220 ZOOGEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS 
those inhabiting the Oriental region. The plantain- 
eaters (Musophagidae) and the colies (Coliidae) are 
among the peculiar families. Though the beautiful 
sun-birds (Nectarinidae) are represented in the Oriental 
and Australian regions, they are especially charac- 
teristic of Africa, where they take the place of the 
humming-birds of South America, which they somewhat 
resemble in beauty of plumage and in habits. Parrots 
are not very numerous. The true ostrich, though not 
confined to the region, is very characteristic. Reptiles 
are numerous, and among the fish we have to note the 
presence of the dipnoan genus Protopterus, and the 
curious ‘ganoids’ known as Polypterus and Cala- 
moicthys. Some other peculiarities of the fresh-water 
fauna have been already alluded to. 
The MataGasy region or sub-region (p. 152) shows 
some very striking differences from the mainland, 
these differences testifying to its long isolation. Thus 
there are no anthropoid apes nor monkeys, but some 
thirty-six species of lemurs occur, all belonging to 
peculiar genera. The insectivores are somewhat 
numerous, for there are over twenty species. The 
relative abundance of these and of lemurs, both help- 
less forms, must be associated with the paucity and 
small size of the carnivores. Of the insectivores all 
save one species of musk-shrew (Crocidura) belong to 
peculiar genera, and most belong to a peculiar family, 
that of the tenrecs or Centetidae, which is entirely con- 
fined to the island, and shows many primitive charac- 
ters. The musk-shrews are widely distributed in the 
Old World, and the genus is one of the three which 
Madagascar shares with the adjacent mainland. The 
other two are hippopotamus (with one extinct species) 
and Potamochoerus, the river hog (with one species) 
