THE AUSTRALIAN REGION 19 



Celebes, as Mr. Wallace has fully shown in his " Island 

 Life" (14), is an anomalous island presenting a very 

 difficult problem. It has doubtless relations to both the 

 Oriental and the Australian Regions, but has besides many 

 peculiar forms inhabiting it, which do not seem to connect 

 it with either region. On the whole, however, the evidence 

 of the mammals, at any rate, serves to connect it more 

 closely with the Oriental Region, as will be seen by the 

 discussion of the subject in the chapter dealing with that 

 Region. 



Section II. — General View of the Mammal-Fauna 

 of the Australian Region 



The peculiarities of the Australian Region are very 

 striking. Within its boundaries are found the only repre- 

 sentatives of the lowest and most reptilian of the Orders of 

 Mammals ; these are the egg-laying forms, Ornithorhynchus, 

 Echidna, and Proechidna, which constitute the order 

 Monotremata (12). 



Of the eight generally recognised families of Marsupials, 

 or " Pouched Animals," no less than six are entirely con- 

 fined to the Australian Region, with the exception of two 

 species of phalanger (Phalanger ursinus and P. celebensis), 

 which have crossed the boundary into Celebes. The 

 seventh family, the Dideliihyidte, or true Opossums, are 

 found only in the Neotropical Region, whence they 

 have iutruded into the southern part of the Nearctic 

 Region. 



Of the other mammals, the Rodents and the Bats are 

 the only orders at all adequately represented in the Austra- 

 lian Region. To the former belong six genera of Muridse 



