KUNGL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. BAND 40. N:0 5. 53 



known in many other remarkable features. No member of the loons, or of Fuli- 

 gulidce has found its way to the far south. The Antarctic has the unparalleled 

 Chionds entirely as its own, but it is certainly very stränge that no single member 

 of Charadriidce has reached the Antarctic region, although these birds breed at very 

 high latitudes in the north and are very strong on the wing so that they on their 

 migrations touch comparatively more southern localities than most other migratory 

 birds. The Antarctic lands and islands are much poorer with regard to the vegeta- 

 tion, and are, and have been more completely isolated from the nearest continents 

 and this has resnlted in the complete absence of terrestrial mammals of all kinds. 

 They are not even provided with endemic rodents like the polar hare and the lem- 

 mings of the north. Likewise they are for the same reason wholly destitute of her- 

 bivorous and graminivorous birds like the geese, ptarmigans, snowbuntings etc. of 

 the Arctic. In consequence of this, birds of prey of all kinds are wanting. Neither 

 snow-owls nor gyrfalcons hamit the Antarctic region, nor are there any other ana- 

 logous species as such birds would not have been able to find any suitable prey. 

 Such things are very easily understood, but it is more difficult to perceive why the 

 cormorants, whioh in the south have pushed so far forward that they reach the ex- 

 treme limits of bird life, for instance in the Graham Land complex, and on neigh- 

 bouring islands, why these birds have not been able to spread more in the Arctic 

 portion of the Atlantic, although they have reached the threshold so to say in 

 West Greenland. The same is the case with the great skuas. In the South two 

 species live within the true Antarctic, but the northern species is contented to keep 

 itself in more temperate regions, and leaves the true Arctic to its smaller and weaker 

 congeners, which, on the contrary, are not represented in the south. 



If the arctic and antarctic avifannas are compared from a b i ologi c al point 

 of view several rather striking analogies of biological types, so to say, present them- 

 selves. The biological likeness between the auks and the penguins has already 

 been alluded to. The extinct Great Auk could favourably be compared for instance 

 with a King-penguin, and the Razorbill, Guillemot, Puffin and so on, although they for 

 reason already mentioned, are not fully as large, may biologically correspond to the 

 smaller kinds of penguins. To the smallest of the auks, the little Alle alle of the 

 north there is a beautiful biological analogy found in the south, although not among 

 the penguins, but among Tubinares viz. Pelecanoides, the exteriör of which as well 

 rather strikingly resembles that of the Alle. 



The Ivory Gull of the north and the Snow Petrel (Pagodroma) of the south 

 are rather similar to the exteriör in their snowy white dress, and in their habits, both 

 of them pushing further than their resp. congeners into the ice-regions. The Giant 

 Petrel surpasses certainly in size, strength and greediness the Burgomaster (Larm 

 glauom) but the latter plays nevertheless similar parts in its arctic home. That 

 Fidmarus and Priocella can be compared, even biologically, is nothing remarkable as 

 both are related as well. Between the Cape Petrel (Daption) and the Kittiwake 

 (Rissa) there is no relationship but a certain biological analogy. 



