CHAP. II THE ELEMENTARY FACTS OF DISTRIBUTION 25 



has a wider range in Asia Minor and Persia, from the 

 Taurus mountains to the South-east corner of the Caspian 

 Sea ; a third species inhabits the Western Himalayas, 

 between the forests and perpetual snow, extending east- 

 wards to Nepal ; while a fourth is found on the north side 

 of the mountains in Thibet, and the ranges of these two 

 perhaps overlap ; the last species inhabit the Altai moun- 

 tains, and like the two first appears to be completely 

 separated from all its allies. 



There are some few still more extraordinary cases in 

 Avhich the species of one genus are separated in remote 

 continents or islands. The most striking of these is that 

 of the tapirs, forming the genus Tapirus, of which there 

 are two or three species in South America, and one very 

 distinct species in Malacca and Borneo, separated by 

 nearly half the circumference of the globe. Another 

 example among quadrupeds is a peculiar genus of moles 

 named Urotrichus, of which one species inhabits Japan 

 and the other British Columbia. The cuckoo-like honey- 

 guides, forming the genus Indicator, are tolerably abund- 

 ant in tropical Africa, but there are two outlying species, 

 one in the Eastern Himalaya mountains, the other in 

 Borneo, both, very rare, and recently an allied species has 

 been found in the Malay peninsula. The beautiful blue 

 and green thrush-tits forming the genus Cochoa, have two 

 species in the Eastern Himalayas and Eastern China, 

 while the third is confined to Java ; the curious genus 

 Eupetes, supposed to be allied to the dippers, has one 

 species in Sumatra and Malacca, while four other species 

 are foimd two thousand miles distant in New Guinea ; 

 lastly, the lovely ground-thrushes of the genus Pitta, 

 ranoe from Hindostan to Australia, while a single 

 species, far removed from all its near allies, inhabits West 

 Africa. 



Peculiariiies of Generic and Family Distribution. — The 

 examples now given sufficiently illustrate the mode in 

 which the several species of a genus are distributed. We 

 have next to consider genera as the component parts of 

 families, and families of orders, from the same point of 

 view. 



