OF ISLAND FAUNAS 153 
characteristic of the continent of Africa, is here scarcely 
suggested, for that important order is only represented 
by a river-hog and a subfossil pygmy hippopotamus. 
Both the species and genera of mammals are strikingly 
peculiar; thus it appears that of the twenty-four 
mammalian genera of Madagascar only two occur in 
Africa. 
The birds are not quite so peculiar, but they also 
show, though to a less degree, the same feature of the 
absence of the African forms which would be expected, 
and the presence of primitive or peculiar forms. Among 
both snakes and lizards we find the peculiar feature 
that American forms are represented ; among the lizards 
by two Iguanidae, otherwise peculiar to America. The 
other lizards are mostly peculiar members of African 
families, but a special feature is the number of 
chameleons, and the absence of the monitors, which 
are abundant in Africa. There are no poisonous 
snakes. The amphibians are remarkable, for they 
present affinities both with the Indian region and with 
South America. The beetles, again, show affinities with 
those of India, Australia, and the Malayan region. 
Without considering in detail the various questions 
raised by these peculiarities, it may be sufficient to say 
generally that Madagascar was formerly connected to 
Africa, and perhaps also through a chain of islands 
to India. The connexion was broken before the higher 
forms of life, e.g. the monkeys, the higher ungulates, 
&c., had penetrated Africa, and consequently the 
original mammalian and other fauna of Madagascar 
was primitive in type. Saved from the competition of 
higher forms by isolation, and favoured by the abundant 
food, the absence of enemies, and the great forest area, 
many forms, notably the lemurs, have reached a high 
