202 ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. [part hi. 



Mammalia. — There are a few groups of Palaearctic Mammalia 

 that are peculiar to this sub-region. Such are, Dama, the 

 fallow deer, which is now found only in South Europe and North 

 Africa ; Psammomys, a peculiar genus of Muridae, found only in 

 Egypt and Palestine ; while Ctenodactylus, a rat-like animal 

 classed in the South American family Octodontidae, inhabits 

 Tripoli. Among characteristic genera not found in other sub- 

 regions, are, Dysopes, a bat of the family Noctilionidse; Macros- 

 celides, the elephant shrew, in North Africa ; Genetta, the 

 civet, in South Europe ; Herpcstes, the ichneumon, in North 

 Africa and (?) Spain ; Hyarna, in South Europe ; Gazella, Oryx, 

 Alcephalus, and Acldax, genera of antelopes in North Africa 

 and Palestine ; Hyrax, in Syria : and Hystrix, the porcupine, 

 in South Europe. Besides these, the camel and the horse 

 were perhaps once indigenous in the eastern parts of the sub- 

 region ; and a wild sheep (Ovis musmon) still inhabits Sardinia, 

 Corsica, and the mountains of the south-east of Spain. The 

 presence of the large feline animals — such as the lion, the 

 leopard, the serval, and the hunting leopard — in North Africa, 

 together with several other quadrupeds not found in Europe, 

 have been thought by some naturalists to prove, that this dis- 

 trict should not form part of the Palaearctic region. No doubt 

 several Ethiopian groups and species have entered it from the 

 south, but the bulk of its Mammalia still remains Palaearctic, 

 although several of the species have Asiatic rather than Euro- 

 pean affinities. The Macacus innuus is allied to an Asiatic 

 rather than an African group of monkeys, and thus denotes an 

 Oriental affinity. Ethiopian affinity is apparently shown by the 

 three genera of antelopes, by Hcrpestes, and by Macroscelides ; but 

 our examination of the Miocene fauna has shown that these were 

 probably derived from Europe originally, and do not form any 

 part of the truly indigenous or ancient Ethiopian fauna. Against 

 these, however, we have the occurrence in North Africa of 

 such purely Palaearctic and non-Ethiopian genera as Ursus, Meles, 

 Putorius, Sus, Cervus, Dama, Capra, Aladaga ; together with 

 actual European or West Asiatic species of Cams, Genetta, Felis, 

 Putorius, Lutra, many bats, Sorex, Crocidura, Crossopus, Hystrix, 



