OF MAMMALIA. 603 



a few families or at least the greater part of an order, instead of nearly 

 two whole sub-classes. 



We may here allude to the hypothetical continent of Lemuria. 

 Apart from the distribution of the fox-bats and a peculiar civet, the 

 evidence for the former existence of this continent connecting Mada- 

 gascar with India and Further India is based largely upon the resem- 

 blances in amphibians, land-tortoises, birds and molluscs. 



The presence of lemurs in Malay has led to the supposition that one 

 feature of this continent was an abundance of this type, hence the name. 

 Geographical evidence for the same is found in the constitution of the 

 Seychelles, which, unlike oceanic islands, are formed of granitic rocks 

 of the primary period. 



This sunken continent, if it existed at all, would appear to have 

 scarcely survived into the Tertiary period, so that it can hardly be said 

 to come into Eutherian mammalian times, and we have seen that the 

 lemurs can be accounted for in another less hypothetical way. 



2. Ethiopian Region. — The Ethiopian region com- 

 prises the continent of Africa south of the Tropic of Cancer. 

 The area is much more isolated zoologically than geogra- 

 phically, for the Sahara Desert extends across its northern 

 part, and has probably since the Cretaceous epoch formed 

 an effectual barrier to mammalian migrations, which have 

 hence been confined to the Nile basin on the east side. 

 This region has four sub-divisions differing in physical 

 characters, the pasture lands south of the Sahara, the Sahara 

 desert itself with sparse fauna, the equatorial forests, and the 

 area south of these. 



It has a wonderfully rich mammalian fauna, though it is 

 for the most part being rapidly exterminated. It has of 

 course no representative of the two lowest sub-classes, but 

 possesses in the aard-varks and pangolins two families of 

 the very low order Edentata. Rodents are plentiful, 

 including squirrels, Anomalurics (a peculiar flying squirrel), 

 a large number of the ubiquitous Muridce^ jerboas, cape 

 jumping hares, whilst the hystricomorphous types are re- 

 presented by the octodonts, which we have already met 

 with in Neogoea. But the most remarkable feature is the 

 abundance of Ungulata ; elephants and dasses, hippopo- 

 tamuses, water chevrotains, bush-pigs and wart-hogs, giraffes, 

 rhinoceroses, zebras and quaggas, and lastly antelopes of 

 every description. Every family of this great order is 

 represented except the Camelidce and TapiridcB. Of the 

 abundant Carnivora we may note the lion and leopard, 



