2 ANIMAL COMMUNITIES 



in the same area the botanist would probably find only about 2,000 

 conspicuous plant species. Representatives of all animal species must 

 be submitted to specialists for identification, that is, the specialist 

 gives the correct scientific name to the animal. Scientific names are 

 definitely arranged as below, if man is taken as an example. 



Phylum - Chordata or Vertebrata 



Class ----__ Mammalia 



Order Primates 



Family - Hominidae 



Genus - Homo 



Species ------- sapiens 



The young of many insects and of some other animals cannot be 

 placed in the proper species because animal life histories are very imper- 

 fectly known. Such animals are merely placed in the proper genus or 

 family. The common names of animals rarely apply to single species 

 but to whole genera, families, or even orders. " Caddis-worm " is a name 

 applied to a whole order of insect larvae and as these are very imper- 

 fectly known the term caddis-worm is applied to many species, and, 

 applied in this way, appears in many places in the text. 



Because of the large number of animals and the difficulty in naming 

 them, it is quite impossible to deal with the data in the specific way that 

 might be possible with plants. Furthermore, while the data for plant 

 distribution are not well known, those for animal distribution are much 

 less well known. Therefore in most cases it is necessary to speak in 

 general terms. It is impossible and undesirable to discuss each com- 

 munity of animals in detail. The facts are not known, and even if they 

 were known, their volume would be such as to exclude the great majority 

 of them from the limits of this treatise. In most cases it is best to make 

 a statement of the leading facts, and a few statements about the specific 

 situations to give an idea of the kinds of animals that are characteristic 

 or common there. It should be noted also that the most characteristic 

 animals are often not generally known and are in some cases rare. 



The scientific names of characteristic and common animals are 

 included, not so much for geographers at present, as to form a basis for 

 further work and comparison by zoologists and zoogeographers. Where 

 given in the form of tables they present the actual scientific background 

 for the facts here stated. Much greater detail would be needed for a 

 full zoological treatment. Scientific names are usually used where the 

 common names apply to many species. The names of authors of species 

 are added in the text and description of figures only where they do not 



