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

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

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:440 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi.<strong>the</strong> left is a bandicoot (Peramclcs gunnii). <strong>The</strong>se are delicate little<strong>animals</strong> allied to <strong>the</strong> kangaroos ; and <strong>the</strong>y are found in all parts <strong>of</strong>Australia, and Tasmania, to which latter country this speciesis confined. On <strong>the</strong> right is <strong>the</strong> wombat (Phascolomys wombat),a root-eating marsupial, <strong>with</strong> large incisor teeth like those <strong>of</strong> ourrodents. <strong>The</strong>y inhabit south-east Australia and Tasmania. In<strong>the</strong> foreground is <strong>the</strong> porcupine ant-eater (Echidna sctosa), belongingto a distinct order <strong>of</strong> mammalia, Monotremata, <strong>of</strong> which <strong>the</strong>only o<strong>the</strong>r member is <strong>the</strong> duck-billed OrnitJwrhynchus. <strong>The</strong>se<strong>animals</strong> are, however, more nearly allied to <strong>the</strong> marsupials, thanto <strong>the</strong> insectivora or edentata <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> rest <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> world, which insome respects <strong>the</strong>y resemble. An allied species (Echidna hystrix)inhabits south-east Australia.Birds.—Australia (<strong>with</strong> Tasmania) possesses about 630 species<strong>of</strong> birds, <strong>of</strong> which 485 are land-birds. Not more than about onetwentieth<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se are found elsewhere, so that it has a largerproportion <strong>of</strong> endemic species than any o<strong>the</strong>r sub-region on <strong>the</strong>globe. <strong>The</strong>se birds are divided among <strong>the</strong> several orders asfollowsPasseres

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