CHAPTER XVII 



BORNEO, JAVA, AND THE PHILIPPINES. 



Position and Physical Features of Borneo — Zoological Features of Borneo : 

 Mammalia — Birds — The Affinities of the Bornean Fauna — Java, its 

 Position and Physical Features — General Character of the Fauna of Java 

 — Differences Between the Fauna of Java and that of the other Malay 

 Islands — Special Relations of the Javan Fauna to that of the Asiatic 

 Continent — Past Geographical Changes of Java and Borneo — The 

 Philippine Islands — Concluding Remarks on the Malay Islands. 



As a representative of recent continental islands situated 

 in the tropics, we will take Borneo, since, although 

 perhaps not much more ancient than Great Britain, it 

 presents a considerable amount of speciality; and, in its 

 relations to the surrounding islands and the Asiatic 

 continent, offers us some problems of great interest and 

 considerable difficulty. 



The accompanying map shows that Borneo is situated 

 on the eastern side of a submarine bank of enormous 

 extent, being about 1,200 miles from north to south, and 

 1,500 from east to west, and embracing Java, Sumatra, 

 and the Malay Peninsula. This vast area is all included 

 within the 100 fathom line, but by far the larger part of 

 it — from the Gulf of Siam to the Java Sea — is under 

 fifty fathoms, or about the same depth as the sea that 

 separates our own island from the continent. The distance 

 from Borneo to the southern extremity of the Malay 



