chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 331 



and two birds, characteristic of the higher woody region of the 

 Himalayas. The lower figure on the left is the Helictis nepalensis, 

 confined to the Eastern Himalayas, and belonging to a genus of 

 the weasel family which is exclusively Oriental. It is marked 

 with white on a grey-brown ground. Above it is the remark- 

 able Panda (dZlurus fulgens) , a beautiful animal with a glossy fur 

 of a reddish colour, darker feet, and a white somewhat cat-like 

 face. It is distantly allied to the bears, and more nearly to the 

 American racoons, yet with sufficient differences to constitute it 

 a distinct family. The large bird on the tree, is the horned 

 Tragopan (Ccriomis satyra), one of the fine Himalayan pheasants, 

 magnificently spotted with red and white, and ornamented with 

 fleshy erectile wattles and horns, of vivid blue and red colours. 

 The bird in the foreground is the Ibidorhynchus struthcrsii, a 

 rare and curious wader, allied to the curlews and sandpipers but 

 having the bill and feet red. It frequents the river-beds in the 

 higher Himalayas, but has also been found in Thibet. 



Reptiles. — Very few genera of reptiles are peculiar to this 

 sub-region, all the more important ranging into the Malay 

 islands. Of snakes the following are the more characteristic 

 genera : — Typhline, Cylindrophis, Xenopeltis, Calamaria, Xenela- 

 phis, ITypsirhina, Fordonia, several small genera of Homalop- 

 sidse {Herpeton and Hipistes being characteristic of Burmah and 

 Siam) Psammodynastes, Oonyosoma, Chrysopclm, Tragops, Dipsas, 

 Pareas, Python, Bungarus, Naja, Callophis, and Tvimeremrus. 

 Naja reaches 8,000 feet elevation in the Himalayas, Tropidonotv^s 

 9,000 feet, AUabes 10,000 feet, and Simotes 15,000 feet. 



Of lizards, Pseudopus has one species in the Khasya hills 

 while the other inhabits South-east Europe ; and there are two 

 small genera of Agamidae peculiar to the Himalayas, while 

 Draco and Calotes have a wide range and Acanthosaurd, Dilo- 

 phyrus, Physignathus, and Liolepis are found chiefly in the 

 Indo-Chinese peninsula. There are several genera of Scincidae ; 

 and the extensive genus of wall-lizards, Gecko, ranges over the 

 whole region. 



Of Amphibia, the peculiar forms are not numerous. Ichthyophis 



