est and handsomest of the Cetoniidae; and some of
the Achatinae, which are the largest of all known land-shells.

_Definition and Characteristic Groups of the Oriental Region._--The
Oriental region comprises all Asia south of the Palaearctic limits, and
along with this the Malay Islands as far as the Philippines, Borneo, and
Java. It was called the Indian region by Mr. Sclater, but this term has
been objected to because the Indo-Chinese and Malayan districts are the
richest and most characteristic, while the peninsula of India is the
poorest portion of it. The name "Oriental" has therefore been adopted in my
work on _The Geographical Distribution of Animals_ as preferable to either
Malayan or Indo-Australian, both of which have been proposed, but are
objectionable, as being already in use in a different sense.

The great features of the mammals of the Oriental region are, the
long-armed apes, the orang-utans, the tiger, the sun-bears and honey-bears,
the tapir, the chevrotains or mouse-deer, and the Indian elephant. Its most
conspicuous birds are the immense number and variety of babbling-thrushes
(Timaliidae), its beautiful little hill-tits (Liotrichidae), its green
bulbuls (Phyllornithidae), its many varieties {45} of the crow-family, its
beautiful gapers and pittas adorned with the most delicate colours, its
great variety of hornbills, and its magnificent Phasianidae, comprising the
peacocks, argus-pheasants, fire-backed pheasants, and jungle-fowl. Many of
these are, it is true, absent from the peninsula of Hindostan, but
sufficient remain there to ally it with the other parts of the region.

Among the remarkable but less conspicuous forms of mammalia which are
peculiar to this region are, monkeys of the genus Presbyter, extending to
every part of it; lemurs of three peculiar genera--Nycticebus and Loris
(slow lemurs) and Tarsius (spectre lemurs); the flying lemur
(Galeopithecus), now classed as a peculiar family of Insectivora and found
only in the Malay Islands; the family of the Tupaias, or squirrel-shrews,
curious little arboreal Insectivora somewhat resembling squirrels; no less
than twelve peculiar genera of the civet family, three peculiar antelopes,
five species of rhinoceros, and the round-tailed flying squirrels forming
the genus Pteromys.

Of the peculiar groups of birds we can only mention a few. The curious
little tailor-birds of the genus Orthotomus are found over the whole region
and almost alone ser