2 INTRODUCTION 



Madagascar has long been an island ; and there is evidence that at one time South 

 America was separated by sea from the land to the north. 



Studies of this nature have rendered it possible to parcel out the land surface 

 of the globe, according to the distribution of mammalian life, into three primary 

 divisions or realms. Of these, the first, or Notogsea, includes Australia, New 

 Guinea, and the adjacent islands ; the second, or Neogsea, is formed by Central 

 and South America; while the third, or Arctogaaa, embraces the rest of the world. 

 These " realms " are divisible into a number of " regions." Thus in Arctogrea 

 we have a Malagasy Region, formed by the island of Madagascar; an Ethiopian 

 Region, including all Africa south of the northern tropic, together with 

 southern Arabia ; an Oriental Region, embracing India, Burma, southern China, 

 the Malay Peninsula and the islands as far east as Celebes ; a Sonoran Region, 

 comprising Mexico and some adjacent territories; and an Holarctic Region, 

 embracing the remainder of the realm. This Holarctic Region may be divided 

 into an Eastern and Western Division (the latter containing such part of North 

 America as is included in the region); but from the former of these divisions some 

 authorities would cut off a Mediterranean Region, embracing the Mediterranean 

 countries and a strip of country continued in a north-easterly direction through 

 Kashmir. 



In technical treatises on Distribution the faunas of the globe are usually 

 dealt with according to these divisions or some of their modifications; but 

 the method does not readily lend itself to a work on thoroughly popular 

 lines, especially since some mention of extinct types is in the former case 

 almost essential. Accordingly, in the present work, the ordinary geographical 

 divisions of the land - surface of the globe have been followed to a great 

 extent, and the faunas of the continents described in that order. Commencing 

 with Europe, both that continent and western Asia have, however, been 

 divided into a number of zoological provinces according to a scheme formu- 

 lated by Dr. P. Matschie, who takes central Europe, including Germany, 

 Belgium, and parts of France and Austria, as the typical area for the European 

 fauna. But practically the whole of western central Europe, inclusive of 

 the British Isles, has much the same fauna, so that the greater part of the 

 Continent north of the Alps, west of Russia, and south of Scandinavia is 

 included under that heading. 



In addition to the ordinary geographical divisions, what is technically known 

 as "station" has to be taken into consideration. By station is meant whether 

 an animal is a denizen of the woods, the plains, the water, or the mountains. 

 As an example of the method followed, we have the animals of central Europe 

 divided into groups according to their " station." It might be thought that the 

 Alps are entitled to no higher rank than a " station " of central Europe ; but as 

 their fauna has been very generally treated as a separate unit, the Alpine fauna 

 has been allowed to occupy a position equivalent to that of central Europe on 

 the one hand, and those of southern and eastern Europe on the other. 



Asia follows naturally after Europe ; and since the fauna of north-eastern Asia 

 is intimately allied to that of North America, the New World comes in order. 

 North and South America are thus treated in sequence; and although, as already 



