I. Austro-Malayan Sub-region.
The central mass on which almost every part of this sub-region is clearly dependent, is the great island of New Guinea, inhabited by the Papuan race of mankind; and this, with the surrounding islands, which are separated from it by shallow seas and possess its most marked zoological features, are termed Papua. A little further away lie the important groups of the Moluccas on one side and the Eastern Papuan Islands on the other, which possess a fauna mainly derivative from New Guinea, yet wanting many of its distinctive types; and, in the case of the Moluccas possessing many groups which are not Australian, but derived from the adjacent Oriental region. To the south of these we have the Timor group, whose fauna is clearly derivative, from Australia, from Java, and from the Moluccas. Lastly comes Celebes, whose fauna is most complex and puzzling, and, so far as we can judge, not fundamentally derivative from any of the surrounding islands.
Papua, or the New Guinea Group.—New Guinea is very deficient in Mammalia as compared with Australia, though this apparent poverty may, in part, depend on our very scanty knowledge. As yet only four of the Australian families of Marsupials are known to inhabit it, with nine genera, several of which are peculiar. It also possesses a peculiar form of wild pig; but as yet no other non-marsupial terrestrial mammal has been discovered, except a rat, described by Dr. Gray as Uromys aruensis, but about the locality of which there seems some doubt.[[13]] Omitting bats, of which our knowledge is very imperfect, the Papuan Mammals are as follows:—
| Family. | Genus. | Species. | |
| Suidæ | Sus | 1 | Eastern limit of the genus. |
| Muridæ | Uromys | 1 | Aru Islands (?) |
| Dasyuridæ | Phascogale | 1 | Australian genus. |
| " | Antechinus | 1 | Aust"alian ge"us. |
| " | Dactylopsila | 1 | To North Australia only. |
| " | Myoictis | 1 | Aru islands only. |
| Peramelidæ | Perameles | 1 | New Guinea only. |
| Macropodidæ | Dendrolagus | 2 | New Guinea only. |
| " | Dorcopsis | 2 | Papua only. |
| Phalangistidæ | Cuscus | 7 | Celebes to New Guinea. |
| " | Belideus | 1 | Australia and Moluccas. |
We have here no sign of any approach to the Mammalian fauna of the Oriental region, for though Sus has appeared, the Muridæ (rats and mice) seem to be wanting.
In Birds the case is very different, since we at once meet with important groups, either wholly, or almost peculiar to the Papuan fauna. According to a careful estimate, embodying the recent discoveries of Meyer and D'Albertis, there are 350 species of Papuan land-birds comprised in 136 genera. About 300 of the species are absolutely peculiar to the district, while 39 of the genera are exclusively Papuan or just extend into the Moluccas, or into North Australia where it closely approaches New Guinea. In analysing the genera we may set aside 31 as having a wide range, and being of no significance in distribution; such are most of the birds of prey, with the genera Hirundo, Caprimulgus, Zosterops; and others widely spread in both the Oriental and Australian regions, as Dicæum, Munia, Eudynamis, &c. Of the remainder, as above stated, about 39 are peculiar to the Papuan fauna, 50 are characteristic Australian genera; 9 are more especially Malayan, and as much Australian as Oriental; while 7 only, appear to be typically Oriental with a discontinuous distribution, none of them occurring in the Moluccas.
This Papuan fauna is so interesting and remarkable, that it seems advisable to give lists of these several classes of generic types.
I. Genera occurring in the Papuan Islands which are characteristic of the Australian region (89). Those marked with an asterisk are exclusively Papuan.
| Sylviidæ | Malurus, Gerygone, Petroica, Orthonyx. |
| Certhiidæ | Climacteris. |
| Sittidæ | Sittella. |
| Oriolidæ | Mimeta. |
| Campephagidæ | Graucalus, Lalage. |
| Dicruridæ | *Chætorhynchus. |
| Muscicapidæ | *Peltops, Monarcha, *Leucophantes, Micrœca, Sisura, Myiagra, *Machærirhynchus, Rhipidura, *Todopsis. |
| Pachycephalidæ | Pachycephala. |
| Laniidæ | *Rectes. |
| Corvidæ | Cracticus, *Gymnocorvus. |
| Paradiseidæ | *Paradisea, *Manucodia, *Astrapia, *Parotia, *Lophorina, *Diphyllodes, *Xanthomelus, *Cicinnurus, *Paradigalla, *Epimachus, *Drepanornis, *Seleucides, Ptilorhis, Ælurœdus, *Amblyornis. |
| Meliphagidæ | Myzomela, Entomophila, Glicyphila, Ptilotis, *Melidectes, *Melipotes, *Melirrhophetes, Anthochæra, Philemon, *Euthyrhynchus, Melithreptes. |
| Nectariniidæ | Chalcostetha, *Cosmetira. |
| Artamidæ | Artamus. |
| Pittidæ | *Melampitta. |
| Cuculidæ | *Caliechthrus. |
| Alcedinidæ | Alcyone, *Syma, Dacelo, *Tanysiptera, *Melidora. |
| Podargidæ | Podargus, Ægotheles. |
| Caprimulgidæ | Eurostopodus. |
| Cacatuidæ | Cacatua, *Microglossus, Licmetis, *Nasiterna. |
| Platycercidæ | Aprosmictus |
| Palæornithidæ | Tanygnathus, Eclectus, Geoffroyus, *Cyclopsitta. |
| Trichoglossidæ | Trichoglossus, *Charmosyna, Eos, Lorius. |
| Nestoridæ | *Dasyptilus. |
| Columbidæ | Ptilopus, Carpophaga, Ianthœnas, Reinwardtœnas, *Trugon, *Henicophaps, Phlogœnas, *Otidiphaps, *Goura. |
| Megapodiidæ | Talegallus, Megapodius. |
| Falconidæ | *Henicopernis. |
| Casuariidæ | Casuarius. |
The chief points of interest here are the richness and specialization of the parrots, pigeons, and kingfishers; the wonderful paradise-birds; the honeysuckers; and some remarkable flycatchers. The most prominent deficiencies, as compared with Australia, are in Sylviidæ, Timaliidæ, Ploceidæ, Platycercidæ, and Falconidæ.