t. 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. It 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 uniformity over the
islands, nine being found in Java, ten in the Malay peninsula, eleven in
Sumatra, and thirteen in Borneo. The great man-like Orangutans are found
only in Sumatra and Borneo; the 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 on all the islands.

Seven species found on the Malay peninsula extend also into Sumatra,
four into Borneo, and three into Java; while two range into Siam and
Burma, and one into North India. With the exception of the Orangutan,
the Siamang, the Tarsius spectrum, and the Galeopithecus, 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 Burma 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 Tibetan bear, both of which may be
seen alive at th