CHAP. XIV.] THE CATS HEXIGOLOGY. 497 



respectively, witli further subdivisions into : (1) America north of 

 Arkansas and Louisiana; (2) Arkansas and Louisiana, Mexico, 

 Central and Southern America ; (3) Africa, the part north of the 

 Sahara being someM'hat distinct ; (4) Asia north of the Himalaya ; 

 (5) Southern Asia — slightly separable into (A) a south-western, and. 

 (B) a south-eastern portion ; and, finally, (6) Europe. A certain 

 affinity exists between Europe and Northern Asia on the one hand, 

 and in a less degree, between Europe and JS"orth America on the 

 other ; while South-western Asia has a certain affinity to Africa. 

 The West Indies, Madagascar, the Philippines, the Moluccas, New 

 Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand, are all devoid of any natural 

 feline population, while Asia is certainly the great home of the cat 

 family. 



Such being the geography of the Felidce, what relation does it 

 bear to the geography of other animals ? 



§ 4. It has been found that (regard being had to the geographical 

 distribution of animals of all kinds) the earth's surface may be most 

 conveniently divided zoologically (the polar regions not being included) 

 into the six following regions : (1) False- arctic ; (2) Ne- arctic ; (3) 

 Indian ; (4) Ethiopian ; (5) Neo-tropical ; and (G) Australian. 



The Pal^-arctic region includes all Europe, with Iceland and 

 the Azores ; Africa, north of the Sahara, with the Canaries and Cape 

 Verde Islands ; and all Asia (with Japan), north of the Himalaya 

 and the tropic of Cancer, except the southern part of China, Assam, 

 and some parts adjacent, which belong to the Indian region. 



Characteristic of this region are horses and asses, mules, sheep, 

 goats, camels, fallow-deer, the ibex, the chamois, many warblers, 

 grouse, pheasants, tits, magpies, true vipers, chameleons, and various 

 Batrachians, such as the gigantic salamander, the land salamander, 

 the proteus, and various other efts, as well as many frogs and toads. 

 Twenty genera of fresh- water fishes (belonging mostly to the carp, 

 perch, and salmon families) are peculiar to this region. As to 

 insects, there are fifteen peculiar genera of butterflies. Here and 

 there are also found certain monkeys, flying foxes, the genet, liygena, 

 polar bear, walrus, and hyrax. 



This zoological region does not exactly correspond with our feline 

 geographical divisions, yet it to a certain degree harmonizes with 

 them, embracing, as it does, the European, North Asiatic, and North 

 African feline divisions in one. 



The Ne-arctic region of general zoological geography, includes 

 North America down to and (on elevated land) somewhat south of 

 the tropic of Cancer. This region is destitute of apes, hedgehogs, 

 wild horses, asses, swine, true oxen, goats, or dormice. It has 

 hardly any sheep or antelopes, and no flycatchers, starlings, true 

 grouse, or pheasants. On the other hand, it has peculiar forms, 

 such as racoons, peccaries, certain antelopes, certain pouched rats, 

 the praiiie dog, certain porcupines, and also turkeys, crested quails, 

 tufted grouse, and passenger-pigeons, the mocking-bird, the canvas- 

 backed duck, and some humming birds. Besides these, it has rattle- 



K K. 



