18 Geographical Distribution of Animals. 



species of deeper water than the true crabs, of which 

 some come even upon dry land. Again, on the slopes of our 

 mountains, the highest forms among Mammalia which remain 

 numerous are the Buminants and Rodents. There are no 

 Carnivora living in high regions. Among birds of prey, we 

 have the vultures, rising above the highest summits of moun- 

 tains, while eagles and falcons hover over the woods and 

 plains, by the water sides, and along the sea-shores. Among 

 reptiles, salamanders, frogs, and toads occur higher than any 

 turtles, lizards, &c. But the same adaptation may be traced 

 with reference to the latitudes under which animals are 

 found. Those of the higher latitudes, the arctic and antarctic 

 species, resemble both the animals of high, prominent moun- 

 tain chains, and those of the deep sea-waters, which there 

 meet in the most unexpected combinations (and it is surpris- 

 ing to see how extensively this is the case) ; while, in lower 

 latitudes, towards the tropics, we find everywhere the higher 

 representatives of the same families. For instance, among 

 M«??2;wa/2« we observe monkeys only in warm latitudes, and they 

 die out in the warmer parts of the temperate zone. The great 

 development of Bigitigrades — lions, tigers, &c., takes place 

 within the tropics, smaller species, like wolves and foxes, 

 weasels, &c., occurring in the north, whilst the Plantigrades^ 

 which come nearer and nearer to the seal, follow an inverse 

 progression, the largest and most powerful of them being the 

 arctic ice bear, which meets there his family relations, the 

 Pinnipedia, that are so numerous in the polar regions. Again, 

 the families of Ruminants and Pachyderms seem to form an 

 exception, for though belonging to the lower types of Ifa/wm^- 

 lia, they prevail in the tropical zone ; but let us remember 

 that they were among the earlier inhabitants of our globe, 

 and the fact of their occurring more extensively in warm 

 climates is rather a reminiscence of the plan of creation in 

 older times, than an adaptation to the law regulating at pre- 

 sent the distribution of organized beings. The gradation of 

 animals among birds being less satisfactorily ascertained, we 

 do not venture to say anything respecting their geographical 

 distribution, in relation to climates. But among reptiles, 

 we cannot overlook the fact, that the crocodiles, which are 



