The Elephant Of
Sumatra, Borneo, And Malacca Is Now Considered To Be Identical With
That Of Ceylon And India.
In all other groups of Mammalia the same general phenomena recur.
A few species are identical with those of India.
A much larger
number are closely allied or representative forms, while there
are always a small number of peculiar genera, consisting of
animals unlike those found in any other part of the world. There
are about fifty bats, of which less than one-fourth are Indian
species; thirty-four Rodents (squirrels, rats, &c.), of which six
or eight only are Indian; and ten Insectivora, with one exception
peculiar to the Malay region. The squirrels are very abundant
and characteristic, only two species out of twenty-five extending
into Siam and Burma. The Tupaias are curious insect-eaters,
which closely resemble squirrels, and are almost confined to the
Malay islands, as,are the small feather-tailed Ptilocerus lowii
of Borneo, and the curious long-snouted and naked-tailed Gymnurus
rafllesii.
As the Malay peninsula is a part of the continent of Asia, the
question of the former union of the islands to the mainland will
be best elucidated by studying the species which are found in the
former district, and also in some of the islands. Now, if we
entirely leave out of consideration the bats, which have the
power of flight, there are still forty-eight species of mammals
common to the Malay peninsula and the three large islands. Among
these are seven Quadrumana (apes, monkeys, and lemurs), animals
who pass their whole existence in forests, who never swim, and
who would be quite unable to traverse a single mile of sea;
nineteen Carnivora, some of which no doubt might cross by
swimming, but we cannot suppose so large a number to have passed
in this way across a strait which, except at one point, is from
thirty to fifty miles wide; and five hoofed animals, including
the Tapir, two species of rhinoceros, and an elephant.
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