78 MOUNTAIN FAUNAS 



tain barrier. Its presence is thus an indication that 

 mountains do not necessarily form a barrier to dis- 

 tribution, even to animals reputed to be so sensitive to 

 cold as monkeys. 



The macaques also include one mountain form, 

 Macacus tibetanus, which seems to occur in much the 

 same region as the Tibetan langur, and also extends 

 into China proper, in Sechwan and the south of Kansu. 

 The narrow and broken moimtain chains of this region, 

 according to recent observers, have a damp climate, 

 quite different from that of Tibet proper, and into the 

 valleys the monsoon forest insinuates itself, taking 

 with it part of its characteristic fauna, notably the 

 two monkeys named. The macaques differ from the 

 langurs in their diet, for they eat insects and other 

 forms of animal food in addition to fruits and seeds. 

 As this food is much more portable than leaves, they 

 have cheek-pouches in which it may be stored, these 

 being absent in the langurs, which have large saccu- 

 lated stomachs, comparable to the stomachs of some 

 ungulates. 



The Himalayan and Tibetan langurs and the Tibetan 

 macaque appear to exhaust the members of the Primates 

 which haunt mountains. None of the New World forms 

 seem to be specially fitted for life at high altitudes, 

 and though some of the African baboons inhabit rocky 

 regions at some elevation, none seem to be pecuUar to 

 high moimtains or plateaux. 



The insectivores have various mountain representa- 

 tives, some showing peculiarities of distribution. The 

 Alpine shrew {Sorex alpinvs) inhabits the upper parts 

 of the lofty mountain regions of Central Europe ; the 

 Himalayan swimming shrew [Chimarrogale himalayica) 

 inhabits the lower slopes of the Himalayas, where it 



