464 LIFE OF THE ORIENTAL REGION. 



same genus. The monitors are best known from their African repre- 

 sentatives, hut range over India, some, indeed, reaching to Australia ; 

 and the chameleons, through having their home in Madagascar, and 

 spreading over Africa to the south of Spain, are found in the south 

 of India and Ceylon, reaching to Singapore. Fishes, like the other 

 groups, pass from the African region by the valley of the Nile to 

 Syria and South- Western Asia. Dr. Gunther states that of the 

 39 groups of fresh-water fishes 15 are represented in the African 

 region, though the number of species at present known is small. The 

 best represented families are the Siluroids, Cyprinoids, Mornugridse, 

 Characinidae, and Chromides. Many of the Siluroid genera, such as 

 Clariina, Silurina, and Bagrina, are common to India, and a few to 

 South America. One species of the genus Arius is common to Indian 

 and African rivers, which is the case with the Cyprinoid fish Discog- 

 nathus. Of ganoid types tropical Africa yields the Lepidosiren and 

 Polypterus. The affinity with South American fishes is chiefly marked 

 by the Chromides and Characinidae, though for the most part the 

 generic groups are distinct. 



Oriental or Indian Region. This region includes India, China 

 south of the Yang-tse-Kiang, the Malay Peninsula, the Malay Archi- 

 pelago, Philippine Islands, and the islands as far as " Wallace's line," 

 which excludes Lombok, Celebes, and the islands south and east of 

 them, but includes the island of Bali. It is continued north-east up 

 the Strait of Macassar. In this region, in the continental part of 

 the area, there are 94 genera of mammals, of which 43 are peculiar to 

 the Indian region, and 28 common to the African region. The 

 Malayan or insular part of the province comprises 83 genera, of which 

 25 are restricted to the province, 52 are otherwise restricted to the 

 Indian region, and 29 are common to India and Africa. ' Each of the 

 larger islands has one or two types peculiar to itself. Among the 

 characteristic genera are the monkeys Hylobates, and Semnopithecus 

 and Macacus ; Paradoxurus, many deer, a few antelopes, chevrotains 

 of the genus Tragulus, rhinoceros and elephants, civets, tigers, leopards, 

 bats and flying foxes, the scaly anteaters, and a tapir. In common 

 with Africa are the manis, porcupines, buffaloes, elephants, civet; 

 while many genera, like bears, deer, goat, pig, hedgehog, mole, shrew, 

 are common to the Palaearctic region. The birds include in the con- 

 tinental area 116 genera, of which 32 are common to the Palseartic 

 region, though of course the community of genera does not extend to 

 species. Among the common types are fowls and pheasants, pigeons, 

 parrots, hornbills, woodpeckers, and sun-birds, the parrots and wood- 

 peckers becoming more numerous in the insular part of the province. 

 Besides the reptiles mentioned as common to the Ethiopian region, 

 there are the shield-tailed snakes, the thorn-tailed uromastix, the 

 dragons, the gavial ; and here, as in the Ethiopian region, salamanders 

 are wanting. The fresh-water fishes of India are found extending 

 through Persia to the Tigris. Twelve families are represented ; the 

 species constitute two-sevenths of the known fresh- water species, of 

 which Siluroids comprise 200 species, and Cyprinoid fishes about 330 



