THE ORIENTAL REGION.
This region is of comparatively small extent, but it has a very diversified surface, and is proportionately very rich. The deserts on the north-west of India are the debatable land that separates it from the Palæarctic and Ethiopian regions. The great triangular plateau which forms the peninsula of India is the poorest portion of the region, owing in part to its arid climate and in part to its isolated position; for there can be little doubt that in the later Tertiary period it was an island, separated by an arm of the sea (now forming the valleys of the Ganges and Indus) from the luxuriant Himalayan and Burmese countries. Its southern extremity, with Ceylon, has a moister climate and more luxuriant vegetation, and exhibits indications of a former extension southwards, with a richer and more peculiar fauna, partly Malayan and partly Mascarene in its character. The whole southern slopes of the Himalayas, with Burmah, Siam and Western China, as well as the Malay peninsula and the Indo-Malay islands, are almost everywhere covered with tropical forests of the most luxuriant character, which abound in varied and peculiar forms of vegetable and animal life. The flora and fauna of this extensive district are essentially of one type throughout; yet it may be usefully divided into the Indo-Chinese and the Malayan sub-regions, as each possesses a number of peculiar or characteristic animals. The former sub-region, besides having many tropical and sub-tropical types of its own, also possesses a large number of peculiarly modified temperate forms on the mountain ranges of its northern boundary, which are wholly wanting in the Malayan sub-region. The Philippine islands are best classed with the Indo-Malay group, although they are strikingly deficient in many Malayan types, and exhibit an approach to the Celebesian division of the Austro-Malay sub-region.
ORIENTAL REGION
Zoological Characteristics of the Oriental Region.—The Oriental Region possesses examples of 35 families of Mammalia, 71 of Birds, 35 of Reptiles, 9 of Amphibia, and 13 of Fresh-water Fishes. Of these 163 families, 12 are peculiar to the region; namely, Tarsiidæ, Galeopithecidæ, and Tupaiidæ among Mammalia, while Æluridæ, though confined to the higher Himalayas, may perhaps with more justice be claimed by the Palæarctic region; Liotrichidæ, Phyllornithidæ, and Eurylæmidæ among birds; Xenopeltidæ (extending, however, to Celebes), Uropeltidæ, and Acrochordidæ among reptiles; Luciocephalidæ, Ophiocephalidæ and Mastacembelidæ among fresh-water fishes. A number of other families are abundant, and characteristic of the region; and it possesses many peculiar and characteristic genera, which must be referred to somewhat more in detail.
Mammalia.—The Oriental region is rich in quadrumana, and is especially remarkable for its orang-utans and long-armed apes (Simia,Hylobates, andSiamanga); its abundance of monkeys of the generaPresbytesandMacacus; its extraordinary long-nosed monkey (Presbytes nasalis); its Lemuridæ (NycticebusandLoris); and its curious genusTarsius, forming a distinct family of lemurs. All these quadrumanous genera are confined to it, exceptTarsiuswhich extends as far as Celebes. It possesses more than 30 genera of bats, which are enumerated in the lists given at the end of this chapter. In Insectivora it is very rich, and possesses several remarkable forms, such as the flying lemur (Galeopithecus); the squirrel-like Tupaiidæ consisting of three genera; and the curiousGymnuraallied to the hedgehogs. In Carnivora, it is especially rich in many forms of civets (Viverridæ), possessing 10 peculiar genera, among whichPrionodonandCynogaleare remarkable; numerous Mustelidæ, of whichGymnopus,Mydaus,AonyxandHelictisare the most conspicuous;Ælurus, a curious animal, cat-like in appearance butmore allied to the bears, forming a distinct family of Carnivora, and confined to the high forest-districts of the Eastern Himalayas and East Thibet;MelursusandHelarctos, peculiar forms of bears;Platanista, a dolphin peculiar to the Ganges and Indus. Among Ruminants it has the beautiful chevrotain, forming the genusTragulusin the family Tragulidæ; with one peculiar genus and three peculiar sub-genera of true deer. The Antilopinæ and Caprinæ are few, confined to limited districts and not characteristic of the region; but there are everywhere wild cattle of the generaBibosandBubalus, which, with species ofRhinocerosandElephas, form a prominent feature in the fauna. The Rodents are less developed than in the Ethiopian region, but several forms of squirrels everywhere abound, together with some species of porcupine; and the Edentata are represented by the scaly manis.
Birds.—The families and genera of birds which give a character to Oriental lands, are so numerous and varied, that we can here only notice the more prominent and more remarkable. The Timaliidæ, represented by the babblers (Garrulax,Pomatorhinus,Timalia, &c.), are almost everywhere to be met with, and no less than 21 genera are peculiar to the region; the elegant fork-tailedEnicurusand rich blueMyiophonus, though comparatively scarce, are characteristic of the Malayan and Indo-Chinese faunas; the elegant little "hill-tits" (Liotrichidæ) abound in the same part of the region; the green bulbuls (Phyllornis) are found everywhere; as are various forms of Pycnonotidæ, the black and crimson "minivets" (Pericrocotus), and the glossy "king-crows" (Dicrurus);Urocissa,PlatylophusandDendrocittaare some of the interesting and characteristic forms of the crow family; sun-birds (Nectariniidæ) of at least three genera are found throughout the region, as are the beautiful little flower-peckers (Dicæidæ), and some peculiar forms of weaver-birds (PloceusandMunia). Of the starling family, the most conspicuous are the glossy mynahs (Eulabes). The swallow-shrikes (Artamus) are very peculiar, as are the exquisitely coloured pittas (Pittidæ), and the gaudy broad-bills (Eurylæmidæ). Leaving the true Passeres, we find woodpeckers, barbets, and cuckoos everywhere, often of peculiar andremarkable forms; among the bee-eaters we have the exquisiteNyctiorniswith its pendent neck-plumes of blue or scarlet; brilliant kingfishers and strangely formed hornbills abound everywhere; while brown-backed trogons with red and orange breasts, though far less frequent, are equally a feature of the Ornithology. Next we have the frog-mouthed goatsuckers (Battrachostomus), and the whiskered swifts (Dendrochelidon), both wide-spread, remarkable, and characteristic groups of the Oriental region. Coming to the parrot tribe, we have only the long-tailedPalæornisand the exquisite littleLoriculus, as characteristic genera. We now come to the pigeons, among which the fruit-eating generaTreronandCarpophagaare the most conspicuous. The gallinaceous birds offer us some grand forms, such as the peacocks (Pavo); the argus pheasants (Argusianus); the fire-backed pheasants (Euplocamus); and the jungle-fowl (Gallus), all strikingly characteristic; and with these we may close our sketch, since the birds of prey and the two Orders comprising the waders and swimmers offer nothing sufficiently remarkable to be worthy of enumeration here.
Reptiles.—Only the more abundant and characteristic groups will here be noticed. In the serpent tribe, the Oligodontidæ, a small family of ground-snakes; the Homalopsidæ, or fresh-water snakes; the Dendrophidæ, or tree-snakes; the Dryiophidæ, or whip-snakes; the Dipsadidæ, or nocturnal tree-snakes; the Lycodontidæ or fanged ground-snakes; the Pythonidæ, or rock-snakes; the Elapidæ, or venomous colubrine snakes (including the "cobras"); and the Crotalidæ, or pit-vipers, are all abundant and characteristic, ranging over nearly the whole region, and presenting a great variety of genera and species. Among lizards, the Varanidæ or water-lizards; the Scincidæ or "scinks;" the Geckotidæ, or geckoes; and the Agamidæ, or eastern iguanas; are the most universal and characteristic groups. Among crocodiles the genusCrocodilusis widely spread,Gavialisbeing characteristic of the Ganges. Among Chelonia, or shielded reptiles, forms of fresh-water Testudinidæ and Trionychidæ (soft tortoises) are tolerably abundant.
Amphibia.—The only abundant and characteristic groups ofthis class are toads of the family Engystomidæ; tree-frogs of the family Polypedatidæ; and several genera of true frogs, Ranidæ.
Fresh-water Fishes.—The more remarkable and characteristic fishes inhabiting the fresh waters of the Oriental region belong to the following families: Nandidæ, Labyrinthici, Ophiocephalidæ, Siluridæ, and Cyprinidæ; the last being specially abundant.
The sketch here very briefly given, must be supplemented by an examination of the tables of distribution of the genera of all the Mammalia and Birds inhabiting the region. We will now briefly summarize the results.
Summary of the Oriental Vertebrata.—The Oriental region possesses examples of 163 families of Vertebrata of which 12 are peculiar, a proportion of a little more than one-fourteenth of the whole.
Out of 118 genera of Mammalia 54 seem to be peculiar to the region, equal to a proportion of9⁄20or a little less than half. Of Land-Birds there are 342 genera of which 165 are peculiar, bringing the proportion very close to a half.
In the Ethiopian region the proportion of peculiar forms both of Mammalia and Birds is greater; a fact which is not surprising when we consider the long continued isolation of the latter region—an isolation which is even now very complete, owing to the vast extent of deserts intervening between it and the Palæarctic region; while the Oriental and Palæarctic were, during much of the Tertiary epoch, hardly separable.
Insects.
Lepidoptera.—We can only glance hastily at the more prominent features of the wonderfully rich and varied butterfly-fauna of the Oriental region. In the first family Danaidæ, the generaDanaisandEuplœaare everywhere abundant, and the latter especially forms a conspicuous feature in the entomological aspect of the country; the large "spectre-butterflies" (Hestia) are equally characteristic of the Malayan sub-region. Satyridæ, though abundant are not very remarkable,Debis,Melanitis,Mycalesis, andYpthimabeing the most characteristicgenera. Morphidæ are well represented by the generaAmathusia,Zeuxidia,Discophora, andThaumantis, some of the species of which almost equal the grand South American Morphos. The Nymphalidæ furnish us with a host of characteristic genera, among the most remarkable of which are,Terinos,Adolias,Cethosia,Cyrestis,Limenitis, andNymphalis, all abounding in beautiful species. Among the Lycænidæ are a number of fine groups, among which we may mentionIlerda,Myrina,Deudoryx,Aphneus,Iolaus, andAmblypodia, as characteristic examples. The Pieridæ furnish many fine forms, such asThyca,Iphias,Thestias,Eronia,Prioneris, andDercas, the last two being peculiar. The Papilionidæ are unsurpassed in the world, presenting such grand genera asTeinopalpusandBhutanitis; the yellow-markedOrnithopteræ; the superb "Brookiana;" the elegantLeptocercus; andPapiliosof the "Coon," "Philoxenus," "Memnon," "Protenor," and especially the 'green-and-gold-dusted' "Paris" groups.
The Moths call for no special observations, except to notice the existence in Northern India of a number of forms which resemble in a striking manner some of the most remarkable of the above mentioned groups of the genusPapilio, especially the "Protenor" group, which there is reason to believe protected by a peculiar smell or taste like theHeliconiasand Danaidæ.
Coleoptera.—The most characteristic Oriental form of the Cicindelidæ or tiger beetles, is undoubtedly the elegant genusCollyris, which is found over the whole region and is almost confined to it. Less abundant, but equally characteristic, is the wingless ant-likeTricondyla. Two small generaApteroessaandDromicidiaare confined to the Indian Peninsula, whileTheratesonly occurs in the Malayan sub-region.
The Carabidæ, or ground carnivorous beetles, are so numerous that we can only notice a few of the more remarkable and characteristic forms. The wonderfulMormolyceof the Indo-Malay sub-region, stands pre-eminent for singularity in the entire family.Thyreopterus,Orthogonius,Catascopus, andPericallusare very characteristic forms, as well asPlanetesandDistrigus, the latter having a single species in Madagascar. There are 80 genera of this family peculiar to the region, 10 of which have only been found in Ceylon.
Among the Lucanidæ, or stag-beetles,Lucanus,Odontolabris, andCladognathusare the most characteristic forms. Sixteen genera inhabit the region, of which 7 are altogether peculiar, while three others only extend eastward to the Austro-Malayan sub-region.
The beautiful Cetoniidæ, or rose-chafers, are well represented byRhomborhina,Heterorhina,Clinteria,Macronota,Agestrata,Chalcotheaand many fine species ofCetonia. There are 17 peculiar genera, of whichMycteristes,Phædimus,Plectrone, andRhagopteryx, are Malayan; whileNarycius,Clerota,Bombodes, andChilolobaare Indian.
In Buprestidæ—those elongate metallic-coloured beetles whose elytra are used as ornaments in many parts of the world—this region stands pre-eminent, in its giganticCatoxantha, its fineChrysochroa, its IndianSternocera, its MalayanChalcophoraandBelionota, as well as many other beautiful forms. It possesses 41 genera, of which 14 are peculiar to it, the rest being generally of wide range or common to the Ethiopian and Australian regions.
In the extensive and elegant group of Longicorns, the Oriental region is only inferior to the Neotropical. It possesses 360 genera, 25 of which are Prionidæ, 117 Cerambicidæ, and 218 Lamiidæ;—about 70 per cent. of the whole being peculiar. The most characteristic genera areRhaphidopodusandÆgosomaamong Prionidæ;Neocerambyx,Euryarthrum,Pachyteria,Acrocyrta,Tetraommatus,Chloridolum, andPolyzonusamong Cerambycidæ; andCœlosterna,Rhytidophora,Batocera,Agelasta, andAstathesamong Lamiidæ.
Of remarkable forms in other families, we may mention the gigantic hornedChalcosomaamong Scarabæidæ; the metallicCampsosternusamong Elateridæ; the handsome but anomalousTrictenotomaforming a distinct family; the gorgeousPachyrhynchiof the Philippine Islands among Curculionidæ;Diurusamong Brenthidæ; with an immense number and variety of Anthotribidæ, Heteromera, Malacoderma, and Phytophaga.
The Oriental Sub-regions.
The four sub-regions into which we have divided the Oriental region, are very unequal in extent, and perhaps more so in productiveness, but they each have well-marked special features, and serve well to exhibit the main zoological characteristics of the region. As they are all tolerably well defined and their faunas comparatively well-known, their characteristics will be given with rather more than usual detail.
I. Hindostan, or Indian Sub-region.
This includes the whole peninsula of India from the foot of the Himalayas on the north to somewhere near Seringapatam on the south, the boundary of the Ceylonese sub-region being unsettled. The deltas of the Ganges and Brahmaputra mark its eastern limits, and it probably reaches to about Cashmere in the north-west, and perhaps to the valley of the Indus further south; but the great desert tract to the east of the Indus forms a transition to the south Palæarctic sub-region. Perhaps on the whole the Indus may be taken as a convenient boundary. Many Indian naturalists, especially Mr. Blyth and Mr. Blanford, are impressed with the relations of the greater part of this sub-region to the Ethiopian region, and have proposed to divide it into several zoological districts dependent on differences of climate and vegetation, and characterized by possessing faunas more or less allied either to the Himalayan or the Ethiopian type. But these subdivisions appear far too complex to be useful to the general student, and even were they proved to be natural, would be beyond the scope of this work. I agree, however, with Mr. Elwes in thinking that they really belong to local rather than to geographical distribution, and confound "station" with "habitat." Wherever there is a marked diversity of surface and vegetation the productions of a country will correspondingly differ; the groups peculiar to forests, for example, will be absent from openplains or arid deserts. It happens that the three great Old World regions are separated from each other by a debatable land which is chiefly of a desert character; hence we must expect to find a resemblance between the inhabitants of such districts in each region. We also find a great resemblance between the aquatic birds of the three regions; and as we generally give little weight to these in our estimate of the degree of affinity of the faunas of different countries, so we should not count the desert fauna as of equal weight with the more restricted and peculiar types which are found in the fertile tracts,—in the mountains and valleys, and especially in the primeval forests. The supposed preponderance of exclusively Ethiopian groups of Mammalia and Birds in this, sub-region, deserves however a close examination, in order to ascertain how far the facts really warrant such an opinion.
Mammalia.—The following list of the more important genera of Mammalia which range over the larger part of this sub-region will enable naturalists to form an independent judgment as to the preponderance of Ethiopian, or of Oriental and Palæarctic types, in this, the most important of all the classes of animals for geographical distribution.
Range of the Genera of Mammalia which Inhabit the Sub-region of Hindostan.
22. Cervus
Out of the above 38 genera, 8 have so wide a distribution as to give no special geographical indications. Of the remaining 30, whose geographical position we have noted, 14 are Oriental only; 5 have as much right to be considered Oriental as Ethiopian, extending as they do over the greater part of the Oriental region; 2 (the hyæna and gazelle) show Palæarctic rather than Ethiopian affinity; 7 are Palæarctic and Oriental but not Ethiopian; and only 2 (CynælurusandMellivora) can be considered as especially Ethiopian. We must also give due weight to the fact that we have here Ursidæ and Cervidæ, two families entirely absent from the Ethiopian region, and we shall then be forced to conclude that the affinities of the Indian peninsula are not only clearly Oriental, but that the Ethiopian element is really present in a far less degree than the Palæarctic.
Birds.—The naturalists who have adopted the "Ethiopian theory" of the fauna of Hindostan, have always supported their views by an appeal to the class of birds; maintaining, that not only are almost all the characteristic Himalayan and Malayan genera absent, but that their place is to a great extent supplied by others which are characteristic of the Ethiopian region. After a careful examination of the subject, Mr. Elwes, in a paper read before the Zoological Society (June 1873) came to the conclusion, that this view was an erroneous one, founded on the fact that the birds of the plains are the more abundant and moreopen to observation; and that these are often of wide-spread types, and some few almost exclusively African. The facts he adduced do not, however, seem to have satisfied the objectors; and as the subject is an important one, I will here give lists of all the genera of Passeres, Picariæ, Psittaci, Columbæ, and Gallinæ, which inhabit the sub-region, leaving out those which only just enter within its boundaries from adjacent sub-regions. These are arranged under four heads:—1. Oriental genera; which are either wholly confined to, or strikingly prevalent in, the Oriental region beyond the limits of the Indian peninsula. 2. Genera of Wide Range; which are fully as much entitled to be considered Oriental or Palæarctic as Ethiopian, and cannot be held to prove any Ethiopian affinity. 3. Palæarctic genera; which are altogether or almost absent from the Ethiopian region. 4. Ethiopian genera; which are confined to, or very prevalent in, the Ethiopian region, whence they extend into the Indian peninsula but not over the whole Oriental region. The last are the only ones which can be fairly balanced against those of the first list, in order to determine the character of the fauna.
1.Oriental Genera in Central India.
Geocichla,Orthotomus,Prinia,Megalurus,Abrornis,Larvivora,Copsychus,Kittacincla,Pomatorhinus,Malacocercus,Chatarrhæa,Layardia,Garrulax,Trochalopteron,Pellorneum,Dumetia,Pyctoris,Alcippe,Myiophonus,Sitta,Dendrophila,Phyllornis,Iora,Hypsipetes,Pericrocotus,Graucalus,Volvocivora,Chibia,Chaptia,Irena,Erythrosterna,Hemipus,Hemichelidon,Niltava,Cyornis,Eumyias,Hypothymis,Myialestes,Tephrodornis,Dendrocitta,Arachnechthra,Nectarophila,Arachnothera,Dicæum,Piprisoma,Munia,Eulabes,Pastor,Acridotheres,Sturnia,Sturnopastor,Artamus,Nemoricola,Pitta,Yungipicus,Chrysocolaptes,Hemicircus,Gecinus,Mulleripicus,Brachypternus,Tiga,Micropternus,Megalæma,Xantholæma,Rhopodytes,Taccocoua,Surniculus,Hierococcyx,Eudynamnis,Nyctiornis,Harpactes,Pelargopsis,Ceyx,Hydrocissa,Meniceros,Batrachostomus,Dendrochelidon,Collocalia,Palæornis,Treron,Carpophaga,Chalcophaps,Ortygornis,Perdix,Pavo,Gallus,Galloperdix;—87 genera; andone peculiar genus,Salpornis, whose affinities are Palæarctic or Oriental.
2.Genera of Wide Range occurring in Central India.
Tardus,Monticola,Drymœca,Cisticola,Acrocephalus,Phylloscopus,Pratincola,Parus,Pycnonotus,Criniger,Oriolus,Dicrurus,Tchitrea,Lanius,Corvus,Zosterops,Hirundo,Cotyle,Passer,Ploceus,Estrilda,Alauda,Calandrella,Mirafra,Ammomanes,Motacilla,Anthus,Picus,Yunx,Centropus,Cuculus,Chrysoccocyx,Coccystes,Coracias,Eurystomus,Merops,Alcedo,Ceryle,Halcyon,Upupa,Caprimulgus,Cypselus,Chætura,Columba,Turtur,Pterocles,Coturnix,Turnix;—48 genera.
3.Palæarctic Genera occurring in Central India.
Hypolais,Sylvia,Curruca,Cyanecula,Calliope,Chelidon,Euspiza,Emberiza,Galerita,Calobates,Corydalla;—11 genera.
4.Ethiopian Genera occurring in Central India.
Thamnobia,Pyrrhulauda,Pterocles,Francolinus;—4 genera.
A consideration of the above lists shows us, that the Hindostan sub-region is by no means so poor in forms of bird-life as is generally supposed (and as I had myself anticipated, it would prove to be), possessing, as it does, 151 genera of land-birds, without counting the Accipitres. It must also set at rest the question of the zoological affinities of the district, since a preponderance of 88 genera, against 4, cannot be held to be insufficient, and cannot be materially altered by any corrections in details that may be proposed or substantiated. Even of these four, only the first two are exclusively Ethiopian,PteroclesandFrancolinusboth being Palæarctic also. It is a question, indeed, whether anywhere in the world an outlying sub-region can be found, exhibiting less zoological affinity for the adjacent regions; and we have here a striking illustration of the necessity of deciding all such cases, not byexamples, which may be so chosen as to support any view, but by carefully weighing and contrasting the whole of the facts on which the solution of theproblem admittedly depends. It will, perhaps, be said that a great many of the 88 genera above given are very scarce and very local; but this is certainly not the case with the majority of them; and even where it is so, that does not in any degree affect their value as indicating zoo-geographical affinities. It is thepresenceof a type in a region, not its abundance or scarcity, that is the important fact; and when we have to do, as we have here, with many groups whose habits and mode of life necessarily seclude them from observation, their supposed scarcity may not even be a fact.
Reptiles and Amphibia.—Reptiles entirely agree with Mammalia and Birds in the main features of their distribution. Out of 17 families of snakes inhabiting Hindostan, 16 range over the greater part of the entire region, and only two can be supposed to show any Ethiopian affinity. These are the Psammophidæ and Erycidæ, both desert-haunting groups, and almost as much South Palæarctic as African. The genusTropidococcyxis peculiar to the sub-region, andAspidura,PasseritaandCynophisto the peninsula and Ceylon; while a large number of the most characteristic genera, asDipsas,Simotes,Bungarus,Naja,Trimeresurus,LycodonandPython, are characteristically Oriental.
Of the six families of lizards all have a wide range. The generaEumeces,Pentadactylus,Gecko,Eublepharis, andDraco, are characteristically or wholly Oriental;OphiopsandUromastixare Palæarctic; whileChamæleonis the solitary case of decided Ethiopian affinity.
Of the Amphibia not a single family exhibits special Ethiopian affinities.
II. Sub-region of Ceylon and South-India.
The Island of Ceylon is characterised by such striking peculiarities in its animal productions, as to render necessary its separation from the peninsula of India as a sub-region; but it is found that most of these special features extend to the Neilgherries and the whole southern mountainous portion of India, and that the two must be united in any zoo-geographicalprovince. The main features of this division are,—the appearance of numerous animals allied to forms only found again in the Himalayas or in the Malayan sub-region, the possession of several peculiar generic types, and an unusual number of peculiar species.
Mammalia.—Among Mammalia the most remarkable form isLoris, a genus of Lemurs altogether peculiar to the sub-region; several peculiar monkeys of the genusPresbytes; the Malayan genusTupaia; andPlatacanthomys, a peculiar genus of Muridæ.
Birds.—Among birds it hasOchromela, a peculiar genus of flycatchers;Phœnicophaës(Cuculidæ) andDrymocataphus(Timaliidæ), both Malayan forms; a species ofMyiophonuswhose nearest ally is in Java;Trochalopteron,Brachypteryx,BucerosandLoriculus, which are only found elsewhere in the Himalayas and Malayana. It also possesses about 80 peculiar species of birds, including a large jungle fowl, one owl and two hornbills.
Reptiles.—It is however by its Reptiles, even more than by its higher vertebrates, that this sub-region is clearly characterised. Among snakes it possesses an entire family, Uropeltidæ, consisting of 5 genera and 18 species altogether confined to it,—RhinophisandUropeltisin Ceylon,Silybura,PlecturusandMelanophidiumin Southern India. Four other genera of snakes,Haplocercus,Cercaspis,Peltopelor, andHypnaleare also peculiar;Chersydrusis only found elsewhere in Malaya; whileAspidura,Passerita, andCynophis, only extend to Hindostan;andspecies ofEryx,Echis, andPsammophisshow an affinity with Ethiopian and Palæarctic forms. Among lizards several genera ofAgamidæare peculiar, such asOtocryptis,Lyricoephalus,Ceratophora,Cophotis,Salea,SitanaandCharasia. In the family Acontiadæ,Nessiais peculiar to Ceylon, while a species of the African genusAcontiasshows an affinity for the Ethiopian region.
Amphibia.—The genera of Amphibians that occur here are generally of wide range, butNannophrys,Haplobatrachus, andCacopusare confined to the sub-region; whileMegalophrysis Malayan, and the species found in Ceylon also inhabit Java.
Insects.—The insects of Ceylon also furnish some curious examples of its distinctness from Hindostan, and its affinity with Malaya. Among its butterflies we findPapilio jophon, closely allied toP. antiphusof Malaya. The remarkable genusHestia, so characteristic of the Malay archipelago, only occurs elsewhere on the mountains of Ceylon; while itsCynthiaandParthenosare closely allied to, if not identical with, Malayan species. Among Coleoptera we have yet more striking examples. The highly characteristic Malayan genusTricondylais represented in Ceylon by no less than 10 species; and among Longicorns we find the generaTetraommatus,Thranius,Cacia,Praonetha,Ropica, andSerixia, all exclusively Malayan or only just entering the Indo-Chinese peninsula, yet all represented in Ceylon, while not a single species occurs in any part of India or the Himalayas.
The Past History of Ceylon and South-India as indicated by its Fauna.—In our account of the Ethiopian region we have already had occasion to refer to an ancient connection between this sub-region and Madagascar, in order to explain the distribution of the Lemurine type, and some other curious affinities between the two countries. This view is supported by the geology of India, which shows us Ceylon and South India consisting mainly of granitic and old metamorphic rocks, while the greater part of the peninsula, forming our first sub-region, is of tertiary formation, with a few isolated patches of secondary rocks. It is evident therefore, that during much of the tertiary period, Ceylon and South India were bounded on the north by a considerable extent of sea, and probably formed part of an extensive southern continent or great island. The very numerous and remarkable cases of affinity with Malaya, require however some closer approximation to these islands, which probably occurred at a later period. When, still later, the great plains and table-lands of Hindostan were formed, and a permanent land communication effected with the rich and highly developed Himalo-Chinese fauna, a rapid immigration of new types took place, and many of the less specialised forms of mammalia and birds (particularly those of ancient Ethiopian type) became extinct. Among reptiles and insects the competition was less severe, or the older forms were too welladapted to local conditions to be expelled; so that it is among these groups alone that we find any considerable number, of what are probably the remains of the ancient fauna of a now submerged southern continent.
III. Himalayan or Indo-Chinese Sub-region.
This, which is probably the richest of all the sub-regions, and perhaps one of the richest of all tracts of equal extent on the face of the globe, is essentially a forest-covered, mountainous country, mostly within the tropics, but on its northern margin extending some degrees beyond it, and rising in a continuous mountain range till it meets and intercalates with the Manchurian sub-division of the Palæarctic region. The peculiar mammalia, birds and insects of this sub-region begin to appear at the very foot of the Himalayas, but Dr. Gunther has shown that many of the reptiles characteristic of the plains of India are found to a height of from 2,000 to 4,000 feet.
In Sikhim, which may be taken as a typical example of the Himalayan portion of the sub-region, it seems to extend to an altitude of little less than 10,000 feet, that being the limit of the characteristic Timaliidæ or babbling thrushes; while the equally characteristic Pycnonotidæ, or bulbuls, and Treronidæ, or thick-billed fruit-pigeons, do not, according to Mr. Blanford, reach quite so high. We may perhaps take 9,000 feet as a good approximation over a large part of the Himalayan range; but it is evidently not possible to define the line with any great precision. Westward, the sub-region extends in diminishing breadth, till it terminates in or near Cashmere, where the fauna of the plains of India almost meets that of the Palæarctic region, at a moderate elevation. Eastward, it reaches into East Thibet and North-west China, where Père David has found a large number of the peculiar types of the Eastern Himalayas. A fauna, in general features identical, extends over Burmah and Siam to South China; mingling with the Palæarctic fauna in the mountains south of the Yang-tse-kiang river, and with that of Indo-Malaya in Tenasserim, and to a lesser extent in Southern Siam and Cochin China.
Zoological Characteristics of the Himalayan Sub-region.—Taking this sub-region as a whole, we find it to be characterised by 3 genera of mammalia (without counting bats), and 44 genera of land-birds, which are altogether peculiar to it; and by 13 genera of mammalia and 36 of birds, which it possesses in common with the Malayan sub-region; and besides these it has almost all the genera before enumerated as "Oriental," and several others of wide range, more especially a number of Palæarctic genera which appear in the higher Himalayas. The names of the more characteristic genera are as follows:—
Peculiar Himalo-Chinese Genera.
Mammalia.—Urva,Arctonyx,Ælurus.
Birds.—Suya,Horites,Chæmarrhornis,Tarsiger,Oreicola,Acanthoptila,Grammatoptila,Trochalopteron,Actinodura,Sibia,Suthora,Paradoxornis,Chlenasicus,Tesia,Rimator,Ægithaliscus,Cephalopyrus,Liothrix,Siva,Minla,Proparus,Cutia,Yuhina,Ixulus,Myzornis,Erpornis,Hemixus,Chibia,Niltava,Anthipes,Chelidorhynx,Urocissa,Pachyglossa,Heterura,Hæmatospiza,Ampeliceps,Saroglossa,Psarisomus,Serilophus,Vivia,Hyopicus,Gecinulus,Aceros,Ceriornis.
Genera common to the Himalo-Chinese and Malayan Sub-regions.
Mammalia.—Hylobates,Nycticebus,Viverricula,Prionodon,Arctitis,Paguma,Arctogale,Cuon,Gymnopus,Aonyx,Helictis,Rhinoceros,Nemorhedus,Rhizomys.
Birds.—Oreocincla,Notodela,Janthocincla,Timalia,Stachyris,Mixornis,Trichastoma,Enicurus,Pnœpyga,Melanochlora,Allotrius,Microscelis,Iole,Analcipus,Cochoa,Bhringa,Xanthopygia,Hylocharis,Cissa,Temnurus,Crypsirhina,Chalcostetha,Anthreptes,Chalcoparia,Cymbirhynchus,Hydrornis,Sasia,Venilia,Indicator,Carcineutes,Lyncornis,Macropygia,Argusianus,Polyplectron,Euplocamus,Phodilus.
Plate VII.
SCENE IN NEPAUL, WITH CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS.
SCENE IN NEPAUL, WITH CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS.
Plate VII. Scene in Nepal, with Characteristic Himalayan Animals.—Our illustration contains figures of two mammals and two birds, characteristic of the higher woody region of the Himalayas. The lower figure on the left is theHelictis nepalensis, confined to the Eastern Himalayas, and belonging to a genus of the weasel family which is exclusively Oriental. It is marked with white on a grey-brown ground. Above it is the remarkable Panda (Ælurus fulgens), a beautiful animal with a glossy fur of a reddish colour, darker feet, and a white somewhat cat-like face. It is distantly allied to the bears, and more nearly to the American racoons, yet with sufficient differences to constitute it a distinct family. The large bird on the tree, is the horned Tragopan (Ceriornis satyra), one of the fine Himalayan pheasants, magnificently spotted with red and white, and ornamented with fleshy erectile wattles and horns, of vivid blue and red colours. The bird in the foreground is theIbidorhynchus struthersii, a rare and curious wader, allied to the curlews and sandpipers but having the bill and feet red. It frequents the river-beds in the higher Himalayas, but has also been found in Thibet.
Reptiles.—Very few genera of reptiles are peculiar to this sub-region, all the more important ranging into the Malay islands. Of snakes the following are the more characteristic genera:—Typhline,Cylindrophis,Xenopeltis,Calamaria,Xenelaphis,Hypsirhina,Fordonia, several small genera of Homalopsidæ (HerpetonandHipistesbeing characteristic of Burmah and Siam),Psammodynastes,Gonyosoma,Chrysopelea,Tragops,Dipsas,Pareas,Python,Bungarus,Naja,Callophis, andTrimeresurus.Najareaches 8,000 feet elevation in the Himalayas,Tropidonotus9,000 feet,Ablabes10,000 feet, andSimotes15,000 feet.
Of lizards,Pseudopushas one species in the Khasya hills while the other inhabits South-east Europe; and there are two small genera of Agamidæ peculiar to the Himalayas, whileDracoandCaloteshave a wide range andAcanthosaura,Dilophyrus,Physignathus, andLiolepisare found chiefly in the Indo-Chinese peninsula. There are several genera of Scincidæ; and the extensive genus of wall-lizards,Gecko, ranges over the whole region.
Of Amphibia, the peculiar forms are not numerous.Ichthyophisa genus of Ceciliadæ, is peculiar to the Khasya Hills;Tylotritron(Salamandridæ) to Yunan in Western China, and perhaps belongs to the Palæarctic region.
Of the tail-less Batrachians,Glyphoglossusis found in Pegu;Xenophysin the Eastern Himalayas; whileCallula,Ixalus,Rhacophorus,Hylurana,Oxyglossus, andPhrynoglossus, are common to the Himalo-Chinese and Malayan sub-regions.
Of the lizards,Colotes,Barycephalus, andHinulia,—and of the Batrachia,Bufo,—are found at above 11,000 feet elevation in the Himalayas.
Insects.—So little has been done in working out the insect faunas of the separate sub-regions, that they cannot be treated in detail, and the reader is referred to the chapter on the distribution of insects in the part of this work devoted to Geographical Zoology. A few particulars may, however, be given as to the butterflies, which have been more systematically collected in tropical countries than any other order of insects. The Himalayan butterflies, especially in the eastern portions of the range—in Assam and the Khasya Hills—are remarkably fine and very abundant; yet all the larger groups extend into the Malayan sub-region, many to Ceylon, and a considerable proportion even to Africa and Austro-Malaya. There are a large number of peculiar types, but most of them consist of few or single species. Such areNeope,Orenoma, andRhaphicera, genera of Satyridæ;Enispe(Morphidæ);Hestina,Penthema, andAbrota(Nymphalidæ);Dodona(Erycinidæ);Ilerda(Lycænidæ);Calinaga,Teinopalpus, andBhutanitis(Papilionidæ). Its more prominent features are, however, derived from what may be termed Malayan, or even Old World types, such asEuplæa, among Danaidæ;Amathusia,Clerome, andThaumantis, among Morphidæ;Euripus,Diadema,Athyma,Limenitis, andAdolias, among Nymphalidæ;ZemerosandTaxilaamong Erycinidæ;Amblypodia,Miletus,Ilerda, andMyrina, among Lycænidæ;Thyca,Prioneris,Dercas,Iphias, andThestiasamong Pieridæ; and Papilios of the "Amphrisius," "Coon", "Philoxenus," "Protenor," "Paris," and "Sarpedon" groups. In the Himalayas there is an unusual abundance of large and gorgeous species of the genusPapilio,and of large and showy Nymphalidæ, Morphidæ, and Danaidæ, which render it, in favoured localities, only second to South America for a display of this form of beauty and variety in insect life.
Among the other orders of insects in which the Himalayas are remarkably rich, we may mention large and brilliant Cetoniidæ, chiefly of the genusRhomborhima; a magnificent Lamellicorn,Euchirus macleayii, allied to the gigantic long-armed beetle (E. longimanus) of Amboyna; superb moths of the families Agaristidæ and Sesiidæ; elegant and remarkable Fulgoridæ, and strange forms of the gigantic Phasmidæ; most of which appear to be of larger size or of more brilliant colours than their Malayan allies.
Islands of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region.—A few important islands belong to this sub-region, the Andamans, Formosa, and Hainan being the most interesting.
Andamans.—The only mammalia are a few rats and mice, aParadoxurus, and a pig supposed to be a hybrid race,—all of which may have been introduced by man's agency. The birds of the Andaman Islands have been largely collected, no less than 155 species having been obtained; and of these 17, (all land-birds) are peculiar. The genera are all found on the continent, and are mostly characteristic of the Indo-Chinese fauna, to which most of the species belong. Reptiles are also tolerably abundant; about 20 species are known, the majority being found also on the continent, while a few are peculiar. There are also a few Batrachia, and some fresh-water fishes, closely resembling those of Burmah. The absence of such mammalia as monkeys and squirrels, which abound on the mainland, and which are easily carried over straits or narrow seas by floating trees, is sufficient proof that these islands have not recently formed part of the continent. The birds are mostly such as may have reached the islands while in their present geographical position; and the occurrence of reptiles and fresh-water fishes, said to be identical in species with those of Burmah, must be due to the facilities, which some of these animals undoubtedlypossess, for passing over a considerable width of sea. We must conclude, therefore, that these islands do not owe their existing fauna to an actual union with the mainland; but it is probable that they may have been formerly more extensive, and have then been less distant from the continent than at the present time.
The Nicobar Islands, usually associated with the Andamans, are less known, but present somewhat similar phenomena. They are, however, more Malayan in their fauna, and seem properly to belong to the Indo-Malay sub-region.
Formosa.—This island has been carefully examined by Mr. Swinhoe, who found 144 species of birds, of which 34 are peculiar. There is one peculiar genus, but the rest are all Indo-Chinese, though some of the species are more allied to Malayan than to Chinese or Himalayan forms. About 30 species of mammalia were found in Formosa, of which 11 are peculiar species, the rest being either Chinese or Himalayan. The peculiar species belong to the generaTalpa,Helictis,Sciuropterus,Pteromys,Mus,Sus,Cervus, andCapricornis. A few lizards and snakes of continental species have also been found. These facts clearly indicate the former connection of Formosa with China and Malaya, a connection which is rendered the more probable by the shallow sea which still connects all these countries.
Hainan.—The island of Hainan, on the south coast of China, is not so well known in proportion, though Mr. Swinhoe collected 172 species of birds, of which 130 were land-birds. Of these about 20 were peculiar species; the remainder being either Chinese, Himalayan, or Indo-Malayan. Mr. Swinhoe also obtained 24 species of mammalia, all being Chinese, Himalayan, or Indo-Malayan species except a hare, which is peculiar. This assemblage of animals would imply that Hainan, as might be anticipated from its position, has been more recently separated from the continent than the more distant island of Formosa.
IV. Indo-Malaya, or the Malayan Sub-region.
This sub-region, which is almost wholly insular (including only the Malayan peninsula on the continent of Asia), is equal, ifnot superior, in the variety and beauty of its productions, to that which we have just been considering. Like Indo-China, it is a region of forests, but it is more exclusively tropical; and it is therefore deficient in many of those curious forms of the temperate zone of the Himalayas, which seem to have been developed from Palæarctic rather than from Oriental types. Here alone, in the Oriental region, are found the most typical equatorial forms of life—organisms adapted to a climate characterised by uniform but not excessive heat, abundant moisture, and no marked departure from the average meteorological state, throughout the year. These favourable conditions of life only occur in three widely separated districts of the globe—the Malay archipelago, Western Africa, and equatorial South America. Hence perhaps it is, that the tapir and the trogons of Malacca should so closely resemble those of South America; and that the great anthropoid apes and crested hornbills of Western Africa, should find their nearest allies in Borneo and Sumatra.
Although the islands which go to form this sub-region are often separated from each other by a considerable expanse of sea, yet their productions in general offer no greater differences than those of portions of the Indo-Chinese sub-region separated by an equal extent of dry land. The explanation is easy, however, when we find that the sea which separates them is a very shallow one, so shallow that an elevation of only 300 feet would unite Sumatra, Java, and Borneo into one great South-eastern prolongation of the Asiatic continent. As we know that our own country has been elevated and depressed to a greater amount than this, at least twice in recent geological times, we can have no difficulty in admitting similar changes of level in the Malay archipelago, where the subterranean forces which bring about such changes are still at work, as manifested by the great chain of active volcanoes in Sumatra and Java. Proofs of somewhat earlier changes of level are to be seen in the Tertiary coal formations of Borneo, which demonstrate a succession of elevations and subsidences, with as much certainty as if we had historical record of them.
It is not necessary to suppose, nor is it probable, that all thesegreat islands were recently united to the continent, and that their separation took place by one general subsidence of the whole. It is more consonant with what we know of such matters, that the elevations and depressions were partial, varying in their points of action and often recurring; sometimes extending one part of an island, sometimes another; now joining an island to the main land, now bringing two islands into closer proximity. There is reason to believe that sometimes an intervening island has sunk or receded and allowed others which it before separated to effect a partial union independently of it. If we recognise the probability that such varied and often-renewed changes of level have occurred, we shall be better able to understand how certain anomalies of distribution in these islands may have been brought about. We will now endeavour to sketch the general features of the zoology of this interesting district, and then proceed to discuss some of the relations of the islands to each other.
Mammalia.—We have seen that the Indo-Chinese sub-region possesses 13 species of mammalia in common with the Indo-Malay sub-region, and 4 others peculiar to itself, besides one Ethiopian and several Oriental and Palæarctic forms of wide range. Of this latter class the Malay islands have comparatively few, but they possess no less than 14 peculiar genera, viz.Simia,Siamanga,Tarsius,Galeopithecus,Hylomys,Ptilocerus,Gymnura,Cynogale,Hemigalea,Arctogale,Barangia,Mydaus,Helarctos, andTapirus. The islands also possess tigers, deer, wild pigs, wild cattle, elephants, the scaly ant-eater, and most of the usual Oriental genera; so that they are on the whole fully as rich as, if not richer than, any part of Asia; a fact very unusual in island faunas, and very suggestive of their really continental nature.
Plate VIII.