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in numerous localities extending from 

 coast to coast in the United States. 

 Camels and horses, with many species of 

 antelope closely related to still existing 

 forms in Africa, abounded over a large 

 part of this country up to the end of the 

 geological age immediately preceding the 

 present era. 



Then through imperfectly understood 

 changes of environment a tremendous 

 mortality among the wild life took place 

 and destroyed practically all of the splen- 

 did large mammals, which, however, have 

 left their records in the asphalt pits of 

 California and other fossil beds through- 

 out the country. This original fauna was 

 followed by an influx of other species 

 which made up the fauna when America 

 was discovered. 



At the time of its discovery by Colum- 

 bus this continent had only one domesti- 

 cated mammal — the dog. In most in- 

 stances the ancestors of the Indian dogs 

 appear to have been the native coyotes 

 or gray wolves, but the descriptions of 

 some dogs found by early explorers indi- 

 cate very different and unknown ancestry. 

 Unfortunately these strange dogs became 

 extinct at an early period, and thus left 

 unsolvable the riddle of their origin. 



Before the discovery of America the 

 people of the Old World had domesti- 

 cated cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, 

 dogs, and cats ; but none of these do- 

 mestic animals, except the dog, existed in 

 America until brought from Europe by 

 the invaders of the Xew World. 



The wonderful fauna of the asphalt 

 pits had vanished long before America 

 was first colonized by white men. and had 

 been replaced by another mainly from, 

 the Old World, less varied in character, 

 but enormously abundant in individuals. 

 Although so many North American mam- 

 mals were derived from Asia, some came 

 from South America, while others, as the 

 raccoons, originated here. 



FEWER LARGE MAMMALS IX THE TROPICS 



It is notable that the fossil beds which 

 prove the existence of an extraordinary 

 abundance of large mammals in Xorth 

 America at various periods in the past, 

 as well as the enormous aggregation of 

 mammalian life which occupied this con- 

 tinent, both on land and at sea, at the time 

 of its discovery, were confined to the 

 Temperate and Arctic Zones. It is popu- 



400 



