very unequal in extent, and perhaps more so in productiveness, but they
each 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 be given with rather more than usual detail.
_I. Hindostan, or Indian Sub-region._
This includes the whole peninsula of India from the foot of the Himalayas
on the north to somewhere near Seringapatam 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 Palæarctic 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 vegetation, and characterized by possessing
faunas more or less allied either to the Himalayan or the Ethiopian type.
But these subdivisions appear far too complex to be useful to the general
student, 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 geographical 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 peculiar to forests, for example, will be absent from open
{322}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
which 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 Palæarctic types, in this, the most important of all the
classes of animals for geographical distribution.
RANGE OF THE GENERA OF MAMMALIA WHICH INHABIT THE SUB-REGION OF HINDOSTAN.
1. Presbytes Oriental only.
2. Macacus Oriental only.
3. Erinaceus Palæarctic genus.
4. Sorex Widely distributed.
5. Felis Almost Cosmopolitan.
6. Cynælurus Ethiopian and S. Palæarctic.
7. Viverra Ethiopian and Oriental to China and Malaya.
8. Viverricula Oriental only.
9. Paradoxurus Oriental only.
10. Herpestes Ethiopian, S. Palæarctic, and Oriental to Malaya.
11. Calogale Ethiopian, Oriental to Cambodja.
12. Tæniogale Oriental.
13. Hyæna Palæarctic and Ethiopian (a Palæarctic species.)
14. Canis Palæarctic and Oriental to Malaya.
15. Cuon Oriental to Malaya.
16. Vulpes Very wide range.
17. Lutra Oriental and Palæarctic.
18. Mellivora Ethiopian.
19. Melursus Oriental only; family not Ethiopian.
20. Sus Palæarctic and Oriental, not Ethiopian.
21. Tragulus Oriental. {323}
22. Cervus Oriental and Palæarctic; family not Ethiopian.
23. Cervulus Oriental; family not Ethiopian.
24. Bibos Palæarctic and Oriental.
25. Portax Oriental.
26. Gazella Palæarctic 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 Palæarctic and Oriental to China and Malaya,
36. Hystrix Wide range.
37. Lepus Wide range.
38. Manis Ethiopian and Oriental to Malaya,
Out of the above 38 genera, 8 have so wide a distribution as to give no
special geographical indications. Of the remaining 30, whose 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 hyæna and gazelle) show Palæarctic
rather than Ethiopian affinity; 7 are Palæarctic and Oriental but not
Ethiopian; and only 2 (_Cynælurus_ and _Mellivora_) can be considered as
especially Ethiopian. We must also give due weight to the fact that we have
here Ursidæ and Cervidæ, 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 Palæarctic.
_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. Elwes, in
a paper read before the Zoological Society (June 1873) came to the
conclusion, that this view was an erroneous one, founded on the fact that
the birds of the plains are the more abundant and more {324}open to
observation; and that these are often of wide-spread types, and some few
almost 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, Picariæ, Psittaci,
Columbæ, and Gallinæ, which inhabit the sub-region, leaving out those which
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 Range; which are fully as
much entitled to be considered Oriental or Palæarctic as Ethiopian, and
cannot be held to prove any Ethiopian affinity. 3. Palæarctic 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_, _Orthotomus_, _Prinia_, _Megalurus_, _Abrornis_, _Larvivora_,
_Copsychus_, _Kittacincla_, _Pomatorhinus_, _Malacocercus_, _Chatarrhæa_,
_Layardia_, _Garrulax_, _Trochalopteron_, _Pellorneum_, _Dumetia_,
_Pyctoris_, _Alcippe_, _Myiophonus_, _Sitta_, _Dendrophila_, _Phyllornis_,
_Iora_, _Hypsipetes_, _Pericrocotus_, _Graucalus_, _Volvocivora_, _Chibia_,
_Chaptia_, _Irena_, _Erythrosterna_, _Hemipus_, _Hemichelidon_, _Niltava_,
_Cyornis_, _Eumyias_, _Hypothymis_, _Myialestes_, _Tephrodornis_,
_Dendrocitta_, _Arachnechthra_, _Nectarophila_, _Arachnothera_, _Dicæum_,
_Piprisoma_, _Munia_, _Eulabes_, _Pastor_, _Acridotheres_, _Sturnia_,
_Sturnopastor_, _Artamus_, _Nemoricola_, _Pitta_, _Yungipicus_,
_Chrysocolaptes_, _Hemicircus_, _Gecinus_, _Mulleripicus_, _Brachypternus_,
_Tiga_, _Micropternus_, _Megalæma_, _Xantholæma_, _Rhopodytes_,
_Taccocoua_, _Surniculus_, _Hierococcyx_, _Eudynamnis_, _Nyctiornis_,
_Harpactes_, _Pelargopsis_, _Ceyx_, _Hydrocissa_, _Meniceros_,
_Batrachostomus_, _Dendrochelidon_, _Collocalia_, _Palæornis_, _Treron_,
_Carpophaga_, _Chalcophaps_, _Ortygornis_, _Perdix_, _Pavo_, _Gallus_,
_Galloperdix_;--87 genera; and {325}one peculiar genus, _Salpornis_, whose
affinities are Palæarctic or Oriental.
2. GENERA OF WIDE RANGE OCCURRING IN CENTRAL INDIA.
_Tardus_, _Monticola_, _Drymoeca_, _Cisticola_, _Acrocephalus_,
_Phylloscopus_, _Pratincola_, _Parus_, _Pycnonotus_, _Criniger_, _Oriolus_,
_Dicrurus_, _Tchitrea_, _Lanius_, _Corvus_, _Zosterops_, _Hirundo_,
_Cotyle_, _Passer_, _Ploceus_, _Estrilda_, _Alauda_, _Calandrella_,
_Mirafra_, _Ammomanes_, _Motacilla_, _Anthus_, _Picus_, _Yunx_,
_Centropus_, _Cuculus_, _Chrysoccocyx_, _Coccystes_, _Coracias_,
_Eurystomus_, _Merops_, _Alcedo_, _Ceryle_, _Halcyon_, _Upupa_,
_Caprimulgus_, _Cypselus_, _Chætura_, _Columba_, _Turtur_, _Pterocles_,
_Coturnix_, _Turnix_;--48 genera.
3. PALÆARCTIC GENERA OCCURRING IN CENTRAL INDIA.
_Hypolais_, _Sylvia_, _Curruca_, _Cyanecula_, _Calliope_, _Chelidon_,
_Euspiza_, _Emberiza_, _Galerita_, _Calobates_, _Corydalla_;--11 genera.
4. ETHIOPIAN GENERA OCCURRING IN CENTRAL INDIA.
_Thamnobia_, _Pyrrhulauda_, _Pterocles_, _Francolinus_;--4 genera.
A consideration of the above lists shows us, that the Hindostan 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, without counting the Accipitres. It must also set
at rest the question of the zoological affinities of the district, since a
preponderance of 88 genera, against 4, cannot be held to be insufficient,
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 _Francolinus_ both being Palæarctic
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 contrasting the whole of
the facts on which the solution of the {326}problem admittedly depends. It
will, perhaps, be said that a great many of the 88 genera above given are
very scarce and very local; but this is certainly 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
_presence_ 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 be a fact.
_Reptiles and Amphibia._--Reptiles entirely agree with Mammalia 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
Psammophidæ and Erycidæ, both desert-haunting groups, and almost as much
South Palæarctic as African. The genus _Tropidococcyx_ 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
_Dipsas_, _Simotes_, _Bungarus_, _Naja_, _Trimeresurus_, _Lycodon_ and
_Python_, are characteristically Oriental.
Of the six families of lizards all have a wide range. The genera _Eumeces_,
_Pentadactylus_, _Gecko_, _Eublepharis_, and _Draco_, are
characteristically or wholly Oriental; _Ophiops_ and _Uromastix_ are
Palæarctic; while _Chamæleon_ is the solitary case of decided Ethiopian
affinity.
Of the Amphibia not a single family exhibits special Ethiopian affinities.
_II. Sub-region of Ceylon and South-India._
The Island of Ceylon is characterised by such striking peculiarities 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 Neilgherries and the whole southern
mountainous portion of India, and that the two must be united in any
zoo-geographical {327}province. The main features of this division
are,--the appearance of numerous 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 _Presbytes_; the Malayan genus _Tupaia_; and _Platacanthomys_, a
peculiar genus of Muridæ.
_Birds._--Among birds it has _Ochromela_, a peculiar genus of flycatchers;
_Phoenicophaës_ (Cuculidæ) and _Drymocataphus_ (Timaliidæ), both Malayan
forms; a species of _Myiophonus_ whose nearest ally is in Java;
_Trochalopteron_, _Brachypteryx_, _Buceros_ and _Loriculus_, 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.
_Reptiles._--It is however by its Reptiles, even more than by its higher
vertebrates, that this sub-region is clearly characterised. Among snakes it
possesses an entire family, Uropeltidæ, consisting of 5 genera and 18
species altogether confined to it,--_Rhinophis_ and _Uropeltis_ in Ceylon,
_Silybura_, _Plecturus_ and _Melanophidium_ in Southern India. Four other
genera of snakes, _Haplocercus_, _Cercaspis_, _Peltopelor_, and _Hypnale_
are also peculiar; _Chersydrus_ is only found elsewhere in Malaya; while
_Aspidura_, _Passerita_, and _Cynophis_, only extend to Hindostan; and
species of _Eryx_, _Echis_, and _Psammophis_ show an affinity with
Ethiopian and Palæarctic forms. Among lizards several genera of _Agamidæ_
are peculiar, such as _Otocryptis_, _Lyricoephalus_, _Ceratophora_,
_Cophotis_, _Salea_, _Sitana_ and _Charasia_. In the family Acontiadæ,
_Nessia_ 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 _Nannophrys_, _Haplobatrachus_, and _Cacopus_ are confined to
the sub-region; while _Megalophrys_ is Malayan, and the species found in
Ceylon also inhabit Java.
{328}_Insects._--The insects of Ceylon also furnish some curious examples
of its distinctness from Hindostan, and its affinity with Malaya. Among its
butterflies we find _Papilio jophon_, closely allied to _P. antiphus_ of
Malaya. The remarkable genus _Hestia_, so characteristic of the Malay
archipelago, only occurs elsewhere on the mountains of Ceylon; while its
_Cynthia_ and _Parthenos_ are closely allied to, if not identical with,
Malayan species. Among Coleoptera we have yet more striking examples. The
highly characteristic Malayan genus _Tricondyla_ is represented in Ceylon
by no less than 10 species; and among Longicorns we find the genera
_Tetraommatus_, _Thranius_, _Cacia_, _Praonetha_, _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 indicated by 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 continent or great island. The very numerous and
remarkable cases of affinity with Malaya, require however some closer
approximation 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 Himalo-Chinese fauna, a rapid immigration of new types
took place, and many of the less specialised 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 {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 submerged southern
continent.
_III. Himalayan or Indo-Chinese Sub-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 with
the Manchurian sub-division of the Palæarctic 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 Timaliidæ or
babbling thrushes; while the equally characteristic Pycnonotidæ, or
bulbuls, and Treronidæ, 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
Palæarctic region, at a moderate elevation. Eastward, it reaches into East
Thibet and North-west China, where Père 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
Palæarctic 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 Characteristics of the Himalayan Sub-region._--Taking this
sub-region as a whole, we find it to be characterised 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 Palæarctic genera which
appear in the higher Himalayas. The names of the more characteristic genera
are as follows:--
PECULIAR HIMALO-CHINESE GENERA.
Mammalia.--_Urva_, _Arctonyx_, _Ælurus_.
Birds.--_Suya_, _Horites_, _Chæmarrhornis_, _Tarsiger_, _Oreicola_,
_Acanthoptila_, _Grammatoptila_, _Trochalopteron_, _Actinodura_, _Sibia_,
_Suthora_, _Paradoxornis_, _Chlenasicus_, _Tesia_, _Rimator_,
_Ægithaliscus_, _Cephalopyrus_, _Liothrix_, _Siva_, _Minla_, _Proparus_,
_Cutia_, _Yuhina_, _Ixulus_, _Myzornis_, _Erpornis_, _Hemixus_, _Chibia_,
_Niltava_, _Anthipes_, _Chelidorhynx_, _Urocissa_, _Pachyglossa_,
_Heterura_, _Hæmatospiza_, _Ampeliceps_, _Saroglossa_, _Psarisomus_,
_Serilophus_, _Vivia_, _Hyopicus_, _Gecinulus_, _Aceros_, _Ceriornis_.
GENERA COMMON TO THE HIMALO-CHINESE AND MALAYAN SUB-REGIONS.
Mammalia.--_Hylobates_, _Nycticebus_, _Viverricula_, _Prionodon_,
_Arctitis_, _Paguma_, _Arctogale_, _Cuon_, _Gymnopus_, _Aonyx_, _Helictis_,
_Rhinoceros_, _Nemorhedus_, _Rhizomys_.
Birds.--_Oreocincla_, _Notodela_, _Janthocincla_, _Timalia_, _Stachyris_,
_Mixornis_, _Trichastoma_, _Enicurus_, _Pnoepyga_, _Melanochlora_,
_Allotrius_, _Microscelis_, _Iole_, _Analcipus_, _Cochoa_, _Bhringa_,
_Xanthopygia_, _Hylocharis_, _Cissa_, _Temnurus_, _Crypsirhina_,
_Chalcostetha_, _Anthreptes_, _Chalcoparia_, _Cymbirhynchus_, _Hydrornis_,
_Sasia_, _Venilia_, _Indicator_, _Carcineutes_, _Lyncornis_, _Macropygia_,
_Argusianus_, _Polyplectron_, _Euplocamus_, _Phodilus_.
Plate VII.
[Illustration]
SCENE IN NEPAUL, WITH CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS.
{331}_Plate VII. Scene in Nepal, with Characteristic Himalayan
Animals._--Our illustration contains figures of two mammals and two birds,
characteristic of the higher woody region of the Himalayas. The lower
figure on the left is the _Helictis nepalensis_, confined to the Eastern
Himalayas, and belonging to a genus of the weasel family which is
exclusively Oriental. It is marked with white on a grey-brown ground. Above
it is the remarkable Panda (_Ælurus fulgens_), a beautiful animal with a
glossy fur of a reddish colour, darker feet, and a white somewhat cat-like
face. It is distantly allied to the bears, and more nearly to the American
racoons, yet with sufficient differences to constitute it a distinct
family. The large bird on the tree, is the horned Tragopan (_Ceriornis
satyra_), one of the fine Himalayan pheasants, magnificently spotted with
red and white, and ornamented with fleshy erectile wattles and horns, of
vivid blue and red colours. The bird in the foreground is the
_Ibidorhynchus 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_, _Calamaria_, _Xenelaphis_, _Hypsirhina_, _Fordonia_, several
small genera of Homalopsidæ (_Herpeton_ and _Hipistes_ being characteristic
of Burmah and Siam), _Psammodynastes_, _Gonyosoma_, _Chrysopelea_,
_Tragops_, _Dipsas_, _Pareas_, _Python_, _Bungarus_, _Naja_, _Callophis_,
and _Trimeresurus_. _Naja_ reaches 8,000 feet elevation in the Himalayas,
_Tropidonotus_ 9,000 feet, _Ablabes_ 10,000 feet, and _Simotes_ 15,000
feet.
Of lizards, _Pseudopus_ has one species in the Khasya hills while the other
inhabits South-east Europe; and there are two small genera of Agamidæ
peculiar to the Himalayas, while _Draco_ and _Calotes_ have a wide range
and _Acanthosaura_, _Dilophyrus_, _Physignathus_, and _Liolepis_ are found
chiefly in the Indo-Chinese peninsula. There are several genera of
Scincidæ; and the extensive genus of wall-lizards, _Gecko_, ranges over the
whole region.
Of Amphibia, the peculiar forms are not numerous. _Ichthyophis_ {332}a
genus of Ceciliadæ, is peculiar to the Khasya Hills; _Tylotritron_
(Salamandridæ) to Yunan in Western China, and perhaps belongs to the
Palæarctic region.
Of the tail-less Batrachians, _Glyphoglossus_ is found in Pegu; _Xenophys_
in the Eastern Himalayas; while _Callula_, _Ixalus_, _Rhacophorus_,
_Hylurana_, _Oxyglossus_, and _Phrynoglossus_, are common to the
Himalo-Chinese and Malayan sub-regions.
Of the lizards, _Colotes_, _Barycephalus_, and _Hinulia_,--and of the
Batrachia, _Bufo_,--are found at above 11,000 feet elevation in the
Himalayas.
_Insects._--So little has been done in working out the insect faunas of the
separate sub-regions, that they cannot be treated in detail, and the reader
is referred to the chapter on the distribution of insects in the part of
this work devoted to Geographical 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
Himalayan butterflies, especially in the eastern portions of the range--in
Assam and the Khasya Hills--are remarkably fine and very abundant; yet all
the larger groups extend into the Malayan sub-region, many to Ceylon, and a
considerable proportion even to Africa and Austro-Malaya. There are a large
number of peculiar types, but most of them consist of few or single
species. Such are _Neope_, _Orenoma_, and _Rhaphicera_, genera of Satyridæ;
_Enispe_ (Morphidæ); _Hestina_, _Penthema_, and _Abrota_ (Nymphalidæ);
_Dodona_ (Erycinidæ); _Ilerda_ (Lycænidæ); _Calinaga_, _Teinopalpus_, and
_Bhutanitis_ (Papilionidæ). Its more prominent features are, however,
derived from what may be termed Malayan, or even Old World types, such as
_Euplæa_, among Danaidæ; _Amathusia_, _Clerome_, and _Thaumantis_, among
Morphidæ; _Euripus_, _Diadema_, _Athyma_, _Limenitis_, and _Adolias_, among
Nymphalidæ; _Zemeros_ and _Taxila_ among Erycinidæ; _Amblypodia_,
_Miletus_, _Ilerda_, and _Myrina_, among Lycænidæ; _Thyca_, _Prioneris_,
_Dercas_, _Iphias_, and _Thestias_ among Pieridæ; and Papilios of the
"_Amphrisius_," "_Coon_", "_Philoxenus_," "_Protenor_," "_Paris_," and
"_Sarpedon_" groups. In the Himalayas there is an unusual abundance of
large and gorgeous species of the genus _Papilio_, {333}and of large and
showy Nymphalidæ, Morphidæ, and Danaidæ, which render it, in favoured
localities, only second to South America for a display of this form of
beauty and variety in insect life.
Among the other orders of insects in which the Himalayas are remarkably
rich, we may mention large and brilliant Cetoniidæ, chiefly of the genus
_Rhomborhima_; a magnificent Lamellicorn, _Euchirus macleayii_, allied to
the gigantic long-armed beetle (_E. longimanus_) of Amboyna; superb moths
of the families Agaristidæ and Sesiidæ; elegant and remarkable Fulgoridæ,
and strange forms of the gigantic Phasmidæ; most of which appear to be of
larger size or of more brilliant colours than their Malayan allies.
_Islands of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region._--A few important islands belong
to this sub-region, the Andamans, Formosa, and Hainan being the most
interesting.
_Andamans._--The only mammalia are a few rats and mice, a _Paradoxurus_,
and a pig supposed to be a hybrid race,--all of which may have been
introduced by man's agency. The birds of the Andaman Islands have been
largely collected, no less than 155 species having been obtained; and of
these 17, (all land-birds) are peculiar. The genera are all found on the
continent, and are mostly characteristic of the Indo-Chinese fauna, to
which most of the species belong. Reptiles are also tolerably abundant;
about 20 species are known, the majority being found also on the continent,
while a few are peculiar. There are also a few Batrachia, and some
fresh-water fishes, closely resembling those of Burmah. The absence of such
mammalia as monkeys and squirrels, which abound on the mainland, and which
are easily carried over straits or narrow seas by floating trees, is
sufficient proof that these islands have not recently formed part of the
continent. The birds are mostly such as may have reached the islands while
in their present geographical position; and the occurrence of reptiles and
fresh-water fishes, said to be identical in species with those of Burmah,
must be due to the facilities, which some of these animals undoubtedly
{334}possess, for passing over a considerable width of sea. We must
conclude, therefore, that these islands do not owe their existing fauna to
an actual union with the mainland; but it is probable that they may have
been formerly more extensive, and have then been less distant from the
continent than at the present time.
The Nicobar Islands, usually associated with the Andamans, are less known,
but present somewhat similar phenomena. They are, however, more Malayan in
their fauna, and seem properly to belong to the Indo-Malay sub-region.
_Formosa._--This island has been carefully examined by Mr. Swinhoe, who
found 144 species of birds, of which 34 are peculiar. There is one peculiar
genus, but the rest are all Indo-Chinese, though some of the species are
more allied to Malayan than to Chinese or Himalayan forms. About 30 species
of mammalia were found in Formosa, of which 11 are peculiar species, the
rest being either Chinese or Himalayan. The peculiar species belong to the
genera _Talpa_, _Helictis_, _Sciuropterus_, _Pteromys_, _Mus_, _Sus_,
_Cervus_, and _Capricornis_. A few lizards and snakes of continental
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 collected 172 species of
birds, of which 130 were land-birds. Of these about 20 were peculiar
species; the remainder being either Chinese, Himalayan, or Indo-Malayan.
Mr. Swinhoe also obtained 24 species of mammalia, all being Chinese,
Himalayan, or Indo-Malayan species except a hare, which is peculiar. This
assemblage of animals would imply that Hainan, as might be anticipated from
its position, has been more recently separated from the continent than the
more distant island of Formosa.
_IV. Indo-Malaya, or the Malayan Sub-region._
This sub-region, which is almost wholly insular (including only the Malayan
peninsula on the continent of Asia), is equal, if {335}not superior, in the
variety and beauty of its productions, to that which we have just been
considering. Like Indo-China, it is a region of forests, but it is more
exclusively tropical; and it is therefore deficient in many of those
curious forms of the temperate zone of the Himalayas, which seem to have
been developed from Palæarctic 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 expanse 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
explanation is easy, however, when we find that the sea which separates
them is a very shallow one, so shallow that an elevation 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 depressed 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 subterranean forces
which bring about such changes are still at work, as manifested by the
great chain of active volcanoes in Sumatra and Java. Proofs of somewhat
earlier changes of level are to be seen in the Tertiary coal formations of
Borneo, which demonstrate a succession of elevations and subsidences, with
as much certainty as if we had historical record of them.
It is not necessary to suppose, nor is it probable, that all these
{336}great islands were recently united to the continent, and that their
separation took place by one general subsidence of the whole. It is more
consonant with what we know of such matters, that the elevations and
depressions were partial, varying in their points of action and often
recurring; sometimes extending 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 intervening
island has sunk or receded and allowed others which it before separated to
effect a partial union independently of it. If we recognise the probability
that such varied and often-renewed changes of level have occurred, we shall
be better able to understand 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
Palæarctic forms of wide range. Of this latter class the Malay islands have
comparatively few, but they possess no less than 14 peculiar genera, viz.
_Simia_, _Siamanga_, _Tarsius_, _Galeopithecus_, _Hylomys_, _Ptilocerus_,
_Gymnura_, _Cynogale_, _Hemigalea_, _Arctogale_, _Barangia_, _Mydaus_,
_Helarctos_, and _Tapirus_. The islands also possess tigers, deer, wild
pigs, wild cattle, elephants, the scaly ant-eater, and most of the usual
Oriental genera; so that they are on the whole fully as rich as, if not
richer than, any part of Asia; a fact very unusual in island faunas, and
very suggestive of their really continental nature.
Plate VIII.
[Illustration]
A FOREST IN BORNEO, WITH CHARACTERISTIC MAMMALIA.
{337}_Plate VIII. Scene in Borneo with Characteristic Malayan
Quadrupeds._--The Malayan fauna is so rich and peculiar that we devote two
plates to illustrate it. We have here a group of mammalia, such as might be
seen together in the vast forests of Borneo. In the foreground we have the
beautiful deer-like Chevrotain (_Tragulus javanicus_). These are delicate
little 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
(_Galæopithecus 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 (_Tapirus indicus_), a representative
of a group of animals now confined to the larger Malay islands and tropical
America, but which once ranged over the greater part of temperate Europe.
_Birds._--Owing to several of the families consisting of very obscure and
closely allied species, which have never been critically 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 land-birds actually known, or
excluding the Philippine Islands somewhat less than 600. The larger part of
these are peculiar species, but mostly allied to those of Indo-China; 36 of
the genera, as already stated, being common to these two sub-regions. There
are, however, no less than 46 genera which are peculiarly or wholly Indo
Malayan and, in many cases, have no close affinity with other Oriental
groups. These peculiar genera are as follows:--_Timalia_, _Malacopteron_,
_Macronus_, _Napothera_, _Turdinus_, and _Trichixos_--genera {338}of
Timaliidæ; _Eupetes_, a most remarkable form, perhaps allied to _Enicurus_,
and _Cinclus_; _Rhabdornis_ (Certhiidæ) found only in the Philippines;
_Psaltria_, a diminutive bird of doubtful affinities, provisionally classed
among the tits (Paridæ); _Setornis_ (Pycnonotidæ); _Lalage_ (Campephagidæ)
extending eastward to the Pacific Islands; _Pycnosphrys_, _Philentoma_
(Muscicapidæ); _Laniellus_, a beautiful bird doubtfully classed with the
shrikes (Laniidæ); _Platylophus_ and _Pityriasis_, the latter a most
anomalous form--perhaps a distinct family, at present classed with the
jays, in Corvidæ; _Prionochilus_, a curious form classed with Dicæidæ;
_Erythrura_ (Ploceidæ), extending eastwards to the Fiji Islands; _Gymnops_,
_Calornis_, (Sturnidæ); _Eurylæmus_, _Corydon_, and _Calyptomena_
(Eurylæmidæ); _Eucichla_, the longest tailed and most elegantly marked of
the Pittidæ; _Reinwardtipicus_ and _Miglyptes_ (Picidæ); _Psilopogon_ and
_Calorhamphus_, (Megalæmidæ); _Rhinococcyx_, _Dasylophus_, _Lepidogrammus_,
_Carpococcyx_, _Zanclostomus_, _Poliococcyx_, _Rhinortha_, (Cuculidæ);
_Berenicornis_, _Caldo_, _Cranorhinus_, _Penelopides_, _Rhinoplax_,
(Bucerotidæ); _Psittinus_, (Psittacidæ); _Ptilopus_, _Phapitreron_,
(Columbidæ); _Rollulus_, (Treronidæ); _Machærhamphus_, (Falconidæ). 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
Timaliidæ and Pycnonotidæ stand pre-eminent; the former represented chiefly
by the genera _Timalia_, _Malacopteron_, _Macronus_, and _Trichastoma_, the
latter by _Criniger_, _Microscelis_, and many forms of _Pycnonotus_. The
Muscicapidæ, Dicruridæ, Campephagidæ, Ploceidæ, and Nectariniidæ are also
well developed; as well as the Pittidæ, and the Eurylæmidæ, the limited
number of species of the latter being compensated by a tolerable abundance
of individuals. Among the Picariæ are many conspicuous groups; as,
woodpeckers (Picidæ); barbets (Megalæmidæ); trogons (Trogonidæ);
kingfishers (Alcedinidæ); and hornbills (Bucerotidæ); five families which
are perhaps the most conspicuous in the whole fauna. Lastly come the
pigeons {339}(Columbidæ), and the pheasants (Phasianidæ), which are fairly
represented by such fine genera as _Treron_, _Ptilopus_, _Euplocamus_, and
_Argusianus_. A few forms whose affinities are Australian rather than
Oriental, help to give a character to the ornithology, though none of them
are numerous. The swallow-shrikes (_Artamus_); the wag-tail fly-catchers
(_Rhipidura_); the green fruit-doves (_Ptilopus_); and the mound-makers
(_Megapodius_), are the chief of these.
There are a few curious examples of remote geographical alliances that may
be noted. First, we have a direct African connection in _Machærhamphus_, a
genus of hawks, and _Berenicornis_, a genus of hornbills; the only close
allies being, in the former case in South, and in the latter in West
Africa. Then we have a curious Neotropical affinity, indicated by
_Carpococcyx_, a large Bornean ground-cuckoo, whose nearest ally is the
genus _Neomorphus_ of South America; and by the lovely green-coloured
_Calyptomena_ which seems unmistakably allied to the orange-coloured
_Rupicola_, or "Cock of the rock," in general structure and in the
remarkable form of crest, a resemblance which has been noticed by many
writers.
In the preceding enumeration of Malayan genera several are included which
extend into the Austro-Malay Islands, our object, at present, being to show
the differences and relations of the two chief Oriental sub-regions.
_Plate IX. A Malayan Forest with some of its peculiar Birds._--Our second
illustration of the Malayan fauna is devoted to its bird-life; and for this
purpose we place our scene in the Malay peninsula, where birds are perhaps
more abundant and more interesting, than in any other part of the
sub-region. Conspicuous in the foreground is the huge Rhinoceros Hornbill
(_Buceros rhinoceros_), one of the most characteristic birds of the Malayan
forests, the flapping of whose wings, as it violently beats the air to
support its heavy body, may be heard a mile off. On the ground behind, is
the Argus pheasant (_Argusianus giganteus_) whose beautifully ocellated
wings have been the subject of a most interesting description in Mr.
Darwin's _Descent of Man_. The wing-feathers are here so enormously
{340}developed for display (as shown in our figure) that they become
almost, if not quite, useless for their original purpose of flight; yet the
colours are so sober, harmonizing completely with the surrounding
vegetation, and the bird is so wary, that in the forests where it abounds
an old hunter assured me he had never been able to see a specimen till it
was caught in his snares. It is interesting to note, that during the
display of the plumage the bird's head is concealed by the wings from a
spectator in front, and, contrary to what usually obtains among pheasants,
the head is entirely unadorned, having neither crest nor a particle of
vivid colour,--a remarkable confirmation of Mr. Darwin's views, that gayly
coloured plumes are developed in the male bird for the purpose of
attractive display in the breeding season. The long-tailed bird on the
right is one of the Drongo-shrikes (_Bhringa remifer_), whose long bare
tail-feathers, with an oar-like web at the end, and blue-black glossy
plumage, render it a very attractive object as it flies after its insect
prey. On the left is another singular bird the great Broad-bill (_Corydon
sumatranus_), 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 (_Hylobates lar_) swings and gambols among the topmost
branches of the forest.
_Reptiles and Amphibia._--These are not sufficiently known to be of much
use for our present purpose. Most of the genera belong to the continental
parts of the Oriental region, or have a wide range. Of snakes _Rhabdosoma_,
_Typhlocalamus_, _Tetragonosoma_, _Acrochordus_, and _Atropos_, are the
most peculiar, and there are several peculiar genera of Homalopsidæ. Of
Oriental genera, _Cylindrophis_, _Xenopeltes_, _Calamaria_, _Hypsirhina_,
_Psammodynastes_, _Gonyosoma_, _Tragops_, _Dipsas_, _Pareas_, _Python_,
_Bungarus_, _Naja_, and _Callophis_ are abundant; as well as _Simotes_,
_Ablabes_, _Tropidonotus_, and _Dendrophis_, which are widely distributed.
Among lizards _Hydrosaurus_ and _Gecko_ are common; there are many isolated
groups of Scincidæ; while _Draco_, _Calotes_, and many forms of Agamidæ,
some of which are peculiar, abound.
Plate IX.
[Illustration]
A MALAYAN FOREST, WITH ITS CHARACTERISTIC BIRDS.
{341}Among the Amphibia, toads and frogs of the genera _Micrhyla_,
_Kalophrynus_, _Ansonia_, and _Pseudobufo_, are peculiar: while the
Oriental _Megalophrys_, _Ixalus_, _Rhacophorus_, and _Hylorana_ are
abundant and characteristic.
_Fishes._--The fresh-water fishes of the Malay archipelago have been so
well collected and examined by the Dutch naturalists, that they offer
valuable indications of zoo-geographical affinity; and they particularly
well exhibit the sharply defined limits of the region, a large number of
Oriental and even Ethiopian genera extending eastward as far as Java and
Borneo, but very rarely indeed sending a single species further east, to
Celebes or the Moluccas. Thirteen families of fresh-water fishes are found
in the Indo-Malay sub-region. Of these the Scienidæ and Symbranchidæ have
mostly a wide range in the tropics. Ophiocephalidæ are exclusively
Oriental, reaching Borneo and the Philippine islands. The Mastacembelidæ
are also Oriental, but one species is found as far as Ceram. Of the
Nandidæ, 3 genera range over the whole region. The Labyrinthici extend from
Africa through the Oriental region to Amboyna, The single species
constituting the family Luciocephalidæ is confined to Borneo and the small
islands of Biliton and Banca. Of the extensive family Siluridæ 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 Cyprinidæ
offer an equally striking example, 23 genera ranging eastward to Java and
Borneo and not one beyond; 14 of these being exclusively Malayan. It must
be remembered that this is not from any want of knowledge of the countries
farther east, as extensive collections have also been made in Celebes, the
Moluccas, and Timor; so that the facts of distribution of fresh-water
fishes come, most unexpectedly, to fortify that division of the archipelago
into two primary regions, which was founded on a consideration of mammalia
and birds only.
_Insects._--Few countries in the world can present a richer and more varied
series of insects than the Indo-Malay islands, and we can only here notice
a few of their more striking peculiarities and more salient features.
{342}The butterflies of this sub-region, according to the best estimate
that can be formed, amount to about 650 described species, a number that
will yet, no doubt, be very considerably increased. The genera which appear
to be peculiar to it are _Erites_ (Satyridæ); _Zeuxidia_ (Morphidæ);
_Amnosia_, _Xanthotænia_, and _Tanæcia_ (Nymphalidæ). The groups which are
most characteristic of the region, either from their abundance in
individuals or species, or from their size and beauty, are--the rich
dark-coloured _Euplæa_; the large semi-transparent _Hestia_; the
plain-coloured _Mycalesis_, which replace our meadow-brown butterflies
(_Hipparchia_); the curious _Elymnias_, which often closely resemble
Euplæas; the large and handsome _Thamantis_ and _Zeuxidia_, which take the
place of the giant Morphos of South America; the _Cethosia_, of the
brightest red, and marked with a curious zigzag pattern; the velvety and
blue-glossed _Terinos_; the pale and delicately-streaked _Cyrestis_; the
thick-bodied and boldly coloured _Adolias_; the small wine-coloured
_Taxila_; the fine blue _Amblypodia_; the beautiful _Thyca_, elegantly
marked underneath 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 _Papilio_ is represented by a
variety of fine groups; the large _Ornithoptera_, with satiny yellow
under-wings; the superb green-marked "_brookeana_;" the "_paradoxa_" group,
often closely resembling the Euplæas that abound in the same district; the
"_paris_" group richly dusted with golden-green specks; the "_helenus_"
group with wide-spreading black and white wings; the black and crimson
"_polydorus_" group; the "_memnon_" group, of the largest size and
richly-varied colours; and the "_eurypilus_" group, elegantly banded or
spotted with blue or green: all these are so abundant that some of them are
met with in every walk, and are a constant delight to the naturalist who
has the privilege of observing them in their native haunts.
The Coleoptera are far less prominent and require to be carefully sought
after; but they then well repay the collector. As affording some measure of
the productiveness of the tropics in insect life it will not be out of
place to give a few notes of the {343}number of species collected by myself
in some of the best localities. At Singapore 300 species of Coleoptera were
collected in 15 days, and in a month the number had increased to 520; of
which 100 were Longicorns and 140 Rhyncophora. At Sarawak in Borneo I
obtained 400 species in 15 days, and 600 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 month, I obtained only 235 species of Coleoptera,
and about 600 species of insects of all orders; and this may be taken as a
fair average, in localities where no specially favourable conditions
existed. On the average 40 to 60 species of Coleoptera would be a good
day's collecting; 70 exceptionally good; while the largest number ever
obtained in one day was 95, and the majority of these would be very minute
insects. It must be remembered, however, that many very common species were
passed over, yet had every species met with been collected, not much more
than 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 Cicindelidæ the most peculiarly Malayan form is _Therates_, found always
on leaves in the forests in the same localities as the more widely spread
_Collyris_. Five genera of this family are Indo-Malayan.
The Carabidæ, though sufficiently plentiful, are mostly of small size, and
not conspicuous in any way. But there is one striking exception in the
purely Malayan genus _Mormolyce_, the largest and most remarkable of the
whole family. It is nocturnal, resting during the days on the under side of
large _boleti_ in the virgin forest. _Pericallus_ and _Catascopus_ are
among the few genera which are at all brillantly coloured.
Buprestidæ are abundant, and very gay; the genus _Belionota_ being perhaps
one of the most conspicuous and characteristic. The giant _Catoxantha_ is,
however, the most peculiar, though comparatively scarce. _Chrysochroa_ and
_Chalcophora_ are also {344}abundant and characteristic. Out of the 41
Oriental genera 21 are Malayan, and 10 of these are not found in the other
sub-regions.
In Lucanidæ the Malay islands are rich, 14 out of the 16 Oriental genera
occurring there, and 3 being peculiar. There are many fine species of
_Odontolabris_, which may be considered the characteristic genus of the
sub-region.
The Cetoniidæ are well represented by 16 genera and about 120 species. The
genera _Mycteristes_, _Phædimus_, _Plectrone_, _Euremina_, _Rhagopteryx_
and _Centrognathus_ are peculiar, while _Agestrata_, _Chalcothea_, and
_Macronota_ are abundant and characteristic.
The Longicorns, as in all continental forest regions near the equator, are
very abundant and in endlessly varied forms. No less than 55 genera
containing about 200 species are peculiar to this sub-region, the
Cerambycidæ being much the most numerous. _Euryarthrum_, _Coelosterna_,
_Agelasta_, and _Astathes_ may be considered as most characteristic; but to
name the curious and interesting forms would be to give a list of half the
genera. For the relations of the Longicorns of the Indo-Malay, and those of
the Austro-Malay region, the reader is referred to the chapter on the
distribution of insects in the succeeding part of this work.
_Terrestrial Mollusca._--The Philippine islands are celebrated as being one
of the richest parts of the world for land shells, about 400 species being
known. The other islands of the sub-region are far less rich, not more than
about 100 species having yet been described from the whole of them. _Helix_
and _Bulimus_ both abound in species in the Philippines, whereas the latter
genus is very scarce in Borneo and Java. Ten genera of Helicidæ inhabit the
sub-region; _Pfeifferia_ is found in the Philippines and Moluccas, while
the large genus _Cochlostyla_ is almost peculiar to the Philippines. Of the
Operculata there are representatives of 20 genera, of which _Dermatoma_ and
_Pupinella_ are peculiar, while _Registoma_ and _Callia_ extend to the
Australian region. _Cyclophorus_, _Leptopoma_, and _Pupina_ are perhaps the
most characteristic genera.
{345}_The Zoological Relations of the Several Islands of the Indo-Malay
Sub-region._
Although we have grouped the Philippine islands with the Indo-Malay
sub-region, to which, as we shall see, they undoubtedly 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[12] with each other, we
must first deal with the Philippine group, showing in what its speciality
consists, and why it must be considered apart from the sub-region to which
it belongs.
_Mammals of the Philippine Islands._--The only mammalia recorded as
inhabiting the Philippine Islands are the following:--
QUADRUMANA. 1. Macacus cynomolgus.
2. Cynopithecus niger. Dr. Semper doubts this
being a Philippine
species.
LEMUROIDEA. 3. Tarsius spectrum.
INSECTIVORA. 4. Galeopithecus philippinensis.
5. Tupaia (species). On Dr. Semper's authority.
CARNIVORA. 6. Viverra tangalunga.
7. Paradoxurus philippensis.
UNGULATA. 8. Sus (species). On Dr. Semper's authority.
9. Cervus mariannus.
10. Cervus philippensis.
11. Cervus alfredi.
12. Bos (species). Wild cattle; perhaps
introduced.
RODENTIA. 13. Phlæomys cummingii.
14. Scuirus philippinensis.
Also 24 species, belonging to 17 genera, of bats.
{346}The foregoing list, although small, contains an assemblage of species
which are wholly Oriental in character, and several of which (_Tarsius_,
_Galeopithecus_, _Tupaia_) are characteristic and highly peculiar Malayan
forms. At the same time these islands are completely separated from the
rest of Malaya by the total absence of _Semnopithecus_, _Hylobates_,
_Felis_, _Helarctos_, _Rhinoceros_, _Manis_, and other groups constantly
found in the great Indo-Malay islands and peninsula of Malacca. We find
apparently two sets of animals: a more ancient series, represented by the
deer, _Galeopithecus_, and squirrel, in which the species are distinct from
any others; and a more recent series, represented by _Macacus cynomolgus_,
and _Viverra tangalunga_, identical with common Malayan animals. The former
indicate the earliest period when these volcanic islands were connected
with some part of the Malayan sub-region, and they show that this was not
geologically remote, since no peculiar generic types have been preserved or
differentiated. The latter may indicate either the termination of the
period of union, or merely the effects of introduction by man. The reason
why a larger number of mammalian forms were not introduced and established,
was probably because the union was effected only with some small islands,
and from these communicated to other parts of the archipelago; or it may
well be that later subsidences extinguished some of the forms that had
established themselves.
_Birds of the Philippine Islands._--These have been carefully investigated
by Viscount Walden, in a paper read before the Zoological Society of London
in 1873, and we are thus furnished with ample information on the relations
of this important portion of the fauna.
The total number of birds known to inhabit the Philippines is 219, of which
106 are peculiar. If, however, following our usual plan, we take only the
land-birds, we find the numbers to be 159 species, of which 100 are
peculiar; an unusually large proportion for a group of islands so
comparatively near to various parts of the Oriental and Australian regions.
The families of birds which are more especially characteristic of the
Indo-Malay sub-region are about 28 in number, and examples {347}of all
these are found in the Philippines except four, viz., Cinclidæ,
Phyllornithidæ, Eurylæmidæ, and Podargidæ. The only Philippine families
which are, otherwise, exclusively Austro-Malayan are, Cacatuidæ and
Megapodiidæ. 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,--_Eurylæmus_,
_Nyctiornis_, _Arachnothera_, _Geocichla_, _Malacopteron_, _Timalia_,
_Pomatorhinus_, _Phyllornis_, _Iora_, _Criniger_, _Enicurus_, _Chaptia_,
_Tchitrea_, _Dendrocitta_, _Eulabes_, _Palæornis_, _Miglyptes_, _Tiga_, and
_Euplocamus_. These deficiencies plainly show the isolated character of the
Philippine group, and imply that it has never formed a part of that
Indo-Malayan extension of the continent which almost certainly existed when
the peculiar 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,
_Xantholæma 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 combining several of the minutely
subdivided genera of Lord Walden's paper so as to agree with the
arrangement adopted in this work, we find that there are 112 genera of
land-birds represented 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}or
mainly Oriental, and most of them are genera which range widely over the
region, only two (_Philentoma_ and _Rollulus_) being exclusively Malayan,
and two others (_Megalurus_ and _Malacocircus_) more especially Indian or
continental. Five other genera, though having a wide range, are typically
Palæarctic, and have reached the islands through North China. They are,
_Monticola_, _Acrocephalus_, _Phylloscopus_, _Calliope_, and _Passer_; the
two first having extended their range southward into the Moluccas. The
peculiarly Australian genera are only 12, the majority being characteristic
Papuan and Moluccan forms; such as--_Campephaga_, _Alcyone_, _Cacatua_,
_Tanygnathus_, _Ptilopus_, _Janthænas_, _<Phlogænas_, and _Megapodius_. One
is peculiar to Celebes (_Prioniturus_); one to the Papuan group
(_Cyclopsitta_); and one is chiefly Australian (_Gerygone_). The beautiful
little parroquets forming the genus _Loriculus_, are characteristic of the
Philippines, which possess 5 species, a larger number than occurs in any
other group of islands, though they range from India to New Guinea. There
remain six peculiar genera--_Rhabdornis_, an isolated form of creepers
(Certhiidæ); _Gymnops_, a remarkable bareheaded bird belonging to the
starlings (Sturnidæ); _Dasylophus_, and _Lepidogrammus_, remarkable genera
of cuckoos (Cuculidæ); _Penelopides_, 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 Philippines. These are _Pseudoptynx_, an owl of
the genus _Athene_; _Pseudolalage_, a sub-genus of _Lalage_; _Zeocephus_, a
sub-genus of _Tchitrea_; and _Ptilocolpa_, included under _Carpophaga_.
When we look at the position of the Philippine group, connected by the
Bashee islands with Formosa, by Palawan and the Sooloo archipelago with
Borneo, and by the Tulour and other islets with the Moluccas and Celebes,
we have little difficulty in accounting for the peculiarities of its bird
fauna. The absence of a large number of Malayan groups would indicate that
the actual connection with Borneo, which seems necessary for the
introduction of the Malay types of mammalia, was not of long duration;
while the large proportion of wide-spread continental genera of birds would
seem to imply that greater facilities had {349}once existed for immigration
from Southern China, perhaps by a land connection through Formosa, at which
time the ancestors of the peculiar forms of deer entered the country. It
may indeed 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 characters 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
structure 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 Malay
peninsula, we find an unmistakable deficiency of characteristic forms, the
same in kind as that we have just commented on in the case of the
Philippines, though much less in degree. First, taking genera which are
found in all three of the above-named {350}localities and which must
therefore be held to be typical Malayan groups, the following are absent
from Java: _Viverra_, _Gymnopus_, _Lutra_, _Helarctos_, _Tapirus_,
_Elephas_, and _Gymnura_; while of those _known_ to occur in two, and
which, owing to our imperfect knowledge, may very probably one day be
discovered in the third, the following are equally wanting: _Simia_,
_Siamanga_, _Hemigalea_, _Paguma_, _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 roads traverse it in every
direction, and experienced 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 find new species of mammalia in Central Europe as in Java; and therefore
the absence of such animals as the Malay bear, the elephant, tapir,
gymnura, and even less conspicuous forms, must be accepted as a positive
fact.
In the other islands there are still vast tracts of forest in the hands of
natives and utterly unexplored, and any similar absence in their case will
prove little; yet on making the same comparison in the case of Borneo, the
most peculiar and the least known of the other portions of the sub-region,
we find only 2 genera absent which are found in the three other divisions,
and only 3 which are found in two others. A fact to be noted also is, that
the only genus found in Java but not in other parts of the sub-region
(_Helictis_) occurs again in North India; and that some Javan _species_, as
_Rhinoceros javanicus_, and _Lepus kurgosa_ 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 {351}should be proved to be erroneous, the
main result will remain unaltered.
Java possesses about 270 species of land birds, of which about 40 are
peculiar to it. There are, however, very few peculiar genera, _Laniellus_,
a beautiful spotted shrike, being the most distinct, while _Cochoa_ and
_Psaltria_ are perhaps not different from their Indian allies. The island
has however a marked individuality 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_, _Temnurus_, _Dendrocitta_, _Corydon_, _Calyptomena_,
_Venilia_, _Reinwardtipicus_, _Caloramphus_, _Rhinortha_, _Nyctiornis_,
_Cranorhinus_, _Psittinus_, _Polyplectron_, _Argusianus_, _Euplocamus_, and
_Rollulus_. The following 9 are known from _two_ of the above localities,
and will very probably be found in the third, but are absent from, and not
likely to occur in, Java: _Trichixos_, _Eupetes_, _Melanochlora_,
_Chaptia_, _Pityriasis_, _Lyncornis_, _Carpococcyx_, _Poliococcyx_, and
_Rhinoplax_. 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); _Pnoëpyga_ (allied species in Himalayas);
_Allotrius_ (allied species in the Himalayas); _Cochoa_ (allied species in
the Himalayas); _Crypsirhina_ (allied species in Burmah); _Estrilda_
(allied species in India); _Psaltria_ (allied genus--_Ægithaliscus_--in
Himalayas); _Pavo muticus_ and _Harpactes oreskios_ (same species in Siam
and Burmah); _Cecropis 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}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_.
_Drymocataphus nigrocapitatus_ " " _D. capistratus_.
_Malacopteron coronatum_ " " _M. rufifrons_.
_Irena cyanea_ " " _I. turcosa_.
_Ploceus baya_ " " _P. hypoxantha_.
_Loriculus galgulus_ " " _L. pusillus_.
_Ptilopus jambu_ " " _P. porphyreus_.
Now if we 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 one 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
{353}these higher animals become replaced by allied species much more
rapidly than the mollusca; and it is also pretty certain that 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 considerable arms of the sea, possess a fauna of
wonderful uniformity 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
peculiar 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
_Dendrogale_ and _Ptilocerus_, small insectivora allied to _Tupaia_. It has
_Simia_, the {354}Orang-utan, and _Paguma_, one of the Viverridæ, in common
with Sumatra; as well as _Rhinosciurus_, a peculiar form of squirrel, and
_Hemigalea_, one of the Viverridæ, in common with Malacca. Sumatra has only
one genus not found in any other Malayan district--_Nemorhedus_, a form of
antelope which occurs again in North India. It also has _Siamanga_ in
common with Malacca, _Mydaus_ with Java, and _Rhizomys_ with India. The
Malay Peninsula 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 mammals only, we find that Java is the poorest in
species, while Borneo, Sumatra, and Malacca are tolerably equal; the
numbers being 55, 62, 66, 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 Peculiar
Genera. Species.
Borneo 4 16
Sumatra 1 5
Malacca 0 6
Java 0 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 distinguished 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
{355}would alone enable us to trace. Should we 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 flora will be accounted for.
In Birds we hardly find anything to differentiate Borneo and Sumatra in any
clear manner. _Pityriasis_ and _Carpococcyx_, 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 _Schwaneria_ a peculiar fly-catcher, and
_Indicator_, an African and Indian group not known to occur elsewhere in
the Malay sub-region. Sumatra as yet alone possesses _Psilopogon_, a
remarkable form of barbet, but we may well expect that it will be soon
found in the interior of Borneo or Malacca; it also has _Berenicornis_, 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 noted 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 Pittidæ may perhaps be
named as the most characteristic Bornean group, that island possessing six
species, three of which are peculiar to it and are among the most beautiful
birds of an unusually beautiful family. Yet Sumatra 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.
{356}_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 bangkanus_) 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 species of _Pitta_ peculiar to Banca; one, _Pitta megarhynchus_, is
allied to the _P. brachyurus_, which inhabits the whole sub-region and
extends to Siam and China, but differs from it in its very large bill and
differently coloured head; the other, _P. bangkanus_, is allied to _P.
cucullatus_, 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 first.
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 _débris_ 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 resembling 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 peculiar species it possesses will be due to their isolation in a small
tract of country, surrounded 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 Sumatra,
subjected to more varied conditions of soil, climate, vegetation, food, and
enemies, would preserve, almost or quite {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, the 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.
_Probable Recent Geographical Changes 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 Celebes; 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 somewhat 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 enormous 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 formed above
water, renders it almost certain that for long periods they have not
undergone submersion to any considerable extent. In Borneo, however, we
have no such evidences. No volcano, {358}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 geologically. An indication, if not a proof, of still more recent
submersion 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 immediately 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 probably 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 subsidence,
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 _Ptilocerus_ of Borneo, and the considerable
number of genera both of mammalia and birds confined to two only out of the
three divisions of typical Malaya. The subsidence which again divided these
{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 extensive 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}broken
up into many small volcanic islets in which a limited number of Malayan
types alone survived. Such a condition of things will account for the very
small variety of mammalia compared 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 considerable 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,
while 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 surround them. It may also be remarked, that we 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
speculated on,--while the _time_ required for such changes is certainly
less than that necessitated by the changes {361}of specific and generic
forms which have coincided with, and been to a large extent dependent on
them. We have, 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 Lemuridæ. Such an extension would, however, render it
difficult to explain the very small amount of correspondence 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
Region 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. Subjected 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}and
Malaya to have taken place, we shall perhaps be able to account for most of
the special affinities they present, with the least amount of simultaneous
elevation of the ocean bed; which it must always be remembered, requires a
corresponding depression 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 tertiary period,--as shown by the abundant
remains of mammalia wherever suitable deposits of Eocene age have been
discovered,--proves, that an extensive Palæarctic 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, agree
in their mammalian remains with those of central and southern Europe, while
closely allied forms of elephant, hyæna, 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 Palæarctic
regions. Perim island at the mouth of the Red Sea, where similar remains
are found, probably shows the southern boundary of this part of the old
Palæarctic region in the Miocene period. Towards the equator there would,
of course, be some peculiar groups; but we can hardly doubt, that, in that
wonderful time when even the lands that stretched out furthest towards the
pole, supported a luxuriant forest vegetation, substantially one fauna
ranged over the whole 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
Palæarctic faunas. The {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 temperate, 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 which drove the last remnants of the old sub-tropical fauna
beyond the limits of the Palæarctic region. From that time, the Oriental
and the Ethiopian regions alone contained the descendants of many of the
most remarkable types which 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 where the fundamental contrast
of the Oriental, as compared with the Ethiopian and Palæarctic regions, is
most distinctly visible.
{364}TABLES OF DISTRIBUTION.
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.
_Mammalia._--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. Müller's Zoology of the Indian Archipelago; Dr. J. E.
Gray's list of Mammalia of the Malay Archipelago (Voyage of Samarang); and
papers by Anderson, Blyth, Cantor, Gray, Peters, Swinhoe, &c.
_Birds._--Jerdon's Birds of India; Horsfield and Moore's Catalogue;
Holdsworth's list of Ceylon Birds; Schlegel's Catalogue of the Leyden
Museum; Swinhoe on the Birds of China, Formosa, and Hainan; Salvadori 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.
_Reptiles._--Günther's Reptiles of British India; papers by same author,
and by Dr. Stoliczka.
{365}TABLE I.
_FAMILIES OF ANIMALS INHABITING THE ORIENTAL REGION._
EXPLANATION.
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.
---------------------+-------------------+-------------------------------
| Sub-regions |
| 1=Hindostan. |
Order and Family | 2=Ceylon. | Range beyond the Region.
| 3=Indo-China. |
| 4=Indo-Malaya. |
---------------------+----+----+----+----+-------------------------------
| 1. | 2. | 3. | 4. |
---------------------+----+----+----+----+-------------------------------
| | | | |
MAMMALIA. | | | | |
PRIMATES. | | | | |
1. Simiidæ | | | -- | -- |W. Africa
2. Semnopithecidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Tropical Africa
3. Cynopithecidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All Africa, S. Palæarctic
6. Lemuridæ | | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian
7. _Tarsiidæ_ | | | | -- |Celebes
| | | | |
CHIROPTERA. | | | | |
9. Pteropidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian
11. Rhinolophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |The Eastern Hemisphere
12. Vespertilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
13. Noctilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Tropical regions
| | | | |
INSECTIVORA. | | | | |
14. _Galeopithecidæ_| | | | -- |
16. _Tupaiidæ_ | | -- | -- | -- |
17. Erinaceidæ | -- | -- | | -- |Palæarctic, S. Africa
21. Talpidæ | | | -- | |Palæarctic, Nearctic
22. Soricidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Palæarctic, Ethiopian,
| | | | | N. America
| | | | |
CARNIVORA. | | | | |
23. Felidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Australian
25. Viverridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, S. Palæarctic
27. Hyænidæ | -- | | | |Ethiopian, S. Palæarctic
28. Canidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Australian [?]
29. Mustelidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Australian
31. Æluridæ | | | -- | |Palæarctic
32. Ursidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Palæarctic, Nearctic, Chili
| | | | |
CETACEA. | | | | |Oceanic
| | | | |
SIRENIA. | | | | |
42. Manatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, N. Pacific
| | | | |
UNGULATA. | | | | |
43. (Equidæ) | -- | | | |Palæarctic, Ethiopian
44. Tapiridæ | | | | -- |Neotropical
45. Rinocerotidæ | | | -- | -- |Ethiopian
47. Suidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Palæarctic, Ethiopian,
| | | | | Neotropical
49. Tragulidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |W. Africa
50. Cervidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Ethiopian and
| | | | | Australian
52. Bovidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Australian and
| | | | | Neotropical
53. Elephantidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian
| | | | |
RODENTIA. | | | | |
55. Muridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite, excl. Oceania
56. Spalacidæ | | | -- | -- |Palæarctic, Ethiopian
61. Sciuridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Australian
67. Hystricidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |S. Palæarctic, Ethiopian
70. Leporidæ | -- | -- | -- | |All regions but Australian
| | | | |
EDENTATA. | | | | |
72. Manididæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian
| | | | |
BIRDS. | | | | |
PASSERES. | | | | |
1. Turdidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Almost Cosmopolite
2. Sylviidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Almost Cosmopolite
3. Timaliidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian
4. Panuridæ | | | -- | |Palæarctic
5. Cinclidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Not Ethiopian or Australian
6. Troglodytidæ | | | -- | -- |American and Palæarctic
8. Certhiidæ | -- | | -- | -- |Palæarctic, Nearctic,
| | | | | Australian
9. Sittidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Palæarctic, Nearctic,
| | | | | Australian, Madagascar
10. Paridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |The Eastern Hemisphere and
| | | | | North America
11. _Liotrichidæ_ | | | -- | -- |
12. _Phyllornithidæ_| -- | -- | -- | -- |
13. Pycnonotidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Moluccas
14. Oriolidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |The Eastern Hemisphere
15. Campephagidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian
16. Dicruridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian
17. Muscicapidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |The Eastern Hemisphere
18. Pachycephalidæ | | | -- | -- |Australian
19. Laniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |The Eastern Hemisphere and
| | | | | North America
20. Corvidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
23. Nectariniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian
24. Dicæidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian
30. Hirundinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
33. Fringillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Australian
34. Ploceidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian
35. Sturnidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |The Eastern Hemisphere
36. Artamidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Australian
37. Alaudidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Neotropical
38. Motacillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
43. _Eurylæmidæ_ | | | -- | -- |
47. Pittidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian
| | | | |
PICARIÆ. | | | | |
51. Picidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Australian
52. Yungidæ | -- | | | |Palæarctic
53. Indicatoridæ | | | -- | -- |Ethiopian
54. Megalæmidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Neotropical
58. Cuculidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
62. Coraciidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian
63. Meropidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian
66. Trogonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Neotropical, Ethiopian
67. Alcedinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
68. Bucerotidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Austro-Malayan
69. Upupidæ | -- | -- | -- | |Ethiopian, S. Palæarctic
71. Podargidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Australian
73. Caprimulgidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
74. Cypselidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
| | | | |
PSITTACI. | | | | |
76. (Cacatuidæ) | | | | -- |Australian
78. Palæornithidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Austro-Malayan
| | | | |
COLUMBÆ. | | | | |
84. Columbidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
| | | | |
GALLINÆ. | | | | |
86. Pteroclidæ | -- | | | |Ethiopian, Palæarctic
87. Tetraonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Eastern Hemisphere and North
| | | | | America
88. Phasianidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Palæarctic, North
| | | | | America
89. Turnicidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian,
| | | | | S. Palæarctic
90. Megapodiidæ | | | | -- |Australian
| | | | |
ACCIPITRES. | | | | |
94. Vulturidæ | -- | -- | -- | |All regions but Australian
96. Falconidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
97. Pandionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
98. Strigidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
| | | | |
GRALLÆ. | | | | |
99. Rallidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
100. Scolopacidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
103. Parridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Tropical regions
104. Glareolidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Eastern Hemisphere
105. Charadriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
106. Otididæ | -- | -- | -- | |Eastern Hemisphere
107. Gruidæ | -- | -- | -- | |All regions but Neotropical
113. Ardeidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
114. Plataleidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Almost Cosmopolite
115. Ciconiidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Almost Cosmopolite
117. Phænicopteridæ | -- | -- | | |Ethiopian, Neotropical,
| | | | | S. Palæarctic
| | | | |
ANSERES. | | | | |
118. Anatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
119. Laridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
120. Procellariidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
121. Pelecanidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
124. Podicipidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
| | | | |
REPTILIA. | | | | |
OPHIDIA. | | | | |
1. Typhlopidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Nearctic
2. Tortricidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Austro-Malaya, S. America
3. _Xenopeltidæ_ | | | -- | -- |Celebes
4. _Uropeltidæ_ | | -- | | |
5. Calamariidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All the warmer regions
6. Oligodontidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |S. America, Japan
7. Colubridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Almost Cosmopolite
8. Homalopsidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All the regions
9. Psammophidæ | -- | | -- | -- |Ethiopian, S. Palæarctic
11. Dendrophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian,
| | | | | Neotropical
12. Dryiophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Neotropical
13. Dipsadidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Australian,
| | | | | Neotropical
14. Scytalidæ | | | | -- |Tropical America
15. Lycodontidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian
16. Amblycephalidæ | | | -- | -- |Neotropical
17. Pythonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |The tropical regions, and
| | | | | California
18. Erycidæ | -- | | -- | |Ethiopian, S. Palæarctic
19. _Acrochordidæ_ | | -- | | -- |
20. Elapidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Tropical regions, Japan,
| | | | | S. Carolina
23. Hydrophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Australian, Panama, Madagascar
24. Crotalidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |America, E. Palæarctic
25. Viperidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Palæarctic
| | | | |
LACERTILIA. | | | | |
30. Varanidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Africa, Australia
33. Lacertidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |The Eastern Hemisphere
34. Zonuridæ | | | -- | |America, S. Europe, Ethiopian
45. Scincidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Almost Cosmopolite
48. Acontiadæ | | -- | | |Ethiopian, Moluccas
49. Geckotidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Almost Cosmopolite
51. Agamidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |The Eastern Hemisphere
52. Chamæleonidæ | -- | -- | | |Ethiopian
| | | | |
CROCODILIA. | | | | |
54. Gavialidæ | -- | | | -- |N. Australia
55. Crocodilidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Neotropical,
| | | | | N. Australia
| | | | |
CHELONIA. | | | | |
57. Testudinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All continents but Australia
59. Trionychidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Japan, E. of N. America,
| | | | | Africa
60. Cheloniidæ | | | | |Marine
| | | | |
AMPHIBIA. | | | | |
PSEUDOPHIDIA. | | | | |
1. Cæciliadæ | -- | -- | -- | |Ethiopian, Neotropical
| | | | |
URODELA. | | | | |
5. Salamandridæ | | | -- | |North temperate zone
| | | | |
ANOURA. | | | | |
7. Phryniscidæ | | | | -- |Ethiopian, Australian,
| | | | | Neotropical
9. Bufonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All continents but Australia
11. Engystomidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Palæarctic
16. Hylidæ | | | -- | |All regions but Ethiopian
17. Polypedatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Neotropical and all other
| | | | | regions
18. Ranidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Almost Cosmopolite
19. Discoglossidæ | | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Nearctic
| | | | |
FISHES. (FRESHWATER).| | | | |
ACANTHOPTERYGII. | | | | |
3. Percidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Australian
12. Scienidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All regions but Australian
33. Nandidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Neotropical
35. Labyrinthici | -- | -- | -- | -- |S. Africa, Moluccas
36. _Luciocephalidæ_| | | | -- |
39. _Ophiocephalidæ_| -- | -- | -- | -- |
46. _Mastacembelidæ_| -- | -- | -- | -- |
52. Chromidæ | | -- | | |Ethiopian, Neotropical
| | | | |
PHYSOSTOMI. | | | | |
59. Siluridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All warm regions
73. Cyprinodontidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |S. Palæarctic, Ethiopian,
| | | | | American
75. Cyprinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Not in S. America and Australia
78. Osteoglossidæ | | | | -- |All tropical regions
82. Notopteridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |W. Africa
85. Symbranchidæ | -- | | -- | -- |Australian (? Marine)
| | | | | Neotropical
| | | | |
INSECTS. | | | | |
LEPIDOPTERA (PART). | | | | |
DIURNI (BUTTERFLIES.)| | | | |
1. Danaidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All warm regions and to Canada
2. Satyridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
3. Elymniidæ | | | -- | -- |Ethiopian, Moluccas
4. Morphidæ | | | -- | -- |Neotropical, Moluccas, and
| | | | | Polynesia
6. Acræidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All tropical regions
8. Nymphalidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
9. Libytheidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Absent from Australia
10. Nemeobeidæ | | | -- | -- |Not in Australia or Nearctic
| | | | | regions
13. Lycænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
14. Pieridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
15. Papilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
16. Hesperidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
| | | | |
SPHINGIDEA. | | | | |
17. Zygænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
19. Agaristidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Australian, Ethiopian
20. Uraniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |All tropical regions
22. Ægeriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Absent from Australia
23. Sphingidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |Cosmopolite
---------------------+----+----+----+----+-------------------------------
TABLE II.
GENERA OF TERRESTRIAL MAMMALIA 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 consecutively.
_MAMMALIA._
-------------------+-------+----------------------+----------------------
Order, Family, and | No. of| Range within | Range beyond
Genus. |Species| the Region. | the Region.
-------------------+-------+----------------------+----------------------
| | |
PRIMATES. | | |
SIMIIDÆ. | | |
| | |
1. _Simia_ | 2 |Borneo and Sumatra |
2. _Hylobates_ | 7 |Sylhet to Java and |
| | S. China |
3. _Siamanga_ | 1 |Malacca and Sumatra |
| | |
SEMNOPITHECIDÆ. | | |
| | |
4. _Presbytes_ | 28 |Simla to Aracan and |Moupin, Palæarctic [?]
| | E. Thibet, Ceylon, |
| | and Java |
| | |
CYNOPITHECIDÆ. | | |
| | |
5. _Macacus_ | 22 |The whole region |S. Palæarctic
6. _Cynopithecus_ | 1 |Philippines |Celebes
| | |
(_Sub-Order_) | | |
_LEMUROIDEA._ | | |
| | |
LEMURIDÆ. | | |
| | |
7. _Nycticebus_ | 3 |E. Bengal to Java, and |
| | S. China |
8. _Loris_ | 1 |Ceylon and S. India |
| | |
TARSIIDÆ. | | |
| | |
9. _Tarsius_ | 1 |Sumatra, Borneo and | N. Celebes
| | Philippines |
| | |
CHIROPTERA. | | |
PTEROPIDÆ. | | |
| | |
10. Pteropus | 6 |The whole region |Tropics of E. Hemisp.
11. Xantharpyia | 1 |The whole region |Austro-Malaya,
| | | Ethiop.,
| | | S. Palæarctic
12. Cynopterus | 3 |The whole region |Tropical Africa
13. _Megærops_ | 1 |Sumatra |
14. Macroglossus | 1 |Java, Borneo, |Austro-Malaya
| | Philippines |
15. Harpyia | 1 |Philippines |Austro-Malaya
| | |
RHINOLOPHIDÆ. | | |
| | |
16. _Aquias_ | 2 |Nepal to Java |
17. _Phyllotis_ | 1 |Philippines |
18. Rhinolophus | 10 |The whole region |Warmer parts of
| | | E. Hem.
19. Hipposideros | 8 |The whole region |Austro-Malaya
20. Phyllorhina | 4 |Indo-Malay subregion |Austro-Malaya,
| | | Tropical Africa
21. Asellia | 1 |Java, Sumatra |Amboyna, Egypt
22. _Petalia_ | 1 |Java |
23. _Coelops_ | 1 |India (Bengal) |
24. _Rhinopoma_ | 1 |All India |Egypt, Palestine
25. Megaderma | 2 |The whole region |Ternate, N. Ethiopian
26. Nycteris | 1 |Java |Ethiopian
| | |
VESPERTILIONIDÆ. | | |
| | |
27. Scotophilus | 10 |The whole region |Austral., Nearc.,
| | | Neotrop.
28. Vespertilio | 12 |The whole region |Cosmopolite
29. Keriovula | 8 |The whole region |S. Africa, N. China
30. _Trilatitus_ | 2 |Indo-Malaya |?
31. _Noctulina_ | 3 |Nepal to Philippines |?
32. Miniopteris | 3 |Java, Philippines, and |S. Africa,
| | China | S. Palæarctic,
| | | Australian
33. _Murina_ | 2 |Himalayas to Java |?
34. Nycticejus | 8 |All India |Trop. Africa, Temp. .
| | | Amer
35. Harpiocephalus | 2 |Java and Philippines |
36. Taphozous | 4 |The whole region |Ethiop., Austro-
| | | Malayan, Neotropical
37. _Myotis_ | 3 |Himalayas |
38. Plecotus | 1 |Darjeeling |Timor, S. Palæarctic
39. Barbastellus | 1 |Himalayas |Europe
40. Nyctophilus | 1 |Mussoorie |Australian
| | |
NOCTILIONIDÆ. | | |
| | |
41. _Chiromeles_ | 1 |Indo-Malaya, Siam |
42. Nyctinomus | |The whole region |Madagascar, America
| | |
INSECTIVORA. | | |
GALEOPITHECIDÆ. | | |
| | |
43. _Galeopithecus_| 2 |Indo-Malay and |
| | Philippines, excl. |
| | Java |
| | |
TUPAIIDÆ. | | |
| | |
44. _Tupaia_ | 7 |S. and E. of India to |
| | Borneo |
45. _Hylomys_ | 2 |Tenasserim to Java and |
| | Borneo |
46. _Ptilocerus_ | 1 |Borneo |
| | |
ERINACEIDÆ. | | |
| | |
47. Erinaceus | 2 |Hindostan and Formosa |Palæarctic, S. Africa
48. _Gymnura_ | 1 |Malacca, Sumatra, |
| | Borneo |
| | |
TALPIDÆ. | | |
| | |
49. Talpa | 2 |Himalayas to Assam, & |Palæarctic
| | Formosa |
| | |
SORICIDÆ. | | |
| | |
50. Sorex | 21 |The whole region |All regions but
| | | Austral. and
| | | S. America
| | |
CARNIVORA. | | |
FELIDÆ. | | |
| | |
51. Felis | 20 |The whole region |All regions but
| | | Austral.
(Lynx | 1 |Central India) |Palæarctic, Ethiopian
52. Cynælurus | 1 |S. and W. India |S. Palæarctic,
| | | Ethiopian
| | |
VIVERRIDÆ. | | |
| | |
53. Viverra | 2 |The whole region |Ethiopian, Moluccas
54. _Viverricula_ | 2 |India to China and Java|
55. _Prionodon_ | 2 |Nepal to Borneo and |
| | Java |
56. _Hemigalea_ | 2 |Malacca and Borneo |
57. _Arctitis_ | 1 |Nepal to Sumatra and |
| | Java |
58. _Paradoxurus_ | 8 |The whole region |Ke Islands (?
| | | introduced)
59. _Paguma_ | 3 |Nepal to Malaya and |
| | China |
60. _Arctogale_ | 1 |Tenasserim and Malaya |
61. _Cynogale_ | 1 |Borneo |
62. Herpestes | 7 |The whole reg., excl. |S. Palæarctic,
| | Philippines | Ethiopian
63. Calogale | 4 |India to Cambodjia |Ethiopian
64. _Calictis_ | 1 |Ceylon ? |
65. _Urva_ | |N. India |
66. _Tæniogale_ | 1 |Central India |
67. _Onychogale_ | 1 |Ceylon |
| | |
HYÆNIDÆ. | | |
| | |
68. Hyæna | 1 |Hindostan, open country|S. Palæarctic,
| | | Ethiopian
| | |
CANIDÆ. | | |
| | |
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
(Nyctereutes | 1 |China) |Japan and Amoorland
| | |
MUSTELIDÆ. | | |
| | |
72. Martes | 2 |India, Ceylon, Java, |Palæarctic, Nearctic
| | and China |
73. Mustela | 3 |Himalayas to Bhotan and|Palæarc., Ethiop.,
| | China | Nearc.
74. _Gymnopus_ | 2 |Nepal to Borneo |
75. _Barangia_ | 1 |Sumatra |
76. Lutra | 5 |The whole region |Palæarctic
77. Aonyx | 2 |N. India, Malaya |W. and S. Africa
78. _Arctonyx_ | 1 |Nepal to Aracan |
(Meles | 1 |S. China) |Palæarctic genus
79. Mydaus | 1 |Sumatra, Java |
80. Mellivora | 1 |Hindostan |Ethiopian
81. _Helictis_ | 4 |Nepal, Formosa, China &|
| | Java |
| | |
ÆLURIDÆ. | | |
| | |
82. Ælurus | 1 |E. Himalayas to |Palæarctic ?
| | E. Thibet |
| | |
URSIDÆ. | | |
| | |
83. Ursus | 2 |Himalayas to China |Palæarctic, Nearctic
84. _Helarctos_ | 1 |Indo-Malaya |
85. _Melursus_ | 1 |Ganges to Ceylon |
| | |
CETACEA. | | |
DELPHINIDÆ. | | |
| | |
86. _Platanista_ | 2 |Ganges to India |
| | |
SIRENIA. | | |
MANATIDÆ. | | |
| | |
87. Halicore | 1 |Coasts of W. India, |E. Africa,
| | Ceylon, and | N. Australia
| | Indo-Malaya |
| | |
UNGULATA. | | |
TAPIRIDÆ. | | |
| | |
88. Tapirus | 1 |Malay Pen., Sumatra, |Neotropical
| | Borneo |
| | |
RHINOCEROTIDÆ. | | |
| | |
89. Rhinoceros | 5 |Nepal to Bengal, Siam, |Ethiopian
| | & Java |
| | |
SUIDÆ. | | |
| | |
90. Sus | 6 |The whole region |Palæarc., Austro-
| | | Malaya
| | |
TRAGULIDÆ. | | |
| | |
91. _Tragulus_ | 5 |India and Ceylon to |
| | Cambodja and Java |
| | |
CERVIDÆ. | | |
| | |
92. Cervus | 15 |The whole region |Palæarc., Amer.,
| | | Moluc.
93. _Cervulus_ | 4 |The whole region |
(Moschus | 1 |Himalayas above 8,000 |Central Asia,
| | feet) | Palæarctic
| | |
BOVIDÆ. | | |
| | |
94. _Bibos_ | 3 |India to Burmah, |
| | Formosa, and Java |
95. Bubalus | 1 |N. and N. Central India|Ethiopian,
| | | S. Palæarctic
96. _Portax_ | 1 |Peninsula of India |
97. Gazella | 1 |Deserts and plains of |Palæarctic deserts
| | India |
98. _Antilope_ | 1 |Open country of India |
99. _Tetraceros_ | 2 |Hilly districts all |
| | over India |
100. Nemorhedus | 3 |E. Himalayas and |N. China and Japan
| | Sumatra |
101. Capra | 1 |Neilgherries |Palæarctic, Nearctic
| | |
PROBOSCIDEA. | | |
ELEPHANTIDÆ. | | |
| | |
102. Elephas | |India to Siam, Sumatra |Ethiopian
| | & Borneo |
| | |
RODENTIA. | | |
MURIDÆ. | | |
| | |
103. Mus | 50 |The whole region |The E. Hemisphere
104. Acanthomys | 1 |India |Ethiopian, Australian
105. _Phlæomys_ | 1 |Philippines |
106._Platacanthomys_| 1 |S. W. India |
107. Meriones | 2 |India and Ceylon |Palæarctic, Ethiopian
108. _Spalacomys_ | 1 |India |
109. Arvicola | 2 |Himalayas |Palæarctic, Nearctic
| | |
SPALACIDÆ. | | |
| | |
110. Rhizomys | 3 |Nepal to Canton, |Abyssinia
| | Malacca and Sumatra |
| | |
SCIURIDÆ. | | |
| | |
111. Sciurus | 50 |The whole region |Cosmop., excl.
| | | Austral. region
112. Sciuropterus | 9 |India, and Ceylon to |N. and E. Palæarctic
| | Java, Formosa |
113. _Pteromys_ | 9 |India & Ceylon to |Japan
| | Borneo, Java, Formosa|
(Arctomys | 2 |W. Himalayas above |Palæarctic and
| | 8,000 ft.) | Nearctic
| | |
HYSTRICIDÆ. | | |
| | |
114. Hystrix | 3 |India and Ceylon, to |S. Palæarctic,
| | Malacca & S. China | Ethiopian
115. Atherura | 2 |India to Malaya |West Africa
116. _Acanthion_ | 2 |Nepal to Borneo and |
| | Java |
| | |
LEPORIDÆ. | | |
| | |
117. Lepus | 5 |India and Ceylon to |All regions but
| | S. China and Formosa | Austral.
| | |
ENDENTATA. | | |
MANIDIDÆ. | | |
| | |
118. Manis | 2 |Nepal to Ceylon, |Ethiopian
| | S. China and Java |
| | |
_BIRDS._