GEOGRAPHICAL PISTRirtriTOy. IxXXV 



Austro-Mahtyati Suhrecjion. 



If) genera, 80 species (93 forms), thus much richer in species 

 than any other subregion, the number of species being more than 

 twice that of Indo-Malaya ; 43 per cent, of all known genera and 

 exactly the same percentage of all known species are represented 

 in this subregion. Of the fifteen genera seven (with altogether 

 nineteen species) are peculiar, viz. four of the liousettus section, 

 Boneia (one species), Ptcralopex (two), Sti/hctenium (one), and 

 Dohsonia (twelve) ; one of the Ci/nopterus section, Thoopterus (one) ; 

 and two Macroglossincp, Melonyctcris (one) and 2\esoni/ctens (one). 

 The affinities of these seven autochthonous genera are as follow s : — 

 Boneia is closely related to the widely-spread llousetius ; Fteralopeo' 

 and Sti/Iocienium are offshoots from the even more widely- 

 di.stributed Pteropns ; Dohsonia is an unusually peculiarly modified 

 g( iius with only one near relative, the Philippine Harpyionycteris, 

 and is both by its comparatively large number of species, all strictly 

 confined to this subregion, by its many aberrant characters, and ])y 

 its distribution over practically the whole area from Celebes to the 

 Solomon Islands, zoogeographically perhaps the most important of 

 the autochthonous genera ; Thoopterus is the Austro-Malayan repre- 

 sentative of the Indo-Malayan Fentlietor x while Midonycteris and 

 Nesonycteris have no closer relative than the Polynesian Notopieris. 

 The non-autochthonous genera are. liousettus, Pteropus, Acerodon 

 (found elsewhere only in the Philijipines), Cynoptents (only entering 

 the extreme western part of Austro-Malaya), Nyctimene (entirely 

 Austro-Malayan, except for one Australian species, and one common 

 to New Guinea and Australia), Eonycteris (ranging from Indo- 

 Malaya only to Celebes), Macroyhssus (from Indo-China to the 

 Solomon Islands), and Syconycteris (entirely Austro-Malayan, 

 except for one Australian species). If Nyctimene and Syconyctei-is 

 were added to the number of autochthonous genera, and they could 

 evidently be so without much error, the number of such genera 

 would be no less than nine (out of fifteen), with altogether thirty- 

 three species, so that the number of peculiar species belonging to 

 peculiar genera would be 41 per cent, of the total number of 

 species known from the subregion. 



Seventy-one of the eighty species (89 per cent.) are entirely- 

 confined to Austro-Malaya. The nine species that are not wholly 

 restricted to this subregion are : — (1) such as extend from Indo- 

 Malaya only to the Lesser Sunda Islands, viz. Rousettus amplexi- 

 cnudatus, Pteropus vampyr\is, and Cynopterus spJiin.v (subsp. titthce- 

 cheilus) : (2) one extending from Indo-Malaya only to Celebes, 

 Cynopterus bracJn/otis (suhsi^. brachyotis): (3) such as extend from 

 Ihdo-ilalaya over a greater part of Austro-Malaya, but here differ- 

 entiated into a number of subspecies, viz. Pteropus hypomelanus and 

 Macroylossus layochilus : (4) one common only to the Philippines 

 and Celebes, Pteropus mimus: (5) such as are common to Xew 

 Guinea and Australia, viz. Pteropns ronspiicilJaius and Nyctimene 

 pa2^uanus. 



