A SCENE IN TASMANIA, WITH CHARACTERISTIC MAMMALIA.
A SCENE IN TASMANIA, WITH CHARACTERISTIC MAMMALIA.
Mammalia.—The Australian sub-region contains about 160 species of Mammalia, of which 3 are Monotremata, 102 Marsupials, 23 Chiroptera, 1 Carnivora (the native dog, probably not indigenous), and 31 Muridæ. The north is characterised by a species of the Austro-Malayan genusCuscus.Phascolarctos(the koala, or native bear) is found only in the eastern districts;Phascolomys(the wombat) in the south-east and Tasmania;Petaurista(a peculiar form of flying opossum) in the east.Thylacinus(the zebra-wolf), andSarcophilus(the "native devil"), two carnivorous marsupials, are confined to Tasmania. West Australia, the most isolated and peculiar region botanically, alone possesses the curious little honey-eatingTarsipes, and thePeragalea, or native rabbit. The remarkableMyrmecobius, a small ant-eating marsupial, is found in the west and south; andOnychogalea, a genus of kangaroos, in West and Central Australia. All the other genera have a wider distribution, as will be seen by a reference to the list at the end of this chapter.
Plate XI. A Scene in Tasmania, with Characteristic Mammalia.—As some of the most remarkable Mammalia of the Australian region are now found only in Tasmania, we have chosen this island for the scene of our first illustration of the fauna of the Australian sub-region. The pair of large striped animals are zebra-wolves (Thylacinus cynocephalus), the largest and most destructive of the carnivorous marsupials. These creatures used to be tolerably plentiful in Tasmania, where they are alone found. They are also called "native tigers," or "native hyænas;" and being destructive to sheep, they have been destroyed by the farmers and will doubtless soon be exterminated. In the foreground onthe left is a bandicoot (Perameles gunnii). These are delicate little animals allied to the kangaroos; and they are found in all parts of Australia, and Tasmania, to which latter country this species is confined. On the right is the wombat (Phascolomys wombat), a root-eating marsupial, with large incisor teeth like those of our rodents. They inhabit south-east Australia and Tasmania. In the foreground is the porcupine ant-eater (Echidna setosa), belonging to a distinct order of mammalia, Monotremata, of which the only other member is the duck-billedOrnithorhynchus. These animals are, however, more nearly allied to the marsupials, than to the insectivora or edentata of the rest of the world, which in some respects they resemble. An allied species (Echidna hystrix) inhabits south-east Australia.
Birds.—Australia (with Tasmania) possesses about 630 species of birds, of which 485 are land-birds. Not more than about one-twentieth of these are found elsewhere, so that it has a larger proportion of endemic species than any other sub-region on the globe. These birds are divided among the several orders as follows:
The Psittaci, we see, are very richly represented, while the Picariæ are comparatively few; and the Columbæ are scarce as compared with their abundance in the Austro-Malay sub-region.
Birds seem to be very evenly distributed over all Australia; comparatively few genera of importance being locally restricted. In the eastern districts alone, we findOrigma, andOrthonyx(Sylviidæ);SericulusandPtilorhynchus(Paradiseidæ);Leucosarcia(Columbidæ); andTalegalla(Megapodiidæ).Nectarinia,Pitta,Ptilorhis,Chlamydodera, andSphecotheres, range from the north down the east coasts.Nanodes(Psittacidæ), andLipoa(Megapodiidæ), are southern forms, the first extendingto Tasmania; which island appears to possess no peculiar genus of birds exceptEudyptes, one of the penguins. West Australia has no wholly peculiar genus exceptGeopsittacus, a curious form of ground parroquet; the singularAtrichia, first found here, having been discovered in the east. In North Australia,Emblema(Ploceidæ) is the only peculiar Australian genus, but several Austro-Malayan and Papuan genera enter,—as,SymaandTanysiptera(Alcedinidæ);Machærihynchus(Muscicapidæ);Calornis(Sturnidæ);Manucodia,Ptilorhis, andÆlurœdus(Paradiseidæ);Megapodius; andCasuarius. The presence of a species of bustard (Eupodotis) in Australia, is very curious, its nearest allies being in the plains of India and Africa. Among waders the genusTribonyx, a thick-legged bird somewhat resembling theNotornisof New Zealand, though not closely allied to it, is the most remarkable. The district where the typical Australian forms most abound is undoubtedly the eastern side of the island. The north and south are both somewhat poorer, the west much poorer, although it possesses a few very peculiar forms, especially among Mammalia. Tasmania is the poorest of all, a considerable number of genera being here wanting; but, except the two peculiar carnivorous marsupials, it possesses nothing to mark it off zoologically from the adjacent parts of the main land. It is probable that its insular climate, more moist and less variable than that of Australia, may not be suitable to some of the absent forms; while others may require more space and more varied conditions, than are offered by a comparatively small island.
The remaining classes of animals have been already discussed in our sketch of the region as a whole (p. 396).
Plate XII. Illustrating the Fauna of Australia.—In this plate we take New South Wales as our locality, and represent chiefly, the more remarkable Australian types of birds. The most conspicuous figure is the wonderful lyre-bird (Menura superba), the elegant plumage of whose tail is altogether unique in the whole class of birds. The unadorned bird is the female. In the centre is the emu (Dromæus novæ-hollandiæ), the representative in Australia, of the ostrich in Africa and America, butbelonging to a different family, the Casurariidæ. To the right are a pair of crested pigeons (Ocyphaps lophotes), one of the many singular forms of the pigeon family to which the Australian region gives birth. In every other part of the globe pigeons are smooth-headed birds, but here they have developed three distinct forms of crest, as seen in this bird, the crowned pigeon figured in Plate X., and the double-crested pigeon (Lopholæmus antarcticus). The large bird on the tree is one of the Australian frog-mouthed goat-suckers (Podargus strigoides), which are called in the colony "More-pork," from their peculiar cry. They do not capture their prey on the wing like true goat-suckers, but hunt about the branches of trees at dusk, for large insects, and also for unfledged birds. A large kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) is seen in the distance; and passing through the air, a flying opossum (Petaurus sciureus), a beautiful modification of a marsupial, so as to resemble in form and habits the flying squirrels of the northern hemisphere.
III. The Pacific Islands, or Polynesian Sub-region.
Although the area of this sub-region is so vast, and the number of islands it contains almost innumerable, there is a considerable amount of uniformity in its forms of animal life. From the Ladrone islands on the west, to the Marquesas on the east, a distance of more than 5,000 miles, the same characteristic genera of birds prevail; and this is the only class of animals on which we can depend, mammalia being quite absent, and reptiles very scarce. The Sandwich Islands, however, form an exception to this uniformity; and, as far as we yet know, they are so peculiar that they ought, perhaps, to form a separate sub-region. They are, however, geographically a part of Polynesia; and a more careful investigation of their natural history may show more points of agreement with the other islands. It is therefore a matter of convenience, at present, to keep them in the Polynesian sub-region, which may be divided into Polynesia proper and the Sandwich Islands.
Plate XII.
THE PLAINS OF NEW SOUTH WALES, WITH CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS.
THE PLAINS OF NEW SOUTH WALES, WITH CHARACTERISTIC ANIMALS.
Polynesia proper consists of a number of groups of islands of some importance, and a host of smaller intermediate islets. For the purpose of zoological comparison, we may class them in four main divisions. 1. The Ladrone and Caroline Islands; 2. New Caledonia and the New Hebrides; 3. The Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa Islands; 4. The Society, and Marquesas Islands. The typical Polynesian fauna is most developed in the third division; and it will be well to describe this first, and then show how the other islands diverge from it, and approximate other sub-regions.
Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa Islands.—The land-birds inhabiting these islands belong to 41 genera, of which 17 are characteristic of the Australian region, and 9 more peculiarly Polynesian. The characteristic Australian genera are the following:Petroica(Sylviidæ);Lalage(Campephagidæ);Monarcha,Myiagra,Rhipidura(Muscicapidæ);Pachycephala(Pachycephalidæ);Rectes(Laniidæ);Myzomela,Ptilotis,Anthochæra(Meliphagidæ);Amadina,Eythrura, (Ploceidæ);Artamus(Artamidæ);Lorius(Trichoglossidæ);Ptilopus,Phlogænas(Columbidæ);Megapodius(Megapodiidæ).
The peculiar Polynesian genera are:—Tatare,Lamprolia(Sylviidæ);Aplonis,Sturnodes(Sturnidæ);Todiramphus(Alcedinidæ);Pyrhulopsis,Cyanoramphus, (Platycercidæ);Coriphilus(Trichoglossidæ);Didunculus(Didunculidæ).
The wide-spread genera areTurdus,Zosterops,Hirundo,Halcyon,Collocalia,Eudynamis,Cuculus,Ianthœnas,Carpophaga,Turtur,Haliæetus,Astur,Circus,Strix,Asio. The aquatic birds are fifteen in number, all wide-spread species except one—a form of moor-hen (Gallinulidæ), which has been constituted a new genusPareudiastes.
Society, and Marquesas Islands.—Here, the number of genera of land-birds has considerably diminished, amounting only to 16 in all. The characteristic Australian genera are 5;—Monarcha,Anthochæra,Trichoglossus,Ptilopus, andPhlogœnas. The Polynesian genera are 4;—Tatare,Todiramphus,Cyanoramphus,Coriphilus, and one recently described genus,Serresius, an extraordinary form of large fruit pigeon, here classed underCarpophaga. These remote groups have thus all the character of Oceanic islands, even as regards the rest of Polynesia, since theypossess hardly anything, but what they might have received by immigration over a wide extent of ocean.
Ladrone, and Caroline Islands.—These extensive groups of small islands are very imperfectly known, yet a considerable number of birds have been obtained. They possess two peculiar Polynesian genera,TatareandSturnodes; one peculiar sub-genus,Psammathia(here included underAcrocephalus); and ten of the typical Australian genera found in Polynesia,—Lalage,Monarcha,Myiagra,Rhipidura,Myzomela,Erythrura,Artamus,Phlogœnas,Ptilopus, andMegapodius, as well as the Papuan genusRectes, and the MalayanCalornis;—so that they can be certainly placed in the sub-region. Genera which do not occur in the other Polynesian islands are,Acrocephalus, (s.g.Psammathia) originally derived perhaps from the Philippines; andCaprimulgus, a peculiar species, allied to one from Japan.
New Caledonia, and the New Hebrides.—Although these islands seem best placed with Polynesia, yet they form a transition to Australia proper, and to the Papuan group. They possess 30 genera of land-birds, 18 of which are typical of the Australian region; but while 13 are also Polynesian, there are 5 which do not pass further east. These areAcanthiza,Eopsaltria,Gliciphila,Philemon, andIanthœnas. The peculiar Polynesian genus,Aplonis, of which three species inhabit New Caledonia, link it to the other portions of the sub-region. The following are the genera at present known from New Caledonia:—Turdus,Acanthiza,Campephaga,Lalage,Myiagra,Rhipidura,Pachycephala,Eopsaltria,Corvus,Physocorax(s.g. ofCorvus, allied to the jackdaws),Glicphila,Anthochæra,Philemon,Zosterops,Erythrura,Aplonis,Artamus,Cuculus,Halcyon,Collocalia,Cyanoramphus,Trichoglossus,Ptilopus,Carpophaga,Macropygia,Ianthœnas,Chalcophaps,Haliastur,Accipiter. The curiousRhinochetus jubatus, forming the type of a distinct family of birds (Rhinochetidæ), allied to the herons, is only known from New Caledonia.
It thus appears, that not more than about 50 genera and 150 species of land-birds, are known from the vast number of islands that are scattered over the Central Pacific, and it is not probablethat the number will be very largely increased. Some of the species, as theEudynamis taitensisandTatare longirostris, range over 40° of longitude, from the Fiji Islands to the Marquesas. In other genera, asCyanoramphusandPtilopus, each important island or group of islands, has its peculiar species. The connection of all these islands with each other, on the one hand, and their close relation to the Australian region, on the other, are equally apparent; but we have no sufficient materials for speculating with any success, on the long series of changes that have brought about their existing condition, as regards their peculiar forms of animal life.
Sandwich Islands.—This somewhat extensive group of large islands, is only known to contain 11 genera and 18 species of indigenous land-birds; and even of this small number, two birds of prey are wide ranging species, which may well have reached the islands during their present isolated condition. These latter are,Strix delicatula, an owl spread over Australia and the Pacific; andAsio accipitrinus, a species which has reached the Galapagos from S. America, and thence perhaps the Sandwich Islands. Of the remaining 8 genera, one is a crow (Corvus hawaiensis), and another a fishing eagle (Pandion solitarius), of peculiar species; leaving 7 genera, which are all (according to Mr. Sclater) peculiar. First we haveChasiempis, a genus of Muscicapidæ, containing two species (which may however belong to distinct genera); and as the entire family is unknown on the American continent these birds must almost certainly be allied to some of the numerous Muscicapine forms of the Australian region. Next we have the purely Australian family Meliphagidæ, represented by two genera,—Moho, an isolated form, andChætoptila, a genus established by Mr. Sclater for a bird before classed inEntomyza, an Australian group. The four remaining genera are believed by Mr. Sclater to belong to one group, the Drepanididæ, altogether confined to the Sandwich Islands. Two of them,DrepanisandHemignathus, with three species each, are undoubtedly allied; the other two,LoxopsandPsittirostra, have usually been classed as finches. The former seem to approach the Dicæidæ; and all resemble this group in their coloration,
The aquatic birds and waders all belong to wide-spread genera, and only one or two are peculiar species.
The Sandwich Islands thus possess a larger proportion of peculiar genera and species of land-birds than any other group of islands, and they are even more strikingly characterised by what seems to be a peculiar family. The only other class of terrestrial animals at all adequately represented on these islands, are the land shells; and here too we find a peculiar family, sub-family, or genus (Achatinella or Achatinellidæ) consisting of a number of genera, or sub-genera,—according to the divergent views of modern conchologists,—and nearly 300 species. The Rev. J. T. Gulick, who has made a special study of these shells on the spot, considers that there are 10 genera, some of which are confined to single islands. The species are so restricted that their average range is not more than five or six square miles, while some are confined to a tract of only two square miles in extent, and very few range over an entire island. Some species are confined to the mountain ridges, others to the valleys; and each ridge or valley possesses its peculiar species. Considerably more than half the species occur in the island of Oahu, where there is a good deal of forest. Very few shells belonging to other groups occur, and they are all small and obscure; the Achatinellæ almost monopolising the entire archipelago.
Remarks on the probable past history of the Sandwich Islands.—The existence of these peculiar groups of birds and land-shells in so remote a group of volcanic islands, clearly indicates that they are but the relics of a more extensive land; and the reefs and islets that stretch for more than 1,000 miles in a west-north-west direction, may be the remains of a country once sufficiently extensive to develope these and many other, now extinct, forms of life.[16]
Some light may perhaps be thrown on the past history of theSandwich Islands, by the peculiar plants which are found on their mountains. The peak of Teneriffe produces no Alpine plants of European type, and this has been considered to prove that it has been always isolated; whereas the occurrence of North Temperate forms on the mountains of Java, accords with other evidence of this island having once formed part of the Asiatic continent. Now on the higher summits of the Sandwich Islands, nearly 30 genera of Arctic and North Temperate flowering plants have been found. Many of these occur also in the South Temperate zone, in Australia or New Zealand; but there are others which seem plainly to point to a former connection with some North Temperate land, probably California, as a number of islets are scattered in the ocean between the two countries. The most interesting genera are the following:—Silene, which is wholly North Temperate, except that it occurs in S. Africa;Vicia, also North Temperate, and in South Temperate America;Fragaria, with a similar distribution;Aster, widely spread in America, otherwise North Temperate only;Vaccinium, wholly confined to the northern hemisphere, in cold and temperate climates. None of these are found in Australia or New Zealand; and their presence in the Sandwich Islands seems clearly to indicate a former approximation to North Temperate America, although the absence of any American forms of vertebrata renders it certain that no actual land connection ever took place.
Recent soundings have shown, that the Sandwich Islands rise from a sea which is 3,000 fathoms or 18,000 feet deep; while there is a depth of at least 2,000 fathoms all across to California on one side, and to Japan on the other. Between the Fiji Islands, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, and Australia, the depth is about 1,300 fathoms, and between Sydney and New Zealand 2,600 fathoms; showing, in every case, a general accordance between the depth of sea and the approximation of the several faunas. In a few more years, when it is to be hoped we shall know the contour of the sea-bottom better than that of the continents, we shall be able to arrive at more definite and trustworthy conclusions as to the probable changesof land and sea by which the phenomena of animal distribution in the Pacific have been brought about.
Reptiles of the Polynesian Sub-region.—The researches of Mr. Darwin on Coral Islands, proved, that large areas in the Pacific Ocean have been recently subsiding; but the peculiar forms of life which they present, no less clearly indicate the former existence of some extensive lands. The total absence of Mammalia, however, shows either that these lands never formed part of the Australian or Papuan continents, or if they did, that they have been since subjected to such an amount of subsidence as to exterminate most of their higher terrestrial forms of life. It is a remarkable circumstance, that although Mammalia (except bats) are wanting, there are a considerable number of reptiles ranging over the whole sub-region. Lizards are the most numerous, five families and fourteen genera being represented, as follows:—
The first five are wide-spread genera, represented mostly by peculiar species; but sometimes the species themselves have a wide range, as in the case ofAblepharus pœcilopleurus, which (according to Dr. Günther) is found in Timor, Australia, New Caledonia, Savage Island (one of the Samoa group), and the Sandwich Islands!GehyraandHeteronotaare Australian genera; whileLophurahas reached the Pelew Islands from the Moluccas. The remainder (printed in italics), are peculiar genera;Brachylophusbeing especially interesting as an example of anotherwise peculiar American family, occurring so far across the Pacific.
Snakes are much less abundant, only four genera being represented, one of them marine. They are,Anoplodipsas, a peculiar genus of Amblycephalidæ from New Caledonia;Enygrus, a genus of Pythonidæ from the Fiji Islands;Ogmodon, a peculiar genus of Elapidæ, also from the Fiji Islands, but ranging to Papua and the Moluccas; andPlaturus, a wide-spread genus of sea-snakes (Hydrophidæ). In the more remote Sandwich and Society Islands there appear to be no snakes. This accords with our conclusion that lizards have some special means of dispersal over the ocean which detracts from their value as indicating zoo-geographical affinities; which is further proved by the marvellous range of a single species (referred to above) from Australia to the Sandwich Islands.
A species ofHylais said to inhabit the New Hebrides, and several species ofPlatymantis(tree-frogs) are found in the Fiji Islands; but otherwise the Amphibians appear to be unrepresented in the sub-region, though they will most likely be found in so large an island as New Caledonia.
From the foregoing sketch, it appears, that although the reptiles present some special features, they agree on the whole with the birds, in showing, that the islands of Polynesia all belong to the Australian region, and that in the Fiji Islands is to be found the fullest development of their peculiar fauna.
IV. New Zealand Sub-region.
The islands of New Zealand are more completely oceanic than any other extensive tract of land, being about 1,200 miles from Australia and nearly the same distance from New Caledonia and the Friendly Isles. There are, however, several islets scattered around, whose productions show that they belong to the same sub-region;—the principal being, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe's Island, and the Kermadec Isles, on the north; Chatham Island on the east; the Auckland and Macquarie Isles on the south;—and if these were once joined toNew Zealand, there would have been formed an island-continent not much inferior in extent to Australia itself.
New Zealand is wholly situated in the warmer portion of the Temperate zone, and enjoys an exceptionally mild and equable climate. It has abundant moisture, and thus comes within the limits of the South-Temperate forest zone; and this leads to its productions often resembling those of the tropical, but moist and wooded, islands of the Pacific, rather than those of the temperate, but arid and scantily wooded plains of Australia. The two islands of New Zealand are about the same extent (approximately) as the British Isles, but the difference in the general features of their natural history is very great. There are, in the former, no mammalia, less than half as many birds, very few reptiles and fresh-water fishes, and an excessive and most unintelligible poverty of insects; yet, considering the situation of the islands and their evidently long-continued isolation, the wonder rather is that their fauna is so varied and interesting as it is found to be. Our knowledge of this fauna, though no doubt far from complete, is sufficiently ample; and it will be well to give a pretty full account of it, in order to see what conclusions may be drawn as to its origin.
Mammalia.—The only mammals positively known as indigenous to New Zealand are two bats, both peculiar to it,—Scotophilus tuberculatusandMystacina tuberculata. The former is allied to Australian forms; the latter is more interesting, as being a peculiar genus of the family Noctilionidæ, which does not exist in Australia; and in having decided resemblances to the Phyllostomidæ of South America, so that it may almost be considered to be a connecting link between the two families. A forest rat is said to have once abounded on the islands, and to have been used for food by the natives; but there is much doubt as to what it really was, and whether it was not an introduced species. The seals are wide-spread antarctic forms which have no geographical significance.
Birds.—About 145 species of birds are natives of New Zealand, of which 88 are waders or aquatics, leaving 57 land-birdsbelonging to 34 genera. Of this latter number, 16, or nearly half, are peculiar; and there are also 5 peculiar genera of waders and aquatic birds, making 21 in all. Of the remaining genera of land-birds, four are cosmopolite or of very wide range, while the remainder are characteristic of the Australian region. The following is a list of the Australian genera found in New Zealand:Sphenæacus,Gerygone,Orthonyx(Sylviidæ);Graucalus(Campephagidæ);Rhipidura(Muscicapidæ);Anthochæra(Meliphagidæ);Zosterops(Dicæidæ);Cyanoramphus(Platycercidæ);Carpophaga(Columbidæ);Hieracidea(Falconidæ);Tribonyx(Rallidæ). Besides these there are several genera of wide range, as follows:—Anthus(Motacillidæ);Hirundo(Hirundinidæ);Chrysococcyx,Eudynamis(Cuculidæ);Halcyon(Alcedinidæ);Coturnix(Tetraonidæ);Circus(Falconidæ);Athene(Strigidæ).
Most of the above genera are represented by peculiar New Zealand species, but in several cases the species are identical with those of Australia, as in the following:Anthochæra carunculata,Zosterops lateralis,Hirundo nigricans, andChrysococcyx lucidus; also one—Eudynamis taitensis—which is Polynesian.
We now come to the genera peculiar to New Zealand, which are of especial interest:
List of Genera of Birds Peculiar to New Zealand.
Sturnidæ.
We have thus a wonderful amount of speciality; yet the affinities of the fauna, whenever they can be traced, are with Australia or Polynesia. Nine genera of New Zealand birds are characteristically Australian, and the eight genera of wide range are Australian also. Of the peculiar genera, 7 or 8 are undoubtedly allied to Australian groups. There are also four Australian and one Polynesianspecies. Even the peculiarfamily, Nestoridæ is allied to the Australian Trichoglossidæ. We have therefore every gradation of similarity to the Australian fauna, from identical species, through identical genera, and allied genera, to distinct but allied families; clearly indicating very long continued yet rare immigations from Australia or Polynesia; immigrations which are continued down to our day. For resident ornithologists believe, that theZosterops lateralishas found its way to New Zealand within the last few years, and that the two cuckoos now migrate annually, the one from Australia, the other from somepart of Polynesia, distances of more than 1,000 miles! These facts seem, however, to have been accepted on insufficient evidence and to be in themselves extremely improbable. It is observed that the cuckoos appear annually in certain districts and again disappear; but their course does not seem to have been traced, still less have they ever been actually seen arriving or departing across the ocean. In a country which has still such wide tracts of unsettled land, it is very possible that the birds in question may only move from one part of the islands to another.
Islets of the New Zealand Sub-region.
We will here notice the smaller islands belonging to the sub-region, as it is chiefly their birds that possess any interest.
Norfolk Island.—The land-birds recorded from this island amount to 15 species, of which 8 are Australian, viz.:Climacteris scandens,Symmorphus leucopygius,Zosterops tenuirostrisandZ. albogularis,Halcyon sanctus,Platycercus pennanti,Carpophaga spadicea,PhapspicataandP. chalcoptera. Of the peculiar species three belong to Australian genera;Petroica,Gerygone, andRhipidura; one to a cosmopolitan genus,Turdus. So far the affinity seems to be all Australian, and there remain only three birds which ally this island to New Zealand,—Nestor productus,Cyanoramphus rayneri, andNotornis alba. The former inhabited the small Phillip Island (close to Norfolk Island) but is now extinct. Being a typical New Zealand genus, quite incapable of flying across the sea, its presence necessitates some former connexion between the two islands, and it is therefore perhaps of more weight than all the Australian genera and species, which are birds capable of long flights. TheCyanoramphusis allied to a New Zealand broad-tailed parroquet. TheNotornis albais extinct, but two specimens exist in museums, and it is even a stronger case than theNestor, as showing a former approximation or union of this island with New Zealand. A beautiful figure of this bird is given in theIbisfor 1873.
Lord Howe's Island.—This small island, situated half-way between Australia and Norfolk Island, is interesting, as containing a peculiar species of the New Zealand genusOcydromus, orwood-hen (O. sylvestris). There is also a peculiar thrush,Turdus vinitinctus. Its other birds are wholly of Australian types, and most of them probably Australian species. The following have been observed, and no doubt constitute nearly its whole indigenous bird fauna.Acanthizasp.,Rhipidurasp.,Pachycephala gutturalis,Zosterops strennuusandZ. tephropleurus,Streperasp.,Halcyonsp., andChalcophaga chrysochlora. The two species ofZosteropsare peculiar. TheOcydromusis important enough to ally this island to New Zealand rather than to Australia; and if the white bird seen there is, as supposed, theNotornis albawhich is extinct in Norfolk Island, the connection will be rendered still more clear.
Chatham Islands.—These small islands, 450 miles east of New Zealand, possess about 40 species of birds, of which 13 are land-birds. All but one belong to New Zealand genera, and all but five are New Zealand species. The following are the genera of the land-birds:Sphenæacus,Gerygone,Myiomoira,Rhipidura,Zosterops,Anthus,Prosthemadera,Anthornis,Chrysococcyx,Cyanoramphus,Carpophaga,Circus. The peculiar species areAnthornis melanocephala,Myiomoira diffenbachiandM. traversi,Rhipidura flabellifera, and a peculiar rail incapable of flight, named by Captain HuttonCabalus modestus. It is stated that theZosteropsdiffers from that of New Zealand, and is also a migrant; and it is therefore believed to come every year from Australia, passing over New Zealand, a distance of nearly 1,700 miles! Further investigation will perhaps discover some other explanation of the facts. It is also stated, that the pigeon and one of the small birds (?GerygoneorZosterops) have arrived at the islands within the last eight years. The natives further declare, that both theStringopsandApteryxonce inhabited the islands, but were exterminated about the year 1835.
The Auckland Islands.—These are situated nearly 300 miles south of New Zealand, and possess six land-birds, of which three are peculiar,—Anthus aucklandicus,Cyanoramphus aucklandicus, andC. malherbii, the others being New Zealand species ofMyiomoira,Prosthemadera, andAnthornis. It is remarkable that two peculiar parrots of the same genus should inhabit these small islands; but such localities seem favourable to the Platycercidæ, for another peculiar species is found in the remote Macquarie Islands, more than 400 miles farther south. A peculiar species and genus of ducks,Nesonetta aucklandica, is also found here, and as far as yet known, nowhere else. A species of the northern genusMergusis also found on these islands, and has been recently obtained by Baron von Hügel.
Plate XIII.
SCENE IN NEW ZEALAND, WITH SOME OF ITS REMARKABLE BIRDS.
SCENE IN NEW ZEALAND, WITH SOME OF ITS REMARKABLE BIRDS.
Plate XIII. Illustrating the peculiar Ornithology of New Zealand.—Our artist has here depicted a group of the most remarkable and characteristic of the New Zealand birds. In the middle foreground is the Owl-parrot or Kakapoe (Stringops habroptilus), a nocturnal burrowing parrot, that feeds on fern-shoots, roots, berries, and occasionally lizards; that climbs but does not fly; and that has an owl-like mottled plumage and facial disc. The wings however are not rudimentary, but fully developed; and it seems to be only the muscles that have become useless for want of exercise. This would imply, that these birds have not long been inhabitants of New Zealand only, but were developed in other countries (perhaps Australia) where their wings were of use to them.
Beyond the Kakapoe are a pair of the large rails,Notornis mantelli; heavy birds with short wings quite useless for flight, and with massive feet and bill of a red colour. On the right is a pair of Kiwis (Apteryx australis), one of the queerest and most unbird-like of living birds. It has very small and rudimentary wings, entirely concealed by the hair-like plumage, and no tail. It is nocturnal, feeding chiefly on worms, which it extracts from soft earth by means of its long bill. The genusApteryxforms a distinct family of birds, of which four species are now known, besides some which are extinct. They are allied to the Cassowary and to the gigantic extinctDinornis. On the wing are a pair of Crook-billed Plovers (Anarhynchus frontalis), remarkable for being the only birds known which have the bill bent sideways. This was at first thought to be a malformation; but it is now proved to be a constant character of the species, as it exists even in the young chicks; yet the purpose served by such an anomalous structure is not yet discovered.No country on the globe can offer such an extraordinary set of birds as are here depicted.
Reptiles.—These consist almost wholly of lizards, there being no land-snakes and only one frog. Twelve species of lizards are known, belonging to three genera, one of which is peculiar, as are all the species.Hinulia, with two species, andMocoa, with four species (one of which extends to the Chatham Islands), belong to the Scincidæ; both are very wide-spread genera and occur in Australia. The peculiar genusNaultinus, with six species, belongs to the Geckotidæ, a family spread over the whole world.
The most extraordinary and interesting reptile of New Zealand is, however, theHatteria punctata, a lizard-like animal living in holes, and found in small islands on the north-east coast, and more rarely on the main land. It is somewhat intermediate in structure between lizards and crocodiles, and also has bird-like characters in the form of its ribs. It constitutes, not only a distinct family, Rhyncocephalidæ, but a separate order of reptiles, Rhyncocephalina. It is quite isolated from all other members of the class; and is probably a slightly modified representative of an ancient and generalised form, which has been superseded in larger areas by the more specialized lizards and saurians.
The only representatives of the Ophidia are two sea-snakes of Australian and Polynesian species, and of no geographical interest.
Amphibia.—The solitary frog indigenous to New Zealand, belongs to a peculiar genus,Liopelma, and to the family Bomburatoridæ, otherwise confined to Europe and temperate South America.
Fresh-water Fishes.—There are, according to Captain Hutton, 15 species of fresh-water fish in New Zealand, belonging to 7 genera; six species, and one genus (Retropinna), being peculiar.Retropinna richardsonibelongs to the Salmonidæ, and is the only example of that family occurring in the Southern hemisphere, where it is confined to New Zealand and the Chatham Islands. The wide distribution ofGalaxias attenuatus—from theChatham Islands to South America—has already been noticed; while another species,G. fasciatus, is found in the Chatham and Auckland Isles as well as New Zealand. A second genus peculiar to New Zealand,Neochanna, allied toGalaxias, has recently been described.Prototroctes oxyrhynchusis allied to an Australian species, but belongs to a family (Haplochitonidæ) which is otherwise South American. An eel,Anguilla latirostris, is found in Europe, China, and the West Indies, as well as in New Zealand! while the genusAgonostomaranges to Australia, Celebes, Mauritius, and Central America.
Insects.—The great poverty of this class is well shown by the fact, that only eleven species of butterflies are known to inhabit New Zealand. Of these, six are peculiar, and one,Argyrophenga(Satyridæ), is a peculiar genus allied to the Northern genusErebia. The rest are either of wide range, asPyrameis carduiandDiadema bolina; or Australian, asHamdyaas zoilus; while one,Danais erippus, is American, but has also occurred in Australia, and is no doubt a recent introduction into both countries. Only oneSphinxis recorded, and no other species of the Sphingina except the British currant-moth,Ægeria tipuliformis, doubtless imported. Coleoptera are better represented, nearly 300 species having been described, all or nearly all being peculiar. These belong to about 150 genera, of which more than 50 are peculiar. No less than 14 peculiar genera belong to the Carabidæ, mostly consisting of one or two species, butDemetridahas 3, andMetaglymma8 species. Other important genera areDicrochile,Homalosoma,Mecodema, andScopodes, all in common with Australia.MecodemaandMetaglymmaare the largest genera. Even the Auckland Islands have two small genera of Carabidæ found nowhere else.
Cicindelidæ are represented in New Zealand by 6 species ofCicindela, and 1 ofDystipsidera, a genus peculiar to the Australian region.
The Lucanidæ are represented by two peculiar genera,DendroblaxandOxyomus; two Australian genera,LissotesandCeratognathus; and by the almost cosmopoliteDorcus.
The Scarabeidæ consist of ten species only, belonging to fourgenera, two of which are peculiar (OdontriaandStethaspis); and two Australian (PericoptusandCalonota). There are no Cetoniidæ.
There is only one Buprestid, belonging to the Australian genusCisseis. The Elateridæ, (about a dozen species,) belong mostly to Australian genera, but two,MetablaxandOchosternus, are peculiar.
There are 30 species of Curculionidæ, belonging to 22 genera. Of the genera, 12 are peculiar; 1 is common to New Zealand and New Caledonia; 5 belong to the Australian region, and the rest are widely distributed.
Longicorns are, next to Carabidæ, the most numerous family, there being, according to Mr. Bates (Ann. Nat. Hist., 1874), about 35 genera, of which 26 are peculiar or highly characteristic, and 7 of the others Australian. The largest and most characteristic genera areÆmonaandXyloteles, both being peculiar to New Zealand; few of the remainder having more than one or two species.Demonaxextends to the Moluccas and S. E. Asia. A dozen of the genera have no near relations with those of any other country.
Phytophaga are remarkably scarce, only two species ofColaspisbeing recorded; and there is only a single species ofCoccinella.
The other orders of Insects appear to be equally deficient. Hymenoptera are very poorly represented, only a score of species being yet known; but two of the genera are peculiar, as are all the species. The Neuroptera and Heteroptera are also very scarce, and several of the species are wide-spread forms of the Australian region. The few species of Homoptera are all peculiar. The Myriapoda afford some interesting facts. There are nine or ten species, all peculiar. One genus,Lithobius, ranges over the northern hemisphere as far south as Singapore, and probably through the Malay Archipelago, but is not found in Australia.Henicopsoccurs elsewhere only in Tasmania and Chili.Cryptops, only in the north temperate zone; while two others,CermatiaandCormocephalus, both occur in Australia.