MAMMALIAN REGIONS. 



309 



liie Rat), are a Malaj-an Monkey and an Indian Ilarc, viz. Mac.vcu.s cvxojior.Gts, the organ-boy.s' 

 favourite, and Lepus nigricoixis ; botli, however, are said by Mr. Blyth to have been introduced. 



The African pro\'ince is di\'isible into several distinct districts. There is, first, one in West 

 Africa, composed of Seucg-ambia and Guinea, or the whole West-African coimtry south of the 

 Sahara and north of the Xiger. This is, j^ar excelkiice, the district of Monkeys, especially of the 

 Cercopitheci. Next, there is the country between the Niger and the Congo. Great rivers, we 

 have already seen, form effective barriers to restrain the spread of species, but they must be long 

 enough not to be easily' turned. We have a good illustration of this in the province in question. 

 On the north it has the Niger, which is too long to be tui-ned, and it consequently forms a tolerably 

 effective barrier. Next come the Old and New Calabar rivers, and the Gabon, which are broad rivers, 

 but not of great length. They can be turned ; and we see a general provincial resemblance between 

 the faimas of these different rivers, although each has a lesser local fauna of its own also. To 

 the south is another barrier river, the Congo, which can be turned, but not so easilj^ as the others. 

 It seems sufiiciently large and long to act as a barrier, although not so effective a one as the 

 Niger. 



Beyond the Congo we come to the Angola district, in which the Cape element begins to predo- 

 minate ; and when we cross the Orange River we are in a new province, which extends southwards 

 to the Cape, thence northwards to Natal and Mozambique, and with little change on to Abyssinia. 

 Whereas the west coast has four tolerably distinct provinces south of the Sahara, the cast coast 

 seems to have only one. A change occui-s about Mozambique which becomes more decided when we 

 reach Zambesia, and probably reaches its height in Somali Land. When we reach Abyssinia we pass 

 into a new country, a sort of debateable land, — in fact, we seem to enter on the old barrier between 

 Africa south of the Sahara, and the northern regions.' Its affinities, when they are not with the 

 the north, which they chiefly are, are more with the west than with the south. 



The gradual passage from the south to the north, and the break at Abj'ssinia, are well illus- 

 trated by a comj)arative table, given by Dr. Sclater, of the species of Antelope found by Captain 

 Speke in East Africa, contrasted with those found by Riippcll in Abyssinia and by Peters in 

 Mozambique : — 



" Abyssinia {RuppM). 



Scnpophoriis montanus 

 Heleotragus bohoi'? 



E. Aprica (^Sjickc). 

 Antilope raelampus 

 Calotragtis nielanotis 

 Suopopliorus montanus 

 Nesoti'agcs moschatus 

 Heleotragus reduncus 

 Kobus ellipsipnmuus 



„ sing-sing 



,, leucotis 

 ^goceros leucophosus 



„ uigor 

 Caloblepas gorgon 

 Boselaphus sp. 

 Trngelaplius Spekei 



,, sylvftticus 



Oroas Livingstonii 

 Strepsiceros kudu 



MozAMBiQCE {Pelers) 

 Antilope melampus 

 Calotragus melanotis 



Nesotragus moschatus 



Kobus ellipsiprjuinus 



^goceros niger 

 Catoblepas gorgon 

 Boselapbus Licbtensteinii 



Tragelaplius sylvatieus 

 Oreas canna ? 

 Strepsiceros kudu " * 



In what I have here said, however, I .should observe that I liave di-awm mj conclusions not 



* Sclater, in "Proc. Zool. Soc." 18G4, 09. 



