The geographical distribution of animals, with a study of the relations ...

282 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part in.The few insect groups peculiar to these islands will be notedwhen we deal with the entomology of Madagascar.Extinct fauna of the Mascarene Islands and Madagascar.—Beforequitting the vertebrate groups, we must notice the remarkablebirds which have become extinct in these islands little morethan a century ago. The most celebrated is the dodo of theMauritius (Didus ineptus), but an allied genus, Pezophaps, inhabitedRodriguez, and of both of these almost perfect skeletonshave been recovered. Other species probably existed in Bourbon.Remains of two genera of flightless rails have also been found,Aphanapteryx and Erythromachus ; and even a heron (Ardeamegacephala) which was short -winged and seldom flew ; whilein Madagascar there lived a gigantic Struthious bird, theJEpyornis. Some further details as to these extinct forms willbe found under the respective families, Dididee, Rallidse, andiEpyornithidae, in the fourth part of this work ; and their bearingon the past history of the region will be adverted to in thelatter part of this chapter. Dr. Gunther has recently distinguishedfive species of fossil tortoises from Mauritius andRodriguez,—all of them quite different from the living speciesof Aldabra.Insects.—The butterflies of Madagascar are not soremarkableas some other orders of insects. There seems to be only onepeculiar genus, Heteropsis (Satyridse). The other genera areAfrican, leptoneura being confined to Madagascar and SouthAfrica. There are some fine Papilios of uncommon forms. Themost interesting lepidopterous insect, however, is the fine diurnalmoth {Urania), as all the other species of the genus inhabittropical America and the West Indian Islands.The Coleoptera have been better collected, and exhibit somevery remarkable affinities. There is but one peculiar genus ofCicindelidse, Pogonostoma, which is allied to the South Americangenus, Ctenostoma. Another genus, Peridexia, is common toMadagascar and South America. None of the important Africangenera are represented, except Eurymorpha ; while Meglaommais common to Madagascar and the Oriental region.In theCarabidre we have somewhat similar phenomena on a