fennec of Bruce, are species peculiar to Africa; as well as the
cynhysSna, a new genus first described by Temminck. I
M. Lesson has enumerated several wild or nearly wild
races, which may be considered as varieties of the; dörjaëètie
dog. - These are the. -dingo d r canis Austral asiso,* the dog
of the Himalaya, and the wild dog of Sumatra described by
Hardwicke. I t seems doubtful whether the dog of the
Malouine or Falkland isles is a distinct fepecies, or a variety
of the: cülpceus described by Molina.^ Of the last kind
M. Cuvier has enumerated twenty-seven or twenty-eight
species, in an elaborate monograph inserted? in the Annals of
the Museum. Of these it appedr'B that not'one species ds
common to America and th e eastern continent;- evèriCihe
lynx o f Canada is now believed to be a distinct kind from
the European. The African species are generally confined
to Africa, and the Indian to the eastern side of the Indus.
But the Remand the leopard endure a more temperate ieliöib;
and they are ; found, accordingly, nöt only in Africa and in
India, but in the intermediate countries of Persia and Arabia.
We learn ; from Herodotus and Aristotle that the lion was
formerly an inhabitant of-Greece. I t 'séeihs that Homerbas
alluded to a peculiarity in the -structure of the lion, which
has Duly been known to naturafists very rhcently.^» t
M. Lesson has divided"tbe cat tribe into nine sub-genera;
1. the lions, to which belongs the puma of America, thé
couguar of Buffon; 2. Tigers; §, 3. Pantherine cats.:k There
are several in Asia and Africa, and one species, the jaguar
in America. 4. Oceloids, or species resembling theöCëïotl1,
all belonging to-America. 6. Rimaus or Malayan Cate; *§
* The dog of New Ireland termed poull, which, as we have seen, differs but
little, if at all different, from the canis Australasia. The Australian dog is pronounced
by M . Lesson, to be certainly of the same stock with that of New Ireland
and the isles, of Bouka and Bougainville. Less. iii. p. 221.
+ H ist Nat. de Chili. Bongainville’s Voyage._
% M. Deshaies in Ann. Sc. &c. Nat, xvii. Lesson v. p, 335.
§ One of the most remarkable facts connected with the history of the tiger, is
the existence of this species as an indigenous inhabitant of the countries near Lake
Baikal, and the river Jenesey. Though the Siberian tiger differs considerably in
some particulars from the Indian, it is supposed, by M. Lesson, to be merely a
variety of the same species.
which .replace-the tiger in the Malayan Archipelago. 6. Gue-
pars oBtjhunting 't i g e ^ tin ■ Asia and Africa; 7. Servals in
horrid Africa and yiverrine cqfes, which replace the servals
in India. /$. TrueLeatsy -pf which .i-fhere fare several tribes
tgcarcelyhto be ,disliigi|ished.7 The feRs catus is a native of
Europe, , and .avx#^#yj is; describedrby Pallas*, in Mongolia.
9. Lynxes,, of which? there-are severhb distinctsspecies peculiar
itQ\the pld continent, and others to America. According to
M. Lesson, ■ the Canadian lynx appears to be a different
Species from that of Sweden.*
I have already referred to the geographical distribution; of
the phocaceous tribe?; an d . of the marsupial animals, which
Hompiete .jthe, catalo.gu^qf. species belonging to the zoopha-
gous order,,or the carnassieus o f the French nomenclature-.*I •
The rodehtes, th e^ fe e s.o f Linnseus, form a m©sfi extensive
family, which have been greatly multiplied, by the discoveries
of modern travellers, in different, countries.* :In M. Lesson’s
last, enumeration of genera; belonging' to this order,” «they
amount, to a si^ty-one, in g which* are not mentioned a .^reat
number ^ su b -g e n e ra . The species included in these genera
tak en ; collectively, would amount to many hundreds. The
more accurate researches of modem naturalists have proved
that the ^existence o f individual species is in general limited
to, districts of no great extent: particular groupes are . represented
in distant countries.by analogous tribes; but in most
instances the,species in one. region collectively resemble each
other much more than those of a remote country; so that we
'find subgenera in Europe, corresponding, with other subgenera
in Asia, and again with forms differently modified - on
the other side of the Atlantic. Thus America, which abounds
in species of the squirrel tribe, has all its species distinguishable
by a particular character from those of th e old continent.
The species of rodentes appear never to he identical
in remote countries. Perhaps one or two, exceptions ought
to be made to this remark, but they are such as do not invalidate
its truth. They occur-in races of animals which
have become more or less associated with mankind. The
* Lesson, v. p. 356.