THE MAMMALS OF AMOORLAND. 21 



North America, and the nearest ally of the celebrated Sieboldia, or so- 

 called gigantic salamander of Japan, being undoubtedly the Protonopsis 

 liorrida of the United States.* The antilope {A. crispa), is also probably 

 more nearly allied to the American Haplocerus americanus, than to any other 

 form of the group. "With these exceptions, and that of Cam's procyonides — 

 an animal, according to Herr Yon Schrenck's elaborate investigations, 

 hardly differing from Canis in its dentition sufficiently for generic separa- 

 tion, but certainly belonging to a different sub-group, and remarkably 

 abnormal in general external fades — the forms show, certainly, very great 

 resemblance to those of Northern Europe. Amoorland, in fact, is insepara- 

 able from that great zoological region to which the rest of Northern Asia, 

 Europe, and Africa, north of the Atlas, alike belong, and to which the 

 name " Pakearctic" has been appropriately applied, as it embraces the 

 whole northern portion of the Old World. Agassiz's ingenious parallel,f 

 in which he attempts to prove that the races of mankind correspond in 

 their variations with those of the zoologies of the countries occupied by 

 them, completely fails in this instance. Though we might perhaps 

 admit the existence of a circumpolar zoological region, occupied by a race 

 of men ethnologically distinct, the areas tenanted by two very different 

 races — the Caucasians of the west, and the Mand-choos of the east — will 

 admit of no separation on zoological grounds. This has already been 

 abundantly shown to be the case, as regards the classes of birds and rep- 

 tiles. % Temminck and Siebold have long ago enlarged on the similarity 

 of the Eauna of Japan to that of Europe. "Waterhouse's Tables for the 

 geographical division of the Rodents, which he has worked out so labo- 

 riously, bring Europe and Northern Asia together. Von Schrenck's 

 evidence, we maintain, as given in the present work, tends altogether in 

 the same direction. 



It remains, in conclusion, that we should call attention to the excel- 

 lent way in which Herr von Schrenck has worked out the materials he 

 has collected. The descriptions given of the new and doubtful species 

 are in all cases very full, and descend to the most minute particulars. 

 Great care has been devoted to tracing the range of each individual species 

 throughout Northern Asia, where facts were ascertainable, upon which 

 such deductions could be drawn. The native names applied to the animals 

 by the different tribes are all stated, and many interesting details are 

 given concerning their habits. In short, the volume appears to be no less 

 creditable to the author than it has already been shown to be to the Go- 

 vernment to whose fostering care science is indebted for this very accept- 

 able contribution to our knowledge of geographical zoology. 



lately been obtained by the engineers surveying the boundary-line of British Columbia, 



and are now deposited in the British Museum. 



* The relations between the Flora of N. E. Asia and America are, we believe much 



more intimate. 



t Seethe introduction to Nolt and Gliddon's "Types of Mankind." 



\ Sclater in "Journ, Proc Linn. Soc. Zool.," ii , p. 134; Giinther, in ''Proc Zool. 



Soc," 185*, p. 373. 



