426 Reviews— ScJiarff's Origin of the European Fauna. 



Arctic species bad also reached Western and Central Europe before 

 tbe advent of tbe latter." (p. 445.) 



" In speaking of the Irish Arctic fauna, we must not, as so many 

 naturalists have done, confuse animals of an xirctic with tbose of 

 a Siberian origin. It is very important to distinguish tbese two 

 elements, both of which are present in the fauna of Great Britain, 

 though only the former has reached Ireland." 



Siberian Mammals in Britain. — " In order to show the importance 

 of the Siberian element in the English fauna, I will give a list of 

 the species of the mammals which have migrated to Great Britain 

 from Siberia, marking those with an * which still exist or only 

 became extinct in historic times in the country. There is no reason 

 to suppose that any of the latter became extinct and have since 

 been reintroduced. 



Siberian Migrants. 



Canis lagopus. Myodes torquaius. 



Gido luscus. *Mus miniitus. 



*Mustela erminea. *Arvicola agrestis. 



*M. puforius. *A. ampMbius. 



*M. vulgaris. A. arvalis. 



'Iqaris. *A. qlareolus. 



(? Myogale moschata).^ A. gregalis. 



Lepus dxluvianus. A. ratticeps. 



*L. EuropcBics. Equus caballus. 



Lagomys pusillus. Antilope saiga. 



* Castor fiber . Ovibos moschatus. 



Cricetus songarus. Alces latifrons. 



Sphei mophilus Eversmanni. A. machlis. 



S. ergthrogenoides. Eangiftr tarandus. 

 Myodes lemmus. 



" We have geological evidence that most of these twenty-nine 

 species of mammals emigrated from Siberia to Europe across the 

 Steppes of Southern Eussia. Along with them came a large number 

 of other forms of life, and also plants ; and as we advance eastward 

 from England, we meet with them in increasing numbers to the present 

 day. But not only on the Continent do we find these survivals of 

 the vast Siberian migration, which has been so ably described by 

 Professor Nehring*; no less than ten species still live in Great 

 Britain (including the recently extinct beaver). On the other 

 hand, not more than three of the species mentioned on the list above 

 have been found fossil in Ireland, and only one still survives. It 

 should be remembered that these three species, viz., Mustela erminea, 

 Eqmis caballus, and Rangifer tarandus, occur in Ireland in varieties 

 distinct from those found in Central Europe ; and on this and other 

 grounds, I believe that they came by a different route from those 

 found in England, and that Ireland was not connected with England 

 at the time of the arrival of the Siberian emigrants in the latter 

 country." (p. 448.) 



le moschata should be removed from this list; it belongs to South- 

 Eastern Eussia (see remarks on p. 421, ante). 



"^ " Geographische Verbeitung d. Saugethiere in dem Tschernosem Gebeite," etc. 

 1891. 



