CHAP. III.] 



ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 



45 



Gallus, comprising the true jungle-fowl, one of which; Gallus 

 bankiva, is found from the Himalayas and Central India, to 

 Malacca, Java, and even eastward to Timor, and is the un- 

 doubted origin of almost all our domestic poultry. Southern 

 India and Ceylon each possess distinct species of jungle-fowl, 

 and a third very handsome green bird (Gallus seneus) inhabits 

 Java. 



Eeptiles are as abundant as in Africa, but they present no 

 well-known groups which can be considered as specially cha- 

 racteristic. Among insects we may notice the magnificent 

 golden and green Papilionidse of various genera as being un- 

 equalled in the world ; while the great Atlas moth is probably 

 the most gigantic of Lepidoptera, being sometimes ten inches 

 across the wings, which are also very broad. Among the beetles 

 the strange flat-bodied Malayan mormolyce is the largest of all 

 the Carabidse, while the catoxantha is equally a giant among 

 the Buprestidse. On the whole, the insects of this region 

 probably surpass those of any other part of the world, except 

 South America, in size, variety, and beauty. 



Definition and Characteristic Groups of the Australian 

 Begion. — The Australian region is so well marked off from 

 the Oriental, as well as from all other parts of the world, by 

 zoological peculiarities, that we need not take up much time in 

 describing it, especially as some of its component islands will 

 come under review at a subsequent stage of our work. Its 

 most important portions are Australia and New Guinea, but 

 it also includes all the Malayan and Pacific Islands to the 

 east of Borneo, Java, and Bali, the Oriental region termi- 

 nating with the submarine bank on which those islands are 

 situated. The island of Celebes is included in this region 

 from a balance of considerations, but it almost equally well 

 belongs to the Oriental, and must be left out of the account 

 in our general sketch of the zoological features of the Austra- 

 lian region. 



The great feature of the Australian region is the almost total 

 absence of all the forms of mammalia which abound in the 

 rest of the world, their place being supplied by a great variety 

 of Marsupials. In Australia and New Guinea there are no 



