ORIGIN OF THE MALAGASY FAUNA. 65 



beautiful examples of protective armour, and of exquisite con- 

 trivance and creative skill. 



Not only the woods of Madagascar, but the waters also are 

 full of interest from their abundant animal life. Crossing 

 the river Mananj^ra one day, I noticed that, at a point where 

 the river was wide and with a powerful current, the stones 

 in the stream were thickly covered with a graceful plant, 

 which in the water looked like a fern, from one to two feet 

 long, but with very thick and fleshy stem and fronds. On 

 examining one of these, I found it to be the home of a 

 variety of minute animals : some of them caterpillars, which 

 were burrowing into the stalk ; others, small green creatures 

 like caddis-worms, but with a transparent shell; others, 

 minute leeches ; others, again, a tiny lump of clear jelly with 

 a double nucleus ; others, like a fresh- water hydra ; with 

 several other kinds, all finding house and provision on one 

 frond in the rushing waters. 



Origin and Meaning of the Specialised Fauna of Madagascar. 

 — We may now inquire the meaning of the strangely excep- 

 tional character of the Madagascar fauna. Wliat are we to 

 infer from the remarkable deficiencies in the mammals and in 

 some families of birds, as compared with the African fauna, 

 from the presence of such groups as the Lemuridse and 

 Centetidse, hardly represented in other countries, and those- 

 countries far-distant ones ? What is the key to the existence ot 

 such isolated and specialised forms as the Aye-aye, the M])jox- 

 nis, and several others of the birds ? And why are so many 

 of the living creatures of the island allied, not to African forms, 

 but rather to those of Southern Asia or Malaya ? Answers 

 to these questions have been given by two or three natural- 

 ists ; amongst others, by Dr. Philip L. Sclater, who, in an 

 article in the Quarterly Journal of Science (April 1864), 

 says the following deductions may perhaps be arrived at 

 from what we have before us : — 



" I. Madagascar has never been connected with Africa, 

 as it at present exists. This would seem probable from the 

 absence of certain all-pervading Ethiopian types in Madagas- 

 car, such as antelope, hippopotamus, felis, &c. But, on the 

 other hand, the presence of lemurs in Africa renders it certain 



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