no 



PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS SECTION D. 



region are added together, and compared with the total number 

 of species of that region, then the percentage will indicate the 

 general fades of the termite fauna. The following table has 

 been prepared in this manner : — 



We are led to the following conclusions : — 



(i) There is an ancient or primitive aspect to the northern 

 and southern portions of the termite area, taken as a whole. 

 Thus North America, North India, Japan, and China along the 

 northern boundary, and Australia in the south possess such a 

 fauna. 



(2) Africa possesses the highest temiite fauna, since it 

 contains a greater number of species, and has a larger percentage 

 of species belonging to the more specialised genera than any 

 other region in the world. For the comparison drawn it may 

 be objected that the comparative areas of the different regions 

 should be taken into account. If such is done the broad results 

 would not be essentially changed, since it may be noticed that 

 in the relatively small area of the Malay Region some 185 species 

 have been recorded, while from the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon 

 only yy and from the whole of Australia only 53. 



(3) Next in order comes the fauna of the Indo-Malay 

 region, which includes the Indian Peninsula, Assam, Malay 

 Peninsula, and the Malay Archipelago. These regions possess a 

 greater proportion of species of less specialised genera than is 

 found in Africa. 



(4) South America, including Central America and West 

 Indies, possesses a fauna which is somewhat more primitive 

 than that of the Indo-Malay region, and the number of species 

 recorded is considerably smaller, being 188 to 262. 



(5) The Termites of North America are few in number 

 and primitive in character. 



(6) The termites of Japan and Southern China are few, but 

 there is a high percentage of unspecialised species. 



(7) In Australia the number of species in the termite fauna 

 is somewhat low, but there is a high percentage of unspecialized 

 and archaic forms. 



