34^ 



NATURE 



\Aug. 24, 1876 



On account of the differences in the physical condi- 

 tion of the country above indicated, its fauna corre- 

 spondingly varies ; and, according to Mr. Blanford, five 

 zoological sub-regions may be defined with tolerable 

 accuracy. Each of these deserves brief reference upon the 

 present occasion. The first is that of the Persian plateau 

 or highland, which forms by far the greatest and most 

 characteristic part of the country. Although this district, 

 and all the others except the last, are Palsearctic in their 

 nature, nevertheless several types characteristic of the 

 desert tracts of North Africa and Central Asia are in- 

 cluded, such as the genera Gasella, Gerbtlhis, Dipiis, 

 Gyps, and Buteo. 



The second sub-region is that of the Caspian provinces 

 Ghilan and Mazandaran, which form the forest-covered, 

 humid southern shore of the Caspian Sea. The fauna is 

 almost identical with that of South-east Europe. The 

 tiger is found there, however, and a Deer {Cervus caspius) 

 closely aUied to the Axis Deer of India, as well as a Pit- 

 viper {Halyx). 



The third sub-region is that of the wooded slopes of 

 the Zagros, running from Shiraz, as a strip, in a north- 

 westerly direction. It differs, as far as is known of it, but 

 little from the last, with which it may be confluent. The 

 lion inhabits it, as well as a new species of Woodpecker 

 {Picus saiicti-johannis). The fourth sub-region is that of 

 Persian Mesopotamia, which is the eastern portion of the 

 Tigris plain. It closely resembles Syria in fauna. The 

 last is that of Baluchistan and the sliores of the Persian 

 Gulf, which differs greatly from the rest of Persia, Indian 

 or Indo-African forms prevailing. 



Mr. Blanford enumerates eighty-nine species of mam- 

 mals, three hundred and eighty-three of birds, ninety-two of 

 reptiles, and nine of amphibia, as found in Persia ; and he 

 mentions as a general characteristic of the fauna, that the 

 specimens are paler in colour than their European allies. 

 This paleness frequently makes it difficult to decide 

 whether the species are new or only varieties of those 

 already known. In some cases, however, as, for instance, 

 that of the Persian Badger, the author tells us that he 

 would not have proposed a new name for it had not the 

 skull, when compared with a series of skulls of M. iaxus, 

 presented decided differences. 



The number of fresh species determined by Mr. Blan- 

 ford and others from the collection made by Major St. 

 John round Shiraz between 1869 and 1871, and by both 

 these naturalists in their journey through Baluchistan and 

 Southern Persia, is too large to beenumerated here. Of new 

 genera Mr. Dobson determined the Phyllorrhine Bat {Tri- 

 aenops petsiais), with its very complicated nose-leaf and 

 peculiar third alar digit, in 1872 ; and Mr. Blanford has, 

 from an exhaustive study of the reptiles, made the genera 

 Bunopus, Ceraniodactylus, Agamura, and Zygnopsis. 

 Curiously, no crocodiles are known to occur in the 

 country, though they are common in the neighbourhood 

 of Sind, and are to be found in Palestine ; their absence 

 is associated with the inconstancy of the supply of water 

 in the small rivers. The Agamoids and Lacertians are 

 much more abundant than the Geckos and Scincids. 



Of the placental mammals the Quadrumana, Pro- 

 boscidea, Hyracoidea, and Edentata, are the orders 

 which are not represented in Persia. Bats are not 

 numerous, as far as species are concerned. Of Insec- 



tivores another species of hedgehog is described and 

 figured. Vuipes persicus is the name given to a fresh 

 Fox, and Meles canescens to the Pale Badger above men- 

 tioned. Among the Rodentia several new species have 

 been discovered, including a squirrel, a dormouse, a 

 mouse, two jumping-rabbits, a jerboa, and a hare. No 

 specimen of the male of the new Gazella fuscifrons was 

 obtained, although Major St. John, in his narrative, tells 

 us that he lost the only one he saw from his cartridge 

 missing fire. 



Of new birds we find a Woodpecker {Piais sancii- 

 johaimis), a Robin {Eryihacus hyrcaftus), a Warbler {Syl- 

 via rubescens), a. Sun-bird {Nectarinia brevirostris), a 

 Nuthatch {Sitia fupicola), a Tit {Parus phaeonolus), as 

 well as a second (P. persicus), and a Jay {Garrnlns hyr- 

 canus). Besides the new genera of reptiles above men- 

 tioned, there are many fresh species, the descriptions of 

 all of which, as of the mammals and birds, are accom- 

 panied by excellent figures from the pencil of Mr. Keule- 

 manns or the late Mr. G. H. Ford, whose recent death 

 will be felt as a great loss t o naturalists generally and 

 students of the Reptilia especially, because of the extreme 

 care which he was always accustomed to take in the accu- 

 rate delineation of the most minute detail. 



What will strike the readers of the work before us most 

 forcibly is the great pains which Mr. Blanford has taken 

 in the accurate determination of the species he describes, 

 and the trouble he has put himself to — by a reference to 

 the original types — in whatever part of Europe they may 

 be — to insure their correct identification. In many cases 

 he has been able to give his measurements from unskinned 

 specimens, and in several instances among the birds he 

 has recorded the essential lengths of a large number of 

 specimens. As an instance of this may be taken the case 

 of Hypolais pallida and its allies, in which a lengthy 

 series of measurements is given to show the complete 

 gradation between that species, H. rania and H. caligata^ 

 forms whose specific identity is based upon slight differ- 

 ences in size only. 



In the geological section of the volume no complete 

 account of the geology of Persia is attempted, but Mr. 

 Blanford adds his own experience to that of Messrs. 

 Loftus, Bell, Grewingk, Carter, and others. 



In concluding this brief notice of the valuable work 

 before us, we feel that it is only by a detailed perusal of 

 its contents that its value in a geographical, zoological, i 

 geological, and poUtical point of view can be fully appre- ' 

 ciated. 



SUMNER'S ''METHOD AT SEA"* 



Tables for Facilitating Sumner's Method at Sea. By 

 Sir William Thomson, D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., Professor 

 of Natural Philosophy in the University of Glasgow, 

 and Fellow of St. Peter's College, Cambridge. (Lon- 

 don : Taylor and Francis, 1876.) 

 THE reforms which SirWiUiam Thomson has effected 

 or suggested in the art of navigation are neither 

 few nor unimportant. His invention of deep-sea sound- 

 ing by pianoforte wire, and his improvements in the 

 construction of the mariner's compass, are specimens of 

 what he has done in the instrumental part of the subject. 

 In the book now before us he again comes forward as a 



