THE ORIENTAL REGION. [CHAP. 



represented in the European Miocene 1 . The reasons for regard- 

 ing the tiger as a comparatively modern immigrant into southern 

 India have already been stated. A Siwalik origin is, however, 

 indicated for Simla ; but concerning the other genera the palaeon- 

 tological history is unfortunately a blank. 



The affinity between the faunas of West Africa and the Malayan 

 sub-region has been already alluded to ; but there are also indica- 

 tions of a connection between that of the latter area on the one 

 hand and that of southern India and Ceylon on the other, as 

 exemplified by the occurrence of Nycticebus in the Malayan sub- 

 region and of Loris in south India and Ceylon. To explain the 

 latter connection, Dr Blanford 2 has discussed the possible exist- 

 ence of a direct land-communication between the two areas ; but 

 this connection, as he admits, scarcely seems necessary, since in 

 such cases the true explanation would seem to be the survival of 

 old types in the tropical forest-regions. And here it may be 

 noticed that the Malayan types common to, or represented by 

 allied forms in West Africa, are such as either have representatives 

 in the Indian Pliocene or Plistocene, or such as we might naturally 

 expect to meet with there if small forms were commonly preserved. 

 For instance, Simia and Anthropopithecus, and Dorcatherium and 

 Tragulus, are all represented in the Siwaliks, and Atherura 

 occurs in the Madras Plistocene. This being so, what is more 

 likely than that lorises, linsangs, and palm-civets, of types more or 

 less intermediate between the existing Malayan and West African 

 representatives of those groups, should have flourished in India 

 during the Pliocene era ? Nannostiurus, again, should certainly 

 be expected to occur in the Indian Pliocene. On this point I 

 think Dr Wallace 3 was on the right track when, in writing of the 

 Malayan sub -region, he observed that "Here alone, in the 

 Oriental region, are found the most typical equatorial forms of 

 life-organisms adapted to a climate characterised by uniform but 

 not excessive heat, abundant moisture, and no marked departure 

 from the average meteorological state throughout the year. These 



1 If my memory serves me right, I have been shown teeth from the upper 

 Oligocene Phosphorites of France closely resembling those of Hylobates. 



2 Manual of Geology of India, rst Ed. pt. 1. p. Ixviii. 



3 Geographical Distribution of Animals, vol. I. p. 335. 



