220 ZOOGEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS 



those inhabiting the Oriental region. The plantain- 

 eaters (Musophagidae) and the coKes (Coliidae) are 

 among the peculiar families. Though the beautiful 

 sun-birds (Nectarinidae) are represented in the Oriental 

 and Australian regions, they are especially charac- 

 teristic of Africa, where they take the place of the 

 humming-birds of South America, which they somewhat 

 resemble in beauty of plumage and in habits. Parrots 

 are not very numerous. The true ostrich, though not 

 confined to the region, is very characteristic. Reptiles 

 are numerous, and among the fish we have to note the 

 presence of the dipnoan genus Protopterus, and the 

 curious ' ganoids ' known as Polypterus and Cala- 

 moicthys. Some other pecuHarities of the fresh-water 

 fauna have been already alluded to. 



The Malagasy region or sub-region (p. 152) shows 

 some very striking differences from the mainland, 

 these differences testifying to its long isolation. Thus 

 there are no anthropoid apes nor monkeys, but some 

 thirty-six species of lemurs occur, all belonging to 

 pecuMar genera. The insectivores are somewhat 

 numerous, for there are over twenty species. The 

 relative abundance of these and of lemiirs, both help- 

 less forms, must be associated with the paucity and 

 small size of the carnivores. Of the insectivores all 

 save one species of musk-shrew (Crocidura) belong to 

 pecuHar genera, and most belong to a peculiar family, 

 that of the tenrecs or Centetidae, which is entirely con- 

 fined to the island, and shows many primitive charac- 

 ters. The musk-shrews are widely distributed in the 

 Old World, and the genus is one of the three which 

 Madagascar shares with the adjacent mainland. The 

 other two are hippopotamus (with one extinct species) 

 and Potamochoerus, the river hog (with one species) 



