CHAPTER XIV 

 DISTRIBUTION OF EDENTATE MAMMALS 



Section I. — Introductory Remarks 



As is the case with most ancient groups, we find the 

 various types of Edentate Mammals strictly limited to 

 certain localities on the earth's surface, so that the study 

 of their distribution, especially when taken in connec- 

 tion with what we know of the extinct forms of the 

 same group, comes to be a matter of much interest. 

 In the present case, however, we propose to confine 

 our remarks to the existing Edentates, as we are dis- 

 cussing the distribution of recent and not of fossil 

 mammals, and merely to allude to the extinct forms 

 when necessary. 



As regards the existing Edentates, as has been well 

 shown by one of our leading authorities on mammals, 

 those of the Old World and those of the New are essen- 

 tially distinct. The two Old World families commonly 

 assigned to this order, are so different in important points 

 of structure from the American families, that it may be 

 even considered doubtful whether they were derived from 

 the same primary branch of mammals. We will, there- 

 fore, take the two groups separately, and begin with the 

 forms of the New World. 



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