CH. I] BATRACHIA OF MADAGASCAR. 49 



as already mentioned four are absolutely confined to it. 

 No other region has more than seven of the families 

 found in it. And the Ethiopian is the only other region 

 which has a family all to itself, viz. the Dactylethridae. 

 The Ethiopian and the Oriental regions are allied by 

 their Batrachian fauna. Madagascar for example shares 

 with the Oriental region nearly all its genera ; the Ranid 

 genus Rhacophorus is characteristic of the east, where it is 

 represented among other species by the flying frog, R. 

 reinwardti, the size of whose hind limbs and the amount 

 of webbing between them is said to have increased 

 progressively in illustrations of the animal. The family 

 Discophidse is limited to these two regions; indeed but 

 for a single Burmese species it is purely Mascarene. 



The Distribution of Scorpions. 



It is greatly to be wished that other specialists would 

 do as Mr Pocock has done and put together a brief account 

 of what is known respecting the geographical range of 

 their groups. In a recent number of Natural Science 1 

 we have an epitome of the distribution of scorpions. 

 The existing genera, 60 in number, are divided among 

 eight families. All of these are tropical or sub-tropical in 

 range. No scorpions are found in the more northern 

 latitudes and they are entirely absent from New Zealand. 

 On the other hand they occur in Patagonia. In Europe 

 the northernmost limit is the south of France and the 

 shores of the Mediterranean generally. In Asia lat. 40° 



1 May, 1894. 

 B. Z. 4 



