FAUNA OF MEXICO. 57 



dwell in the tropical forests, where the vampire hangs from the boughs of the 

 trees, and the humming-bird, the " solar beam " of the old Mexicans, flits from 

 flower to flower. Every town has its organised bands of " scavenger " vultures, 

 (cat/iarfes atratirs, zopilote or black vulture), while the king zopilote or white vul- 

 ture [sarcoramphus pcqxt) holds sway in the rural districts ; when the ro3'al bird 

 swoops down on the carrion, the other species stand respectfully round, awaiting 

 their turn to share in the banquet. 



In the thickets have their lair the powerful carnivora, puma, jaguar or tiger- 

 cat, as well as the tapir, largest of the Mexican ungulata. All the emydidse- 

 terrapins or mud tortoises, are found in the shallow marine waters along the coasts, 

 while the lagoons, and especially the fluvial estuaries, are infested by the alligator ; 

 the seashore and forests of the coastlands are also the haunts of the gecko, basi- 

 lisk and iguana. A large number of the snake family, poisonous or harmless, is 

 confined to the hot zone, which also swarms with batrachians ; here are found most 

 of the numerous characteristic species of toads and salamanders. 



The waters of the estuaries and coast streams teem with fishes, all the numerous 

 varieties of which differ on the two oceanic slopes, but still present a certain analogy 

 in their general distribution. The marshy plains and dark forests of the hot lands 

 are also infested by clouds of mosquitoes. To escape from his tormentors the ox 

 plunges into the nearest quagmire, leaving muzzle alone exposed ; on this presently 

 alights the pretty little ''commander" bird, which lives on mosquitoes, and thus the 

 unwieldy beast and dainty winged creature combine against the common enemy. 



The temperate lands have also their special fauna, and certain species of snakes 

 and tortoises are found only in this zone ; such is the boa-imperator which ranges 

 to an altitude of over 4,000 feet, and whose deified image formerly adorned the 

 temples of the Aztecs. Specially characteristic of the nortliern provinces which 

 form a prolongation of the American Far West, are the lizards met nowhere else 

 in Mexico. Within a recent period bisons were still seen on the uplands of Chi- 

 huahua, but this animal has disappeared altogether from the North Mexican 

 provinces. 



On one occasion Froebel witnessed the passage of a herd of antelopes, num- 

 bering at least a thousand head, in the neighbourhood of Lake Encinillas in the 

 north-west of Chihuahua. The grey bear of Oregon, and the wild sheep, j)reyed 

 upon by three species of the coyote, by the puma and the jaguar, also penetrate 

 into North Mexico and Lower California, as do also the Virginian opossum and 

 the prairie marmot. The peccary dwells in the forests, and lays waste the neigh- 

 bouring plantations. This animal is much dieaded for the furious way a whole 

 herd will sometimes precipitate itself on the wayfarer. 



But of all the Mexican fauna, two only have been domesticated : the luwholoil 

 (meleagris mexicana), which is a species of duck, and the turkey, introduced into 

 Europe by the Spaniards from the " West Indies," hence by the French called 

 " coq d'Inde." The techiclii, an edible dumb dog, was soon exterminated when 

 taxed by the Spanish authorities. The other farmyard animals have all been intro- 

 duced into Mexico by the conquerors. 



