Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Great-shielded Grasshopper
The large islands to the east of New Guinea are very little known, but the occurrence of
crimson lories, which are quite absent from Australia, and of cockatoos allied to those of
New Guinea and the Moluccas, shows that they belong to the Papuan group; and we are thus
able to define the Malay Archipelago as extending eastward to the Solomon's Islands. New
Caledonia and the New Hebrides, on the other hand, seem more nearly allied to Australia;
and the rest of the islands of the Pacific, though very poor in all forms of life, possess a few
peculiarities which compel us to class them as a separate group. Although as a matter of
convenience I have always separated the Moluccas as a distinct zoological group from New
Guinea, I have at the same time pointed out that its fauna was chiefly derived from that is-
land, just as that of Timor was chiefly derived from Australia. If we were dividing the Aus-
tralian region for zoological purposes alone, we should form three great groups: one com-
prising Australia, Timor, and Tasmania; another New Guinea, with the islands from Bouru
to the Solomon's group; and the third comprising the greater part of the Pacific Islands.
The relation of the New Guinea fauna to that of Australia is very close. It is best marked
in the Mammalia by the abundance of marsupials, and the almost complete absence of all
other terrestrial forms. In birds it is less striking, although still very clear, for all the remark-
