera found in Polynesia, —
Lalage, Monarcha, Myiagra, Klii'pidu.ra, Myzoniela, Erytlirura,
Artainus, Phlogmnas, PHlopus, and Mega-jjodius, as well as the
Papuan genus Pedes, and the Malayan Calornis ; — so that they
can be certainly placed in the sub-region. Genera wdiich do
not occur in the other Polynesian islands are, AcrocepJialus, (s.g.
Psammathia) originally derived perhaps from the Philippines ;
and Ca^primulgiis, a peculiar species, allied to one from Japan.
New Caledonia, and the Neio 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 AcantJiiza, Eopsaltria, Glici-
phila, Philemon, and lanthoenas. The peculiar Polynesian genus,
Aploriis, 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 : — Turdiis, Aean-
thiza, Campephaga, Lalage, Myiagra, Rhipidura, Pachycephala,
Eopsaltria, Corvus, Physocorax (s.g. of Corvus, allied to the jack-
daws), Glicphila, -Anthochmra, Philemon, Zosterops, Erythrura,
Aplonis, Artamus, Cucidus, Halcyon, Collocalia, Cyanoramphus,
Trichoglossus, Ptilopus, Carj)opliaga, Macropygia, Ia7ithoenas,
ChalcopJuqjs, Haliastur, Accipiter. The curious Phinochetus
juhatus, forming the type of a distinct family of birds (Ehino-
chetidse), 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 EEGIOX. 445
that the number will be very largely increased. Some of the
species, as the Eudynamis taitensis a.nd Tatare longirostris, range
over 40° of longitude, from the Fiji Islands to the Marquesas. In
other genera, as Cyanarmiiphus and Ptilopiis, 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 owl spread over Australia and the Pacific ;
and Asio acci2ntrinus, 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 {Corpus haivaiensis), and
another a fishing eagle (Fandion solitarms), of peculiar species ;
leaving 7 genera, which are all (according to Mr.. Sclater) peculiar.
First we have Chasienipis, a ge.nus of Muscicapid*, 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 Meliphagid^, represented
by two genera, — Molio, an isolated fo:?m, and ChcGtaptila, a genus
established by Mr. Sclater for a bird befor® classed in Entomyza,
an Australian group. The four remaining ger>era ase believed
by Mr. Sclater to belong to one group, the Drepanididse, 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 Picteidte ; and al^
resemble this group in their coloratioix
446 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [['Aut in.
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 Achatinellidse) consisting of a
number of genera, or sub-genera,— according to the divergent views
of modern conchologists, — and nearly 300 species. The Eev. 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
Achatinella? almost monopolising the entire archipelago.
Remarks on the lorobabh past history of the Sandwich Islands.
— The existence of these peculiar groups of birds and land-
sliells 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-w^est 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 (Apterocychis) of the family Lncanidse, 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.] TPIE 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 ; Vicia,
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.
Eecent soundings have shown, that the Sandwich Islands
rise from a sea 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 GKOGRAPIIY.
[part hi.
of land and sea by which the phenomena of animal distribution
in the Pacific have been brought about.
Reptiles of the Polynesian Sith-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. Cryptoblephurus
2. Ablepliarus
3. Lygosoma
4. Mabouya
5. Euprepes
6. Vactyloperus ...
7. Doryura
8. Geliyra
9. A mydosaurus . . .
10. Heteronota
11. Correlophus
12. Brachylophus ...
13. Lophiira
14. Chloroscartes ....
(Gymnoptlialmic
(ScincidEe)
(Geckotidfe)
(Geckotidee)
(Iguanidss)
(AgaiiiidE©)
Fiji Islands,
All the islands,
Pelew Islands, New Caledonia.
Samoa Islands.
Pacific Islands.
Sandwich Islands.
Pacific Islands..
Fiji Islands.
Tahiti.
Fiji Islands.
New Caledonia.
Fiji Islands.
Pelew Islands.
Fiji Islands.
The first five are wide-spread genera, represented mostly by
peculiar species ; but sometimes the species themselves have a
wide range, as in the case of Ahlepharus peeeilopleu7nis, 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 ;
Mrachylophus being especially intere.sting as an example of an
cir.\r. XTi!.] THE AUSTRALTAX REGION. 449
otherwise peculiar American family, occurring so far across tlie
Pacific.
Snakes are mucli less abundant, only four genera Leing repre-
sented, one of them marine. They are, Anoplodipsas, a peculiar
genus of Amhlycephalidai from New Caledonia; Enygrus, a
genus of Pythonidte from the Fiji Islands ; Ogmodon, a peculiar
genus of Elapidas, also from the Fiji Islands, but ranging to
Papua and the ]\Ioluccas ; and Platurus, a wide-spread genus of
sea-snakes (Hydrophidae). 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 inliabit 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 foi'.nd
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 Sv-t-rcgion.
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 iii.
Xew Zealand, tliere would have been formed an island-con-
tinent not mucli inferior in extent to Australia itself.
ISTew 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 o;eneral features of their natural history is very e-reat. 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 tc its
origin.
Mammalia. — The only mammals positively known as indi-
genous to New Zealand are two bats, both peculiar to it, — Scoto-
phil'us tuherculatus and Mystacina tiiberculata. The former is
allied to Australian forms ; the latter is more interesting, as
being a peculiar genus of the family Noctilionidse, which does
not exist in Australia ; and in having decided resemblances to
the PhyllostomidaB 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 wliich 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, xin.] THE AUSTRALIAN EEGION. 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 : Sphenmaciis, Gerygone, OrtJwnyx (Sylviidse) ; Grauccdus
(Campephagidse) ; RMpidiira (Muscicapidse) ; Antlioclicera (Meli-
phagidse) ; Zosterops (Dicseida?) ; Cyanoramphus (Platycercidse) ;
Carpophaga (Columbida;) ; Hieracidea (Falconidse) ; Trihonyx
(Eallidse). Besides these there are several genera of wide
range, as follows : — AntJms (Motacillidse) ; Hirundo (Hirun-
dinidse) ; Clirysococcyx, Eudynamis (Cuculidse) ; Halcyon (Alce-
dinidse) ; Coturnix (Tetraonidee) ; Circus (Falconidee) ; Athene
(Strigidse).
Most of the above genera are represented by peculiar ISTew
Zealand species, but in several cases the species are identical
with those of Australia, as in the following : Antjiocjicera carun-
culata, Zosterops lateralis, Hirundo nigricans, and Clirysococcyx
lucidus ; also one- — Euclynamis taitensis — which is Polynesian.
We now come to the genera peculiar to New Zealand, which
are of especial interest :
List of Genera of Birds Peculiar to New Zealand.
Remarks.
Allied to Petroica,an Australian genus
Of doubtful affinities.
Of doubtful affinities.
Of doubtful affinities.
Of doubtful aflBnities.
Family and Genus.
Stlviid^.
L Myiomoira
% Miro
No. of
Species.
3
... ^
TlMALIID^ (?)
3. Turnagra
2
SlTTID^.
4. Xenicus
5. Acanthisitta ...
3
1
Parid^.
6. Certhiparus ...
2
Meliphagid^.
7. Prosthemadera
8. Pogonornis
9. Anthornis
1
1
3
Peculiar genera of honeysuckers, a
family which is confined to the
Australian Region.
G G 2
452
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
Family and Gemis.
Sturnid^.
10. Creadion
IL Heterolocha ...
12. Callseas
Nestorid^.
13. Nestor...
String opiD^.
14. Stringops
Strigid^.
15. (Sceloglaux) ...
Eallid^e.
16. Ocydromiis
17. Notornis
CharadriidzE.
18. Thinornis
19. Anarhynchus ...
AnATIDxE.
20. HymenoI;ipmus
Apterygid^.
21. Apteryx
No. of
Species.
Remarks.
2 These three genera are probably
1 allied, and perhaps form a dis-
2 tinct family.
3 A peculiar family of Parrots.
1 A peculiar family of Parrots.
1 s.g. of Athene.
6 Allied to Eulabeomis, an Australian
genus.
1 Allied to Forphyrio, a genus of wide
range.
1 Allied to Malacorhynehvs, an Aus-
tralian genus.
4 Forming a peculiar family.
We have thus a wonderful amount of speciality; yet the affi-
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, Nestoridse, is
allied to the Australian Trichoglossidse. 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 AUSTEALIAN EEGION. 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 Neiv 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. : Clirnac-
teris seandens, Symmorphns leucopygius, Zostcroios tenuirostris and
Z. albogularis, Halcyon sanctus, Platycercus pennanti, Car-popliaga
spadicea, Phapspicata and P. chalcoptera. Of the peculiar
species three belong to Australian genera ; Petroiccc, Gerygone, and
Phipichcra; one to a cosmopolitan genus, Turclus. So far the
affinity seems to be all Australian, and there remain only three
birds which ally this island to New Zealand, — Nestor 'prochietus,
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 Ibis for 1873.
Lord Howes Island. — This small island, situated half-way
betAveen Australia and Norfolk Island, is interesting, as contain-
ing a peculiar species of the New Zealand genus Ocydrcmifs, or
454 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.
wood-hen ( 0. sylvestris). There is also a peculiar thrush, Turdus
vinitindus. 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., JRhipidura sp., Pachycephala gut-
t'loralis, Zosterops strennuus and^. tepliropleurus, Stre.pera sp.,
Halcyon sp., and Chcdcoijhaga 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 Notornis alba which
is extinct in Korfolk 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
j&ve are New Zealand species. The following are the genera of
the land-birds : Sphenmacus, Gerygone, Myiomoira, Bhipidura,
Zosterops, Anthils, Prosthemadera, Anthornis, Chrysococcyx, Cyano-
ramphus, Carpophaga, Circus. The peculiar species are An-
thornis melanocephala, Myiomoira, diffenlachi and M. tr aver si,
Rhipidiira fiahellifera, and a peculiar rail incapable of flight,
named by Captain Hutton Cahalits 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 aiichlandicus, Cyanoramphus aucklandicus,
and C. malherhii, 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
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 aiicklandica, is also found
here, and as far as yet known, nowhere else. A species of
the northern genus Mergiis 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 hahroptilus) ,
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 ISTew 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 {Ap)teryx 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 tliought 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 in,
No country on the globe can offer siicli 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 wliich is peculiar, as
are all the species. Hinulia, with two species, and Mococt, with
four species (one of which extends to the Chatham Islands),
belong to the Scincidse ; both are very wide-spread genera and
occur in Australia. The peculiar genus Nmdtinus, with six species,
belongs to the Geckotidse, a family spread over the whole world.
The most extraordinary and interesting reptile of New Zea-
land is, however, the Haitcria punctata, a lizard-like animal
living in lioles, 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, Iihyncocephalidiie, but a separate order of
reptiles, Ehyncocephalina. 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 tlie Ophidia are two sea-snakes
of Australian and Polynesian species, and of no geographical
interest.
Amphihia. — The solitary frog indigenous to New Zealand,
belongs to a peculiar genus, Liopelma, and to the family Bom-
buratoridee, 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 (RctrojnnQia), being peculiar.
lldropinna richardsoni belongs to the Salmonidre, 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 attenuatus — from the
CUAP. xiii.] THE AUSTKx\LIAN REGION. 457
Chatham Islands to South America — has already been noticed ;
while another species, G. fnsciatus, is found in the Chatham and
Auckland Isles as well as New Zealand. A second genus
peculiar to New Zealand, Neoclianna, allied to Galaxias, has
recently been described. Prototrodes oxyrhynclnis is allied to an
Australian species, but belongs to a family (Haplochitonidte)
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, Argyro'plienga
(Satyridse), is a peculiar genus allied to the Northern genus
Erebia. The rest are either of wide range, as Pyrameis cardui
and Biadema holina ; or Australian, as Hamdyaas zoilus ; while
one, Banais cr?}5j;«.s, is American, but has also occurred in Australia,
and is no doubt a recent introduction into both countries.
Only one Sphinx is recorded, and no other species of the Sphin-
gina except the British currant-moth, jEgeria tijJidiformis,
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
Carabid^e, mostly consisting of one or two species, but Demetrida
has 3, and Metaglymma 8 species. Other important genera are
Dicrochile, Ilomalosoma, Mecodcma, and Scopodes, all in common
with Australia. Mecodcma and Metaglymma are the largest
genera. Even the Auckland Islands have two small genera
of Carabidse found nowhere else.
Cicindelidffi are represented in New Zealand by 6 species of
Cicindela, and 1 of Dystipsidcra, a genus peculiar to the Austra-
lian region.
The Lucanidffi are represented by two peculiar genera, Pen-
droUax and Oxyomus ; two Australian genera, Lissotcs and
Ccrcdognathus ; and by the ahnost cosmopolite Porcus.
The Scarabeidte consist of ten species only, belonging to four
458 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY. [part hi.
genera, two of which are peculiar {Odontria and Stethaspis) ; and
two Australian {Pericoptus and Calonota). There are no
Cetoniidce.
There is only one Buprestid, belonging to the Australian genus
Cisseis. The Elateridee, (about a dozen species,) belong mostly
to Australian genera, but two, Metablax and Ochosternus, are
peculiar.
There are 30 species of Curculionidas, 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 Carabidte, 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 m ore than one or
two species. Demonax extends to the Moluccas and S. 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
beinf 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 aftbrd some interesting facts. There
are nine or ten species, all peculiar. One genus, LithoUus,
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 Corynocephalus, both occur in
Australia.
CHAP, xni.] THE AUSTEALIAN 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. Nanina,
Lymncea, and Assiminea, are found in Polynesia or Malaya,
but not in Australia. AmpMbola is an Australian genus, as is
Janella. Testacella and Limax belong to the Palaearctic 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 Dinornithidse ;
PaUtpteryx and Euryojpteryx, forming the family Palapterygidse.
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 Casuariidse and Struthionidge than to
the Apterygidse. ISTo 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. Eemaius 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
4G0 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.
■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 JSTew 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 slight 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 ISTew 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 REGIOX. 4G1
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 ISTew
Zealand, proves that tlie 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
Hattcria is probably coeval with these early forms, and is the
only relic of a whole order of reptiles, whicli once perhaps
ranged far 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 Is^ew
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
Apteryx 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
wliich the climate of JSTew 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. AVe 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 hi.
all the great continents. That event certainly dates back to
Secondary, if not to Palseozoic, 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. 156), 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.
It is 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. 4G3
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. AVe 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 deflciency. His reply was: —
4G4 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [i'Art iir.
" 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 Intro-
clucHon to the New Zealand Flora was written, many plants with
handsome flowers have been discovered, especially among the
l^anunculi, shrubby Veronicas, and herbaceous Composite. The
two former, however, are genera of wide range, which may have
originated in ISTew 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 flov/ers 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
Bcgioii.
We have already discussed in some detail, the various relations
of the Australian sub-regions to the surrounding Eegions, 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, a,nd 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 throw^n
on this subject by Professor McCoy's researches on the Palce-
ontology of Victoria. He finds abundant marine fossils of
Eocene and Miocene age, many of wdiich are strikingly similar
to those of Europe at the same period. Among these are Ceta-
ceans of the genus Sqitalodon ; European species of Plagiostom-
ous fishes ; moUusca 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 Dentalium 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 w^armer climate
prevailed in the Eocene and Miocene periods than at the present
time. This is a most 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
greatly reducing the polar area within which the sun would ever
H H
4GG ZOOLOGICAL GEOGllAPIIY. [part iii.
disappear during an entire rotation of the earth. During such
a period, tropical forms of marine animals would have heen ahle
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 Palsearctic continent, from Britain
to the Bay of Bengal, and southward along the JM'alayan coasts
to Australia.
Numerous Miocene plant-beds have also been found in Yic-
torio., containing abundance of Dicotyledonous leaves, which are
said generally to resemble those of the Asiatic flora, and of the
Miocene plant-beds of the Bhine. It is 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. XIII.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 467
TABLES OF DISTPJBUTIOK
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
tlie 4th Part of this work.
Mammalia. — Gould, Mammals of Australia; Waterhouse on
Marsupials ; Dr. J. E. Gray's List of Mammalia of jSTew Guinea ;
Miiller, Temminck and Sclilegel 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 jSTew
Zealand; G. R Gray's Lists of Birds of Moluccas, &c. ; Ilait-
laub and Finsch on Birds of Pacific Islands ; Sclater on Birds
of Sandwich Islands ; papers by Haast, Hutton, Meyer, Salvin.
Schlegel, Sclater, Travers, Lord Walden and the Author.
Reiitiles. — Krefft, Catalogue of Snakes ; Gunther, List of
Lizards in Voyage of Erchns and Terror (1875) ; and numerous
papers.
H H 2
468
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGKAPHY.
[part in.
TABLE L
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.
Order and Family.
MAMMALLi.
Primates.
3. Gynopithecidse
ClIIROPTERA.
9. Pteropidse
11. Rhinolophidfe
12. Yespertilionidss
13. Noctilionidse . . .
Carnivora.
25. (Viverridse) ...
33. OtariidiB
35. Phocidse
Cetacea.
36 to 41
SiRENIA.
42. Manatidfe
Ungulata.
47. Suidi-e
50. (Cervidte)
52. (Bovidse)
PiODENTIA,
55. Muridffi
61. (Scuiridae) ...
Marsupialia.
77. Dasyuridce ...
78. Myj-mecohiidce
79. Pemmelidce ...
80. Macropodidce. . .
Sub-resions.
Range beyond tlie Region.
Oriental and Ethiopian
Oriental and Ethiopian
The Eastern Hemisphere
Cosmopolite
All tropical regions
Oriental
N. and S. temperate zones
N. and S. temperate zones
Oceanic
Ethiopian, Oriental
All other regions but Nearctic
All other regions but Ethiopian
All other regions but Neotropical
All other regions
All other regions
CHAP. XIII.]
THE AUSTEALIAN EEGION.
469
Order and Family.
Sulj-regions.
81. Phalavgistidce
82. Phascolomyidce
MONOTEEMATA
83. Ornitliorhyn- \
chidce... \
84. EcMdnidce
BIEDS.
Passeees.
1. Turdidffi
2. Sylviidse
3. Timaliidae. ...
5. Cinclidce
8. Certhiidse
9. Sittidse
10. ParidEfi
13. Pycnonotidse . . .
14. Oi'iolidse
15. Campephagida
16. Dicruridffi
1 7. Miiscicapidse . . .
18. Pachyceplialidce
19. Laniidffi
20. Corddfe
21. Paradiseidce ...
22. MeU'phagidce . . .
23. Nectariniidse
24. Dicseidse
25. Brcpanididce . . .
30. HirundinidEe.. ,
34. Ploceidas
35. Sturnidfe
36. Artamidse
37. Alaudidse
38. MotacillidEe ...
47. Pittidse
49. Mcnuridce.
50. AtricMid.ce ...
PlCARI^.
51. Picidfe ...
58. Cuculidee
62. Coraciidfe
63. Meiopidffi
67. Alcedinidse
68. BncerotidEe
71. Podargidffi
73. Caprimulgidffi
74. Cypselidee
Range beyond the Eegion.
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Oriental family
Oriental family
Oriental aiid Ethiopian
Oriental and Ethiopian
Oriental and Ethiopian
The Old Worid
Almost peculiar to region
The Old World
Cosmopolite
Oriental and Ethiopian
Oriental and Etjiiopion
Cosmc polit e
Oriental. Ethiopiai;
The Old'Worid
Oriental
The Old Worid and N". America
The Old Worid
Oriental, Ethiopian
Peculiar to Australia
Peculiar to Australia
All other regions
Cosmopolite
Oriental and Ethiopian
Oriental and Ethiopian
Cosmopolite
Oriental and Ethiopian
Oriental
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite-
470
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part iiiJ
Order and Family.
PsiTTACI.
76. CaccduidcB ...
77. PlcdycercidcR
78. Palfeoruithidse
79. Trichoglossidce
82. NestoridcB ...
83. Slringo2nd(B...
COLUMB^.
84. Columbidae ...
84a. Didiinculidai
Galling.
87. TctraonidcT. ...
88. (Phasiaiiidfc)
89. Turnicidre ..
90. Mcgcqwdiidce
ACCIPITIIES.
96. Falcdiiiilce. ...
97. Pandloiiidffi ..
98. Strigidce
GEALLffl.
99,
100.
103
104
105
106
Rallidre
Scolopacidte...
Parridffi
Glareolidre ...
Cliaradriidte
Otididfe
107. Gruidre
112. Fihinochetid ce
113. Ardeidne
114. Platalfddfe ...
115. Ciconiidse ...
Anseees.
118. Anatidffi
119. Laridai
120. Procellariidae
121. Pelecanidse ...
122. Spheniscidiie
124. Podicipidte ..
Steuthiois^es.
127. Casuariidce . . .
128. AjJterygidce ...
129. DinornilMdoE-
130. Pali,;pUriqid(B
Sub-reiiions.
II
"o ™
!2i S
Range beyond the Region.
Philippine Islands
Oriental
Cosmopolite
Old World and IT. America
Oriental
The Old World
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosnio])olito
Troj^ical
The Eastern Hemisphere
Cosmopolite
The Eastern Hemisphere
The Eastern Hemisphere
Cosmopolite
Almost cosmopolite
Widely distributed
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
Cosmopolite
S. temperate regions
Cosmopolite
Extinct
Extinct
CHAP, xin.]
THE AUSTEALIAN EEGIOK
471
Order and Familv.
REPTILIA.
Ophidta.
1. T3'plilopidBe .
2. Tortricidre
3. Xenopelticlps .
5. Calamariida} .
7. Colubiidse
8. Homalopsidce
11. Demlropliidffl
12. Dryiophidae .
13. Dipssdidfe ,
15. Lycodontidse.
16. Amblvceplia-
lidre) ...
17. Pytlionidfe .
19. Acrochordidse
20. Elapidffi ... .
23. Hydrophidte .
Lacerttlia.
30. Varaiiidse
33. Laeeitidg3
41. Gymnopthal-
midie . . .
42. Tygopodidce, .
43. Aprasiadce .
44. Lialidm ... .
45. Scincidfe
48. Acontiadse .
49. Geckotidse .
50. Iguaiiidse
51. Agamidas
Ehtncocephalina
53. Rhyncoeeijhalidoi
Crocodilia.
54. Gavialidae
55. Crocodilidse ..
Chelonia.
67. TestudinidEe ...
58. Chcdydidee ...
CO. Clielouiidse ...
AMPHIBIA.
Anottea.
7. Phryiiiscidce ...
9. Bul'onidse
10. Xenorhinidos...
11. Engystomidfe..
12. Bombinatoridse
Sub-regions.
!^1
ts3
Range beyond the Region.
All regions but ISTearctic
Oriental, S. America, California
Oriental
All warm countries
Almost cosmopolite
Oriental, and all other regions
Oriental, Etliiopian, Neotropical
Oriental, Ethiopian, JSTeotropical
Oriental, Ethiopian, Neotropical
Ethiopian and Oriental
Oriental, Neotropical
Tropical regions, California
Oriental
Tropical regions, Japan, S. Carolina
Oriental, Madagascar, Panama
Oriental, Afi'ica
The Eastern Hemisphere
Neotropical, Ethiopian, Palsearctic
Almost cosmopolite
Ethiopian, Oriental
Almost cosmopolite
N. and S. America
The Eastern Hemisphere
Oriental
Tropical regions
All other regions
Ethiopian, Neotropical
Marine
Ethiopian, Malayan, Neotropical
All other regions
All regions but PaL-earctic
Neotropical, Palfearctic
472
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY,
[part hi.
Sub-regions.
Order aud Family.
6 03
g .
C3
Range beyond tlie Region.
-g oj
"k "s
Wg
^3
^^
o m
I^g
<5S
<^
FLi
N
14. Alytidse
_
_
All regions but Oriental
15. Pelodryadse ...
—
—
Neotropical
16. Hylidffi
—
—
All regions but Ethiopian
17. Polypedatidcie
—
—
All the regions
18. Eanidpe
—
—
Almost cosmopolite
19. Discoglossidse
—
—
All regions but Nearctic
FISHES (FKESH-
WATER).
ACANTHOPTERYGII.
11. Tracliinidse ...
—
Patagonia (? marine)
35. Labyrinthici ...
—
Oriental, S. Africa
37. Atherinidce ...
—
Europe, America
38. Mugillidse ...
—
—
—
Ethiopian, Neotropical
Anaoanthini.
63. Gadopsidce ...
—
Physostomi.
59. Siliiridfe
— .
—
All warm regions
61. HaplocliitonidcB
—
Temperate S. America
65. SalmonidEe ...
—
Palasarctic, Nearctic
67. Galaxidfe
—
—
Temperate S. America
78. Ostegolossidas
— .
All tropical regions
85. (Symbranchidee)
—
Oriental, Neotropical
Dipnoi.
92. Sirenoidei
—
Ethiopian, Neotropical
INSECTS. LEPI-
DOPTERA (PART).
DuKiNi (Butter-
flies).
1. Danaidse
—
—
—
All warm regions, and to Canada
2. Satyridse
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
3. Elymniidse
—
Oriental, Ethiopian
4. Morphidaj
—
—
Oriental, Neotropical
6. Acrasidffi...
—
—
All tropical regions
8. Nymplialidre
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
9. Libytheidffi
—
All the other regions
10. Nemeobeidse
—
All other regions but Nearctic
13. Lycffiuidce
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
14. Pieridse ...
—
—
■
— •
Cosmopolite
15. Papilionidse
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
16. Hesperidee
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
Sphingidea.
17. Zygsenidffi
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
18. Castniidse
—
—
—
Neotropical
19. Agaristidse
. —
—
—
Oriental, Ethiopian
20. UraniidiB
—
—
—
All tropical regions
23. Spbingidse
—
—
—
Cosmopolite
CHAP. XIII.]
THE AUSTEALIAN EEGION.
473
TABLE II.
GENERA OF TERRESTRIAL MAMMALIA AND BIRDS INHABITING THE
A USTRALIAN REGION.
ExPLANATlOiSr.
Names in italics show genera peculiar to the region .
Names enclosed thus ( ) show genera which just enter the region, but are not con-
sidered properly to belong to it.
Genera truly belonging to the region are numbered consecutively.
MAMMALIA.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
d o
Range within the Region .
Range beyond the Region.
PRIMATES.
Cynopithecid^.
(Macacus
1. Cynopithecus ...
1
1
Lombok to Timor)
Celebes and Batehian
Oriental genus
Philippines 1
Lemurid^.
(Tarsius
1
Celebes)
Indo-Malayan genus
CHIROPTERA.
PTEEOPIDiB.
2. Pteropus
3. Xantharpyia ...
4. Cynopterus
5. Macroglossus ...
6. Harpyia
7. Hypoderma
8. Notopteris
15
1
1
1
1
1
1
The whole'reg. except New Zeal.
Moluccas and Timor
Morty Island
Celebep, Moluccas, Timor
Celebes and Moluccas
Celebes, Moluccas, and Timor
Fiji Islands
Tropics of E. Hemisp.
Oriental, S. Palsearctic
Oriental
Indo-Malaya
Philippines
Rhinolophid^.
9. Rhinolophus ...
10. Hipposideros ...
11. Phyllorhina ...
12. Asellia
13. Megaderma
7
5
2
1
1
Moluccas, Timor, Australia
Moluccas and Aru Islands
Moluccas and Timor
Ambojma
Temate
Warmer pts. of E. Hemis.
Oriental
Indo-Malaya
Indo-Malaya
Oriental, Ethiopian
Vespertilionid^.
14. Scotophilus
15. Vespertilio
16. Miniopteris
17. Taphozous
18. Plecotus
19. Nyctophilus ...
8
2
3
2
1
5
Moluccas, Timor, Australia
Australia
Moluccas, Timor, and Australia
Celebes, Moluccas, N. Australia
Timor
Australia and Tasmania
Oriental
Cosmopolite
Indo-Malaya, S. Africa
Orien.,Ethiop., Neotrop.
N. India, S. Palsearctic
India
474
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGEAPHY.
ART III.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
c 5
iz; ^
Range within the Region.
Range bej'ond the Region.
NOCTILIONID^.
20. Molossus
21. Ilystacina
1
1
Australia
Ne\v Zealand
Neotrop., Etiiiop., S. Pal.
INSECTIVORA.
S01UCIDJ3.
22. Sorex
2
Moluccas and Timor
The E.Hemis.& N. Amer.
CAENIVOEA.
ViVERRIDiB.
(Viverra
(Paradoxurus ...
1
1
Celebes and Moluccas)
Timor, Ke islands, ? introduced)
Oriental genus
Oriental genus
Otaeiid^.
23. Arctoceplialus...
24. Zalophus
1
1
S. Australia, New Zealand
Australia
S. Temperate sliorsa
North. Pacific
Phocice.
25. Stenorliyiiclius
1
New Zealand
Antarctic shores
SIRENIA.
MANATIDiE.
26. Halicore
1
N. Austi-alia
Oriental Ethiopian
UNGULATA.
SUID^.
27. Sus
28. Bahirusa
4
1
Celebes to New Guinea
Celebes, Bouru
PaliEarctic, Oriental
Cervid^.
(Cervus ...
2
Celebes, Moluccas, Timor)
Oriental genus
BoviD^.
29. Aiioa
1
Celebes
RODENTIA.
SCIURID^.
(Sciurus
5
Celebes)
All the other regions
MURID^.
30. Mus
31. Pseudomys
32. Ila^alotis
33. Hydromys
34. AcantJwmys ...
35. EcMothrix
13
1
13
5
1
1
Australia, Celebes
Australia
Australia
Australia and Tasmania
N. Australia
Australia
The Western Hemisphere
MARSUPIALL-^.
DASYUEIDiE.
36. Phascogah
3
New Guinea and Australia
CHAP. XTII.]
THE AUSTEALIAN EEGIOK
475
Order, Fa mil}-, and
Genus.
R:mge within the Region.
Range Lej'ond the Region.
37. Antccliinomys ...
1
S. Australia (interior)
38. Antechinus
12
Am Ids. Australia and Tasmania
39. Clicetocercus
1
S. Australia
4U. Dactylopsila ...
1
Aru Islands and N". Australia
41. Podabrus
5
Australia and Tasmania
42. Myoidis
1
Aru Islands
43. Sarco])]iihis
1
Tasmania
"
44. Dasyiorus...
4
Australia
45. Thylacinus
1
Tasmania
Myemecoeiid^.
46. Ifyrmecobius ...
1
S. and W. Australia
PEKAJIELIDiE.
47. PerameUs
8
N. Guinea, Aru Ids., Australia,
and Tasmania
48. Peragalea
1
W. Australia
49. Ckcerojnis
1
S. E. and W. Australia
Macropodid^.
50. Macropus
4
Australia and Tasmania
51. Os2}h.rantcr
5
All Australia
52. Halmaticrus ...
18
Australia aud Tasmania
53. Petrogale
7
All Australia
54. JJendrolagus ...
2
New Guinea
55. Dorcopsis
2
Aru, Mj'Sol, and 'S. Guinea
56. OnycJwgalea ...
3
Central Australia
57. Lagorchestes ...
5
IsT., "W., and S. Australia
58. Bcttongia
G
W., S., and E. Australia aud
Tasmania
59. Eypsiprymnus
4
W. aud E. Australia & Tasmania
Phalanigistib^.
60. Phascolardos ...
1
E. Australia
61. Phalangista ...
5
E., S., and W. Australia and
Tasmania
62. Cus'Aos
8
Celebes to N". Guinea, Timor &
N. Australia
63. Petaurista
1
E. Australia
64. Belidcus
5
S., E., & N. Austral., N. Guinea,
and Moluccas
65. Acrohata
1
S. and E. Australia
66. Broinida . . .
5
W. & E. Australia & Tasmania
^1. Tarsipes
1
W. Australia
PHASCOLOMYIDiE.
68. Phascolomys ...
1
S. E. Australia aud Tasmania
MONOTREMATA.
Obnithorhtnchid^.
69. OrnUhorhynchus
1
S. and E. Australia & Tasmania
476
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGKAPHY.
[part hi.
■« '-^
Order, Family, and
Genus.
0.2
d o
llange ^vithin tlio Region.
Range beyond the Region. ~
EcHIDNIDJji.
70. Echidna
2
S. & E. Australia, & Tasmania
BIRDS.
PASSERES.
TUKDIDiE.
1. Turdus
6
Timor, Austral., New Caledonia,
Norfolk Island, Lord Howe's
and Samoan Islands
Cosmopolite
2. Oreocincla
1
S. E. Australia and Tasmania
Palfearctic, Oriental
3. Geocichla
4
Celebes, Lombok, Timor, Austral.
Oriental
(Monticola
1
Gilolo, Celebes)
Palfearctic and Oriental
(Zoothera
1
Lombok)
Oriental genus
Sylviid^.
4. Cisticola
7
Celebes, Bouru, Timor, Australia
Palmare tic. Oriental
5. Sphenseacus ...
4
Australia, N. Zealand, Chatham
Islands
Ethiopian
6. Megalnras
1
Timor
Oriental
7. Poodytes
2
Australia
8. Amytis
3
Australia
9. Spliemira
4
Australia
10. Stipiturus
1
Australia, Tasmania
11. Malurus
16
Australia, Tasmania, & N. Guinea
12. Sylacola
3
Australia
13. CalamantJms ...
2
Australia and Tasmania
14. Acrocephalus ..
7
Celebes, Moluccas, Australia,
Caroline Islands
Palajarc, Orien., Ethiop.
15. Tatare
2
Samoan to Marquesas Islands
16. Hypolais
1
Moluccas
Palfearc, Orien., Ethiop.
17. Sericornis
7
Australia and Tasmania
18. AcantMza
14
Austral., Tasmania, N.Caledonia
19. Gerygone
24
The whole region, excl. Moluccas
Philippines
20. Drymodes
2
Australia
21. Oreicola
4
Lombok to Timor
Burmah ?
(Pratincola
1
Celebes to Timor)
Oriental, Palsearctic
22. Epthianura
3
Australia
23. Petroica
18
Papua to Samoan Ids., Australia
24. Myiomoira
3
N. Zealand
25. Lamprolia
1
Fiji Islands
26. Miro
3
New Zealand
27. Cinclorhamphus
2
Australia
28. Origma
1
Australia
29. Orthonyx
5
N. Guinea, Austral. , New Zeald.
.*'
TlMALIID^.
30 . Pomatorhin n s . . .
r-,
N. Guinea and Australia
Oriental
31. Cinclosoma
4
Australia and Tasmania
32. Tv.rnagra
3
New Zealand
33. Psopihodes
2
S. E. and "W. Australia
34. Alcippe
3
New Guinea
Oriental
(Trichastoma ...
1
Celebes)
Oriental genus
CHAP, XIII.]
THE AUSTKALIAN REGION.
477
Order, Family, and
Genus.
35. Drymocataphus
86. Struthidca
ClXCLID.B.
37. Eupetes
CEKTHIIDiE.
38. Climacteris
SlTTID^.
39. Sittella
40. Acantliisittci ...
41. Xenicus
FwaDJE.
42. Ccrthiparus
43. Sjyhenostoma ...
Pycnonotid^.
44. Criniger
Oriolid^.
45. Sphecoiheres ...
46. Oriolus
47. Mimeta
CAMPEPHAGIDiE.
(Pericrocotus ...
48. Graucalus
49. Artamides
50. PteroiMdocys ...
51. Campephaga ...
52. Lalage
53. Symmorplius ...
DlCKURID^.
54. Dicrurus
55. Chcetorhynchus
MtJSCICAPIDiE.
56. Peltops
57. Monarcha
58. Leucopliantes ...
(Biitalis
59. Micraeca
60. Cyornis
61. Siphia
62. Seisura
10
Range within the Eecrinn.
Timor
]Sr. and E. Australia
iSTew Guinea
Australia and N. Guinea
Australia and N. Guinea
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand
E. and S. Australia
Moluccas, and small islands F.
of Celelaes
Timor and Australia
Celebes, Sulla Ids., Lombok and
Flores
Moluccas, N. Guinea, Timor, &
Australia
Lombok)
Celebes to New Hebrides and N,
Zealand
Celebes
Australia
Celebes to Timor & New Guinea
Celebes to Australia &SamoanIds.
E. Australia and Norfolk Id.
Celebes to N. Ireland & Austral.
New Guinea
Papuan Islands
The whole region (excl. Celebes
and N. Zealand)
N. Guinea
Moluccas and Celebes)
Timor, N. Guinea, Australia
Celebes and Timor
Timor
Moluccas to N. Ireland, Austral.
Range beyond the Region,
Oriental
Malayan
Oriental
Oriental, Ethiopian
Oriental genus
Oriental
Oriental, Ethiopian
Malayan
Orientil, Ethiopian
Palajarc, Orien., Ethiop.
Oriental
Oriental
478
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGKAPH^.
[part III.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
63. Myiagra
(Hypotliymis
64. Madicerirhyncliut;
65. Ehipidma
(Myialestes . . .
(Tchitrea
&Q. Todopsis..
67. Chasiemjns ...
Pachycephalid^.
68. Orececa
69. Falcimculus ...
70. Pachycephala
71. Hylocliaris ...
72. Eopsaltria
Laniid^e.
73. CoUuricincla . . .
74. Rcctcs
(Lauius
COEVID^.
75. Strepcra
76. Barita
77. Cracticus
78. Grallina
79. Streptocitta ...
80. Charitornis . . .
81. Corvus
82. Oymnocorvus . . .
83. Cor cor ax
84. Lycocorax
Pakadiseid^
85. Paradisea
86. Manucodia ...
87. Astrapia
88. Paiotia
89. Lophorina
90. Dipliyllodes ...
91. Xanthomelus...
92. Cicinnurus . . .
93. Paradigalla ...
94. Semioptera ...
95. Epimachus ...
96. Drepanornis ...
97. SeleiLcides
98. PtilorUs
99. Sericuhis
100. Ptilorliynchus
101. Chlamydodera
102. ^luredus
103. Amblyornis ...
Moluccas to Samoan Ids. Austral.
Celebes)
Papuan Ids. and N. Australia
The region to Samoan Ids. and
N. Zealand
Celebes)
Flores)
Papuan Islands
Sandwich Islands
Temperate Australia
Temperate Australia
Moluccas to Tonga Ids. and
Tasmania
Celebes and Timor
Australia to Neu' Hebrides
Australia and Tasmania
Papuan to Piji Ids., K". Austral.
Lombok)
Australia and Tasmania
Australia and Tasmania
Papuan Ids. to Tasmania
Australia
Celebes
Sulla Islands (Celebes group)
The whole region, excl. N. Zeal.
Papuan Islands
Australia
Moluccas
Papuan Islands
Papuan Ids. and In. Australia
New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea
Papuan Islands
New Guinea
Papuan Islands
New Guinea
Gilolo and Batchian
New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea and N. Australia
E. Australia
E. Australia
N. and E. Australia
Papuan Islands and E. Australia
New Guinea
Range beyond the Region.
Oriental
Oriental
Oriental genns
Orien. & Ethiop. genus
Oriental
Northern Hemisphcra
Almost Cosmopolito
CHAP. XIII.]
THE AUSTRALIAN REGION.
479
Order, Family, and
Genus.
O.I
Range witliiu the Region.
Range beyond t Region.
MELIPHAGIDiE.
104. Myzomela
20
The region ; escl. K". Zealand
105. Eviomophila...
4
Papuan Islands and Australia
106. GlidiMla
10
Papuan Ids. Timor, Australia,
N. Caledonia
107. Acantliorhynchus
2
Australia and Tasmania
308. Mdiphacja ...
1
East and S. Australia
109, PLilotis
43
Lombok and Gilolo to Tasmania
and Samoan Ids.
(Baly)
110. Meliornis
5
Australia and Tasmania
111. Prosthemadcra
1
New Zealand
112. Antkornis
4
New Zealand and Chatham Ids.
113. Anthochccra ...
10
New Guinea to Tasmania and
Samoan Ids., N. Zealand
114. Pngonorvis ...
1
New Zealand
115. Philemon
18
Lonihok to N. Guinea, N. Cale-
donia, Austialia
no. Erdcmiza
2
AiTStralia
117. Mavorhina ...
5
Australia and Tasmania
IIH. MeUthre2}tus ...
8
N. Guinea, Australia, ^Tasmania
119. Euihyrhynchits
3
N. Guinea
120. Melirrhophctes
2
N. Guinea
121. Melidcctes
1
N. Guinea
122. Meliimtes
1
N. Guinea
123. J/o/io
3
Sandwich Islands
124. Chatoptila ...
1
Sandwich Islands
Nectaeiniid^.
125. Cosmetira
1
Papuan Islands
(^thoijyga ...
1
N. Celebes)
Oriental genus
126. Clialcostetlia...
5
Celebes, Moluccas, Papuan Ids.
Malaya
127. Arachnecthra
5
Austro-Malaya and N. Australia
Oriental
(Nectarophila
1
Celebes)
Oriental genus
Anthreptes . . .
1
Celebes and SiiUa Islands
Malayan genus
128. Arachnothera
1
Papaun Islands, Lombok
Oriental
DlC^ID^.
129. Zosterops
28
The region to Fiji Ids. & N. Zeal.
Oriental, Ethiopian
130. Dicseum
12
Celebes to Solomonlds.fe Austral.
Oriental
131. Pachyglossa ?
1
N. Celebes
Himalayas
132. Piprisoma
1
Timor
India, Ceylon
133. Pardalotus ...
1
Australia and Tasmania, Timor
134. Prionochilus ...
Papuan Islands
Malaya
Deepanidid^.
135. Drepanis
3
Sandwich Islands
136. Remignathus . . .
3
Sandwich Is'anda
137. Loxops
1
Sandwich Islands
138. Psittirostra ...
1
Sandwich Islands
HmUNDINID^.
139. Hiruudo
7
The whole region
Cosmopolita
140. Atticora
1
Australia
Neotropical
480
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part III.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
o.|
O '^
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
Ploceid^si.
141. Estrilda
142. Emhlema
143. Munia
144. Donacola
145. Poephila
146. Amadina
147. Erythrura
SxUKNIDiE.
4
1
6
3
6
9
7
Flores, Timor, Australia
N. W. Australia
Celebes to F. Guinea and N.
Australia
Australia
Australia
Flores to Tasmania and Samoan
Islands
Moluccas to Caroline and Fiji
Islands, Timor, IST. Caledonia
Oriental, Ethiopian
Oriental
Ethiopian
Java, Sumatra
148. Eulabes
149. Basilornis
(Acridotheres
150. Creadion . .
151. Heteroloclia ...
152. Callceas
153. Aplonis
154. Calornis
155. Enodcs
156. Scissirosfrum . . .
4
2
1
2
\
8
13
1
1
Sumbawa, Flores, Papuan and
Solomon Islands
Celebes and Ceram
Celebes)
IST. Zealand
N. Zealand
N. Zealand
N. Caledonia to Tonga Islands
Celebes to Solomon Islands and
N. Australia
Celebes
Celebes
Oriental
Oriental genus
Malaya
i
Aetamid^s.
157. Artamus
15
Celebes to Fiji Ids. and Tasmania
Oriental
ALAUDIDiE.
158. Mirafra
2
Flores and Australia
Oriental, Ethiopian
MOTACILLID.E.
159. Budytes
160. Corydalla
PlTTIDiS.
11
5
Moluccas, Timor, Australia
Lombok and Moluccas to N.
Zealand
Pale, Ethiopian, Orien.
Palsearctic, Oriental
161. Pitta
162. Hydroniis ...
163. Melampitta ...
12
1
1
Celebes and Lombok to N.
Guinea and Australia
Gilolo, Batchian
N", Guinea
Oriental
Himalayas to Java
MENUEIDiE.
164. Menura
2
E. Australia
Atrichiidje.
165. Atrichia
2
W. Australia and Queensland
PICARI^.
PiCIDiE.
166. Yungipicus ...
(Mulleripicus...
2
I
Celebes, Lombok, and Flores
Celebes)
Oriental
Oriental genus
CHAP, XIII.]
THE AUSTRALIAN REGION.
481
Order, Family, and
Genus.
0 0
Range \vithin the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
CUCULID^.
167. Ehamphococcyx
1
Celebes
168. Centropus
13
Aiistro-Malaya and Australia
Oriental, Ethiopian
169. Cuciiliis
5
Austro-Malaya and Australia
Pale, Orien., Ethiopian
170. Caliechthrus ..
1
Papuan Islands
171. Cacomantis ...
10
Austro-Malaya and Australia
Oriental
172. Chrysococcyx
5
Austro-Malaya to Fiji Islands
and N. Zealand
Oriental, Ethiopian
(Hierococcyx...
1
Celebes)
Oriental genu 3
173. ICudynamis ...
6
The whole region ; excl. Sand-
wich Islands
Oriental
174. Sci/throps
1
Celebes, Moluccas, and Australia
C0RACIID.E.
(Coracias
1
Celebes)
Oriental and Ethiopian
175. Euiystomus ...
4
Austro-Malaya aud Australia
Oriental and Ethiopian
MEROPID.E.
176. Meropogon
1
Celebes
177. Merops.
2
Austro-Malaya and Australia
Pale, Or en., Ethiopian
Alcedinid^.
178. Alcedo
4
Celebes to New Ireland
Pale, Orien., Ethiopian
179. Alcyone
6
Batchian to Tasmania
Philippines
130. Pelargop^is ...
0
Celebes, Flores
Oriental
181. Ceyx
7
Celebes to New Guinea
Oriental
182. Ceycopsis
1
Celebes
183. Sy7na
2
Papuan Islands and N. Australia
184. Halcyon
19
The whole region ; excl. Sand-
wich Islands
Oriental, Ethiopian
185. Todirhamphus
3
Central Pacific and Sandwich Ids.
186. Dacdo
6
Papuan Islands and Australia
187. Mo'iiachalcyon
1
Celebes
188. Caridonax
1
Lombok and Flores
189. Tanysiptcra ...
14
Batchian to N. Guinea and N.
Australia
190. Cittura
2
Celebes and Sanguir Islands
191. Mdidora
1
New Guinea
BUCEUOTID^E.
192. Hydrocissa? ...
1
Celebes
Oriental
■ 193. Calao
1
Moluccas to Solomon Islands
Malayan
194. Cranorrliiiius ?
1
Celebes
Malayan
PODARGID^.
195. Podargus
10
Papuan Islands to Tasmania
196. Batrachostomus
2
Moluccas
Oriental
197. ^gotheles ...
5
Papuan Islands to Tasmania
Capeimulgid^.
198. Caprimulgus . . .
4
Lombok to Australia, N. Guinea
Pale, Ethiopian, Orien.
to Pelew Islands
I I
482
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[part hi.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
199. UiorostopnrJus . . .
(Lyncornis
CypselidjB.
200. Dendroclielidon
201. Collocalia
202. Cypselus
203. CiiEetiira
PSITTACL
Cacatuid^.
204. Cacatua
205. Calojmtta
206. Calyptorhynch7cs
207. Microglossus ...
208. Licmetis
209. Nasiterna
Platycercid^.
210. Platycercus ...
211. Psephotiis
212. Polyklis
213. Nymphicus ...
214. Ajyirosmictus ...
215. Pyrrhu lopsis . . .
216. Cyanoramphus
217. Mclopsittacus ..
218. EuiJhema
219. PezojMvus
220. Geopsittacus ...
PALiEORNITHID^.
221. Prioniturus ...
222. Geoffroijus
223. TanygnatJms . . .
224. Eclectus
225. Cyclopsitta ...
226. Loriculus
227. Trickoglossus
228. Nanodes
229. Charmosyna ...
230. Eos
231. Loriw ,, ...
232. Coriphilus
Nestoeic^
233. Hesior
234. Da-iyptilus ..
Range within the Region.
Aru Islands and Australia
Celebes)
Celebes to IT. Guinea
Celebes to Pacific Islands
Australia
Celebes, Australia
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
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
Celebes
Borneo to Timor & Solomon Ids.
Celebes to New Guinea
Moluccas and Papuan Islands
Papuan Ids. and N.E. Austral.
Celebes to Mysol, Flores
The whole region, excl. Sandwich
Islands, and N. Zealand
Australia and Tasmania
New Guinea
Sanguir Ids. and Moluccas to
Solomon Ids.
Bouru and Gilolo to Solomon Ids.
Samoan to Marquesas Islands
New Zealand and Norfolk Ids.
New Guinea
Range beyond the Region.
Oriental genus
Oriental
Oriental
Pale, Orien., Ethiopian
Ethio., Orien., American
Philippines
Philippines
Philippines
Philippines
Oriental
M:i
AP. XIII.]
THE AUSTRALIAN REGION.
483
Order, Family, and
Germs.
O CU
6%
Range within the Region.
Range bej-ond the Region.
SxEINGOPIDiE.
235. Stringops
1
jST. Zealand, Chatham Islands ?
COLUMBJJ.
COLUMBID^.
236. Treron
5
Celebes, Bourn, and Ceram, Flores
and Timor
Oriental, Ethiopian
237. Ptilopus
50
The whole region ; excl. N.
Zealand
The whole region
Indo- Malaya
238. Carpophaga ...
40
Oriental
239. lanthsenas
6
Gilolo, Timor, Papuan Ids. to
Japan, Philippines, An-
Samoan Islands
daman Islands
240. Leucomelcena...
1
Australia
241. Lopliolcemus ...
1
Australia
242. Geopelia
5
Lombok to Tasmania
Malaya, China
243. Macropygia ...
6
Austro-Malaj'a, Australia
Indo-Malaya
244. T'uracana
3
Celebes, Timor, Solomon Ids.
245. Reinwardtcenas
1
Celebes to New Guinea
246. Turtur
2
Austro-Malaya
Palsearc, Orien., Ethiop.
247. Ocyphaps
1
Australia
248. Petropliassa ...
1
N. W. Australia
249. Chalcophaps . ..
4
Austro-Malaya, Australia
Oriental
250. Trugon
1
N. Guinea
251. Ilenicophaps ...
1
Papuan Islands
252. Phap)s
3
Australia and Tasmania
253. Leucosarcia ...
1
Australia
254, Geophaps
2
Australia
255. Lophophaps ...
3
Australia
256. Calceiias
1
Austro-Malaya
Indo-Malaya
257. Oticlipliaps . . .
1
IS. Guinea
258. Phlogoenas ...
7
Celebes, N". Guinea to Madagascar
Philippine Islands
2-39. Goura
3
Papuan Islands
DlDtTNCTTLIDiE.
260. Didunculus ...
1
Samoan Islands
GALLING.
Tetkaonid^.
261. Coturnix
9
Celebes, Timor, Australia, N.
Zealand
Palsearc, Orien., Ethiop.
Phasianid^.
(Gallus
2
Celebes to Timor)
Oriental genus
TuRNiciD^a:.
262. Turnix ... .'..
9
Celebes & Moluccas to Tasmania
Palsearc, Orien., Ethiop.
Megapodiid^.
263. Talegallus ...
3
Papuan Islands and Australia
264. Megacephalon
1
Celebes
265. Lipoa
1
S. Australia
266. Megapodius ...
12
Celebes to Austral. & Samoan Ids.
Philippines, Nieobar Ids.
I I 2
484
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY.
[tart III.
Order, Family, and
Genus.
O 1-
>5 ^
R.-rnge within the Region.
Range beyond the Region.
ACCIPITRKS.
Falconid.e.
267. Circus
2
Celebes, S. and E. Austral
Almost Cosmopolite
2(58. Astur
20
The region, to Fiji Islands
Almost Cosmopolite
269. Accipiter
6
The whole region, to Fiji Islands
Almost Cosmopolite
270. Urospiza
Australia
271. Uroaetus
Australia and Tasmania
272. Nisaetus
Australia
S. Palmare, Ethiopian,
Oriental
273. Neopus
Celebes and Ternate
Oriental
274. Spizaetus
Celebes and N. Guinea
Neotrop.jEthiop., Orien.
275. Circaetus
Timor and Flores
Palaearc, Ethiop., Orien.
(Spilornis
2
Celebes and Sulla Islands)
Oriental genus
276. Butastur
Celebes to New Guinea
Oriental, N". E. Africa
277. Halifeetus
The whole region
Cosmop., excl. Neotrop.
region
- 278. Haliastur
Australia and N. Caledonia
Oriental
279. Milvus
Celebes to Australia
Palfearc, Orien., Ethiop.
280. Lophoictiiiia ...
Australia
281. Gypoictinia ...
1
Australia
282. Elanus
Celebes and Australia
Oriental, Ethiopian i
283. Henicopernis ...
Papuan Islands
1
(Pernis
Celebes)
Palsearctic, Oriental, and ■
Ethiopian
284. Baza
4
Moluccas and Austi'alia
Oriental
285. Harpa
1
N. Zealand and Auckland Id.s.
286. Falco
6
Aiistro-Malaya and Australia
Almost Cosmopolite
287. Hieracidea ...
2
Australia and Tasmania
288. Cerchneis
2
Austro-Malaya and Australia
Almost Cosmopolite
PANDIONIDiB.
289. Pandion
1
The whole region
Cosmopolite
290. Polioaetus ...
1
Celebes and Sandwich Islands
Oi-iental
SXRIGIDiE.
291. Athene
21
The whole reg., excl. Pacific Ids.
Palaearc. , Orien., Ethiop.
292. Scops
6
Celebes, Moluccas, N. Zealand
Almost Cosmopolite
(Asio
1
Sandwich Islands)
Almost Cosmopolite, excl.
Australian region
293. Strix
7
The whole region
Cosmopolite
Peculiar or very Chccracteristic Genera of Wading and Swimming Birds.
GRALLiE.
RALLICaS.
Ocyclromus ... 5
Cabalus 1
NotoTJiis 2
THbonyx ... 4
Hahraptila
New Zealand
Chatham Islands
New Zealand, Norfolk and Lord
Howe's Islands
Australia and N. Zealand
Moluccas
—L.
CHAP. XHI.]
THE AUSTRALIAN REGION.
485
Order, Family, and
Genus.
*^ 'J)
° .9.
6 a
Range within the Region.
Range beyond the Regi
on.
Eallina
Pareudiastcs ...
6
1
Austro- Malaya
Sainoan Islands
Oriental
SCOLOPACID^E.
Claclorhynchus
1
Australia
Chakadriid.e.
Esacns
Erythrogonys . . .
Thinornis
Anarhynchus
Pcdionomus ...
1
1
2
1
1
Anstro-Malaya, Australia
Australia
NeAV Zealand
New Zealand
Australia
Oriental
Rhinochetid^.
Bhinochctus . . .
1
New Caledonia
Anatid^.
Nesonetta
Malacorhynchus
Jiymenolcvnuis
Biziura
Anscranas
Cercopsis
1
1
1
1
1
1
Auckland Islands
Australia
New Zealand
Australia
Australia
Australia and Tasmania
PROCELLARIID.E.
Prion
6
New Zealand
Antarctic Sers
Spiiexiscid^.
Eudyptes
4
Australia and N. Zealand
Antarctic shores
STRUTHIONES.
Casuariid.e.
294. Dromcciis
295. Casuaruis
2
9
Australia
Coram to New Britain, N.Austrl.
Aptekygid^.
296. Apteryx
4
New Zealand
DiNORKITHID.E.
(Extinct)
297. Dinomis
298. Mionornis
5
2
N. Zealaii.l
N. Zealand
PaLAPTERYGIDvE.
(Extinct)
299. Falapteryx, ...
300. Euryapiteryx ...
2
N. Zealand
N. Zealand
INDEX TO VOL. I.
I
INDEX TO VOL. I.
Note. — In this Index tlie names in Italics all refer to fossil genera or families
mentioned in Part II. The sj^stematic names of genera and families occinTing in
almost every page of Part 111. are not given, as they wonld nniiecessarily 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
Avill, however, all be found in the General Index, with a reference to the page (in
Vol. II., Part IV.) where a systematic account of their distribut'on is given.
Aavdvark of East Africa, figure of, 261
Accipitres, European Eocene, 163
Accipitres, classification of, 97
range of Palajarctic genera of, 24S
lange of Etliiopian genera of, 312
range of Oriental genera of, 385
range of Australian genera of, 486
Acerotherhim, European Miocene, 119
N. American Tertiary, 1315
Achcenodon, N. American Tertiary, 138
Acotherium, European Eocene, 126
Adapts, European Eocene, 125
jElurogale, European Eocene, 125
Mpyornis, of Madagascar, 164
jEskna, from the Lias, 167
Agnopterus, European Eocene, IGS
Agriochcents, N. American Tertiary, 138
Agrion, from the Lias, 167
Alcephalus, Indian Miocene, 122
Aldabra Islands, land-tortoises of, 2S9
j4/etor7ife, N. American Eocene, 16.3
Algeria, Post-Pliocene deposits and caves of,
111
Allen, Mr. .J. A., on Zoological regions, 61
objections to his system of circumpolar
zones, 67
objections to liiB zoo-geographical nomen-
clature, 68
Altai mountains, fossils in caves. 111
Amblyrhiza, Pliocene of Antilles, 148
America, recent sei>aration of North and
South, 40
extinct mammalia of, 129
North, Post-Pliocene fauna of, 129
Amomys. N. American Tertiary, 134
Amphechiitvs, European Miocene, 117
Amphibia, means of dispersal of, 28
classification of, 100
peculiar to Palaarctic region, 186
of Central Europe, 196
of the Mediterranean sub-region, 205
of Siberian sub-region, 220
Amphibia, of the ^Manehuvian sub-re-gion, 22G
table of Paliearctic 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 "
Am'phibos, Indian Miocene, 122
Amphicyon, European Miocene, 113
Indian Miocene, 121
N. American Tertiary, 1 34
Amphimericidce, European Miocene, 119
Amphimoschus, European Miocene, 120
Amphisorex, European Miocene, 118
Amphitragiilns, European Miocene, 120
Aiiastoma, European Tertiary, 169
Anchilophus. European Eocene, 125
Anchipjiodus, N. American Eocene, 139
A nchipjms, N. American Tertian', 135
Anchitheridce, N. American Tertiary, 1.35
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 ]iast hi.'tory of, 334
Andreas, European Miocene, 165
Animal kingdom, primary divisions of, 85
Animals, development of, affectijig distribu-
tion, 7
dispersal and migration of, 10
490
INDEX.
Animals, rapid multiplication of, 10
Anisacodon, N. American Tertiary, 137
Anoa of Celebes, peculiarities of, 428
Anoplotheriido}, European Miocene, 119
Anoplotherium, European Miocene, 119
European Eocene, 126
S. American Eocene, 14S
Anseres, arrangement of, 98
peculiar Patearctic genera, 250
peculiar Ethiopian genera of, 813
peculiar Australian genera of, 4S7
Antelopes in the Indian Miocene deposits, 122
birthplace and migrations of, 155
Palcearotic, 182
Antelotherium, Indian Miocene, 122
AnthracotheridcB, N. American Tertiary, 137
Aitthracothermm, European Miocene, 119
Antiacodon, N. American Tertiary, 133
Antilles, Pliocene Mammalia of, 148
Antilope, Post-Pliooene, 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
Aphelotheriiim, European Eocene, 125
Aquila, European Miocene, 161
ArclicBopteryx, Bavarian Oolite, 163
Arctic zone not a separate region, 68
Arctocyon, European Eocene, 125
Arctodus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130
Arctomys, European Pliocene, 113
Arctothermm in Brazilian caves, 144
S. 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
.<^ri;icoZa, European Pliocene, 113
in Brazilian caves, 145
S. American Pliocene, 147
S. American Eocene, 148
AucTiena, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130
- Auckland Islands, birds of, 455
Australia, physical features of, 387
Australia andS. 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, 897
supposed land-connection of with S. Ame-
rica, 398
insects of, 403
lepidoptera of, 404
coleoptera of, 405
land sheUs of, 407
sub-regions of, 408
early history of, 465
Australian sub-region, mammalia of, 438
illustration nf mammalia of, 439
birds of, 440
illustration of fauna of, 441
Anstro-Malayan sub-region, physical features
of, 388
zoology of, 409
Aye-aye, figure of, 278
Azores, visited by European birds, 17
birds of, 207
Azores, butterflies of, 207
, beetles of, 207, 209
pecxiliarly modified birds of, 207
stragglers to, 208
how stocked with animal life, 208
B.
Babirusa of Celebes, peculiarities of, 428
Badger, figure of, 195
Balcena, European Pliocene, 112
Baltunodon, European Pliocene, 112
Baly, Mr, on Phytophaga of Japan, 230
Banca, its peculiar species and solution of a
problem in distribution, 356
Barriers, as affecting distribution, 6
permanence of, as aff'ecting distribution, 7
to the dispersal of birds, 17
Bates, Mr., on Carabidse of Japan, 228
on Longicorns of Japan, 230
Bathmodon, N. American Tertiary, 186
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
dispereal of by winds, 16
American, found in Europe, 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 Palfearctic region, 161
European of Miocene period, 161
Eocene of Europe, 162
relations of, 162
extinct of North America, 163
recently extinct 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 gi'oups of, 176
numerous genera, Palsearctic, 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, 203
of Malta, 206 (note)
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
Palsearctic genera of, in the Manchurian
sub-region, 224
INDEX.
491
Birds, Oriental genera of, in tlie Manohurian
sub-region, 224
characteristic of N.W. China and Mon-
golia, 226
table of Paleearctic families of, 235
of "West Africa, 243
list of Palfearotic genera of, 243
of the Ethiopian region, 253
of the East African sub-region, 260
S. 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
Palaearctic and Etliiopian 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 tlie 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, 321
Borneo, probable recent changes in, 337
Bos, Post-Pliocene, 112
Indian Miocene, 122
Bourbon, zoology of, 280
reptiles of, 281
BovidcBy European Miocene, 120
Brachymys, European Miocene, 120
Bramatherium, Miocene of Perim Island, 122
. Brazilian cave-fauna, 143
remarks on, 145
Breyeria borinensis, carboniferous insect, 168
Britain, peculiar sjiecies in, 197
British Isles, zoology of, 197
Broad-bill, Malayan, figure of, 340
Brontotheridce, N. American Tertiary, 137
Brontothermm, N. American Tertiary, 137
Buho, European Miocene, 162
Bulimus, Eocene, 169
Bunceluriis, N. American Tertiary, 134
Bv.prestidmm, Oolitic insect, 167
Butterflies, arrangement of, 103
Palsearctic, 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 Ethiopian region, 255
number of Ethiopian species, 253
of 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.
Ccidurcofherium, European Eocene, 125
Ccp,lodon, in Brazilian caves, 145
Ccelogenys, in Brazilian caves, 144
Ccenopiihecus, European Eocene, 124
Cainotheriuvi, European Miocene, 120
European Eocene, 126
Calamodon, N. American Eocene, 139
Callithrix in Brazilian eaves, 184
Canaries, birds of, 208
beetles of, 209
Canidce, European Miocene, 113 .
Eurojjean Eocene, 125
N. American Tertiary, 134
remarkable S. African, 207
Canis, European Pliocene, 112
Post-Pliocene, 112
European Miocene, 118
Indian Miocene, 121
Eiu'opean 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
Palaarctic, 182
Camelidce, essentially extra-tropical, 112
N. American Tertiary, 138
Camelopardalis, 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, S. African, 267
Cardiodus, S. American Pliocene, 147
Cariama, Brazilian caves, 164
Carnivora of European Pliocene, 112
Miocene of Greece, 115
European Miocene, 118
Indian Miocene, 121
Em-opean Eocene, 125
N. American Post-Pliocene, 129
N. American Tertiary. 134
of Brazilian caves, 144
S. American Pliocene, 146
Carnivora, classification of, 88
antiquity of, 153
of the Palsearctic region, 182
list of Palwarctic genera of, 240
list of Ethiopian genera of, 302
range of Oriental genera of, 373
list of Australian genera of, 476
Caroline Islands, birds of, 444
Carterodon in Brazilian caves, 145
492
INDEX.
Carus, and Gerstaeker on classification of
animals, 85
Professor, on classification of the Cetacea,
88
Castor, European Pliocene, 113
European Miocene, 1-20
Casoryx, N. American Tertiary, 138
Catharfes, Brazilian cas'es, 161
Cave-.fauna of Brazil, 143
Cavia, European Miocene, 121
in Brazilian caves, 1-14
S. American Pliocene, 147
Cfiochmnis, European Eocene, 1'26
Cebiis in Brazilian caves, 141
Celebes, physical features of, 389
mammalia of, 4i(3
birds of, 428
insects of, 434
origin of fauna of, 43(5
Centetidce, Europiean Miocene, 118
Ceratodus, remarkable Australian fish, 307
Cercolabes in Brazilian caves, 145
Cercopitliecus in European Pliocene, 112
Cervidce, 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
Chalicothervmi, European Miocene, 119
Indian Miocene, 122
fossil in N. China, 123
ChnmceUo, 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, 836
Chili should not he placed in the Palwarctic
or Nearetic regions, 63
China, fossil mammals in, resembling those of
Indian and European Jfiocene, 302
North, mammalia of, 222
ChincMlliche in Brazilian caves, 145
S. American Pliocene, 147
Pliocene of x\ntilles, 148
Cliiroptera, classification of, 87
list of PalEearctic genera of, 239
list of Ethiopian genera of, 300
range of Oriental genera of, 371
list of Australian genera of, 47.5
Cliiroptera, European Eocene, 125
in Urazilian caves. 144
CMamydrAhcrmm in Brazilian caves, 145
Chmromorvs, European Mioi'cne, 119
Chceropotamns, European Eocene, 120
Vhixrofl'erivvi', Indian Miocene, 122
Choneziphlv.s, European Pliocene, 112
Chough, Alpine, figure of, 195
CLrcumpolar zones, objections to system of, 67
Classification as affecting tlie study of distri-
bution, 83
ClausiHa, EoC'ine, 169
Climate, as a limit to the range of nianinialia,
11
gradual change of, before the glacial epoch,
41
Coleoptera, families selected for study, 103
Palpearctic, 188
number of Pal*arctic species, 189
of Central Europe, 196
of the Mediterranean sub-region, 205
of the Cape Verd Islands, 215
of tlie Ethiopian region, 25(j
S. African, 268
of Madagascar, 282, 283
of the Oriental region, 319
of ludo-Malay sub-region, 342
of the Australian region, 405
affinity of Australian and South American,
406, 407
of Celebes, 435
of New Zealand, 457
Collocalia, Bui'opean Miocene, 161
Colohns, European Miocene, 117
Coloiioceras, N. American Tertiary, 136
Colossocltelys of Indian Miocene, 123, 165
Columbtfi, classification of, 96
range of Pal-«arc1ic 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, European Miocene, 161
Coryphddon, European Eocene, 126
Cosmopolitan groups enumerated, 175
Cricetodon, European Miocene, 120
Cricetus, European Pliocene, 113
Crocodiles, Eocene, 165
Crocodilia, classiHcation 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, S. American Pliocene, 147
Cuba, extinct mammalia of, 148
Curculionldivm, Oolitic insect, 167
Cyclostovui, Eocene, 169
Cyllo sppulta, European Cretaceous, 167
Cyna'hu-vs, in Brazilian caves, 144
Cynopithecus of Celebes, affinities of, 427
Cyothcrium, European Eocene, 125
D.
Daptophihis, N. American Tertiary, 134
Darwin, Mr., his explanation of the cause of
the abundance of apterous insects in
Msdeira, 211
on the relation of flowers and insects, 463
Lasyprocta, European Miocene, 121
in Brazilian caves, 144
Dasypiis, in Brazilian caves, 145
S. American Pliocene, 147
Dnsyurvs, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157
David, Pere, his researches in China and Thi-
bet, 221, 222
on birds of N. China, 226
INDEX,
493
Deer, fossil in N. Americau Tei'tiary forma-
tions, las
Palsearctic, 1S2
probable cause of absence of from tropical
Africa, 291
Delphinus, European Pliocene, 112
Dendrocyg iia, European Miocene, 162
Desman of S. Russia, figure of, 219
riiceratheriu'in, N. American Tertiary, 137
jDichobime, European Eocene, 12f)
Dicoti/les, N. American Post- Pliocene, 130
N. American Tertiary, 137
in Brazilian caves, 141
S. American Pliocene, 146
bii'tliplace and migrations of, 155
Dicrocerus, European Miocene, 120
Didelphys, European Eocene, 126
N. American Post-Pliocene, 130
in Brazilian caves, 145
Dididce, 164
Dinocerata, N. American Tertiary, 139
Dinoceras, N. American Eocene, 139
Dinornis, aLied form in European Eocene, 163
of New Zealand and Australia, 164
Dinornithidce of New Zealand, 164
Dinotlierium, Miocene of Greece, 116
European Miocene, 120
Miocene of Perim Island, 123
Dinyctis, N. American Tertiary, 134
Dinylus, European Miocene, 117
Diplacodon,'^. American Tertiary, 136
Dlprotodon, Australian Post-Terliary, 157
Dispersal of animals, 10
of mammalia, 10
of reptiles and amphibia, 28
Distribution, affected 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, S3
of animals an adjunct to geology, 8
of animals requires certain iireliminary
studies, 8
of animals dependent on physical geo-
graphy, 35
of animals, as aftected by the glacial etjoch,
40
of animals, as affected by changes of
vegetation, 43
of animals, as affected by oi'ganic changes,
44
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
Dorcatheriicm, European Miocene, 120
Dremothe.rium, 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
ngo-shrike, Malayaji figure of, 340
opithecus, European Miocene, 117
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
Echimyidje, in Brazilian caves, 145
EchiiwgciJe, European Miocene, 118
Kctoguathvs, N. American Eocene, 139
Edentata, Miocene of Greece, 116
European Miocene, 121
N . American Post-Pliocene, 130
N. American Pliocene, 140
of Brazilian cave.s, 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
Elejihants, fossil of Indian Miocene, 123
fossil in N. American Post-Pliocene for-
mations, 130
birthplace and migi'ations of^ 155
Elej)haut shrews, S. African, 267
Elephas, Post-Pliocene, 112
fossil in N. China, 123
N . American Tertiary, 138
Elliot, Mr., his great work on the birds o
paradise, 415
Eloriiis, European Miocene, 162
Elothermm, N. American Tertiary, 137, 139
Elwes, Mr., on birds of Persia, 204
on true relations of the birds of Central
India, 323
Emhasis, 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, 1.39
Eocene period, 124
fauna of S. America, 148
Ephemei'a, from the Lias, 167
Eporeodon, N. American Tertiary, 138
Eqtiid(e, European Pliocene, 112"
Miocene of Greece, 115
European Eocene, 125
Eqmis, European Pliocene, 112
Post-Pliocene, 112
Indian Miocene, 121
N. American Post- Pliocene, 130
N. American Tertiaiy, 135
Brazilian caves, 144"
S. American Pliocene, 146
Ereptodon, N. American Post- Pliocene, 130
Erinaceiis, European Miocene, 117
Erythromachus of Rodriguez, 164
Estkonyx, N. American Eocene, 139
Ethiopian region should not include any part
of India, 63
defined, 73
suVjdivisinu!! of, 73
I
494
INDEX.
Ethiopian region, general features of, 251
zoological characteristics of, 252
mammalia of, 253
great speciality of, 253
birds of, 258
reptiles of, 254
amphibia of, 255
fresh-water fish of, 255
summary of vertebrates of, 255
insects of, 255
ooleoptera of, 256
terrestrial mollusea of, 257
sub-regions of, ii58
Atlantic islands of, 269
the probable past history of, 285
tables of distribution of animals of, 293
Eumys, N. American Tertiary, 140
Euphractvs, S. American Pliocene, 14T
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, descrijition of, 191
forests of, 192
mammalia of, 192
birds of, 193
reptiles and amphibia of, 195
frcsli-water fisli of, 196
insects of, 195
islands of, 197
Euryceros of Madagascar, figure of, 278
F.urydon, in Brazilian caves, 145
Eurtithermm, European Eocene, 126
Eutatus, S. American Pliocene, 147
Eutelodon, European Eocene, 126
Eutemnodus, S. American Eocene, 148
Extinct mammalian fauna of Europe, general
considerations on, 126
mammalia of N. America and Europe,
comparison of, 140
mammalia of tlie Antilles, 148
mammalia of Old and New Worlds,
general remarl^s on, 148
fauna of New Zealand, 459
Extinction of large animals, causes of, 158
P.
Fauna of Japan, general character and affini-
ties of, 230
of Patearctic region, general conclusions
as to, 231
extinct, of Madagascar and Mascarene
Islands, 282
Malayan, probable origin of, 359
Moluccan, peculiarities of, 419
Timorese, origin of, 422
of Celebes, origin of, 436
of New Zealand, origin of, 460
Felis spdcea, 110
Felis, Miocene of Greece, 115
European Miocene, 118
Indian Miocene, 121 '"■
N. American Post-Pliocene, 129
in Brazilian oaves, 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 Palsearctic region, 186
of tlie European sub-region, 196
of the Mediterranean sub-region, 205
of the Manchurian sub-region, 227
Fishes,fresh-water,table of Palsearctie families
of, 227
of the Ethiopian region, 255
of South Africa, 268
fresh-water, table of Ethiopian families of,
298
fresli-water, of the Oriental region, 318
of the Indo-Malay sub-region, 341
fresh-water, table of Oriental families of,
369
fresli-water, of tlie Australian region, 397
fresh-water,resemblanee of Australian and
S. American, 400
how the transmission may have taken
place, 401
fresli-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
Galeeymis, in European Pliocene, 112
Galera, N. American Post- Pliocene, 130
Galeospalax, European Miocene, 118
Galeotherium, Post- Pliocene, 111
Galethylax, European Eocene, 125
Galictis, in Brazilian caves, 144
Gallina?,, classification of, 96
range of Palsearctie 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
Glossotherium, in Brazilian caves, 145
8. American Pliocene, 147
Ghjptodon, S. American Pliocene, 147
Gnathopsis,B. American Pliocene, 147
Goats, Palisearctic, 182
Godman, Mr., on Natural History of the
Azores, 207
Golden Moles, S. African, 267
GraciUavus, N. American Cretaceous, 164
Grallae, arrangement of, 97
peculiar or characteristic Paleearctie ge-
nera, 249
peculiar Ethiopian genera of, 313
INDEX.
4d5
Grallas, 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
Guliclc, Rev. J. T., on Acliatinellidge of the
Sandwich Islands, 446
Gtinther, 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, 834
Halcyornis, European Eocene, 103
Halitherium, European Pliocene, 112
European Miocene, 119
HelladothP'rmm, Miocene of Greece, 116
European Miocene, 120
Uatteria of New Zealand, 456
Helictis, Himalayan, figure of, 331
Helix, Eocene, 109
Hemibos, Indian Miocene, 122
Hemicyon, European Miocene, 118
Herpetotherium, N. American Tertiary, 134
Uesperoniys, 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, 168
Himalayas, altitude reached by various groups
m 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 m Pliocene, 113
Indian Pliocene, 122
Hipposyvs, N. American Tertiary, 133
Hippotherium, European Miocene, 119
Indian Miocene, 122
Hippotragiis, European Miocene, 120
Homalodontotherium, S. American Pliocene,
146
Homalophiis, European Miocene, 161
Homocamelus, N. American Tertiary, 138
Honeysuclcers, birds specially adapted to
Australia, 392
Hooker, Dr. , on deficiency of odoiu-s 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 animal kingdom by, 85
Hycena, Post-Pliocene, 112
Miocene of Greece, 115
European Miocene, 118
Hycena, Indian Miocene, 121
fossil in N. China, 123
Hycennretos in European Pliocene, 112
European Miocene, 118
Indian Miocene, 121
S. Am.erican Pliocene, 146
Eycenictis, Miocene of Greece, 115
European Miocene, 118
Eycenidce, European Miocene, 118
Hycenodoii, European Miocene, 118
European Eocene, 125
N. American Tertiary, 134
Hycenodontidce, European Miocene, 118
Hydrochrerus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130
Hydrornis, European Miocene, 162
Hyohippus, N. American Tertiary, 135
Hijomoschus, European Miocene, 120
Hyopotamus, European Miocene, 119
N. American Tertiary, 137
Hyopsodus, N. American Tertiary, 133
Hyotherium, European Miocene, 119
Hi/pertragulus, N. American Tertiary, 133
Hypisodus, N. American Tertiary, 138
H i/psiprymnus, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157
Hyrar.hyus, N. American Tertiary, 136
Hyracodon, N. American Tertiary, 136
Hyracoidea, classification of, 90
Palsearctic, 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
I.
IWdipodia, 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-Malaj'an sub-regi(Ai, description of, 334
mammalia of, 336
illustrations of, 336, 339
birds of, 337
remote geographical relations of, 339
reptiles and amjihibia of, 340
fishes of, 341
insects of, 341
coleoptera of, 342
terrestrial moUusca of, 343
zoological relations of islands of, 345
r*3ent geographical changes in, 357
probable origin of fauna of, 359
Insects, means of dispersal of, 32
49 G
INDEX.
Insects, tenacity of life of, 33
Japan, general character of the fauna of, 230
adapted to special conditions, 33
former land-connexions of, 231
• groups selected foi- the study of their
Java, mammalia of, 349
geographical distribution, 102
productions of, well Itnown, 350
antiquity of the genera of, 166
birds of, 351
fossil of European Miocene, 166
representative species of birds in, 352
European Cretaceous, 167
origin of the anomalous features of its
European Wealdeu, 167
fauna, 352
Palteozoic, 168
Sumatra and Borneo, their geographical
Patearctic, 187
contrasts and zoological peculiarities
of Central Europe, 196
explained, 357
of the Mediterranean sub-region, 205
Junonia, European Miocene, 167
of the Siberian sub-region, 220
of the Manchurian sub-region, 227
of the Ethiopian region, 255
K.
of the East African sub-region, 260
of West Africa, 265
Kakapoe, of New Zealand, 455
S. African, 268
Kangaroos, extinct in Australia, 157
of Madagascar, 282
Kerguelen Island, apterous insects of, 211
general remarks on, 284
{note)
of tropical Africa and America, probable
Kerodon, in Brazilian caves, 144
cause of similarities in, 291
S. American Pliocene, 147
of Indo-Chinese sub-region, 332
King-tisher, racquet tailed, of New Guinea,
of the Oriental region, 318
figure of, 415
of Ceylon, 327
Kiwi of New Zealand, 455
of Indo-Malay sub-region, 341
Koodoo antelope, figure of, 261
statistics of collecting in the various
islands of the Malay Archipelago, 343
of the Australian region, 403
L.
of New Guinea, 417
of the Moluccas, 420
Lacertilia, classification of, 99
of Timor group, 426
Ladrnne Islands, birds of, 444
of Celebes, 454
Lagomys, European Pliocene, 113
of New Zealand, 458
European Miocene, 120
scarcity of, in New Zealand, 462
Lagostomus, in Brazilian eaves, 145
" influence of on the flora, 463
S. American Pliocene, 147
InsecHvora, European Miocene, 117
Lake Baikal, seals of, 218
N. American Post-Pliocene, 129
Land and water, proportions of, 35
N. American Tertiary, 133
Land and fresh-water shells, antiquity of the
Insectivora, classification of, 87
genera of, 168
of the Palfearctic region, 181
Land-shells, Palaeozoic, 169
of N. China and E. Thibet, 222
■ PalKarctic, 190
range of Palasarctic genera of, 239
of Madeira, 209
of Madagascar, 273
of the Cape Verd Islands, 215
range of Ethiopian genera of, 301
of the Ethiopian region, 257
of the Oriental region, 315
of W. Africa, 265
range of Oriental genera of, 372
of Madagascar and the Masearene Islands,
range of Australian genera of, 476
285
Isacis, N. American Tertiary, 133
of Indo-Malay sub-region, 344
Ischyromys, N. American Tertiary, 140
of the Australian region, 407
Islands, N. European, zoology of, 197
of Sandwich Islands, 446
of the Mediterranean sub-region, 206
of New Zealand, 459
of the West African sub-region, 265
Laniiis, European Miocene, 161
of Ethiopian region, 269
LaopWiecvs, N .American Tertiary, 133
Masearene, 280
Laornis, N. American Cretaceous, 164
of the Indo-Chinese sub-region, 333
Lemuria, a hypothetical land, 76
of Indo-Malay sub-region, 345
Lanmravidce, N. American Tertiary, 133
Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa., 443
Lemuravus, N. American Tertiary, 133
Society and Marquesas. 444
Lemuridce, European Eocene, 124
New Caledonia and New Hebrides, 445
Lemuroidea, range of Ethiopian genera of, 300
Sandwich, 446
range of Oriental genera of, 371
of New Zealand sub-region, 453
Lepictis, N. American Tertiary, 133
Norfolk, 453
Lepidoptera, cosmopolitan families of, 177,
Lord Howe's, 454
table of Palasarctic families of, 238
Chatham, 454
S. African, 268
Auckland, 455
table of Ethiopian families of, 299
Issiodromys, European Pliocene, 113
of the Oriental region, 318
table of Oriental families of, 369
of the Australian region, 404
J.
table of Australian families of, 472
Leptarchus, N. American Tertiary, 135
Jacchus. in Brazilian caves, 144
LeptaucTienia, N. American Tertiary, 138
Japan and North China, physical features of.
Leptochcerus, N. American Tertiary, 137
221
Leptodon, Miocene of Greece, 116
southern extremity of perhaps belongs to
Leptomeryx, N. American Tertiary, 138
the Oriental region, 236
LepiopUlvs, European Miocene, 162
INDEX.
497
Leptosomus, allied, form in European Eoceue,168
Leptosomus of Madagascar, 278
figure of, 279
Leptoiherium, in Brazilian eaves, 144
Lepus, in Brazilian caves, 145
S. American Pliocene, 147
Lestodon, S. American Pliocene, 147
Lewis, Mr. George, his collection of Japan
insects, 228
Lebdlula, from the Lias, 167
Lilljeborg, Professor, on classification of the
Rodentia, 90
Limncea, Eocene, 169
European Secondary, 169
Limnatornis, European Miocene, 161
Limnocyon, N. American Tertiary, 134
Limnohyiis, N. American Tertiary, 136
Limnotheridce, N. American Tertiary, 133
Limnotherivm, 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
Lonchophonis, in Brazilian caves, 145
Lophiodon, European Eocene, 125
N. American Tertiary, 136
LopJiiotherium, 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
Lxdra, European Miocene, 118
Indian Miocene, 121
Lyccena, Miocene of Greece, 115
Lyre bird, figure of, 441
M.
Macaeiis, European Pliocene, 112
Miocene of Greece, 115
Indian Miocene, 121
supposed in European Eocene, 125
MachairodiiS, 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, S. 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, 211
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
Malagasy sub-region, reptiles of, 279
amphibia of, 280
extinct fauna of, 282, 289
insects of, 282
early history of, 286
Malaya and 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 and
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 Palsearctic 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
Palsearctic 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 Palsearctic families of, 234
range of Pala-arctic genera of, 239
of the Ethiopian region, 253
absence of certain imxiortant 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, 800
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 Moluccas, 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
K K
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-Fliocene, 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, 891
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
8. American Pliocene, 147
Indian Miocene, 123
N. American Post-Pliocene, 130
N. American Tertiary, 138
Mauritius, zoology of, 280
reptiles of, 28 1
McCoy, Professor, on Palaeontology of
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
Megaeerops, N. American Tertiary, 137
Megalomeryx, N. American Tertiary, 138
Megalocnus, fossil in Cuba, 148
Megalonyx, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130
in Brazilian caves, 145
S. American Pliocene, 147
Megalostoma, Eocene, 169
Megainys, S. American Eocene, 148
Megaspira, Europsan Tertiary, 169
MegatheridcB, in Brazilian caves, 145
Megatherium, N.^Am;rican Post-Pliocene, 130
in Brazilian oaves, 145
S. American Pliocene, 147
Melania, European secondary, 169
Meleagris, N. American Miocene, 163
MelUvora, Indian Miocene, 121
Melolonthidiiim, Oolitic insect, 167
Meniscotherium, N. American Tertiary, 138
Menotherium, N. American Tertiary, 133
Mephitis, in Brazilian caves, 144
Merychns, N. American Tertiary, 138
Merychippns, N. American Tertiary, 135
Merychnnhrerns, N. American Tertiary, 133
Meri/codiis, N. American. Tertiary, 138
Merycopotarmis, Indian Miocene, 122
Merycotherium of Siberian drift, 112
Mesacodon, N. American Tertiary, 133
Mesohipvus. N. American Tertiary, 135
Mesonyx, N. American Tertiary, 134
Mesopithccus, Miocene of Greece, 115
Meyer, Dr. A. B. , on reptiles and amphibia ol
New Guinea, 415
Microlestes, oldest European mammal, 160
Micromeryx, European Miocene, 120
Microsyops, N. American Tertiary, 133
Microtherium, 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 S. Temperate America, 25
general remarks on, 25
Milviis, 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 Europs and Asia, general obser-
vations on, 123
Miohippus, N. American Tertiary, 135
Mivart, Pi'ofessor, on classification of primates,
86
on classification of inseetivora, 87
on classification of amphibia, 101
Moles almost wholly Palasarctic, 181
Mole-rat, of W. Tartary, 218
MoUusoa, means of dispersal of, 30
classification of, 104
groups selected for study, 104
Moluccas, zoology of, 417
birds of, 419
reptiles of, 420
insects of, 420
peculiarities of fauna of, 421
Monkeys on the high Himalayas, 12
fossil in N. American Miocene
inE 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
Muridce, S. American Pliocene, 147
Murray, Mr. Andrew, on zoological region, 60
Mmtela, Miocene of Greece, 115
European Miocene, 118
S. American Pliocene, 146
Mustelidai, in Brazilian caves, 144
Mylodon, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130
S. American Pliocene, 147
Mi/ogale, European Miocene, 118
Myomorphiis, fossil in Cuba
Mqopotamus, in Brazilian caves, 145
Myoxus, European Miocene, 120
European Eocene, 126
Mysarachne, European Miocene, 118
Mysops, N. American Eocene, 140
Myxophagus, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130
INDEX.
499
N.
Nanohyus, N. American Tertiary, 137
Nasua, in Brazilian caves, 144
Nearctic region, defined, 79
subdivisions of, 80"
distinct from Palsearctic, 79
Necrornis, European Miocene, 161
Neotropical region, detined, 78
subdivisions of, 78
relations of W. African sub-region with, 265
Hesodon, S. American Pliocene, 147
Newton, Professor, on position of Memiridce
and Atrichiidos, 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
Longicoms 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
S. America, 131
extinct birds of, 163
North Africa, zoological relations of, 202
Notharctos, N. American Tertiary, 133
Notornis of New Zealand, 455
Notoihermm, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157
O.
Ochot7ieriv.m, in Brazilian caves, 145
Ododontida, S. American Pliocene, 147
Ophidia, classification of, 99
OpiMhocomns, Brazilian caves, 164
Opossum, extinct, in European Miocene, 121
Oreodon, N. American Tertiary, 138
Oreodontidce, N. American Tertiary, 138
Oriental region, defined, 75
subdivisions of, 75
description of, 314
zoological features of, 315
mammalia 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 PalEearctic faunas once identical,
362
Oriental and Ethiopian faunas, cause of their
resemblances, 363
Orohijipiis, N. American Tertiary, 136
Ostrich, Miocene of N. India, 162
Oiaria, European Miocene, 118
Ovibos, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130
Oxen, birthplace and migrations of, 155
Palaearctic, 182
Ox-ifcena, N. American Tertiary, 134
Oxygomjihiis, European Miocene, 118
Oxymycterus, in Brazilian caves. 145
S. American Pliocene, 147
Pachyaina, N. American Tertiary, 134
Pachynolophus, European Eocene, 126
Pachytherium, in Brazilian caves, 145
Palsearctic region, defined, 71
subdivisions of, 71
general features of, 180
zoological characteristics of, 181
has few peculiac families, 181
mammalia of, 181
birds of, 182
high degree of specialitj' 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 distiibution of animals of, 233
Pakeaeodcn, N. American Tertiary, 133
Palceetvs, European Miocene, 162
PaUegWhalus, European Eocene, 162
Patcelqdus, European Miocene, 162
Palceocastor, N. American Tertiary, 140
Palceocercx'.s, European Miocene, 162
Palceochcerus, European Miocene, 119
Palceohierax, European Miocene, 162
Pala'olagiis, N. American Tertiary, 140
Pala'olama, S. American Pliocene, 147
Palccomephitis, European Miocene, 118
Palceomeryx, European Miocene, 120
Pc.losomys, European Miocene, 121
Palaontina ooUtica, Oolitic insect, 167
Palaeontology, 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
Palceonyctis, European Eocene, 125
Palceoperdix, European Miocene, 161
Palceophrynus, European Miocene, 166
Palceoreas, Miocene of Greece, 116
Palceortyx, European Miocene, 161
J'akvoryx, Miocene of Greece, 116
Palceospalax, 111
European Miocene, 117
Pal(cosyops, N. American Tertiary, 136
Palceotheridce, European Eocene, 125
Palceotherium, European Eocene, 125
S. American Eocene, 148
Palceotragus, Miocene of Greece, 116
Palceoiringa, N. American Cretaceous, 164
500
INDEX.
Palapteri/gidcB of New Zealand, 164
Palestine, birds of, 203
Paloplotherium, 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
Parahijopus, N. American Tertiary, 136
Paramys, N. American Eocene, 140
Parroquet, Papuan, figure of, 415
Parrots, classification of, 96
Passeres, arrangement of, 94
range of Palsearctic 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 deiined,
184 .
Pelagornis, European Miocene, 162
Pelonax, N. American Tertiary, 138
Pera'herium. European Miocene, 121
European Eocene, 126
Perchcerus, N. American Tertiary, 137
Perim Island, extinct mammalia of, 122
probable southern limit of old Palasarctic
land, 36-2
Perissodactyla, N. American Tertiary, 135
Persia, birds of, 2(i4
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
Phocidce, N. American Tertiary, 140
Phyllomys, in Brazilian eaves, 145
Phyllostomidm, in Brazilian caves, 144
Physical changes affecting distribution, 7
Physeter, European Pliocene, 112
Picarise, arrangement of, 95
range of Palsearctic genera of, 247
range of Etliiopian 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
Pittidse, abundant in Borneo, 355
Plagiulophus, European Eocene, 126
Planorbis, European Secondary, 169
Eocene, 169
Platycercidce, 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
Pliocene and Post-Pliocene faunas of Aus-
tralia, 157
Pliohippus, N. American Tertiary, 135
Pliolophus, European Eocene, 126
Pliopithecus, European Miocene, 117
Pcchrotherium, 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, 180
Potamogale of West Africa, figure of, 264
Potamotherium, European Miocene, 118
Potto of West Africa, figure of, 264
Praotherium, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130
Primates, classification of, 86
probable birthplace of, 153
range of Palsearctic 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
Pristiplwca, 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
S. American Pliocene, 147
Procamehis, N. American Post-Pliocene, 130
N. American Tertiary, 138
Procyon, N. American Post-Pliocene, 180
Procyonidce, in Brazilian caves, 144
Promephitis, Miocene of Greece, 115
European Miocene, 118
Promerops of East Africa, figure of, 261
Propalceothcrium, European Eocene, 126
Protemnodon, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157
Protohippiis, N. American Tertiary, 135
Protomeryx, N. American Tertiary, 138
Protopithecus, in Brazilian caves, 144
Prototomus, N. American Tertiary, 134
Protornis, European Eocene, 162
Pseudcelurus, European Miocene, 118
Psendocyo7i, European Miocene, 118
Psittaci, classification of, 96
range of Ethiopian genera of, 311
range of Oriental genera of, 383
range of AustraUan genera of, 484
Psittacus, European Miocene, 161
Pterocles, European Miocene, 161
Pterodon, European Eocene, 125
Pwpa, Eocene, 169
Pupa vetusta, Palaeozoic, 169
Pythxtnidce, European Miocene, 165
R.
Racoon-dog of N. China, 226
Rana, European Miocene, 166
INDEX.
501
Region, the best term for the primary zoo-
logical divisions, 68
Arctic, why not adopted, 69
. Pala^arctic, defined, 71
Palasarctic, 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
Nearotic, defined, 79
Nearctic, disLinct from Paluearctic, 79
Nearctic, subdivisions of, 80
Regions, zoological, 50
zoological, how they should be formed, 53
zoological, may be defined by negative or
positive cliaracters, 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 Palaearctic 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 Palaearctic families of, 236
of the Ethiopian region, 254
of the East African sub-region, 260
of West Africa, 264
S. African, 268
of Madagascar, 279
table of Ethiopian families of, 297
of the Oriental region, 817
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 368
of the Australian region, 396
of New Guinea, 415
of the Moluccas, 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-hornbiU, figure of, 339
Rhinocerotidce, 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
Kodentia, classification of, 90
range of Palsearctic genera of, 242
range of Ethiopian genera of, 304
range of Oriental genera of, 374
range of Australian genera of, 476
Rodentia, Euro])ean Pliocene, 113
Miocene of Greece, 116
European Miocene, 120
European Eocene, 126
N. American Post-Pliocene, 130
N. American Tertiary, 139
of Brazilian caves, 144
S. American Pliocene, 147
of S. American Eocene, 148
Ruff, figure of, 195
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
Satyrites Revnesii, ^European Cretaceous in-
sect, 167
Saunders, Mr. Edward, on the Buprestida? of
Japan, 229
Scelidothcrium, in Brazilian caves, 145
S. American Pliocene, 147
Schisiopleuruvi, 8. American Pliocene, 147
Schweinfurth, Dr., on natural history of Cen-
tra] Africa, 252
on limits of W. African sub-region, 262
[note)
Scmrvs, European Miocene, 120
European Eocene, 126
Sciicravus, N. American Eocene, 140
Sclater, 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
Semnopithccus, European Pliocene, 112
Miocene of Greece, 115
European Miocene, 117
Indian Miocene, 121
Semper, Dr., on Philippine mammalia, 345
Serpeiitariiis, European Miocene, 162
Seychelle Islands, zoology of, 281
amphibia of, 281
Sharp, Di'., on Japan beetles, 229
Sharpe, Mr. R. B., his arrangement of Accipi-
tres, 97
on birds of Cape Verd Islands, 215
Sheep, Palaearctic, 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
602
INDEX.
Sinopa, N. American Tertiary, 134
Sireiiia, classification of, 89
range of Etliioiiian genera of, 303
range of Oriental genus, 374
range of Australian genus of, 476
Sirenia, European Pliocene, 112
European Miocene, 119
Sivatheriuvi, Indian Miocene, 122
Siwalik Hills, Miocene deposits of, 121
Smith, Mr. Frederick, on Hymenoptera of
Japan, 230
Snake, at gi-eat 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
Soricidcc, European Miocene, 118
South African sub-region, description of, 266
mammalia 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
Spermophihts, 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
Steneofiher, 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
Stylinodontidcp, N. American Eocene, 139
Stylinodonlia, N. American Eocene, 139
Sub-regions, on what principle formed, SO
Palaearctic, 191
Ethiopian, 258
Oriental, 321
Australian, 408
Suidm, European Miocene, 119
Sula Islands, fauna of, 433
Sus, European Pliocene, 113
Miocene of Greece, 116
European Miocene, 119
Indian Miocene, li;2
Swinhoe, Mr., on zoology of Formosa and
Hainan, 332
Symborodon, N. American Tertiary, 137
Synaphodus, European Miocene, 119
Synoplotherivm, N. American Tertiary, 134
Tables of distribution of families and genera
explained, 177
Talpa, European Miocene, 117
Tapir, fossil in N. China, 123
Tapirs, birthplace and migrations of, 154
Tapir, Malayan, figure of, 337
TapiridW; European Eocene, 125
Tapirns, European Pliocene, 113
Indian Miocene, 122
in Brazilian caves, 144
Tarsier, Malayan, figure of, 337
Tasmania, comparative zoological poverty of,
441
Taxodon, European Miocene, 118
Telmatobiiis, 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 alhus, in Italian caverns, 161
Thalassictis, Miocene of Greece, 115
European Miocene, 118
Theridmnys, European Miocene, 126
European Eocene, 126
S. American Eocene, 148
TJiinoliyvs, N. American Tertiary, 137
TJiinolestes, N. American Teitiary, 133
Thylacinvs, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157
Thylacoleo, Australian Post-Tertiary, 157
Tillodontia, N. American Eocene, 139
Tillotheridce, N. American Eocene, 139
TiUotlierium, N. American Eocene, 139
Timor, I'hysical features of, 389
gj-oup, mammalia of, 422
birds of, 422
origin of fauna of, 424
insects of, 426
Tinoceras, N. American Eocene, 139
Titanomys, European Miocene, 121
Titanotherivm, N. American Tertiary, 137
Tomarcios, 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
Toxodoii, S. American Pliocene, 137
Toxodoniidce, S. American Pliocene, 147
Trachylherivm, European Miocene, 119
Tragocems, Miocene of Greece, 116
European Miocene, 120
Tragopan, Himalayan, figure of, 331
Tree-shrew of Borneo, figure of, 337
Tree-kangaroo, figure of, 415
Trichechvs, N American Post-Pliocene, 130
Trichoglossida% 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
Trogonfherium, Post-Pliocene of Europe, 111
Trvcijelis, N. American Post-Pliocene, 129
Tundras of Siberia, greatest extent of, 216
Tupaiidce, European Miocene, 118
Turner, Mr. , on classification of Edentata, 90
Tylodon, European Eocene, 125
Typotherium, S. American Pliocene, 147
U.
Uintacyon, N. American Tertiary, 134
Uintalherhivi, N. American Eocene, 139
Uintornis, N. American Eocene, 163
Unio, European Secondary, 169
Ungulata, classification of, 89
INDEX.
503
UngTilata, antiquity of, 151
of the Palaearctic region, 182
range of Pal<earctlc genera of, 241
range of Etliiopian genera of, 3U3
range of Oriental genera of, 374
range of Australian genera of, 476
Ungulata, European 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 Brazilian caves, 144
S. American Pliocene, 146
Urania of Madagascar, 282
Ursidce, N. American Tertiaiy, 135
in Brazilian caves, 144
Ursitaxus, Indian Miocene, 121
Ursus, Post-Pliocene, 112
Indian Miocene, 121
Vanga of Madagascar, figure of, 278
Varanus, Miocene of Greece, 116
Indian Miocene, 123
Vertebrata, summary of Palaearctic, 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
Viverridce, European Miocene, 118
European Eocene, 125
W.
Walden, Viscount, on birds of Philippine
Islands, 346
on birds of Celebes, 428
Washakiios, N. American Tertiary, 134
Waterhouse, Mr. G. R., on classification of
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, figure 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
Atlantic Islands, 214
on coleoptera of the Cape Verd Islands, 215
on beetles of St. Helena, 270
Xenii.ms, iti Brazilian caves, 145
Xiphodontidce, European Miocene, 119
Z.
Zeuglodontidce, N. American Tertiary, 140
Zonites prisms, Paleeozoic, 169
Zoological characteristics of PaliEaretic region,
181
Ethiopian region, 252
Oriental region, 315
Australian region, 390
Zoological regions, discussion on, 50
END OF VOL. I.
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