602 ZOOLOGY SECT. 



The contrast between our two selected countries is further 

 emphasised when we compare the fauna of each with that of the 

 nearest continental area the fauna of Great Britain with that of 

 the Continent of Europe, the fauna of New Zealand with that of 

 Australia. 



With the exception of the Red Grouse (Lagopus scoticus) , perhaps 

 the Coal Tit (Pants britannicus), and the Long-tailed Tit (Parus 

 rosea), and some fifteen species of fresh-water Fishes, the British 

 Vertebrates are all found on the European continent. On the 

 other hand, there are many European species of Mammals, Birds, 

 Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fishes which do not occur in Great Britain. 

 The British fauna may, in fact, be described as an isolated and 

 somewhat impoverished section of the general European fauna. 



Now contrast New Zealand with Australia. Of the two New 

 Zealand Bats, one (Chalinolobus morio) occurs also in Australia ; the 

 other (Mystacina tuberculata) is endemic, that is, found nowhere 

 else. Australia, instead of having a Mammalian fauna com- 

 prising only two Bats and a doubtful Rat, possesses a large 

 number of characteristic Mammals, all except the Bats, Rats, and 

 Mice, and the Dingo (Canis dingo), being either Monotremes or 

 Marsupials. Out of about 200 species of New Zealand Birds, 

 fully 100 are endemic ; of the rest only about 50 are found in 

 Australia. Conversely Australia has a large number of charac- 

 teristic Birds, belonging to families wholly unrepresented in 

 New Zealand, such as the Birds of Paradise and Bower Birds (Para- 

 diseidce), Cockatoos (Cacatuidce), Mound-makers (Megapodiidcs), 

 the Ly re-Bird (Menura), the Emu, and the Cassowary. Among Rep- 

 tiles, Sphenodon, i.e., the entire order Rhynchocephalia, is endemic 

 in New Zealand, as also is the little Gecko Naultinus, while a 

 small genus of Lizards, Lygosoma, is common to the two countries. 

 Australia, on the other hand, besides possessing a large number of 

 Lizards, such as the Monitors, is remarkable for the great number 

 of its Snakes, a group quite unrepresented in New Zealand, and 

 has two species of Crocodiles and several of Chelonia. Among 

 Fishes, the presence of Ceratodus in Australia is specially 

 remarkable. The fresh-water Crayfishes of each country are 

 endemic, those of New Zealand belonging to the genus Paranephrops, 

 those of Australia to Astacopsis, Cheraps, and Engceus. The 

 majority of the Australian Earthworms belong to the families 

 Perichcetidce and Cryptodrilidce, the latter including the Giant 

 Earthworm of Gippsland (Megascolides) ; the Megascolecidse are 

 represented, but are not dominant, as in New Zealand. 



Thus, while the zoological resemblances between Great Britain 

 and the Continent of Europe are so close as almost to amount to 

 identity, there is more difference, zoologically speaking, between 

 New Zealand and Australia than between Europe and North 

 America, or between England and Japan. 



