DISTRIBUTION OF FLORA AND FAUNA. lip 



cypress (Taxodium), sweet gum (Liquidambar), and tupelo or 

 sour gum (Nyssd) are interesting examples of genera limited to 

 Eastern Asia and Eastern North America. 



But little attention has been given to the Asiatic relationship 

 of the fauna of Eastern United States. No case has come to 

 my notice of a mammal or bird which is limited to southeastern 

 United States and shows close East Asiatic affinities. The 

 rodent genus Zapus is solely American excepting a single species 

 in Western China (Miller, 'oo, p. 1 1 2). The isolated East Asiatic 

 relative (Sialia ccelicolor Hods.) of our common blue bird (Si alia 

 sialis L.) is interesting in this connection (Seebohm, 'Si, p- 

 328). But our alligator has a near relative in China. The sala- 

 mander fauna (Gadow, '01, p. 95) of Eastern North America is 

 the richest in the world. Triton, as in the case of the dragon-fly 

 Bovcria, mentioned below, occurs in Eastern United States, 

 Europe and Eastern Asia. The genus Amblystoma is abundant 

 in Eastern North America and has only a single species in East- 

 ern Asia. But the most interesting case among the salamanders 

 is that of the hellbender {Cryptobranchns alleghcnicnsis} whose 

 only near relative is the giant salamandar (C. japonic 2 is] of Japan, 

 which attains a length of over five feet. Among fish, Cope 

 ('75. P- 64.) gives three genera, the spoon-bill (Polyodon), the 

 carpsucker (Carpiodcs) and a catfish (Ameiurns}, each repre- 

 sented in China with one species ; and Jordan ('96, p. 100) gives 

 the shovel-nosed sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus) with relatives in 

 Central Asia. 



Among Crustacea, the occurrence of Liinulus upon the Atlantic 

 coast with relatives in Asiatic waters and the freshwater Pencils 

 in Eastern United States and also at the foot of the Himalayas 

 (Semper, 'Si, p. 437), are to the point. Huxley, in his "Cray- 

 fish" (p. 334), has pointed out a similar relation among crayfish. 

 Faxon ('85, p. 1/6) says, concerning this relationship: "The 

 Cambari of Eastern United States are mostly related, not to the 

 crayfishes on the other side of the Rocky Mountains, nor to 

 those on the opposite shore of the Atlantic, but to those of the 

 remotest district, Eastern Asia." 



Among insects we have some interesting relicts. For example, 

 we have a dragon-fly (Hagcuius brevisty'us) with its nearest 



