The Geographical Distribution of Animals, Volume 1

Chapter XXIV: Part III: Zoological Geography (4)

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PASSERES. | | |
TURDIDÆ. | | |
| | |
1. Turdus | 18 |The whole region |Almost cosmopolite
| |(excluding Spitsbergen)|
2. Oreocincla | 1 |N. E. Asia and Japan, |Oriental and
| | straggler to Europe | Australian
3. Monticola | 3 |S. Europe, N. Africa, |Oriental and
| | Palestine, N. China | S. African
(Bessornis | 1 |Palestine) |Tropical and
| | | S. Africa
| | |
SYLVIIDÆ. | | |
| | |
4. Cisticola | 1 |S. W. Europe, N. |Ethiop., Orient.,
| | Africa, Japan | Austral.
5. {Acrocephalus | 10 |W. Europe to Japan |Orient., Ethiop.,
{ | | | Austral.
6. {_Dumeticola_ | 4 |Nepaul, Lake Baikal, |
{ | | E. Thibet high |
7. {_Potamodus_ | 3 |W. and S. Europe, |
{ | | N. Africa, E. Thibet |
8. {_Lusciniola_ | 1 |S. Europe |
9. {_Locustella_ | 7 |W. Europe and N. Africa|India, winter
{ | | to Japan | migrants(?)
10. {Bradyptetus | 2 |S. Europe and Palestine|E. and S. Africa
11. {_Calamodus_ | ?3 |Europe, N. Africa, |
| | Palestine |
12. {Phylloscopus | 6 |The whole region |Oriental
{ | | (excluding western |
{ | | islands) |
13. {Hypolais | 9 |Europe, N. Africa, |China, Moluccas,
{ | | Palestine, China | India, Africa
14. {Abrornis | 2 |Cashmere, E. Thibet |Oriental region
15. {Reguloides | 2 |Europe and China |N. India, Formosa
16. {Regulus | 4 |The whole region |N. and Central America
| | (excluding Iceland, |
| | &c.) |
17. {Aedon | 2 |S. Europe, W. Asia, |E. and S. Africa
{ | | N. Africa |
18. {_Pyrophthalma_ | 2 |E. Europe and Palestine|
19. {_Melizophilus_ | 2 |W. and S. Europe, |
{ | | Sardinia |
20. {_Sylvia_ | 6 |Madeira to W. India, |N. E. Africa, Ceylon
{ | | N. Africa | migrants(?)
21. {_Curruca_ | 7 |Madeira to India, |E. Africa, India,
| | N. Africa | migrants
22. {_Luscinia_ | 2 |W. Europe, N. Africa, |
{ | | Persia |
23. {_Cyanecula_ | 3 |Europe and N. Africa to|Abyssinia and India
{ | | Kamschatka | migrants
24. {_Calliope_ | 2 |N. Asia, Himalayas, |Centl. India
{ | | China | (? migrant)
25. {_Erithacus_ | 3 |Atlantic Islands to |
{ | | Japan |
26. {_Grandala_ | 1 |High Himalayas and |
| | E. Thibet |
27. { Ruticilla | 10 |Eu. to Japan, N. Afr., |Abyssinia, India
{ | | Himalayas |
28. { Larvivora | 2 |E. Thibet, Amoor, Japan|Oriental
29. Dromolæa | 3 |S. Europe, N. Africa, |Ethiopian
| | Palestine |
30. Saxicola | 10 |The whole region |E. and S. Africa,
| | | India
31. Cercomela | 2 |Palestine (a desert |N. E. Africa, N. W.
| | genus) | India
32. Pratincola | 3 |W. Europe, N. Africa to|Ethiopian to Oriental
| | India |
33. _Accentor_ | 12 |W. Europe to Japan; |Himalayas(?) in winter
| | high Himalayas |
| | |
TIMALIIDÆ. | | |
| | |
34. _Pterorhinus_ | 3 |Thibet and N. W. China |
(Malacocercus | 1 |Palestine) |Oriental genus
(Crateropus | 2 |N. Africa, Persia) |Ethiopian genus
(Trochalopteron | 3 |E. Thibet) |Oriental genus
(Ianthocincla | 3 |E. Thibet) |Oriental genus
| | |
PANURIDÆ. | | |
| | |
(Paradoxornis | 3 |Himalayas and |(?)Oriental genus
| | E. Thibet) |
35. _Conostoma_ | 1 |High Himalayas |
| | E. Thibet) |
36. Suthora | 3 |E. Thibet |Himalayas, China,
| | | Formosa
37. _Panurus_ | 1 |W. Europe to W. Siberia|
38. _Heteromorpha_ | 1 |Nepaul and E. Thibet, |
| | from 10,000 feet |
| | altitude |
39. _Cholornis_ | 1 |E. Thibet |
| | |
CINCLIDÆ. | | |
| | |
40. Cinclus | 5 |The whole region |American highlands
| | (Atlantic Islands |
| | excluded) |
(Myiophonus | 1 |Turkestan, Thian-Shan |Oriental genus
| | Mountains, 6,000 feet|
| | |
TROGLODYTIDÆ. | | |
| | |
41. Troglodytes | 3 |Iceland and Britain to |Neotropical and
| | Japan | Nearctic, Himalayas
(Pnoepyga | 2 |E. Thibet) |Oriental genus
| | |
CERTHIIDÆ. | | |
| | |
42. Certhia | 2 |W. Europe to N. China |Himalayas, Nearctic
43. _Tichodroma_ | 1 |S. Europe to N. China |Abyssinia, Nepaul,
| | | high
| | |
SITTIDÆ. | | |
| | |
44. Sitta | 7 |W. Europe to Himalayas India, Nearctic
| | and Japan |
| | |
PARIDÆ. | | |
| | |
45. Parus | 20 |W. Europe to Kamschatka|Nearctic, Oriental,
| | N. Africa | Ethiopian
46. Lophophanes | 6 |Europe and high |Nearctic
| | Himalayas |
47. _Acredula_ | 6 |W. Europe to N. China |
| | and Kamschatka |
48. Ægithalus | 1 |S. E. Europe |Ethiopian
| | |
LIOTRICHIDÆ. | | |
| | |
(Proparus | 4 |Moupin, in E. Thibet) |Oriental genus and
| | | fam.
| | |
PYCNONOTIDÆ. | | |
| | |
49. Microscelis | 1 |Japan |Oriental genus
50. Pycnonotus | 2 |Palestine, N. China, |Oriental and Ethiopian
| | Japan |
| | |
ORIOLIDÆ. | | |
| | |
51. Oriolus | |S. Europe, China |Ethiopian and Oriental
| | |
MUSCICAPIDÆ. | | |
| | |
52. Muscicapa | 2 |W. and Central Europe |Ethiopian.
53. Butalis | 2 |W. Europe to Japan and |E. and S. Africa,
| | China | Moluccas
54. Erythrosterna | 3 |Central Europe to N. |Oriental & Madagascar
| | China and Japan |
(Xanthopygia | 1 |Japan) |Oriental genus
(Eumyias-- | 1 |E. Thibet) |Oriental genus
(Cyanoptila | 1 |Japan and Amoor) |Oriental genus
(Siphia | 1 |Moupin, E. Thibet) |Oriental genus
55. Tchitrea | 2 |N. China and Japan |Ethiopian and Oriental
| | |
LANIIDÆ. | | |
| | |
56. Lanius | 11 |The whole region (excl.|Nearctic, Ethiopian,
| | Atlantic Islands) | Oriental
(Telephonus | 1 |N. Africa) |Ethiopian genus
| | |
CORVIDÆ. | | |
| | |
57. Garrulus | 7 |W. Europe, N. Africa, |Himalayas, Formosa
| | to Japan |
58. Perisoreus | 1 |N. Europe and Siberia |N. America
(Urocissa | 2 |Cashmere, Japan) |Oriental genus
59. _Nucifraga_ | 3 |W. Europe to Japan, |Himalayan pine forests
| | and Himalayas |
60. _Pica_ | 5 |W. Europe to China and |S. China and Formosa
| | Japan | migrants[?]
61. _Cyanopica_ | 2 |Spain, N. E. Asia and |
| | Japan |
62. Corvus | 12 |The whole region |Cosmopolite (excl.
| | | S. Am.)
63. _Fregilus_ | 3 |W. Europe to N. China, |Abyssinian mountains
| | Himalayas |
| | |
NECTARINIIDÆ. | | |
| | |
(Arachnecthra | 1 |Palestine) |Oriental genus
| | |
DICÆIDÆ. | | |
| | |
(Zosterops | 1 |Amoor and Japan) |Ethiop., Orien.,
| | | Austral.
| | |
AMPELIDÆ. | | |
| | |
64. Ampelis | 2 |Northern half of region|North America
| | |
HIRUNDINIDÆ. | | |
| | |
65. Hirundo | 2 |The whole region |Cosmopolite
66. Cotyle | 2 |The whole region (excl.|Nearctic, Ethiop.,
| | Atlan. Is.) | Orien.
67. Chelidon | 3 |The whole region |Oriental
| | |
FRINGILLIDÆ. | | |
| | |
68. Fringilla | 6 |The whole region |Africa
69. _Acanthis_ | 3 |Europe and N. Africa to|
| | Central Asia |
70. _Procarduelis_ | 1 |High Himalayas and |
| | E. Thibet |
71. Chrysomitris | 2 |W. Europe to Japan |N. and S. America
72. _Dryospiza_ | 4 |Atlantic Islands to |
| | Palestine, N. Africa |
73. _Metoponia_ | 1 |N. E. Europe to |
| | W. Himalayas |
74. Chlorospiza | 5 |W. Europe, N. Africa |China, E. Africa
| | to Japan |
75. Passer | 8 |The whole region |Ethiopian, Oriental
76. Montifringilla | 4 |Europe to Cashmere and |
| | Siberia |
77. _Fringillauda_ | 1 |N. W. Himalayas to |
| | E. Thibet, high |
78. Coccothraustes | 3 |W. Europe, High |N. America
| | Himalayas to Japan |
79. _Mycerobas_ | 2 |Central Asia & High |
| | Himalayas |
80. Eophona | 2 |E. Thibet, China, and |China
| | Japan |
81. _Pyrrhula_ | 9 |Azores to Japan, High |Alaska
| | Himalayas |
(Crithagra | 1 |Palestine) |Ethiopian genus
82. Carpodacus | 12 |Cent. Eu. to Japan, |India & China,
| | High Himalayas | N. Amer.
83. _Erythrospiza_ | 4 |N. Africa to |
| | Afghanistan and |
| | Turkestan |
84. _Uragus_ | 2 |Turkestan & E. Thibet |
| | to Japan |
85. Loxia | 3 |Europe, High Himalayas |N. America
| | to Japan |
86. Pinicola | 1 |N. Europe, Siberia |N. America
87. _Propyrrhula_ | 1 |High Himalayas |Darjeeling in winter
88. _Pyrrhospiza_ | 1 |Snowy Himalayas |
89. Linota | 6 |The whole region |N. America
90. Leucosticte | 4 |Turkestan to Kamschatka|N. W. America
| | |
Emberizinæ | | |
| | |
91. {Euspiza | 4 |E. Europe to Japan |N. America
92. {_Emberiza_ | 25 |Europe to Japan |N. India, China
93. {Fringillaria | 2 |S. Europe, N. Africa |African genus
94. {Plectrophanes | 2 |Northern half of region|N. America
| | |
STURNIDÆ. | | |
| | |
95. Pastor | 1 |East Europe, Central |India
| | Asia |
96. Sturnia | 2 |Amoor, Japan, N. China |Oriental
97. Sturnus | 3 |The whole region (excl.|India, China
| | Atlantic Islands) |
(Amydrus | 1 |Palestine) |N. E. African genus
98. _Podoces_ | 3 |Cen. Asia, Turkestan, |
| | Yarkand |
| | |
ALAUDIDÆ. | | |
| | |
99. Otocorys | 6 |N. Europe to Japan, |India, N. America,
| | N. Africa, Arabia | Andes
100. Alauda | 7 |The whole region (excl.|India, Africa
| | Iceland) |
101. Galerita | 2 |Central Europe to |India, Central Africa
| | N. China, N. Africa |
102. Calandrella | 4 |Central Europe to |India
| | N. China, N. Africa |
103. _Melanocorypha_| 5 |S. Eu., N. Africa, |N. W. India
| | N. & Cen. Asia |
104. _Pallasia_ | 1 |Mongolia |
(Certhilauda | 1 |N. Africa) |S. African genus
(Alaemon | 1 |N. Africa, Arabia) |Ethiopian genus
105. Ammomanes | 3 |S. Europe, N. Africa, |Africa, India
| | to Cashmere |
| | |
MOTACILLIDÆ. | | |
| | |
106. Motacilla | 6 |The whole region |Oriental, Ethiopian
107. Budytes | 4 |Europe to China |Oriental, Moluccas
108. Calobates | 2 |Atlantic Is., W. |Malaisia, Madagascar
| | Europe, to China |
| | |
PITTIDÆ. | | |
| | |
(Pitta | 1 |Japan) |Oriental & Austral.
| | | genus
| | |
PICARIÆ. | | |
PICIDÆ. | | |
| | |
109. Picoides | 3 |N. and Cen. Europe to |North America
| | Thibet & E. Asia |
110. Picus | 16 |The whole region (excl.|India, China, N. and
| | Atlantic Islands) | S. America
111. Hypopicus | 1 |N. China |Himalayas
(Yungipicus | 1 |N. China) |Oriental genus
112. Dryocopus | 1 |N. & Cen. Europe to |Neotropical
| | N. China |
113. Gecinus | 6 |W. Europe to Thibet, |Oriental
| | Amoor & Japan |
| | |
YUNGIDÆ. | | |
| | |
114. Yunx | 2 |W. Europe to N. W. |N. E. Africa,
| | India, Thibet and | S. Africa
| | Japan |
| | |
CUCULIDÆ. | | |
| | |
115. Cuculus | 2 |The whole region (excl.|Ethiop., Oriental,
| | Atlantic Islands) | Austral.
116. Coccystes | 1 |S. Europe and N. Africa|Ethiopian and Oriental
| | |
CORACIIDÆ. | | |
| | |
117. Coracias | 1 |Cent. Europe to Cent. |Ethiopian, Oriental
| | Asia |
(Eurystomus | 1 |Amoor in summer) |Oriental & Austral.
| | | genus
| | |
MEROPIDÆ. | | |
| | |
118. Merops | 2 |S. Europe to Cashmere, |Ethiopian and Oriental
| | N. Africa |
| | |
ALCEDINIDÆ. | | |
| | |
(Halcyon | 3 |W. Asia, N. China, |Ethiop., Orien.,
| | Japan) | Austral.
119. Alcedo | 2 |Europe, N. China |
120. Ceryle | 2 |S. E. Europe, Japan |Africa, India, America
| | |
UPUPIDÆ. | | |
| | |
121. Upupa | 1 |S. Europe, N. China |Ethiop. & Oriental
| | | genus
| | |
CAPRIMULGIDÆ. | | |
| | |
122. Caprimulgus | 5 |Europe to Japan |Ethiopian and Oriental
| | |
CYPSELIDÆ. | | |
| | |
123. Cypselus | 4 |The whole region (excl.|Ethiopian, America
| | Iceland) |
124. Chætura | 2 |N. China, Dauria |Africa, India
| | |
COLUMBÆ. | | |
COLUMBIDÆ. | | |
| | |
125. Columba | 6 |The whole region |Africa, Asia, America
126. Turtur | 4 |W. Europe to Japan |Ethiopian and Oriental
(Alsæcomus | 1 |E. Thibet) |Oriental genus
| | |
GALLINÆ. | | |
PTEROCLIDÆ. | | |
| | |
127. Pterocles | 2 |S. Europe, N. Africa, |Ethiopian genus
| | to W. India |
128. _Syrrhaptes_ | 2 |Central Asia, N. China |
| | |
TETRAONIDÆ. | | |
| | |
129. Francolinus | 1 |Borders of |Ethiopian, Oriental
| | Mediterranean |
130. _Perdix_ | 2 |Europe to Mongolia |
131. Coturnix | 1 |Central and S. Europe |Ethiop., Orien.,
| | to Japan | Austral.
132. _Lerwa_ | 1 |Snowy Himalayas to |
| | E. Thibet |
133. _Caccabis_ | 5 |Cen. Europe and N. |Abyssinia, Arabia
| | Africa to N. W. |
| | Himalayas |
134. _Tetraogallus_ | 4 |Caucasus to E. Thibet |
| | and Altai Mountains |
135. Tetrao | 4 |Europe and N. Asia |N. America
136. Bonasa | 1 |Europe and N. Asia |N. America
137. Lagopus | 4 |Iceland, W. Europe to |N. America, Greenland
| | Japan |
| | |
PHASIANIDÆ. | | |
| | |
138. _Crossoptilon_ | 4 |Thibet, Mongolia, |
| | N. China |
139. _Lophophorus_ | 3 |Cashmere to E. Thibet |
| | (highest woods) |
140. Tetraophasis | 1 |E. Thibet |E. Thibet(?)
141. Ceriornis | 1 |N. W. Himalayas (high) |Himalayas to W. China
142. Pucrasia-- | 3 |N. W. Himalayas to |Himalayas
| | N. W. China |
143. _Phasianus_ | 10 |Western Asia to Japan |W. Himalayas, Formosa
144. _Thaumalea_ | 3 |E. Thibet to Amoor, |West China
| | N. China |
145. _Ithaginis_ | 2 |Nepaul to E. Thibet |
| | (high) |
| | |
TURNICIDÆ. | | |
| | |
146. Turnix | 2 |Spain and N. Africa, |Ethiop., Orien.,
| | N. China | Austral.
| | |
ACCIPITRES. | | |
VULTURIDÆ. | | |
| | |
147. _Vultur_ | 1 |Spain and N. Africa to |
| | N. China |
148. Gyps | 1 |S. Europe, Palestine, |E. Africa, India
| | Cen. Asia |
149. Otogyps | 1 |S. Europe, N. Africa |S. Africa, India
150. Neophron | 1 |Atlantic Isds. to |Africa, India
| | Palestine |
| | |
FALCONIDÆ. | | |
| | |
151. Circus | 5 |Europe to Japan |Almost Cosmopolite
152. Astur | 1 |Europe to N. China |Almost Cosmopolite
153. Accipiter | 2 |Europe to Japan |Almost Cosmopolite
154. Buteo | 4 |Europe to Japan |Cosmopolite (excl.
| | | Australia)
155. Archibuteo | 1 |N. Europe to Japan |N. America
156. Gypaetus | 1 |S. Europe, N. Africa |Abyssinia, Himalayas
157. Aquila | 5 |Europe to Japan |Nearctic, Ethiop.,
| | | Orien.
158. Nisaetus | 2 |E. Europe, N. Africa, |India, Australia
| | W. Asia |
159. Circaetus | 1 |E. and S. Europe, N. |Africa, India
| | Africa, W. Asia |
160. Haliæetus | 3 |Iceland and S. Europe |Cosmopolite (excl.
| | to Japan | Neotropical region)
161. Milvus | 4 |Europe to Japan, |The Old World &
| | N. Africa | Austral.
162. Elanus | 2 |N. Africa, N. China to |Cosmopolite (excl.
| | Amoor | East U. S.)
163. Pernis | 1 |Europe to Japan |Ethiopian and Oriental
164. Falco | 5 |The whole region |Cosmopolite (excl.
| | | Pacific Islands)
165. Hierofalco | 5 |The whole region |N. America
166. Cerchneis | 4 |Atlantic Islands to |Cosmop. (excl.
| | Japan | Oceania)
| | |
PANDIONIDÆ. | | |
| | |
167. Pandion | 1 |Europe to Japan |Cosmopolite
| | |
STRIGIDÆ. | | |
| | |
168. Surnia | 1 |N. Europe and Siberia |North America
169. Nyctea | 1 |Arctic regions |Arctic America
170. Athene | 4 |Central and S. Europe |Ethiop., Orien.,
| | to Japan | Austral.
(Ninox | 1 |N. China and Japan) |Oriental genus
171. Glaucidium | 1 |Europe to N. China |America
172. Bubo | 2 |Europe to N. China |Africa, India,
| | | America
173. Scops | 3 |S. Europe to Japan |African, Orien.,
| | | Austral.
174. Syrnium | 5 |Europe to Japan |African, Oriental,
| | | Amer.
175. Otus | 2 |Europe to Japan |Almost Cosmopolite
176. Nyctala | 1 |N. Europe to E. Siberia|N. America
177. Strix | 1 |Europe and N. Africa |All warm & temp.
| | | regions

_Peculiar or very characteristic Genera of Wading and Swimming Birds._

{251}CHAPTER XI.

THE ETHIOPIAN REGION.

This is one of the best defined of the great zoological regions, consisting of tropical and South Africa, to which must be added tropical Arabia, Madagascar, and a few other islands, all popularly known as African. Some naturalists would extend the region northwards to the Atlas Mountains and include the whole of the Sahara; but the animal life of the northern part of that great desert seems more akin to the Palæarctic fauna of North Africa. The Sahara is really a debatable land which has been peopled from both regions; and until we know more of the natural history of the great plateaus which rise like islands in the waste of sand, it will be safer to make the provisional boundary line at or near the tropic, thus giving the northern half to the Palæarctic, the southern to the Ethiopian region. The same line may be continued across Arabia.

With our present imperfect knowledge of the interior of Africa, only three great continental sub-regions can be well defined. The open pasture lands of interior tropical Africa are wonderfully uniform in their productions; a great number of species ranging from Senegal to Abyssinia and thence to the Zambesi, while almost all the commoner African genera extend over the whole of this area. Almost all this extensive tract of country is a moderately elevated plateau, with a hot and dry climate, and characterised by a grassy vegetation interspersed with patches of forest. This forms our first or East African sub-region. The whole of the west coast from the south side of the Gambia River to about 10° or 12° south latitude, is a very {252}different kind of country; being almost wholly dense forests where not cleared by man, and having the hot moist uniform climate, and perennial luxuriance of vegetation, which characterise the great equatorial belt of forest all round the globe. This forest country extends to an unknown distance inland, but it was found, with its features well marked, by Dr. Schweinfurth directly he crossed the south-western watershed of the Nile; and far to the south we find it again unmistakably indicated, in the excessively moist forest country about the head waters of the Congo, where the heroic Livingstone met his death. In this forest district many of the more remarkable African types are alone found, and its productions occasionally present us with curious similarities to those of the far removed South American or Malayan forests. This is our second or West African sub-region.

Extra-tropical South Africa possesses features of its own, quite distinct from those of both the preceding regions (although it has also much in common with the first). Its vegetation is known to be one of the richest, most peculiar, and most remarkable on the globe; and in its zoology it has a speciality, similar in kind but less in degree, which renders it both natural and convenient to separate it as our third, or South African sub-region. Its limits are not very clearly ascertained, but it is probably bounded by the Kalahari desert on the north-west, and by the Limpopo Valley, or the mountain range beyond, on the north-east, although some of its peculiar forms extend to Mozambique. There remains the great Island of Madagascar, one of the most isolated and most interesting on the globe, as regards its animal productions; and to this must be added, the smaller islands of Bourbon, Mauritius and Rodriguez, the Seychelles and the Comoro Islands, forming together the Mascarene Islands,--the whole constituting our fourth sub-region.

_Zoological Characteristics of the Ethiopian Region._--We have now to consider briefly, what are the peculiarities and characteristics of the Ethiopian Region as a whole,--those which give it its distinctive features and broadly separate it from the other primary zoological regions.

{253}_Mammalia._--This region has 9 peculiar families of mammalia. Chiromyidæ (containing the aye-aye); Potamogalidæ and Chrysochloridæ (Insectivora); Cryptoproctidæ and Protelidae (Carnivora); Hippopotamidæ and Camelopardalidæ (Ungulata); and Orycteropodidæ (Edentata). Besides these it possesses 7 peculiar genera of apes, _Troglodytes_, _Colobus_, _Myiopithecus_, _Cercopithecus_, _Cercocebus_, _Theropithecus_, and _Cynocephalus_; 2 sub-families of lemurs containing 6 genera, confined to Madagascar, with 3 genera of two other sub-families confined to the continent; of Insectivora a family, Centetidæ, with 5 genera, peculiar to Madagascar, and the genera _Petrodromus_ and _Rhynchocyon_ belonging to the Macroscelididæ, or elephant-shrews, restricted to the continent; numerous peculiar genera or sub-genera of civets; _Lycaon_ and _Megalotis_, remarkable genera of Canidæ; _Ictonyx_, the zorilla, a genus allied to the weasels; 13 peculiar genera of Muridæ; _Pectinator_, a genus of the South American family Octodontidæ; and 2 genera of the South American Echimyidæ or spiny rats. Of abundant and characteristic groups it possesses _Macroscelides_, _Felis_, _Hyæna_, _Hyrax_, _Rhinoceros_, and _Elephas_, as well as several species of zebra and a great variety of antelopes.

The great speciality indicated by these numerous peculiar families and genera, is still farther increased by the absence of certain groups dominant in the Old-World continent, an absence which we can only account for by the persistence, through long epochs, of barriers isolating the greater part of Africa from the rest of the world. These groups are, Ursidæ, the bears; Talpidæ the moles; Camelidæ, the camels; Cervidæ, the deer; Caprinæ, the goats and sheep; and the genera _Bos_ (wild ox); and _Sus_ (wild boar). Combining these striking deficiencies, with the no less striking peculiarities above enumerated, it seems hardly possible to have a region more sharply divided from the rest of the globe than this is, by its whole assemblage of mammalia.

_Birds._--In birds the Ethiopian region is by no means so strikingly peculiar, many of these having been able to pass the ancient barriers which so long limited the range of mammalia. {254}It is, however, sufficiently rich, possessing 54 families of land birds, besides a few genera whose position is not well ascertained, and which may constitute distinct families. Of these 6 are peculiar, Musophagidæ (the plantain eaters); Coliidæ (the colies); Leptosomidæ, allied to the cuckoos; Irrisoridæ, allied to the hoopoes; and Serpentaridæ, allied to the hawks. Only one Passerine family is peculiar--Paictidæ, while most of the other tropical regions possess several; but _Euryceros_ and _Buphaga_, here classed with the Sturnidæ, ought, perhaps, to form two more. It has, however, many peculiar genera, especially among the fruit-thrushes, Pycnonotidæ; flycatchers, Muscicapidæ; shrikes, Lanidæ; crows, Corvidæ; starlings, Sturnidæ; and weaver-birds, Ploceidæ; the latter family being very characteristic of the region. It is also rich in barbets, Megalæmidæ (7 peculiar genera); cuckoos, Cuculidæ; rollers, Coraciidæ; bee-eaters, Meropidæ; hornbills, Bucerotidæ; and goat-suckers, Caprimulgidæ. It is poor in parrots and rather so in pigeons; but it abounds in _Pterocles_ and _Francolinus_, genera of Gallinæ, and possesses 4 genera of the peculiar group of the guinea-fowls, forming part of the pheasant family. It abounds in vultures, eagles, and other birds of prey, among which is the anomalous genus _Serpentarius_, the secretary-bird, constituting a distinct family. Many of the most remarkable forms are confined to Madagascar and the adjacent islands, and will be noticed in our account of that sub-region.

_Reptiles._--Of the reptiles there are 4 peculiar Ethiopian families;--3 of snakes, Rachiodontidæ, Dendraspidæ, and Atractaspidæ and 1 of lizards, Chamæsauridæ.

Psammophidæ (desert snakes) are abundant, as are Lycodontidæ (fanged ground-snakes), and Viperidæ (vipers). The following genera of snakes are peculiar or highly characteristic:--_Leptorhynchus_, _Rhamnophis_, _Herpetethiops_ and _Grayia_ (Colubridæ); _Hopsidrophis_ and _Bucephalus_ (Dendrophidæ); _Langalia_ (Dryophidæ); _Pythonodipsas_ (Dipsadidæ); _Boedon_, _Lycophidion_, _Holuropholis_, _Simocephalus_ and _Lamprophis_ (Lycodontidæ); _Hortulia_ and _Sanzinia_ (Pythonidæ); _Cyrptophis_, _Elapsoidea_ and _Poecilophis_ (Elapidæ); and _Atheris_ (Viperidæ). The following genera {255}of lizards are the most characteristic:--_Monotrophis_ (Lepidosternidæ); _Cordylus_, _Pseudocordylus_, _Platysaurus_, _Cordylosaurus_, _Pleurostichus_, _Saurophis_ and _Zonurus_ (Zonuridæ); _Sphænops_, _Scelotes_, _Sphænocephalus_ and _Sepsina_ (Sepidæ); _Pachydactylus_ (Geckotidæ); _Agama_ (Agamidæ); and _Chameleon_ (Chameleonidæ). Of tortoises, _Cynyxis_, _Pyxis_ and _Chersina_ (Testudinidæ), and _Cycloderma_ (Trionychidæ) are the most characteristic.

_Amphibia._--Of the 9 families of amphibia there is only 1 peculiar, the Dactylethridæ, a group of toads; but the Alytidæ, a family of frogs, are abundant.

_Fresh-water Fish._--Of the 14 families of fresh-water fishes 3 are peculiar: Mormyridæ and Gymnarchidæ, small groups not far removed from the pikes; and Polypteridæ, a small group of ganoid fishes allied to the gar-pikes (Lepidosteidæ) of North America.

_Summary of Ethiopian Vertebrates._--Combining the results here indicated and set forth in greater detail in the tables of distribution, we find that the Ethiopian region possesses examples of 44 families of mammalia, 72 of birds, 35 of reptiles, 9 of amphibia, and 15 of fresh-water fishes. It has 23 (or perhaps 25) families of Vertebrata altogether peculiar to it out of a total of 175 families, or almost exactly one-eighth of the whole. Out of 142 genera of mammalia found within the region, 90 are peculiar to it; a proportion not much short of two-thirds. Of land birds there are 294 genera, of which 179 are peculiar; giving a proportion of a little less than three-fifths.

Compared with the Oriental region this shows a considerably larger amount of speciality under all the heads; but the superiority is mainly due to the wonderful and isolated fauna of Madagascar, to which the Oriental region has nothing comparable. Without this the regions would be nearly equal.

_Insects: Lepidoptera._--11 out of the 16 families of butterflies have representatives in Africa, but none are peculiar. Acræidæ is one of the most characteristic families, and there {256}are many interesting forms of Nymphalidæ, Lycænidæ, and Papilionidæ. The peculiar or characteristic forms are _Amauris_ (Danaidæ); _Gnophodes_, _Leptoneura_, _Bicyclus_, _Heteropsis_ and _Coenyra_ (Satyridæ); _Acræa_ (Acræidæ); _Lachnoptera_, _Precis_, _Salamis_, _Crenis_, _Godartia_, _Amphidema_, _Pseudacræa_, _Catuna_, _Euryphene_, _Romalæosoma_, _Hamanumida_, _Aterica_, _Harma_, _Meneris_, _Charaxes_, and _Philognoma_ (Nymphalidæ); _Pentila_, _Liptena_, _Durbania_, _Zeritis_, _Capys_, _Phytala_, _Epitola_, _Hewitsonia_ and _Deloneura_ (Lycænidæ); _Pseudopontia_, _Idmais_, _Teracolus_, _Callosune_ (Pieridæ); _Abantis_, _Ceratrichia_ and _Caprona_ (Hesperidæ). The total number of species known is about 750; which is very poor for an extensive tropical region, but this is not to be wondered at when the nature of much of the country is considered. It is also, no doubt, partly due to our comparative ignorance of the great equatorial forest district, which is the only part likely to be very productive in this order of insects.

_Coleoptera._--In our first representative family, Cicindelidæ or tiger-beetles, the Ethiopian region is rather rich, having 13 genera, 11 of which are peculiar to it; and among these are such remarkable forms as _Manticora_, _Myrmecoptera_ and _Dromica_; with _Megacephala_, a genus only found elsewhere in Australia and South America.

In Carabidæ or carnivorous ground beetles, there are about 75 peculiar genera. Among the most characteristic are _Anthia_, _Polyrhina_, _Graphipterus_ and _Piezia_, which are almost all peculiar; while _Orthogonius_, _Hexagonia_, _Macrochilus_, _Thyreopterus_, _Eudema_, and _Abacetus_ are common to this and the Oriental region; and _Hypolithus_ to the Neotropical.

Out of 27 genera of Buprestidæ, or metallic beetles, only 6 are peculiar to the region, one of the most remarkable being _Polybothrus_, confined to Madagascar. _Sternocera_ and _Chrysochroa_ are characteristic of this region and the Oriental; it has _Julodis_ in common with the Mediterranean sub-region, and _Belionota_ with the Malayan.

The region is not rich in Lucanidæ, or stag-beetles, possessing only 10 genera, 7 of which are peculiar, but most of them {257}consist of single species. The other three genera, _Cladognathus_, _Nigidius_, and _Figulus_, are the most characteristic, though all have a tolerably wide range in the Old World.

In the elegant Cetoniidæ, or rose-chafers, this region stands preeminent, possessing 76 genera, 64 of which are peculiar to it. The others are chiefly Oriental, except _Oxythræa_ which is European, and _Stethodesma_ which is Neotropical. Preeminent in size and beauty is _Goliathus_, comprising perhaps the most bulky of all highly-coloured beetles. Other large and characteristic genera are _Ceratorhina_, _Ischnostoma_, _Anochilia_, _Diplognatha_, _Agenius_, and many others of less extent.

In the enormous tribe of Longicorns, or long-horned beetles, the Ethiopian is not so rich as the other three tropical regions; but this may be, in great part, owing to its more productive districts having never been explored by any competent entomologists. It nevertheless possesses 262 genera, 216 of which are peculiar, the others being mostly groups of very wide range. Out of such a large number it is difficult to select a few as most characteristic, but some of the peculiarities of distribution as regards other regions may be named. Among Prionidæ, _Tithoes_ is a characteristic Ethiopian genus. A few species of the American genera _Parandra_ and _Mallodon_ occur here, while the North Temperate genus _Prionus_ is only found in Madagascar. Among Cerambycidæ, _Promeces_ is the most characteristic. The American genera _Oeme_ and _Cyrtomerus_ occur; while _Homalachnus_ and _Philagathes_ are Malayan, and _Leptocera_ occurs only in Madagascar, Ceylon, Austro-Malaya, and Australia. The Lamiidæ are very fine; _Sternotomis_, _Tragocephala_, _Ceroplesis_, _Phryncta_, _Volumnia_, and _Nitocris_, being very abundant and characteristic. Most of the non-peculiar genera of this family are Oriental, but _Spalacopsis_ and _Acanthoderes_ are American, while _Tetraglenes_ and _Schoenionta_ have been found only in East and South Africa and in Malaya.

_Terrestrial Mollusca_.--In the extensive family of the Helicidæ or snails, 13 genera are represented, only one of which, _Columna_, is peculiar. This region is however the metropolis of _Achatina_, some of the species being the largest land-shells {258}known. _Buliminus_, _Stenogyra_, and _Pupa_ are characteristic genera. _Bulimus_ is absent, though one species inhabits St. Helena. The operculated shells are not very well represented, the great family of Cyclostomidæ having here only nine genera, with but one peculiar, _Lithidion_, found in Madagascar, Socotra, and Arabia. None of the genera appear to be well represented throughout the region, and they are almost or quite absent from West Africa.

According to Woodward's _Manual_ (1868) West Africa has about 200 species of land-shells, South Africa about 100, Madagascar nearly 100, Mauritius about 50. All the islands have their peculiar species; and are, in proportion to their extent, much richer than the continent; as is usually the case.

THE ETHIOPIAN SUB-REGIONS.

It has been already explained that these are to some extent provisional; yet it is believed that they represent generally the primary natural divisions of the region, however they may be subdivided when our knowledge of their productions becomes more accurate.

_I. The East African Sub-region, or Central and East Africa._

This division includes all the open country of tropical Africa south of the Sahara, as well as an undefined southern margin of that great desert. With the exception of a narrow strip along the east coast and the valleys of the Niger and Nile, it is a vast elevated plateau from 1,000 to 4,000 feet high, hilly rather than mountainous, except the lofty table land of Abyssinia, with mountains rising to 16,000 feet and extending south to the equator, where it terminates in the peaks of Kenia and Kilimandjaro, 18,000 and 20,000 feet high. The northern portion of this sub-region is a belt about 300 miles wide between the Sahara on the north and the great equatorial forest on the south, extending from Cape Verd, the extreme western point of Africa, across the northern bend of the Niger and Lake Tchad to the mountains of Abyssinia. The greater part of this tract has a {259}moderate elevation. The eastern portion reaches from about the second cataract of the Nile, or perhaps from about the parallel of 20° N. Latitude, down to about 20° S. Latitude, and from the east coast to where the great forest region commences, or to Lake Tanganyika and about the meridian of 28° to 30° E. Longitude. The greater part of this tract is a lofty plateau.

The surface of all this sub-region is generally open, covered with a vegetation of high grasses or thorny shrubs, with scattered trees and isolated patches of forest in favourable situations. The only parts where extensive continuous forests occur, are on the eastern and western slopes of the great Abyssinian plateau, and on the Mozambique coast from Zanzibar to Sofala. The whole of this great district has one general zoological character. Many species range from Senegal to Abyssinia, others from Abyssinia to the Zambesi, and a few, as _Mungos fasciatus_ and _Phacochoerus æthiopicus_, range over the entire sub-region. _Fennecus_, _Ictonyx_, and several genera of antelopes, characterise every part of it, as do many genera of birds. _Coracias nævia_, _Corythornis cyanostigma_, _Tockus nasutus_, _T. erythrorhynchus_, _Parus leucopterus_, _Buphaga africana_, _Vidua paradisea_, are examples of _species_, which are found in the Gambia, Abyssinia and South East Africa, but not in the West African sub-region; and considering how very little is known of the natural history of the country immediately south of the Sahara, it may well be supposed that these are only a small portion of the species really common to the whole area in question, and which prove its fundamental unity.

Although this sub-region is so extensive and so generally uniform in physical features, it is by far the least peculiar part of Africa. It possesses, of course, all those wide-spread Ethiopian types which inhabit every part of the region, but it has hardly any special features of its own. The few genera which are peculiar to it have generally a limited range, and for the most part belong, either to the isolated mountain-plateau of Abyssinia which is almost as much Palæarctic as Ethiopian, or to the woody districts of Mozambique where the fauna has more of a West or South African character.

{260}_Mammalia._--The only forms of Mammalia peculiar to this sub-region are _Theropithecus_, one of the Cynopithecidæ confined to Abyssinia; _Petrodromus_ and _Rhynchocyon_, belonging to the insectivorous Macroscelididæ, have only been found in Mozambique; the Antelopine genus _Neotragus_, from Abyssinia southward; _Saccostomus_ and _Pelomys_ genera of Muridæ inhabiting Mozambique; _Heterocephalus_ from Abyssinia, and _Heliophobius_ from Mozambique, belonging to the Spalacidæ; and _Pectinator_ from Abyssinia, belonging to the Octodontidæ. _Cynocephalus_, _Rhinoceros_, _Camelopardalis_, and antelopes of the genera _Oryx_, _Cervicapra_, _Kobus_, _Nanotragus_, _Cephalophus_, _Hippotragus_, _Alcephalus_, and _Catoblepas_, are characteristic; as well as _Felis_, _Hyæna_, and numerous civets and ichneumons.

_Birds._--Peculiar forms of birds are hardly to be found here; we only meet with two--_Hypocolius_, a genus of shrikes in Abyssinia; and _Balæniceps_, the great boat-billed heron of the Upper Nile. Yet throughout the country birds are abundant, and most of the typical Ethiopian forms are well represented.

_Reptiles._--Of reptiles, the only peculiar forms recorded are _Xenocalamus_, a genus of snakes, belonging to the Calamariidæ; and _Pythonodipsas_, one of the Dipsadidæ, both from the Zambesi; and among lizards, _Pisturus_, one of the Geckotidæ, from Abyssinia.

_Amphibia and Fishes._--There are no peculiar forms of amphibia or of fresh-water fishes.

_Insects._--Insects are almost equally unproductive of peculiar forms. Among butterflies we have _Abantis_, one of the Hesperidæ, from Mozambique; and in Coleoptera, 2 genera of Cicindelidæ, 8 of Carabidæ, 1 or 2 of Cetoniidæ, and about half-a-dozen of Longicorns: a mere nothing, as we shall see, compared with the hosts of peculiar genera that characterise each of the other sub-regions. Neither do land-shells appear to present any peculiar forms.

The fact that so very few special types characterise the extensive area now under consideration is very noteworthy. It justifies us in uniting this large and widespread tract of country as forming essentially but one sub-division of the great Ethiopian region, and it suggests some curious speculations as to the former history of that region, a subject which must be deferred to the latter part of this chapter. In none of the other great tropical regions does it occur, that the largest portion of their area, although swarming with life, yet possesses hardly any distinctive features except the absence of numerous types characteristic of the other sub-regions.

Plate IV.

CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS OF EAST AFRICA.

{261}_Plate IV._--_Illustrating the Zoology of East Africa._--Although this sub-region has so little speciality, it is that which abounds most in large animals, and is, perhaps, the best representative of Africa as regards zoology. Some of the most distinctive of African animals range over the whole of it, and as, from recent explorations, many parts of this wide area have been made known to the reading public, we devote one of our plates to illustrate the especially African forms of life that here abound. The antelopes represented are the koodoo (_Tragelaphus strepsiceros_) one of the handsomest of the family, which ranges over all the highlands of Africa from Abyssinia to the southern districts. To the left is the aardvark, or earth pig, of North Eastern Africa (_Orycteropus æthiopicus_) which, to the north of the equator in East Africa, represents the allied species of the Cape of Good Hope. These Edentata are probably remnants of the ancient fauna of Africa, when it was completely isolated from the northern continents and few of the higher types had been introduced. The large bird in the foreground is the secretary-bird, or serpent-killer (_Serpentarius reptilivorus_), which has affinities both for the birds-of-prey and the waders. It is common over almost all the open country of Africa, destroying and feeding on the most venomous serpents. The bird on the wing is the red-billed promerops (_Irrisor erythrorhynchus_), a handsome bird with glossy plumage and coral-red bill. It is allied to the hoopoes, and feeds on insects which it hunts for among the branches of trees. This species also ranges over a large part of east and central Africa to near the Cape of Good Hope. Other species are found in the west; and the genus, which forms a distinct family, _Irrisoridæ_, is one of the best marked Ethiopian types of birds. In the distance is a rhinoceros, now one of the characteristic features of African {262}zoology, though there is reason to believe that it is a comparatively recent intruder into the country.

_II. The West-African Sub-region._

This may be defined as the equatorial-forest sub-region, since it comprises all that portion of Africa, from the west coast inland, over which the great equatorial forests prevail more or less uninterruptedly. These commence to the south of the Gambia River, and extend eastwards in a line roughly parallel to the southern margin of the great desert, as far as the sources of the upper Nile and the mountains forming the western boundary of the basin of the great lakes; and southward to that high but marshy forest-country in which Livingstone was travelling at the time of his death. Its southern limits are undetermined, but are probably somewhere about the parallel of 11° S. Latitude.[10]

This extensive and luxuriant district has only been explored zoologically in the neighbourhood of the West coast. Much, no doubt, remains to be done in the interior, yet its main features are sufficiently well known, and most of its characteristic types of animal life have, no doubt, been discovered.

_Mammalia._--Several very important groups of mammals are peculiar to this sub-region. Most prominent are the great anthropoid apes--the gorilla and the chimpanzee--forming the genus _Troglodytes_; and monkeys of the genera _Myiopithecus_ and _Cercocebus_. Two remarkable forms of lemurs, _Perodicticus_ and _Arctocebus_, are also peculiar to West Africa. Among the Insectivora is _Potamogale_, a semi-aquatic animal, forming a distinct family; and three peculiar genera of civets (Viverridæ) have been described. _Hyomoschus_, a small, deer-like animal, belongs to the Tragulidæ, or chevrotains, a family otherwise {263}confined to the Oriental region; and in the squirrel family is a curious genus, _Anomalurus_, which resembles the flying squirrels of other parts of the world, without being directly allied to them.

_Birds._--In this class we find a larger proportionate number of peculiar forms. _Hypergerus_ and _Alethe_, belonging to the Timaliidæ, or babblers, are perhaps allied to Malayan groups; _Parinia_, a peculiar form of tit, is found only in Prince's Island; _Ixonotus_ is an abundant and characteristic form of Pycnonotidæ; _Fraseria_, _Hypodes_, _Cuphopterus_, and _Chaunonotus_, are peculiar genera of shrikes; _Picathartes_ is one of the many strange forms of the crow family; _Cinnyricinclus_ is a peculiar genus of sun-birds; _Pholidornis_ is supposed to belong to the Oriental Dicæidæ, or flower-peckers; _Waldenia_ is a recently-described new form of swallow; _Ligurnus_, a finch, _Spermospiga_, a weaver bird, and _Onychognathus_ a starling, are also peculiar West African genera. Coming to the Picariæ we have _Verreauxia_, a peculiar woodpecker; three peculiar genera of barbets (Megalæmidæ); the typical plantain-eaters (Musophaga); _Myioceyx_, a peculiar genus of kingfishers; while _Berenicornis_ is a genus of crested hornbills, only found elsewhere in Malaya. The grey parrots, of the genus _Psittacus_, are confined to this sub-region, as are two peculiar genera of partridges, and three of guinea-fowl. We have also here a species of _Pitta_, one of the Oriental family of ground-thrushes; and the Oriental paroquets, _Palæornis_, are found here as well as in Abyssinia and the Mascarene Islands.

We thus find, both in the Mammalia and birds of West Africa, a special Oriental or even Malayan element not present in the other parts of tropical Africa, although appearing again in Madagascar. In the Mammalia it is represented by the anthropoid apes; by _Colobus_ allied to _Semnopithecus_, and by _Cercocebus_ allied to _Macacus_; and especially by a form of the Malayan family of chevrotains (Tragulidæ). The Malayan genus of otters, _Aonyx_, is also said to occur in West and South Africa. In birds we have special Oriental and Malayan affinities in _Alethe_, _Pholidornis_, _Berenicornis_, _Pitta_, and _Palæornis;_ while the Oriental genus _Treron_ has a wide range in Africa. We shall {264}endeavour to ascertain the meaning of this special relation at a subsequent stage of our inquiries.

_Plate V._--_River Scene in West Africa, with Characteristic Animals._--Our artist has here well represented the luxuriance and beauty of a tropical forest; and the whole scene is such as might be witnessed on the banks of one of the rivers of equatorial West Africa. On the right we see a red river-hog (_Potamochoerus penicillatus_), one of the handsomest of the swine family, and highly characteristic of the West African sub-region. In a tree overhead is the potto (_Perodicticus potto_), one of the curious forms of lemur confined to West Africa. On the left is the remarkable _Potamogale velox_, first discovered by Du Chaillu,--an Insectivorous animal, with the form and habits of an otter. On the other side of the river are seen a pair of gorillas (_Troglodytes gorilla_), the largest of the anthropoid apes.

The bird on the wing is the Whydah finch (_Vidua paradisea_), remarkable for the enormous plumes with which the tail of the male bird is decorated during the breeding season. The crested bird overhead is one of the beautiful green touracos (_Turacus macrorhynchus_), belonging to the Musophagidæ, or plantain-eaters, a family wholly African, and most abundant in the western sub-region.

_Reptiles._--In this class we find a large number of peculiar forms; 13 genera of snakes, 3 of lizards, and 2 of tortoises being confined to the sub-region. The snakes are _Pariaspis_, _Elapops_, and _Prosymna_ (Calamariidæ), _Rhamnophis_, _Herpetethiops_, and _Grayia_ (Colubridæ), _Neusterophis_ and _Limnophis_ (Homalopsidæ), _Simocephalus_ and _Holurophis_ (Lycodontidæ); _Pelophilus_ (Pythonidæ); _Elapsoidea_ (Elapidæ); and _Atheris_ (Viperidæ). The lizards are _Dalophia_ (Lepidosternidæ); _Otosaurus_ (Scincidæ); _Psilodactylus_ (Geckotidæ). The tortoises, _Cinyxis_ (Testudinidæ) and _Tetrathyra_ (Trionichidæ).

_Amphibia._--Of Amphibia, there are 2 peculiar genera of tree-frogs, _Hylambatis_ and _Hemimantis_, belonging to the Polypedatidæ.

Plate V.

SCENE IN WEST AFRICA, WITH CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS.

{265}Here, too, we find some interesting relations with the Oriental region on the one side, and the Neotropical on the other. The snakes of the family Homalopsidæ have a wide range, in America, Europe, and all over the Oriental region, but are confined to West Africa in the Ethiopian region. _Dryiophis_ (Dryiophidæ) and _Dipsadoboa_ (Dipsadidæ) on the other hand, are genera of tropical America which occur also in West Africa. The family of lizards, Acontiadæ, are found in West and South Africa, Ceylon, and the Moluccas. The family of toads, Engystomidæ, in West and South Africa and the whole Oriental region; while the Phryniscidæ inhabit tropical Africa and Java.

_Insects._--We have here a large number of peculiar genera. There are 10 of butterflies, _Lachnoptera_, _Amphidema_, and _Catuna_ belonging to the Nymphalidæ, while four others are Lycænidæ. The genus _Euxanthe_ is common to West Africa and Madagascar.

Of Coleoptera there are 53 peculiar genera; 20 are Carabidæ, 2 Lucanidæ, 12 Cetoniidæ, 3 Prionidæ, 16 Cerambycidæ, and 34 Lamiidæ. Besides these there are 4 or 5 genera confined to West Africa and Madagascar.

_Land Shells._--West Africa is very rich in land shells, but it does not appear to possess any well-marked genera, although several of the smaller groups or sub-genera are confined to it. Helicidæ of the genera _Nanina_, _Buliminus_ and _Achatina_ are abundant and characteristic.

_Islands of the West African Sub-region._--The islands in the Gulf of Guinea are, Fernando Po, very near the main land, with Prince's Island and St. Thomas, considerably further away to the south-west. Fernando Po was once thought to be a remarkable instance of an island possessing a very peculiar fauna, although close to the main land and not divided from it by a deep sea. This, however, was due to our having obtained considerable collections from Fernando Po, while the opposite coast was almost unknown. One after another the species supposed to be peculiar have been found on the continent, till it becomes probable, that, as in the case of other islands similarly situated, it contains no peculiar species whatever. The presence of numerous mammalia, among which are baboons, lemurs, _Hyrax_, and {266}_Anomalurus_, shows that this island has probably once been united to the continent.

Prince's Island, situated about 100 miles from the coast, has no mammals, but between 30 and 40 species of birds. Of these 7 are peculiar species, viz., _Zosterops ficedulina_, _Cuphopterus dohrni_ (a peculiar genus of Sylviidæ), _Symplectes princeps_, _Crithagra rufilata_, _Columba chlorophæa_, _Peristera principalis_, and _Strix thomensis_.

In the Island of St. Thomas, situated on the equator about 150 miles from the coast, there are 6 peculiar species out of 30 known birds, viz., _Scops leucopsis_, _Zosterops lugubris_, _Turdus olivaceofuscus_, _Oriolus crassirostris_, _Symplectes sancti-thomæ_ and _Aplopelia simplex_; also _Strix thomensis_ in common with Prince's Island. The remainder are all found on the adjacent coasts. It is remarkable that in Prince's Island there are no birds of prey, any that appear being driven off by the parrots (_Psittacus erithacus_) that abound there; whereas in St. Thomas and Fernando Po they are plentiful.

_III. South-African Sub-region._

This is the most peculiar and interesting part of Africa, but owing to the absence of existing barriers its limits cannot be well defined. The typical portion of it hardly contains more than the narrow strip of territory limited by the mountain range which forms the boundary of the Cape Colony and Natal, while in a wider sense it may be extended to include Mozambique. It may perhaps be best characterised as bounded by the Kalahari desert and the Limpopo river. It is in the more limited district of the extreme south, that the wonderful Cape flora alone exists. Here are more genera and species, and more peculiar types of plants congregated together, than in any other part of the globe of equal extent. There are indications of a somewhat similar richness and specialization in the zoology of this country; but animals are so much less closely dependent on soil and climate, that much of the original peculiarity has been obliterated, by long continued interchange of species with so vast an area as {267}that of Africa south of the equator. The extreme peculiarity and isolation of the flora must not, however, be lost sight of, if we would correctly interpret the phenomena afforded by the distribution of animal life on the African continent.

_Mammalia._--A much larger number of peculiar forms of mammals are found here than in any of the other sub-regions, although it is far less in extent than either of the three divisions of the continent. Among Insectivora we have the Chrysochloridæ, or golden moles, consisting of two genera confined to South Africa; while the Macroscelididæ, or elephant shrews, are also characteristically South African, although ranging as far as Mozambique and the Zambezi, with one outlying species in North Africa. The Viverridæ are represented by three peculiar genera, _Ariela_, _Cynictis_, and _Suricata_. The Carnivora present some remarkable forms: _Proteles_, forming a distinct family allied to the hyænas and weasels; and two curious forms of Canidæ--_Megalotis_ (the long-eared fox) and _Lycaon_ (the hyæna-dog), the latter found also in parts of East Africa. _Hydrogale_ is a peculiar form of Mustelidæ; _Pelea_ one of the antelopes; _Dendromys_, _Malacothrix_, and _Mystromys_ are peculiar genera of the mouse family (Muridæ); _Bathyerges_ one of the mole-rats (Spalacidæ); _Pedetes_, the Cape-hare, a remarkable form of jerboa; and _Petromys_, one of the spiny-rats (Echimyidæ). The remarkable _Orycteropus_, or earth-pig, has one species in South and one in North East Africa. We have thus eighteen genera of mammalia almost or quite peculiar to South Africa.

_Birds._--These do not present so many peculiar forms, yet some are very remarkable. _Chætops_ is an isolated genus of thrushes (Turdidæ). _Lioptilus_, one of the fruit-thrushes (Pycnonotidæ). _Pogonocichla_, one of the fly-catchers; _Urolestes_, a shrike; _Promerops_, a sun-bird; _Philetærus_ and _Chera_, weaver-birds; and three peculiar genera of larks--_Spizocorys_, _Heterocorys_, and _Tephrocorys_, complete the list of peculiar types of Passeres. A wood-pecker, _Geocolaptes_, is nearly allied to a South American genus. The Cape-dove, _Oena_, is confined to South and East Africa and Madagascar; and _Thalassornis_ is a peculiar form of duck. Several genera are also confined to West and South {268}Africa;--as _Phyllastrephus_ (Pycnonotidæ), _Smithornis_ (Muscicapidæ), _Corvinella_ (Laniidæ); _Barbatula_ and _Xylobucco_ (Megalæmidæ); _Ceuthmochares_, also in Madagascar, (Cuculidæ); _Typanistria_ (Columbidæ). Other remarkable forms, though widely spread over Africa, appear to have their metropolis here, as _Colius_ and _Indicator_. Others seem to be confined to South Africa and Abyssinia, as the curious _Buphaga_ (Sturnidæ); and _Apaloderma_ (Trogonidæ). _Machærhamphus_ (Falconidæ) is found only in South-West Africa, Madagascar, and the Malay Peninsula.

_Reptiles._--There are 4 peculiar genera of snakes,--_Typhline_, belonging to the blind burrowing snakes, Typhlopidæ; _Lamprophis_ (Lycodontidæ); _Cyrtophis_ and _Pæcilophis_ (Elapidæ), a family which is chiefly Oriental and Australian. Of Lizards there are 10 peculiar genera; _Monotrophis_ (Lepidosternidæ), but with an allied form in Angola; _Cordylus_, _Pseudocordylus_, _Platysaurus_, _Cordylosaurus_, _Pleurostichus_, and _Saurophis_, all peculiar genera of Zonuridæ; _Chamæsaura_, forming the peculiar family Chamæsauridæ; _Colopus_ and _Rhopitropus_ (Geckotidæ).

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The Geographical Distribution of Animals, Volume 1Chapter XXIV: Part III: Zoological Geography (4)

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