A GEOGRAPHICAL 

 HISTORY OF MAMMALS. 



CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



Distributional Area and Station Influence of Temperature Humidity 

 Other Factors in Distribution Importance of Palaeontology Inequality 

 in the Ages of different Groups of Animals Different Groups have different 

 Geographical Distribution Importance of Mammals in Geographical 

 Distribution Classification of Mammals Barriers to Dispersal of Mam- 

 mals Influence of Man on Distribution Extinction of the larger 

 Plistocene Mammals Distributional Areas of Genera and Species 

 Centres of Evolution Permanency of Continents and Ocean-Basins 

 Zoological Realms and Regions. 



THAT there are differences in the animals and plants of different 

 districts and different countries is a fact apparent to every person 

 who has travelled at all; while to those who have travelled ex- 

 tensively it will further be evident that the amount of this difference 

 is by no means correlated with the distance of one country from 

 another, the fauna of Japan, for instance, being much more like 

 that of England and France than is the fauna of Eastern Africa to 

 that of the adjacent island of Madagascar. Unfortunately, among 

 persons who are not conversant with the principles of zoological 

 science, the distinction between the faunas of different countries 

 has been much obscured by the practice common to almost all 

 the old voyagers and colonists of bestowing upon the animals of 

 new countries the names of such Old World creatures as they 

 appeared most nearly to resemble. The puma of America was, 

 for instance, called the lion, and the jaguar of the same country, 

 the tiger; while the koala of Australia was christened the native 

 bear, and its marsupial allies the dasyures are still commonly 

 spoken of as native cats. To students of the science of 

 L. I 



