NORTHERN ZONE.--The boundaries of the northern zone coincide in the main
with the northern limit of the equatorial zone; but they overlap the
latter at different points. This happens in Syria, as well as east of
it, where the mixed faunae of the Jordan and the rivers of Mesopotamia
demand the inclusion of this territory in the northern zone as well as
in the equatorial; in the island of Formosa, where a Salmonid and
several Japanese Cyprinids flourish; and in Central America, where a
_Lepidosteus_, a Cyprinid (_Sclerognathus meridionalis_), and an
_Amiurus_ (_A. meridionalis_) represent the North American fauna in the
midst of a host of tropical forms.
There is no separate arctic zone for freshwater fishes; ichthyic life
becomes extinct towards the pole wherever the fresh water remains frozen
throughout the year, or thaws for a few weeks only; and the few fishes
which extend into high latitudes belong to types in no wise differing
from those of the more temperate south. The highest latitude at which
fishes have been obtained is 82° N. lat., whence specimens of char
(_Salmo arcturus_ and _Salmo naresii_) have been brought back.
_The Palaearctic or Europaeo-Asiatic Region._--The western and southern
boundaries of this region coincide with those of the northern zone.
Bering Strait and the Kamchatka Sea have been conventionally taken as
the boundary in the north, but the fishes of both coasts, so far as they
are known, are not sufficiently distinct to be referred to two different
regions. The Japanese islands exhibit a decided Palaearctic fish fauna
with a slight influx of tropical forms in the south. In the east, as
well as in the west, the distinction between the Europaeo-Asiatic and
the North American regions disappears almost entirely as we advance
farther towards the north. Finally, the Europaeo-Asiatic fauna mingles
with African and Indian forms in Syria, Persia and Afghanistan.
The boundaries of the North American or Nearctic region have been
sufficiently indicated. The main features and the distribution of this
fauna are identical with those of the preceding region.
SOUTHERN ZONE.--The boundaries of this zone have been indicated in the
description of the equatorial zone; they overlap the southern
boundaries of the latter in South Australia and South America, but we
have not the means of defining the limits to which southern types extend
northwards. This zone includes Tasmania, with at least a portion of
south-eastern Australia (Tasmanian sub-region), New Zealand and the
Auckland Islands (New Zealand sub-region), and Chile, Patagonia, Tierra
del Fuego and the Falkland Islands (Fuegian sub-region). No freshwater
fishes are known from Kerguelen's Land, or from islands beyond 55° S.
lat.
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