38 
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. 
[part III. 
*Pseudalopex (two wolf-like foxes), Felis (the puma), Mephitis 
(skunks), Cerrns (deer), *Auchenia (guanaco), *Ctenomys (tucu- 
tucu), *Reithrodon and *Hesperomys (American mice). 
Birds. — Three families of Birds are confined to this sub-region, 
— Phytotomidse (1 genus, 3 sp.), inhabiting Chili, La Plata, and 
Bolivia; Chionididae (1 genus, 2 sp.) the "sheath-bills,” found 
only at the southern extremity of the continent and in Kerguelen’s 
Island, which with the other antarctic lands perhaps comes best 
here; Thinocoridse (2 genera, 6 species) an isolated family of 
waders, ranging over the whole sub-region and extending north- 
ward to the equatorial Andes. Many genera are also peculiar : 
3 of Fringillidse, and 1 of Icteridse ; 9 of Dendrocolaptidse, 6 of 
Tyrannidse, 3 of Trpchilidse, and 4 of Pteroptochidse, — the last four 
South American families. There is also a peculiar genus of par- 
rots (Henicognathus) in Chili ; two of pigeons ( Metriopelia and 
Gymnopelia) confined to the Andes and west coast from Peru to 
Chili; two of Tinamous, Tinamotes in the Andes, and Galo- 
dromus in La Plata ; three of Charadriidae, Phmgornis , Pluvia- 
nellus, and Oreophilus ; and Rhea , the American ostriches, 
inhabiting all Patagonia and the pampas. Perhaps the Caria- 
midae have almost as much right here as in the last sub-region, 
inhabiting as they do, the "pampas” of La Plata and the up- 
land “ campos ” of Brazil ; and even among the wide-ranging 
aquatic birds, we have a peculiar genus, Merganettd, one of the duck 
family, which is confined to the temperate plateau of the Andes. 
Against this extensive series of characteristic groups, all either 
of American type or very distinct forms of Old World families, 
and therefore implying great antiquity, we find, in mammalia 
and birds, very scanty evidence of that direct affinity with the 
north temperate zone, on which some naturalists lay so much 
stress. We cannot point to a single terrestrial genus, which is 
characteristic of the north and reappears in this south temperate 
region without also occurring over much of the intervening 
land. Mustela seems only to have reached Peru ; Lepus is iso- 
lated in Brazil ; true Ursus does not pass south of Mexico. In 
birds, the northern groups rarely go further south than Mexico 
or the Columbian Andes ; and the only case of discontinuous 
