IV.] FLOE A AND FAUNA OF THE PHILIPPINES. 77 



The Philippine Islands, on the other hand, are in every way of 

 a difierent character. Taking the mammalia first, we find that 

 only one monkey inhabits the archipelago as against the numerous 

 species of this order found m Borneo and the other Indo-Malayan 

 Islands. There are no elephants, rhinoceros, tapirs, sun-bears or 

 tigers, and but very few small rodents. Among the birds a large 

 number of characteristic Malayan genera are absent. On the 

 other hand cockatoos and Brush-turkeys {Mcgcq)odius), both of 

 which are peculiar to the Austro-]\Ialayan sub-region, inhabit the 

 islands, together with numerous species of pigeons, whose abundance 

 is a characteristic feature of the same zoographic subdivision. The 

 flora, so far as is known, shows similar peculiarities, for, in addition 

 to the absence of many typical Malayan genera, a large Australian 

 and Austro- Malayan element is present in the archipelago.-^ 

 Geologically also the Philippines present very distinct features. 

 Although the occurrence of gold in quartz veins, together with 

 lead and copper, indicate the presence in some places of rocks of 

 an ancient epoch, the islands are to a great extent purely volcanic 

 and tolerably recent.- Their geographical history is a difficult one 

 to decipher. That they were at some period more or less connected 

 with the Indo-Malayan continent is most probable, for in no other 

 w^ay is it easy to explain the presence of many well-marked Indian 

 forms. Such a comiection, supposing it to have existed, may 

 possibly have been through Formosa with the northern limit of 

 the Indo-Malayan sub-region, which would in a measure account 

 for the absence of many of the larger mammals. This supposition 

 is somewhat borne out by the existence of a shallow submarine 

 bank between Luzon and Formosa by way of the Bashee 

 Islands, and by the presence of a very marked northern element 

 both in the fauna and flora. A similar submarine connection, 

 however, also exists with Borneo through Palawan, and from the 

 little we know of the latter island it would seem as if the Bornean 



^ On the Flora of the Philippine Islands and its probable Derivation, R. A. 

 Rolfe. "Journal Linn. Soc." vol. xxi. p. 295. 



- Stanford's Compendium, "Australasia," Fourth Edition, p. 268. 



