■CHAP. III.J 



ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 



33 



primary zoological divisions of the globe are called "regions," 

 and we will begin by ascertaining the limits of the region of 

 which our own country forms a part. 



The Range of British Mammals as indicating a Zoological 

 Region. — We will first take our commonest wild mammalia and 

 ■see how far they extend, and especially whether they are con- 

 fined to Europe or range over parts of other continents : 



1. 



Wild Cat 



Europe 



N. Africa 



2. 



Fox 



Europe 



N. Africa 



3. 



Weasel 



Europe 



N. Africa 



4. 



Otter 



Europe 



N. Africa 



5. 





Europe 



N. Africa 



6. 



Stag 



Europe 



N. Africa 



7. 



Hedgehog 



Europe 





8. 



Mole 



Europe 





9. 



Squirrel 



Europe 





10. 





Europe 





11. 



Water-rat...,. 



Europe 





12. 





Europe 





13. 



Rabbit 



Europe 



N. Africa 



Siberia, 

 Central 

 Central 

 Siberia. 

 Central 

 Central 

 Central 

 Central 

 Central 



Afghanistan. 

 Asia to Amoor. 

 Asia to Amoor. 



Asia to Amoor. 

 Asia to Amoor. 

 Asia to Amoor. 

 Asia. 



Asia to Amoor. 



Central Asia to Amoor. 

 W. Siberia, Persia. 



We thus see that out of thirteen of our commonest quad- 

 rupeds only one is confined to Europe, while seven are found 

 also in Northern Africa, and eleven range into Siberia, most of 

 them stretching quite across Asia to the valley of the Amoor 

 on the extreme eastern side of that continent. Two of the 

 above-named British species, the fox and weasel, are also in- 

 habitants of the New World, being as common in the northern 

 parts of North America as they are with us ; but with these ex- 

 ceptions the entire range of our commoner species is given, and 

 they clearly show that all Northern Asia and Northern Africa 

 must be added to Europe in order to form the region which they 

 collectively inhabit. If now we go into Central Europe and 

 take, for example, the quadrupeds of Germany, we shall find 

 that these too, although much more numerous, are confined to 

 the same limits, except that some of the more arctic kinds, as 

 already stated, extend into the colder regions of North America. 



Range of East Asian and North African Mammals. — Let us 

 now pass to the other side of the great northern continent, and 

 examine the list of the quadrupeds of Amoorland, in the same 



D 



