characteristic figures of the Dingo (Canis dingo)-already spoken of as the solitary terrestrial Carnivore of the Australian Continent. The subjoined table gives in one view a summary of the distribution of the Australian terrestrial Mammals, Placental and Implacental. The species are deduced from Mr. Gould's work, but arranged according to Mr. Waterhouse's classification: So much then for the Mammals of the continent of Australia. But the Australian Zoological Region, of which we treat, embraces other lands to which we must now proceed to devote our attention. N. H. R.-1864. C These have not as yet secured the services of a Naturalist, for the elucidation of their Mammal-fauna in the magnificent way in which Mr. Gould has illustrated that of Australia. Many of them, indeed, are almost unexplored. But we wish to show that, as far as our knowledge goes of their Mammals, they must be included in the same primary Zoological division, as the Australian continent. The Australian Zoological Region as first defined by one of our body as regards birds,* and subsequently adopted by Dr. Günther,† (for reptiles and batrachians,) and by other zoologists, includes besides Australia, two other subregions-which may be termed the Austro-Malayan and the Polynesian subregions. The former of these extends over New Guinea, the Aru Islands, the Moluccas, and the adjacent islands of the Indian Archipelago up to Celebes, where the deep sea channel called the Straits of Macassar, which divides Celebes from Borneo and the Philippines, separates the Australian from the Indian Region. No two Faunas can be further removed from each other, when the general character of the Mammals are considered, than those of these two Regions. While Marsupials are overwhelmingly predominant in Australasia, and the higher Orders of Mammals are entirely absent, in the Indian region not a single Marsupial is to be met with, and all the most highly developed forms of Mammals are abundant. Mr. Wallace, who has devoted some of the best years of his life to the exploration of the Indian Archipelago, as the mass of islands between the Asiatic continent and Australia is commonly called, has proved most conclusively the correctness of its bipartition into two distinct Faunas-one of which -the Indo-Malayan-is a disjointed portion of Southern Asia, the other the Austro-Malayan appears to have been mainly peopled with life from Australia.‡ The Austro-Malayan portion of the Archipelago, which we are now going to consider, may be further subdivided into four sections, (1.) New Guinea and the Papuan Islands. (2.) The Moluccas (Gilolo, Batchian, &c.) (3.) Timor and the line of islands running westward thence as far as Lombok. (4.) Celebes. These we will take in order, and devote a few words to what we know of the Mammals of each of them. * Sclater, in Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc. Zool. ii. p. 130. See Journ. Proc. Linn. Soc. Zool. iv. p. 172. The little explored land of New Guinea contains, as far as our present knowledge goes, only nine terrestrial Mammals—namely, Sus papuensis. Dendrolagus inustus. ursinus. Cuscus maculatus. orientalis. Petaurus ariel. Perameles doreyanus. Out of these nine all but one are Marsupials; and three of them namely, the Belideus, the Phascogale, and the Perameles belong to Australian genera, so that there is little room to doubt that New Guinea belongs most truly to the Australian Region. The singular genus Dendrolagus is only a modification of Macropus, adapted for ascending trees, and both this and Dorcopsis belong to a family (Macropodide) purely Australian. Cuscus is the Marsupial type predominant and eminently typical of the Austro-Malayan Region, as we shall presently show. But it is closely allied to the purely Australian genus Phalangista, from which indeed Mr. Waterhouse only separates it subgenerically. Finally, Sus papuensis is a very badly distinguished species, and may possibly be nothing more than a domestic variety. Of the Papuan Islands we know little, except in the case of the Aru Islands, which have been ably explored by Mr. Wallace. The Mammals of Aru, as enumerated by Dr. Gray from Mr. Wallace's collections are eight in number, namely: Pteropus argentatus. Rhinolophus aruensis. Cuscus maculatus. orientalis. Belideus ariel. Dactylopsila trivirgata. These are all Marsupials except the two Bats, which appertain to genera occurring also in Australia. Dactylopsila and Myoictis are two very fine new forms of Marsupials, for the discovery of which we are indebted to Mr. Wallace. Dactylopsila belongs to the Phalangistida, and Myoictis is most nearly allied to the carnivorous Antechini, both Australian forms. We will now take the Mammals of the Moluccas as far as they appear to be known. The researches of the Dutch Naturalists in Amboina, Ternate and Banda, and of Mr. Wallace in Batchian, appear hitherto to have brought to light only the following species: It will be seen at a glance that, with one or two exceptions, we have little here besides Bats and Marsupials. The forms we have not before met with are four. Cynopithecus nigrescens, Viverra zibetha, Sorex myosurus, and Cervus moluccensis. These apparent anomalies are not difficult to account for, and may be dismissed with a few words. Cynopithecus is a Celebesian type, certainly rather out of place here, which, however, we shall discuss further on. The Civet, a semi-domesticated animal and the Cervus moluccensis (which is merely a dwarfed form of the Indo-Malayan C. rusa) have The Shrew (Sorex probably been introduced by the agency of man. myosurus) is a single wandering species of a genus abundant in the Indian region, and is also found in Celebes. So much then for the Moluccas; we will now proceed to Timor and its neighbouring islands. • Taken from Dr. Gray's list, P. Z. S. 1860, p. 1. Dr. Gray has not determined the species of Chiroptera. One of the Pteropodes may probably be P. chrysauchen, Peters, Monatsb. Ac. Berl. 1862, p. 576; others are probably the same as the Ternate species. S. Müller in the Dutch work on the Indian Archipelago, which we have before alluded to, gives the following list of the Mammals of Timor; we are not aware that those of Sumbawa, Flores and Lombok are yet known:— Here we have four new forms occurring, which require noticeMacacus cynomologus is one of the commonest Monkeys in captivity, and may probably have been introduced by man. It is a very prevalent Indo-Malayan species. The same may be said of Paradoxurus musanga. Felis megalotis certainly appears to be a fine well-marked species of this typical genus of Carnivores, and it is somewhat difficult to account for its special development so far away from the true home of the group. We can only suggest that the species may yet be found in the other islands between Java and Timor, and may have followed this route from the true sedes of Felis in the Indian region. It now only remains to deal with Celebes, situate at the outside edge of the Australian region--and therefore liable, as might be supposed, for it is not pretended that the boundaries between zoological regions are in every case strict lines of demarcation, to be a little eccentric in its characters. The following 16 Mammals are stated by Müller to occur in this island :— Macacus cynomolgus. Macroglossus minimus. Sorex myosurus. |