56 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2 75 



Many additional species of mammals occur in parts of the Saharo- 

 Sindien Region but are not restricted to it. These species include the 

 jackal, Canis aureus Linnaeus; Indian grey mongoose, Herpestes ed- 

 wardsi Geoffroy; striped hyaena, Hyaena hyaena Linnaeus; Pallas's 

 cat, Felis manul Pallas; caracal lynx, Felis caracal Schreber; leopard, 

 Panthera pardns Linnaeus; cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus Schreber; 

 Asiatic wild ass (Onager), Equus hemionus Pallas; Persian gazelle, 

 Gazella subgutturosa Guldenstaedt; mountain gazelle, Gazella gazella 

 Pallas; ibex, Capra ibex Linnaeus; markhor, Capra falconeri Wagner; 

 Algerian hedgehog, Erinaceus algirus Duvernoy and Lereboullet; 

 long-eared hedgehog, Hemiechinus auritus Gmelin ; Brant's hedgehog, 

 Paraechinus hypomelas Brandt, and the pale grey shrew, Crocidtira 

 pergrisea Miller. 



Being volant, bats are naturally less restricted by physical barriers 

 and accordingly do not usually conform to standard mammalian 

 distributional patterns. Nevertheless, several genera of bats are 

 rather characteristic of the Saharo-Sindien Region, and several 

 species occur exclusively in these parts of Asia and Africa. Bats most 

 typical of this region belong to several families which are widely 

 distributed throughout the temperate and tropical parts of the Old 

 World. The genera of bats which are most common in the Saharo- 

 Sindien Region are Rousettus Gray, Rhinopoma Geoffroy, Taphozous 

 Geoffroy, Nycteris Cuvier and Geoffroy, Rhinolophus Lacepede, 

 Asellia Gray, Triaenops Dobson, Tadarida Rafinesque, Myotis Kaup, 

 Eptesicus Rafinesque, Pipistrellus Kaup, Otonycteris Peters, and 

 Plecotus Geoffroy. 



Although none of the above genera are endemic to the Saharo-Sin- 

 dien Region, the following species are restricted to the area: Rousettus 

 arabicus Anderson and de Win ton; Rhinopoma microphyllum Briinnich; 

 Taphozous nudiventris Cretzschmar; Rhinolophus acrotis Heuglin ; 

 Triaenops persicus Dobson; Eptesicus walli Thomas; Eptesicus isabel- 

 linus Temminek; Pipistrellus deserti Thomas, and Pipistrellus ariel 

 Thomas. 



The above lists show an amount of endemism in the large mammals 

 and other nonrodent groups comparable to, and in some cases exceed- 

 ing, that shown by the rodents. This peculiarity of the Saharo-Sindien 

 mammalian fauna is probably largely attributable to the prevailing 

 aridity of the region and the presence of vast tracts of desolate steppe 

 and desert. 



The genera of rodents which define the Saharo-Sindien Faunal 

 Region differ as to origin and dispersal. Some are clearly of Asiatic 

 origin, others show a closer relationship to the African fauna, while 

 some appear to have developed in situ and bear little resemblance to 

 the fauna of either Asia or Africa. 



