74 AMPHIBIA CHAP. 



Faunistic divisions of the Amphibia. 



XOTOCt.EA.— South World. 



Characterised by the Cystignathidae* and by tlie predomi- 

 nance of Arcifera, which form nearly 90 per cent of the Anurous 

 population. 



I. AusTKALiAN KEtiiON. — Absence of Apoda and Urodela. 

 All the Anura are arciferous, with the exception of one species of 

 Rana in the Cape York peninsula. The fauna of the Australian 

 continent and of Tasmania consists chiefly of Cystignathidae and 

 Hylidae {Hyla and HylcUa) and several small genera of Bufon- 

 idae {Pseudophryne* Notaden* and JlyohatracJius*). 



It is customary, and from the study of other Yertebrata quite 

 justifiable, to divide the Australian region into several sub- 

 regions, but the Amphibia lend no support to this. The only 

 Amphibian in the Sandwich Islands is a Bnfo, closely related to 

 North American species. The only Amphibian in Xew Zealand 

 is Liopelma* one of the Discoglossidae which are otherwise con- 

 fined to Europe, North-east Asia, and North-west America, and, 

 to judge from their low organisation, had formerly a much wider 

 distribution. New Caledonia possesses no Amphibia. The Fiji 

 Islands are inhabited by one or two species of Cornafer, a genus 

 of Eanidae. The same genus is typical of the Austro-Malayan 

 and Papuasian islands, the fauna of which consists of Rana 

 and Cornvfer, Cerdtohatrachus, several genera of Engystomatinae, 

 Hylidae, and Pelobatidae. 



II. Neotropical I'.egion. — Characterised b}- Apoda, Aglossa 

 {Pipa), abundance of Cystignathidae (Hemiphractinae,* Cystig- 

 nathinae, and Dendrophryniscinae*), Hylidae (Hylinae and 

 Am])hignathodontinae*), numerous Bufonidae and Engystoma- 

 tinae ; Dendrohatinae* ; the Eaninae are represented by a few 

 peculiar genera, mostly restricted to the Andesian province ; 

 the genus Rana occurs there in a few species only. 



Absence of Discoglossidae, Pelobatidae and iJyscophinae. 



Several species of Urodela, of the genus Spehrpes, extend 

 from Central America into the Andesian province, one occurs 

 in Hayti, and I'Idhodon platense in Argentina. 



This region is ly far the richest in the number of families, 



* indicates Amphibia wliicli are peculiar to the respective regions or sub-regions. 



