CHAP. XV.] 
THE NEARCTIC REGION. 
119 
tomed to consider as typically European, or Palsearetic, having 
representatives in North America ; although in many cases it 
would be more correct to say that they are Nearctic genera, 
represented in Europe, since America possesses more species 
than Europe or North Asia. The following is a list of genera 
which have as much right to be considered typically Nearctic 
as Palaearctic : 
1. Regains 
2. Certhia 
3. Sitta 
4. Parus 
5. Lophophanes 
6. Lanins 
7. Perisoreus 
8. Pica 
The seven genera italicized have a decided preponderance of 
Nearctic species, and have every right to be considered typically 
Nearctic ; while the remainder are so well represented by peculiar 
species, that it is quite possible many of them may have origi- 
nated here, rather than in the Palaearctic region, all alike being 
quite foreign to the Neotropical. 
On the whole, then, we have 47 in the first and 7 in the second 
table, making 54 genera which we may fairly class as typically 
Nearctic, out of a total of 1 68 genera of land- birds, or nearly 
one-third of the whole. This is an amount of peculiarity which 
is comparable with that of either of the less isolated regions ; 
and, combined with the more marked and more exclusively 
peculiar forms in the other orders of vertebrates, fully establishes 
Temperate North America as a region, distinct alike from the 
Neotropical and the Palsearctic. 
Reptiles . — Although temperate climates are always compara- 
tively poor in reptiles, a considerable number of genera are 
peculiar to the Nearctic region. Of snakes, there are, Gonophis, 
Chilomeniscus , Pituophis, and Ischnognathus, belonging to the 
Golubridse ; Paranoia , and Dimodes , Homalopsidse; Lichanotus, 
one of the Pythonidae; Cenchris, Grotalophorus , Gropsophorus , 
and Crotalus , belonging to the Crotalidae or rattlesnakes. 
Of Lizards, Chirotes, forming a peculiar family ; Ophisaurus, 
9. Corvus 
10. Ampelis 
11. Loxia 
12. Pinicola 
13. Linota 
14. Passer elia 
15. Leucosticte. 
16. Euspiza 
17. Plectrophanes 
18. Tetrao 
19. Lagopus 
20. Nyctala 
21. Archibuteo 
22. Haliseetus 
