CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. ;^;j7 



animals whose body is not larger than a rabbit's, tlieiico often 

 , called " mouse-deer." They were formerly classed with the 

 " musk-deer," owing to their similar tusk-like upper canines ; 

 but their anatomy shows them to form quite'a distinct family, 

 having more resemblance to the camels. On the branch al)0ve 

 is the curious feather- tailed Tree-Shrew {Ptiloceriis lowii), a small 

 insectivorous animal altogether peculiar to Borneo. Above this 

 is the strange little Tarsier (Tarsius spectrum)., one of the lemurs 

 confined to the Malay islands, but so distinct from all others as 

 to constitute a separate family. The other small animals are 

 the Flying Lemurs (Galccojnthecus xolaiis) formerly classed with 

 the lemurs, but now considered to belong to the lnsecti\ora. 

 They have a very large expansion of the skin connecting the 

 fore and hind limbs and tail, and are able to take long flights 

 from one tree to another, and even to rise over obstacles in their 

 course by the ele^^atory power of the tail-membrane. Tliey 

 feed chiefly on leaves, and have a very soft and l)eautifully 

 marbled fur. 



In the distance is the Malayan tapir (Tajnrv.s indlcus), a 

 representative of a group of animals now confined to the larger 

 Malay islands and tropical America, Init wliich once ranged 

 over the greater part of temperate Europe. 



Birds. — Owing to several of the families consisting of very 

 obscure and closel}^ allied species, which have never been criti- 

 cally examined and compared by a competent ornithologist, 

 the number of birds inhabiting this sub-region is uncertain. 

 From the best available materials there app(;ar to be somewliat 

 less than 650 species of land-birds actually known, or exclud- 

 ing the Philippine Islands somewhat less than GOO. The 

 larger part of these are peculiar species, but mostly allietl to 

 those of Indo-China ; 36 of the genera, as already stated, bi'ing 

 common to these two sub-regions. There are, however, no less 

 than 46 genera which are peculiarly or wholly Indo ]\Ialaynn 

 and, in many cases, have no close affinity with other Oriental 

 groups. These peculiar genera are as follows: — Tirnalia, 3fala- 

 copteron, Macronns, Napofhera, Turdinus. and Tricliixos — genera 



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