ZOOLOGY. DISTRIBUTION OF MAN. ACCORDING to Dr. Pritchard, the inhabitants of the globe are arranged into the three following great classes : But the following classification of Blumenbach is that which is usually adopted :— Class and Population. 1. The Caucasian; * population, 400,000,000. 2. The Mongolian; t population, 470,000,000. Distinguishing Features. Head of the most symmetrical shape, Head almost square; cheek-bones pro- Geographical Distribution. This class embraces the ancient and modern inhabitants of Europe (except Laplanders and Finns), the ancient and modern inhabitants of Western Asia as far as the Obi, the BolorTagh, and the Ganges, such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Sarmatians, Scythians, Parthians, Jews, Arabs, Syrians, Turks, Tahtars properly so called, tribes of Caucasus, Armenians, Affghans, and Hindoos; the Africans who live on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and throughout the Sahara, the Egyptians and Copts, the Abyssinians, and the Guanches, or ancient people of the Canary Islands. The numerous tribes that occupy the central, northeast, east, and south-east parts of Asia, the Chinese and Japanese, the people of Thibet, Bootan, and IndoChina, the Finns and Lap'landers of Northern Europe, and the Esquimaux, *The languages of this great and important class are polysyllabic, copious, and highly inflexional. Of the Europeans, a branch of the Caucasians, a late celebrated geographer remarks that they "are distinguished for their advanced state of civilisation, their superior intellectual powers, as evinced in their enterprise, invention, perseverance, and power of combination, and for the vast influence they exert over their fellow-creatures throughout other parts of the globe. The European is master of nearly the whole of the Western World, whilst in Asia some of the oldest, most extensive, and richest countries are in his power, and he has founded settlements in Africa and Australia that will, no doubt, spread over the habitable portions of those vast regions. It is a remarkable trait in his character that he never rests satisfied with what he has achieved, but is always pressing forward with ardour in the career of industry and invention, and is at this moment as anxious to advance himself as his ancestors were centuries ago." " Languages inartificial, limited in range of literature, and divided into two principal families, the monosyllabic, which has no inflexions, and the Finno-Tahtarian, which is slightly inflexional and phonetic. Religious aspirations obtuse, the forms being various, as Buddhism, Shamanism, Mohammedanism, and Polytheism. DISTRIBUTION OF MAN-(continued) Distinguishing Features. ing, round, and narrow; linear opening of the eyelids extending towards the temples; inner corner of the eye sunk towards the nose, and the upper eyelid at that part continued into the lower by a rounded sweep; complexion generally olive (sometimes very slight, sometimes approaching to yellow, commonly called sallow); iris of the eye black; hair black, straight, and strong, but seldom curled or in great abundance; little or no beard. Those of this class who are most exposed to the sun and air have the darkest complexions. Head narrow, and compressed at the sides; forehead very convex and vaulted cheek-bones projecting; nostrils wide; jaws long; front teeth of the upper jaw turned obliquely forward; lower jaws strong and large; skull generally thick and heavy; face narrow, with lower part projecting; eyes prominent; nose spread, and almost confounded with the cheeks; lips, especially the upper one, very thick; jaws prominent, and chin retracted; skin, and the iris of the eye, a deep black; hair black and woolly. Approaches the Mongolian. Cheekbones prominent, but more arched and rounded than in the Mongol, without being so angular or projecting at the sides; orbits nearly always deep; shape of the forehead and the crown often artificially modified; skull generally light; face broad, without being flat; features, viewed in profile, prominent and deeply marked; forehead low; eyes deep-seated; nose rather flat, but prominent; skin red, more or less dark or copper-colored, and approaching to black, according to climate and other circumstances; hair like that of the Mongolian class, with little or no beard. Top of the head slightly narrowed; forehead a little arched; cheek-bones not prominent; upper jaws a little pushed forward; prominence of the parietal bones strongly marked; face less narrow than that of the Negro, somewhat advancing, when seen in profile, in the lower part; features generally more prominent than in the Negro class; nose full, broad, and thick towards the point, or what is commonly called a bottle-nose; color of the skin brown or tawny: hair black, soft, curled, and abundant. Geographical Distribution. who inhabit the shores of the Polar Sea (in North America) and Greenland. Includes all the natives of Africa to the south of the Sahara and Abyssinia; the natives of Australia, Van Diemen's Land or Tasmania, Papua or New Guinea, New Britain, the Solomon Islands, New Georgia, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, the Feejee Islands, and various tribes throughout the Indian Archipelago. In this class are comprehended all the native American tribes and nations, excepting, of course, the Esquimaux and the descendants of the European and African colonists. This class includes all the natives of the islands of the Pacific Ocean (excepting those already pointed out as belonging to the Ethiopic class), and the dominant nations of the Indian Archipelago. Languages of this class agglutinate, slightly inflexional, but one step removed from the simplest monosyllabic, and no written literature. Religion-fetishism, or demonworship, but Mohammedanism among the northern tribes; but in a civilised state they are susceptible of deep devotional feelings. Total No. of species 1704 49 49 63 62 4 4 74 74 83 188 180 8 4 3 28 27 105 105 61 21 185 126 104 94 118 113 166 161 21 5 17 16 18 17 67 59 65 62 24 4 19 19 3 3 4 12 14 13 3 1967 165 55 632 492 446 399 260 218 518 491 150 138 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF THE 29 9 16 5 6 Atlas. house. Species. Species. Species. 48: Peculiar ·་ྲབ :སྐ 1 Species. No. of Species. 8 Species. No. of Species. Species. Continent. Europe Asia... Africa Peculiarities. Comparatively few species peculiar to it, and those belonging to the minor forms of animal life; pouched and toothless animals entirely wanting; the monkeys and thick-skinned tribes, each represented by a single species. Comprises the greatest number of species and individuals of any quarter of the globe; carnivorous animals, rodents, and ruminants are the most numerous. Has no pouched animals; numerous carnivora, rodents, and ruminants; more thick-skinned animals than any other region; the giraffe the most peculiar ruminant, and the hippopotamus the most remarkable of the thick-skinned group. Monkeys and thick-skinned animals entirely absent; only three orders-carnivora, rodents, and ruminants-very numerous. Central and South Fewer large quadrupeds than in any other region except AusAmerica. North America Oceania tralia; more monkeys and toothless animals than occur in other divisions of the globe. Ruminants, thick-skinned animals, and monkeys entirely unrepresented; the single order of pouched animals, all peculiar, comprehend more than two-thirds of the total number of species. Note. The probable number, therefore, of existing vertebrata may be assumed to be about 20,000. It may be here remarked that some birds and reptiles range nearly round the globe, within certain latitudinal limits, as parrots and crocodilians; others are limited to the Old World, as nightingales and vipers; some are as confined to the New World, as humming-birds and rattle-snakes; while others are restricted to particular districts, as the condor to the Andes, the ostrich to Africa, and the birds of paradise to New Guinea. Of the vertebrata there may be said to be 20,000; mollusca, 20,000; radiata, 5000; and articulata, 5000; making a total of 50,000 species. Note.-This table represents the number and distribution of species as given by Humboldt; but very many others have been discovered since he wrote. Steudal, the German botanist, who wrote in 1844, believed that the total number of known forms to be 95,000, of which 80,000 are flowering, and 15,000 flowerless, plants; while it is said that, at the present time, the recognised number of species does not fall far short of 120,000. THE THREE GREAT CLASSES OF PLANTS. Embracing Flowerless Ferns, mosses, lichens, fungi, and seaweeds. plants. Having within. Having Sedges, rushes, and the numerous grasses, comprehending the most important of all vegetable tribes, viz., the valuable pasture and all the corn-yielding plants, wheat, barley, oats, maize, rice, the sugar-cane, &c., with lilies and the palm family. These are designated monocotyledons, from having only one seed-lobe. This is the most perfect, beautiful, and numerous class, including all the forest trees of the temperate and colder zones, as the oak, elm, pine, chestnut, poplar, hazel, willow, birch, &c., with some of the stateliest members of the tropical forest, as the mimosa, tamarind, and the trees yielding logwood, Brazil wood, &c., most of the flowering shrubs and herbs, as the rhododendron, azalea, arbutus, thyme, sage, lavender, mint, rosemary, with the plants yielding castor, croton, and numerous other oils; also the dahlia, artichoke, thistle, lettuce, marigold, dandelion, daisy, &c. They are known as dycotyledons, from the seed consisting of two lobes. VEGETATION ZONES. Extent and Tem perature. On both sides of the From lat. 15° to the Remarks. The May also be distinguished as the region of Zones. 3. Sub-tropical zone of myrtles and laurels. 4. Warm temperate zone of evergreen trees. 5. Cold temperate zone of European trees. 6. Sub-arctic zone of conifers. 7. Arctic zone of rhododendrons. 8. Polar zone of Alpine planes and red-snow algæ. VEGETATION ZONES (continued). Extent and temperature. From the tropics to From lat. 34° to lat. Between lat. 45° From lat. 58° to the Between the polar Beyond lat. 72°.... Remarks. Distinguished in the New World by various Comprises the lake district in the New World, A The region of everlasting ice and snow, in which all animal life goes out. |