MADAGASCAR AND AFRICA 67 



almost all being civets and quite small animals, ten species ; 

 Insectivora, including shrews and small creatures resembling 

 hedgehogs, twenty-four species ; Rodentia, rats and mice, 

 sixteen species ; and Ungulata, one or two species of river-hog. 

 It will be seen that about two-fifths of the mammalian fauna 

 belong to the lemurs, and that with very few exceptions, all the 

 others are small and inconspicuous animals ; many, however, 

 are of exceptional interest, as we shall see. From a considera- 

 tion of the facts regarding the mammals, as well as those of the 

 other forms of animal life found here birds, reptiles and 

 insects the following conclusions may be drawn : First, 

 Madagascar was anciently joined to Africa, receiving its fauna 

 from the continent, whose animal life was then much like that 

 of Madagascar at the present time; but it had also certain 

 connections at an early geological epoch with Asia and even 

 with South America, as there are undoubted affinities between 

 its fauna and those of these distant regions. Secondly, 

 this African connection of Madagascar existed before the 

 abundant animal life of the continent entered it from the north, 

 and when Africa was a great continental island that is, its 

 central and southern portions, and separated from Europe and 

 Asia by a shallow sea, now the Sahara Desert. The upheaval 

 of that sea-bottom was probably to some extent contem- 

 poraneous with the subsidence of the land which is now the 

 Mozambique Channel. Thirdly, Madagascar must have re- 

 mained for a long period separated from every other part of 

 the globe ; and while the western and southern portions have 

 been repeatedly submerged, the highland interior, of palaeozoic 

 rocks, is very ancient land, and much of its fauna is also antique 

 in its character. 



But to leave this zoological dissertation and return to our 

 journey. I have not mentioned that more than once we saw 

 small companies ot-lcmurs high over nur 



wonderful agility from branch to branch, and uttering their 

 peculiar cry. These cries could often be heard whea the 

 animals were not seen, and sounded almost like .the cry of 

 children ; and to myself there was always something pleasant 

 in it, as that of living creatures rejoicing in their freedom in 

 these boundless forests. 



On Saturday morning I wished Mr Plant good-bye and set off, 



