The History of the European FaunaScharff, R. F. (Robert Francis)
History
The History of the European Fauna
Scharff, R. F. (Robert Francis)
Animals -- Europe; Zoogeography
It is quite possible that the genus _Pelobates_ is of south-western
origin. Of the two known species of this genus of Toads, one is found in
the Central European plain and the other on the Spanish peninsula and in
France. The closely allied _Pelodytes punctatus_, too, is confined to
this south-western district, and their nearest relations are found in
Mexico. Similarly, the genus to which the Midwife Toad (_Alytes
obstetricans_) belongs may have its original home in that part of
Europe. Of the two species, one is confined to France, Switzerland,
Belgium, and Western Germany, and the other, viz., _Alytes cisternasii_,
to Spain. _Discoglossus pictus_--a well-known and conspicuous Toad in
Southern Europe--inhabits Spain, Algiers, and Tunis, the islands of
Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. From the general range of the
family _Discoglossidæ_, as given in Mr. Boulenger's excellent catalogue,
it appears that nowhere in the vast space between China and New Zealand
has any member of the family been discovered. The peculiar genus of
Salamander--_Chioglossa_--is quite confined to the Spanish peninsula.
The Butterflies _Nemeobius lucina_ and _Charaxes jasius_ may also have
had their home in that south-western district. To this migration also
seems to belong the genus _Gonepteryx_, which has so peculiar a range in
the British Islands. The only British species, known as the Brimstone
Butterfly (_Gonepteryx rhamni_), occurs in the south of England and in
the south and west of Ireland. It is met with over the greater part of
Europe, and its range extends into Asia Minor and Northern India, and
then it reappears again in distinct varieties in Japan and the Amur
district. Three other species of _Gonepteryx_ are known from Tibet and
India, and one (_G. cleopatra_) from Southern Europe and Northern
Africa. All the remaining species inhabit the west, viz., Brazil,
Mexico, and Venezuela. That the genus has migrated from America eastward
to Europe appears to be more probable than a migration in the opposite
direction. At any rate, that an exchange of species between the
south-western portion of the Holarctic Region and the Neotropical area
took place is indicated by the fact, not only that a variety of _G.
cleopatra_ has been found in Madeira, but also that the Canary Islands
possess a distinct form of _Gonepteryx_, viz., _G. cleobule_.
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