102 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 



Australasian Region. — With the fourth or Australasian region we 

 come to a mammalian fauna so peculiar that we have no difficulty 

 whatever in defining it from all the other regions of the globe, 

 although it should be observed that in the Austro-Malayan islands 

 Ave have a partial mingling of the Australasian and Malayan faunas. 

 If we exclude Celebes from this region we find that, with the 

 exception of a Pig in New Guinea, of the Dingo in Australia, of 

 numerous Mice and Rats (Mv/ridce), and Bats, there are no Eutherian 

 mammals throughout the area. The mammals of this region are 

 restricted to the Australian mainland, the island of Tasmania, New 

 Guinea, and the Aru islands, the whole area of New Zealand 

 having been totally devoid of mammalian life until introduced by 

 man. The whole of the Monotremata, constituting the subclass 

 Prototheria, and all the Marsupials, exclusive of the few outlying 

 forms ranging into the transitional Austro-Malayan area, and with 

 the exception of the American family of the OjDossums (Did elphy idee), 

 are absolutely confined to this region. 



Celebes. — The mammals of Celebes — the typical representative 

 of the Austro-Malayan transitional region or sub-region — include the 

 peculiar Ape known as Cynopithecus, Tarsius (also Oriental), the 

 Anoa, and the single species of Babirusa. Several other types of 

 placental mammals are found in this transitional area, while the 

 Marsupials are represented by Phalanger and Petaurus. 



Neardie Region. — The two remaining regions we have to consider 

 are comprised in the New World. The first of these is the 

 Nearctic, which, as already mentioned, has a fauna showing such a 

 strongly marked relationship to that of the Palasarctic region, that 

 it has been proposed to unite the two regions. Among types 

 common to these two regions we may mention closely allied species 

 of true Deer (Cervus) as exemplified by the Red Deer and the 

 Wapiti ; the allied Bisons of the two regions ; the Reindeer and Elk 

 common to both ; as well as nearly related, and in some cases 

 identical, species of Cats, Lynxes, Bears, Wolves, Foxes, Beavers, 

 Squirrels, Marmots, and Hares. The Glutton or Wolverene, and the 

 Musk Ox is also common to the Arctic portions of the two regions. 

 The Ungulates are very poorly represented, but Ave have, in addition 

 to the forms already mentioned, one species of the Palaearctic genus 

 Ovis, namely the Big-horn, and the Prong-buck (Antilocapra), Avhich 

 is quite peculiar. There are, hoAvever, no Perissodactyla. The 

 Racoons and Coatis (Procyonidce) constitute a family represented out 

 of the NeAV World only by the aberrant Cat-Bear (jEIutus) of Nipal. 

 The characteristic American feline knoAAm as the Puma extends over 

 this region ; but there are no Edentates, and the Marsupials are 

 represented only by a single species of Opossum. Rodents are ex- 

 tremely numerous, and comprise several characteristic types, Avhich 

 alone would tell us what part of the globe Ave Avere visiting. The 



