424 
ISLAND LIFE. 
[rART II. 
within about forty miles of the western promontory of Celebes ; 
but farther north there is deep water close to the shore, and it 
seems probable that a deep channel extends quite through the 
straits, which have no doubt been much shallowed by the deposits 
from the great Bornean rivers as well as by those of Celebes 
itself. Southward again, the chain of volcanic islands from Baly 
to Timor appear to rise out of a deep ocean, the few soundings 
we possess showing depths of from 670 to 1,300 fathoms almost 
close to their northern shores. We seem justified, therefore, in 
concluding that Celebes is entirely surrounded by a deep sea, 
which has, however, become partially filled up by river deposits, 
by volcanic upheaval, or by coral reefs. Such shallows, where 
they exist, may therefore be due to antiquity and isolation, in- 
stead of being indications of a former union with any of the 
surrounding islands. 
Zoological character of the Islands around Celebes . — In order to 
have a clear conception of the peculiar character of the Cele- 
besian fauna, we must take into account that of the surrounding 
countries from which we may suppose it to have received immi- 
grants. These we may divide broadly into two groups, those 
on the west belonging to the Oriental region of our zoological 
geography, and those on the east belonging to the Australian 
region. Of the first group Borneo is a typical representative ; and 
from its proximity and the extent of its opposing coasts it is 
the island which we should expect to show most resemblance to 
Celebes. We have already seen that the fauna of Borneo is essen- 
tially the same as that of Southern Asia, and that it is excessively 
rich in all the Malayan types of mammalia and birds. Java and 
Baly closely resemble Borneo in general character, though some- 
what less rich and with several peculiar forms ; while the 
Philippine Islands, though very much poorer, and with a greater 
amount of speciality, yet exhibit essentially the same character. 
These islands, taken as a whole, may be described as having a 
fauna almost identical with that of Southern Asia ; for no family 
of mammalia is found in the one which is absent from the other, 
and the same may be said, with very few and unimportant 
exceptions, of the birds ; while hundreds of genera and of species 
are common to both. 
