360 THE HOLARCTIC REGION. [CHAP. 



markhor (Capra falconeri], of which one variety inhabits the Pir 

 Panjal range, on the south side of the valley, while the others are 

 found in the districts to the north and west of Kashmir. The 

 musk-deer, again, is another essentially Holarctic type. On the 

 other hand, the occurrence of a langur -(Semnopithecus) and a ma- 

 caque (Macacus) points to a connection with the Oriental fauna ; 

 and a Kashmir mungoose (Herpestes auropunctatus] is identical 

 with one from India. There are, however, none of the exclusively 

 Oriental genera in Kashmir ; and this fact, coupled with the 

 absence of all deer of the sambar-group, leaves little doubt that 

 the valley really belongs to the Holarctic. Whether it should 

 be regarded as pertaining to the Mediterranean sub-region, or as 

 forming a distinct sub-region by itself, must be reserved for future 

 consideration. 



Passing to the western division of the Holarctic region, the 

 tract lying to the southward of the circumpolar Arctic 

 sub-region, designated by Dr Merriam the Boreal 

 zone of his Boreal region, may be conveniently 

 termed the Canadian sub-region. Its northern boundary is, of 

 course, identical with the southern limits of the Arctic sub-region, 

 and the area includes the greater part of the Dominion of Canada, 

 although a long strip runs down the line of the Rocky Mountains, 

 and another along the Pacific coast, into the United States. Indeed, 

 Dr Merriam includes in this sub-region all the higher plateaus of 

 Wyoming and Colorado, so that the sub-region embraces a 

 number of small disconnected areas on its south-western ex- 

 tremity, and it is consequently impossible to define its limits by 

 description. It may be stated, however, that on the eastern side 

 of the continent the sub-region extends from Hudson Bay to the 

 middle of Lake Michigan, while on the western coast it stretches 

 from near the extremity of Alaska to San Francisco ; a big loop 

 extending northwards of Montana nearly to latitude 55. 



The mammalian fauna of the Canadian sub-region is that of 

 the western division of the Holarctic region generally, and includes 

 those forms mentioned on page 344. According to Dr Merriam, 

 the following genera from this sub-region do not range further 

 south than the undermentioned Transition zone ; namely, Condy- 

 lura, Urotrichus, Gulo, Latax, Arctomys, Haplodon, Phenacomys, 



