even European genera on the summits of the Javanese
mountains that we can prove the former connexion of that
island with the Asiatic continent. With land animals, however,
the case is very different. Their means of passing a
wide expanse of sea are far more restricted. Their distribution
has been more accurately studied, and we possess
a much_ more complete knowledge of such groups as
mammals and birds in most of the islands, than we do of
the plants. I t is these two classes which will supply us
with most of our facts as to the geographical distribution
of organized beings in this region.
The number of Mammalia known to inhabit the Indo-
Malay region is very considerable,, exceeding 170 species.
With the exception of the bats, none of these have any
regular means of passing arms of the sea many miles in
extent, and a consideration of their distribution must
therefore greatly assist us in determining, whether these
islands have ever been connected with each other or with
the continent since the epoch of existing species.
The Quadrumana or monkey tribe form one of the most
characteristic features of this region. Twenty-four distinct
species are known to inhabit it, and these are distributed
with tolerable liniformity over the islands, nine
being found in Java, ten in the Malay peninsula, eleven in
Sumatra, and thirteen in Borneo. The great man-like
Orang-utans are found only in Sumatra and Borneo; the
_ t_ -1 INDO-MALAY is l a n d s . 219
CHAP.
curious Siamang (next to them in size) in Sumatra and
Malacca; the long-nosed monkey only in Borneo; while
every island has representatives of the Gibbons or long-
armed apes, and of monkeys. The lemur-like animals,
Nycticebus, Tarsius, and Galeopithecus, are found in all
the islands.
Seven species found on the Malay peninsula extend
also into Sumatra, four into Borneo, and three into J a v a ;
while two range into Siam and Burmah, and one into
North India. With the exception of the Orang-utan,
the Siamang, the Tarsius spectrum, and the Galeopi-
thecus, all the Malayan genera of Quadrumana are represented
in India by closely allied species, although,
owing to the limited range of most of these animals, so
few are absolutely identical.
Of Carnivora, thirty-three species are known from the
Indo-Malay region, of which about eight are found also
in Burmah and India. Among these are the tiger,leopard,
a tiger-cat, civet, and otter; while out of the - twenty
genera of Malayan Carnivora, thirteen are represented in
India by more or less closely allied species. As an example,
the Malayan bear is represented in North India
by the Thibetan bear, both of which animals may be
seen alive at the Zoological Society’s Gardens.
The hoofed animals are twenty-two in number, of which
about seven extend into Burmah and India. All the deer