ANTARCTIC LANDS AND SEAS 



277 



ANTELOPE 



of which, Mount Erebus, is an active volcano. 

 Recent explorations point to the possibility 

 that these mountains are a part of a great 

 range or series of ranges which extend to West 

 Antarctica. 



Climate. The temperatures in the south 

 polar region seem to be warmer in winter and 

 colder in summer than those in the north 

 polar region. The coldest temperature seems 

 to be about 70, and the summer tempera- 

 ture occasionally rises to 20. Sudden bliz- 

 zards, with terrific winds and blinding snow, 

 are frequent at all seasons. Such a blizzard 

 caused the death of Captain Robert Scott and 

 his three companions after they had succeeded 

 in reaching the Pole. The winds in the inte- 

 rior of the Antarctic continent are mainly 

 southeast, but farther from the Pole the pre- 

 vailing winds are from the west or northwest. 

 Near the Pole itself the snowfall is compara- 

 tively light, the annual precipitation being 

 less than ten inches. The heaviest precipita- 

 tion, about twenty-five inches, seems to be 

 near the coasts of the Antarctic lands. 



Plant and Animal Life. Vegetation is 

 scanty, but there are a number of species of 

 grasses, mosses and lichens. The coal depos- 

 its which have been discovered at several 

 points indicate, however, that the South Pole 

 was in a past geologic age in a warm region 

 with abundant vegetation. Among animals 

 there is a great variety of birds, including 

 penguins, petrels and fulmars, but there are 

 no land mammals. The sea teems with an 

 astonishing number of seals, sea-lions, whales, 

 dolphins, sponges, mollusks, echinoderms and 

 many species of fishes. (Each animal named 

 is described in these volumes.) 



Antarctic Seas. The name Antarctic Ocean 

 is usually given to the waters surrounding tin 

 Antarctic continent, but many modern geog- 

 raphers prefer to consider these waters as the 

 southern ends of three separate bodies, the 

 Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Between 

 til* Antarctic lands and the southern ends of 

 th other continents is an unbroken belt of 

 wat< ji in width from 600 miles, off 



Cape Horn, to 2,400 miles, off Cape Agulhas, 

 the southern extremity of Africa. 



are two great currents in the Antarctic 

 waters. One flows northward, between longi- 

 tude 120 and 140 W., across the Antai 

 Circle. As it approaches South America it di- 

 vides into two; one part goes northward along 

 the weft coast, while the other continues east- 

 ward past Cape Horn and returns to the Ant- 



arctic near longitude 70 E. The second great 

 current crosses the Antarctic Circle near longi- 

 tude 90 E., and bending eastward, forms the 

 west Australian current (see CURRENTS, 

 OCEAN). The water in the Antarctic Ocean 

 has an average temperature, taking the year 

 as a whole, of 29.8 at the surface and from 

 32 to 35 F. on the ocean floor. 



Ice Formation. In the main, the ice forms 

 of the Antarctic do not differ from those in 

 north polar regions (see ARCTIC LANDS AND 

 SEAS). The ice sheet covering the great land 

 mass is more extensive and probably thick* T 

 than that which covers Greenland. The ice- 

 bergs are great floating blocks, some of them 

 several acres in extent. Several have been 

 seen having a thickness of a thousand feet or 

 more. See POLAR EXPLORATION. J.B. 



ANT-EATER, a South American animal, 

 harmless and solitary, which sleeps during the 

 day and seeks its tiny prey at night. Its long, 

 tapering head, small eyes, and short, round 

 ears, in contrast with its bushy, black tail, 



SOUTH AMERICAN ANT-EATER 



give it a weird appearance. Its tongue is long, 

 and can be thrust out; it is covered with a 

 sticky saliva which holds fast any ants wlm-h 

 it touches a sort of natural "sticky fly paper." 

 The animal has no teeth. 



The ant-eater, from tip to tip, is from four 

 to seven feet long. Its head and tail form 

 much more than half this length. It has pow- 

 < rful, long claws, with which it digs into ant 

 hills. Most of its body is covered with fur. 



The name ant-cater is sometimes given to 

 the aard-vark, and porcupine ant-eater, to the 

 Australian echidna. Both these animals are 

 described elsewhere in this work. See, also, 

 ARMADILLO. 



ANTELOPE, an' telopc, the name given to 

 a very large group of animals that are found 

 in. great numbers, especially in Africa and Asia. 

 They belong to the same family as sheep, 

 goats and oxen, but differ greatly from any of 



