CLASSIFICATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. 357 



is also very poor in other Carnivora. The Procyonidce are small 

 bear-like forms, found in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions, 

 and include the racoons (Procyon), coatis (Nasua), and kinkajous 

 (Cercoleptes). 



Fossil Carnivores date back to the Lower Eocene, but the recent 

 families were not then differentiated. The order appears to have 

 originated in the northern half of the Old World. 



(b) Pinnipedia. Seals are limited to cold and temperate seas, 

 and are also found in the Caspian, Sea of Aral, and Lake Baikal, 

 all of which, at no very distant epoch, were connected with the 

 Arctic Ocean. 



Walruses characterize the North Polar regions. 



12. Prosimice. (a) Cheiromyini. Only one form, the aye-aye 

 (Cheiromys), which is restricted to Madagascar. 



(b) Lemurini. Practically limited to the Ethiopian and Oriental 

 regions. Indris, Lemur, and four other genera are only found in 

 Madagascar. Tarsius constitutes a distinct family, and is limited 

 to Sumatra, Banca, Borneo, and Celebes. 



Lemurs date back to the Eocene in Europe. 



13. Primates. (a) Arctopitheci and (b) Platyrrhini are confined 

 to the Neotropical region. 



(c) Catarrhini are found only in the Old World. 

 Cynomorpha are especially Ethiopian and Oriental, but also 



extend into the Pataarctic region, and into the Australian region 

 as far as Timor. 



Anthropomorpha present a marked example of discontin- 

 uous distribution. Gibbon S. E. Asia and Malay Archipelago. 

 Orang Borneo and Sumatra. Chimpanzee and Gorilla W. 

 Africa. 



The order dates back to the Eocene. 



Origin and Migrations of the Mammalia. The Class, and most 

 likely all the Orders, originated in the Northern Hemisphere. 

 Australia was isolated at a very early date, and therefore has 

 preserved a very ancient Mammalian fauna, S. America and 

 S. Africa were severed somewhat later, to be afterwards reunited, 

 and they also have preserved some very ancient forms. The 

 northerly connection between the Eastern and Western Hemi- 

 spheres was then broken, not only by submergence of land, but 

 also by a lowering of temperature. The Oriental and Ethiopian 

 regions were also marked off by the formation of the Himalayas 

 and the desert zone stretching from the Sahara to Central Asia. 



