V SEMESTER ZOOLOGY
MODULE VI: ZOOGEOGRAPHICAL REALMS
Sclater (1857) was the first one to give concepts of zoogeography and divided the
continental masses into six Realms based on his studies on the bird fauna under two
Creatio or centres of Creation, namely, Palaeogeana (Old world) and Neogeana (New
world).
Creatio PALAEOGEANA (Old World)
Realms PALAEARCTIC (Temperate Eurasia)
AETHIOPIAN (West Paleotropic). Africa.
INDIAN (Middle Paleotropic). Tropical Asia.
AUSTRALIAN 9East Paleotropic). Australia, New Guinea, Tasmania.
Creatio NEOGEANA (New World)
Realms NEARCTIC (North America). Greenland, North America up to Mexico.
NEOTROPICAL (South America). South America south of Mexico.
T.H. Huxley (1868) grouped different regions into 3 divisions as follows:
NEOGEA (Neotropical).
NOTOGEA (Australian).
ARCTOGEA (Rest of the Word).
A.R.Wallace (1876), who is considered father of modern zoogeography agreed with
Sclater’s classification but proposed the name ORIENTAL instead of INDIAN and
AFRICAN instead of ETHIOPIAN regions because the earlier names represented
countries and not the zoogeographical regions.
The widely accepted modern classification of land masses into regions is given below
which is based on Wallace (1876) and Darlington (1957).
1. Realm MEGAGEA
1. Region PALEARCTIC (Europe, Russia, Mediterranean).
2. NEARCTIC (North America up to the middle of Mexico).
3. AFRICAN (=ETHIOPIAN) (Africa south of Sahara).
4. ORIENTAL (Tropical Asia south of 30o latitude).
2. Realm NEOGEA
5. Region NEOTROPICAL (South America, tropical Mexico and
Caribbean Islands).
3. Realm NOTOGEA
6. Region AUSTRALIAN (Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea and New
Zealand).
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, PALAEARCTIC
This region includes Europe, Russia up to pacific coast and Mediterranean up to
Sahara. Climate is temperate and polar in the north. Eastern Asia is temperate with
deciduous forests. In northern zone there are grasslands (steppe) and interior portion
is arid.
Mammals. There are 33 families of land mammals. Animals of word-wide distribution
which amounts to one-third of families are rabbits, mice dog family, shrews, squirrels
and cat family.
Animals that are restricted to the Old World include hedge hog, porcupine, civets,
giant panda (Ailuropoda), hyena and pigs.
Four families are shared with Nearctic: beavers, jumping mice, flying squirrels, mole
(Talpa) and four shared with African region.
Endemic mammals: mole rat (Spalacidae) and Camel (Seleviniidae), dormice.
African elements are wild horses, the prezevalski's horse is the only truly wild horse in
the world.
Aves. There are 53 families of birds most of which are migratory. All birds have wide
distribution and are shared with Nearctic, Oriental and African regions, e.g.
pheasants, wrens, finches, warblers, sea birds, geese, birds of prey, cranes, terns,
gulls etc.
Hedge sparrow is restricted to this region.
Reptiles. There is no endemic reptilian family. Lizard, Sinisaurus, and Alligartor
sinensis are endemic in China. There are lizards, snakes, Typhlops and sand boa,
Trionyx and emydine turtles.
Amphibia. There are common newts, crested newt (Triton), Spanish newt and alpine
newt. The colourless Proteus is blind and lives in European caves. There are European
salamanders, Salamandra salamandra and S. atra and a species of giant salamander
(Megalobatrachus) in Japan and China that attains a length of over 5 feet. Anurans
are represented by frogs, toads, tree frogs. Male of the midwife toad (Alytes
obstetricans), which is found in France and Italy carried eggs wrapped around his hind
legs. Amphibians show affinities with Nearctic Region.
Fishes. Fish fauna also shows affinities with Nearctic. There is no endemic fish and
carp is the dominant family. There are carps, salmon, pikes, perches, eels and
Petromyzon that migrates from sea to the rivers to breed and the ammocoete larva,
commonly known as sand sleeper lives in mud for several years in European rivers.
Few species of toothless sturgeons immigrate from sea to the rivers of Japan and
Russia for laying eggs which are harvested to prepare a delicacy called caviar.
The fauna is a mixture of Old World tropics and New World temperate.
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MODULE VI: ZOOGEOGRAPHICAL REALMS
Sclater (1857) was the first one to give concepts of zoogeography and divided the
continental masses into six Realms based on his studies on the bird fauna under two
Creatio or centres of Creation, namely, Palaeogeana (Old world) and Neogeana (New
world).
Creatio PALAEOGEANA (Old World)
Realms PALAEARCTIC (Temperate Eurasia)
AETHIOPIAN (West Paleotropic). Africa.
INDIAN (Middle Paleotropic). Tropical Asia.
AUSTRALIAN 9East Paleotropic). Australia, New Guinea, Tasmania.
Creatio NEOGEANA (New World)
Realms NEARCTIC (North America). Greenland, North America up to Mexico.
NEOTROPICAL (South America). South America south of Mexico.
T.H. Huxley (1868) grouped different regions into 3 divisions as follows:
NEOGEA (Neotropical).
NOTOGEA (Australian).
ARCTOGEA (Rest of the Word).
A.R.Wallace (1876), who is considered father of modern zoogeography agreed with
Sclater’s classification but proposed the name ORIENTAL instead of INDIAN and
AFRICAN instead of ETHIOPIAN regions because the earlier names represented
countries and not the zoogeographical regions.
The widely accepted modern classification of land masses into regions is given below
which is based on Wallace (1876) and Darlington (1957).
1. Realm MEGAGEA
1. Region PALEARCTIC (Europe, Russia, Mediterranean).
2. NEARCTIC (North America up to the middle of Mexico).
3. AFRICAN (=ETHIOPIAN) (Africa south of Sahara).
4. ORIENTAL (Tropical Asia south of 30o latitude).
2. Realm NEOGEA
5. Region NEOTROPICAL (South America, tropical Mexico and
Caribbean Islands).
3. Realm NOTOGEA
6. Region AUSTRALIAN (Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea and New
Zealand).
1
, PALAEARCTIC
This region includes Europe, Russia up to pacific coast and Mediterranean up to
Sahara. Climate is temperate and polar in the north. Eastern Asia is temperate with
deciduous forests. In northern zone there are grasslands (steppe) and interior portion
is arid.
Mammals. There are 33 families of land mammals. Animals of word-wide distribution
which amounts to one-third of families are rabbits, mice dog family, shrews, squirrels
and cat family.
Animals that are restricted to the Old World include hedge hog, porcupine, civets,
giant panda (Ailuropoda), hyena and pigs.
Four families are shared with Nearctic: beavers, jumping mice, flying squirrels, mole
(Talpa) and four shared with African region.
Endemic mammals: mole rat (Spalacidae) and Camel (Seleviniidae), dormice.
African elements are wild horses, the prezevalski's horse is the only truly wild horse in
the world.
Aves. There are 53 families of birds most of which are migratory. All birds have wide
distribution and are shared with Nearctic, Oriental and African regions, e.g.
pheasants, wrens, finches, warblers, sea birds, geese, birds of prey, cranes, terns,
gulls etc.
Hedge sparrow is restricted to this region.
Reptiles. There is no endemic reptilian family. Lizard, Sinisaurus, and Alligartor
sinensis are endemic in China. There are lizards, snakes, Typhlops and sand boa,
Trionyx and emydine turtles.
Amphibia. There are common newts, crested newt (Triton), Spanish newt and alpine
newt. The colourless Proteus is blind and lives in European caves. There are European
salamanders, Salamandra salamandra and S. atra and a species of giant salamander
(Megalobatrachus) in Japan and China that attains a length of over 5 feet. Anurans
are represented by frogs, toads, tree frogs. Male of the midwife toad (Alytes
obstetricans), which is found in France and Italy carried eggs wrapped around his hind
legs. Amphibians show affinities with Nearctic Region.
Fishes. Fish fauna also shows affinities with Nearctic. There is no endemic fish and
carp is the dominant family. There are carps, salmon, pikes, perches, eels and
Petromyzon that migrates from sea to the rivers to breed and the ammocoete larva,
commonly known as sand sleeper lives in mud for several years in European rivers.
Few species of toothless sturgeons immigrate from sea to the rivers of Japan and
Russia for laying eggs which are harvested to prepare a delicacy called caviar.
The fauna is a mixture of Old World tropics and New World temperate.
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