VI.] 



CARNIVORA. 



221 



allied, and belong to the cricetine section, which contains the 

 oldest members of the family. Nothing need be said in regard to 

 the two ungulates, except that they both belong to Ethiopian 

 types. Although bats are not taken much into account in the 

 present volume, it is important to notice a peculiar distribution of 

 the fruit-bats or Pteropodida ; more especially as this coincides with 

 that of many Malagasy birds. On this point Dr Blanford writes 

 that " the only African genus belonging to the family is Epomo- 



FIG. 51. THE FOSSA ( Cryptoprocta ferox] . 



^^ which is confined to the continent, whilst throughout the 

 Mascarene archipelago, and even in the Comoro islands in the 

 Mozambique channel, the typically Oriental genus Pteropus occurs, 

 and is represented in various islands by five species, one or two of 

 them only distinguished by critical characters from the common 

 ' flying-fox ' of the Indian peninsula." 



In groups other than mammals, certain common features 

 between the reptiles of Madagascar and South America have been 



1 A second genus, Scotonycteris, has been described from the Cameruns 

 since this passage was written ; and the author has omitted mention of 

 Trygenycferis (Megaloglossus}. 



