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in ANIMAL LIFE IN THE TROPICAL FORESTS 309for any that can be said to be distinctive of the tropics ascompared with the temperate regions. Many peculiar groupsare tropical, but they are in almost every case confined tolimited portions of the tropical zones, or are rare in species orindividuals. Such are the lemurs in Africa, Madagascar, andSouthern Asia ;the tapirs of America and Malaya ;the rhinocerosesand elephants of Africa and Asia ;the cavies and thesloths of America ;the scaly ant>eaters of Africa and Asia ;but none of these are sufficiently numerous to come oftenbefore the traveller so as to affect his general ideas of theaspects of tropical life, and they are, therefore, out of placein such a sketch of those aspects as we are here attemptingto lay before our readers.Summary of tlie Aspects of Animal Life in the TropicsWe will now briefly summarise the general aspects ofanimal life as forming an ingredient in the scenery and naturalphenomena of the equatorial regions. Most prominent arethe butterflies, owing to their numbers, their size, and theirbrilliant colours, as well as their peculiarities of form, andthe slow and majestic flight ofmany of them. In otherinsects, the large size and frequency of protective coloursand markings are prominent features, together with theinexhaustible profusion of the ants and other small insects.Among birds the parrots stand forth as the pre-eminenttropical group, as do the apes and monkeys among mammals,the two groups having striking analogies in the prehensilehand and the power of imitation. Of reptiles, the two mostprominent groups are the lizards and the frogs the; snakes,though equally abundant, being much less obtrusive.Animal life is,on the whole, far more abundant and morevaried within the tropics than in any other part of the globe,and a great number of peculiar groups are found there whichnever extend into temperate regions. Endless eccentricitiesof form and extreme richness of colour are its most prominentfeatures, and these are manifested in the highest degree inthose equatorial lands where the vegetation acquires itsgreatest beauty and its fullest development. The causes ofthese essentially tropical features are not to be found in thecomparatively simple influence of solar light and heat, but