I 



The Fauna of Spain. igi 



with those of extinct species of bears, but the question of non- 

 existent animals is far too wide to be treated here. All that 

 can be said is that according to Professor Busk, the remains 

 do not include those of the great cave bear Ursus spelceus, 

 which are so common as far as the northern side of the 

 Pyrenees. 



Gibraltar cannot be dismissed without a word about the 

 Barbary apes now living upon the Rock. No remains of this 

 species have been found in the bone-caves, and although there 

 are said to have been monkeys on the Rock when our forces 

 captured it, early in the last century, there can be little or no 

 doubt that their presence there is not due to any communication 

 with Africa, either above or below ground, as some writers 

 have asserted, but to the intervention of their superior 

 relations. Another and very different animal which may 

 occasionally be seen wild in the wooded plains of the south- 

 west of Spain is the camel, the descendants of some which 

 were allowed to escape during political commotions many 

 years ago. I saw some in May, 1868, and a friend has seen 

 two this year. They " take the wind " like deer, and are 

 almost as wild. 



The rodents of Spain have been but little studied, and all 

 that I dare say of them is, that whilst many northern species 

 are, present the Alpine marmot is absent, even from the 

 Pyrenees. Many other European animalsr of general distribu- 

 tion must be left unmentioned, but among the Insectivora, 

 allusion may be may be made to a very remarkable creature 

 Mygale pyrenaiea, or " Desman,'' which may be described as 

 a large water-shrew about the size of a mole, with a prolonged, 

 flexible snout. It is not uncommon on the French side of the 

 Pyrenees, although, owing to its nocturnal habits, it is supposed 

 to be rarer than it really is, and it is said, and no doubt 

 correctly, to be found on the Spanish side of that range. The 

 interesting fact about it is that its only congener, Mygale 

 Mnscovitica, is confined to Southern Russia. 



Passing to the birds, we find, that in spite of their natural 

 facilities for dispersal, several species are almost entirely 

 restricted to the Peninsula ; whilst several others stop at, or even 

 a little short of, the Pyrenees. Among the former is the Iberian 

 representative of the Imperial Eagle, a white shouldered bird 

 resembling in that respect its congener of Eastern Europe and 

 Asia, but differing in some other respects, especially in its 

 immature plumage, in which it approaches, and was long 

 supposed to be identical with, Aqnila rapax, a truly African 

 bird. The green woodpecker of Spain (Gecinus sharpii) is 

 distinguished from that of the rest of Europe by its pale ^^rey 



