Description: A map of Life Regions over the Earth. "The deserts and the mountain ranges that lie between the torrid and north temperate heat belts, together with the sea, are such important barriers to the spread of animal and plant life that they may be taken to mark the division of the continental plateau into six great life regionsÉThe Australian is the most peculiar of the life regions. Nearly all of the native four-footed animals either are hatched from eggs or are so helpless at birth that for some time they are carried in a pouch or fold of skin on the breast of the motherÉMany of the pouched animals are of the kangaroo type; the koala, and the Tasmanian devilÉ Others are somewhat like squirrels, rabbits, rats, mice, or moles in size and habitsÉThe egg-laying mammals are the echidnaÉand the duckbillÉAmong the birds are the large ostrichlike running birds-the emu, the cassowary and the kiwiÉAmong the more peculiar plants are the leafless she oak or beef-wood trees; flowering but leafless acacia trees, which produce a bark excellent for tanning; and many kinds of eucalyptus treesÉMan has introduced into Australia sheep, cattle, rabbits, and other kinds of animals. These thrive wonderfully, showing that other than pouched animals might have lived in this region had no some barrier prevented them from reaching itÉThe South American Region contains more kinds of plants and animals than any other region, and, next to the Australian, is the most peculiar. It is the home of many kinds of opossums. Some carry their young in a pouch, but in other kinds the pouch is not well developed, and the young ride on the motherÕs back as she climbs among treesÉThis region is home to the guinea oig, the tapir, the long-tailed monkey, the piglike peccary, and the jaguar, or American tiger. Several kinds of llamas live in the Andes and in the southern lowlands. These animalsÉcan live many days without water; they are trained as beasts of burden, and yield a wool or hair that is woven into clothÉAmong the birds are beautiful parrots and macaws, the condor of the Andes, -the largest of flying birds, -the ostrichlike rhea, and the curassowÉAmong the peculiar plants of this region are the mahogany, rosewood, longwoodÉvanilla beanÉbananas, bamboos, and tree verns. Cayenne pepper, the potato, the tomato, tobacco, and Indian corn are native in this region, but the coffee tree, sugar cane and wheat were brought to South America by manÉThe African RegionÉis specially noted for the great number of its flesh-eating animals Ð lions, leopards, panthers, hyenas, and jackals Ð and for its hoofed animals, such as many antelopes, the Cape buffalo, the hippopotamus, the giraffe, the zebra, and the wild ass, from which the donkey is descendedÉthe elephant, the rhinoceros, and many monkeysÉAmong the birds are the ostrich, the large secretary vultureÉguinea fowl, and the beautiful blue and copper-colored plantain eatersÉThe plants include many palms, among them the oil palm and the date palm, and many acacias. The baobab is a particular tree of Africa; its spreading branches droop so that a single tree may resemble a whole grove. The coffee tree is a native of northeastern AfricaÉThe Oriental Region is noted even more than the African for flesh-eating animals; besides the lion, leopard, and hyena, has the tiger, the largest, strongest, and fiercest of the cat family. Like south Africa, too, this region has the elephant and the rhinoceros, and herds of wild buffaloÉThere are bears in this region, and several kinds of deer, wild cattle and wild swine, and tapirs, much like those found in South AmericaÉAmong the birds are the beautiful little bulbulÉmany kinds of pheasants, including the peacockÉThe plants include cedars, yews, pines and oaks along the slopes of the Himalayas, but in the hot lowland forests are many spice-yielding plantsÉThe Eurasian and North American regions differ from each other less than any other two regionsÉIn both regions are found bears, wild cats, wolves, foxes, deer, beavers, and squirrels. The white polar bear and the black bear are the same in the two regions, while the fierce Rocky Mountain grizzly bear is much the same as the European brown bearÉThe European elk is the same as the American MooseÉYet the puma, skunk, raccoon, prong-horned antelope, muskrat, prairie dog, otter, and opossum are found only in America, while wild boars, camels, and wild horses are found only in Eurasia, for the ancestors of the horses in America were introduced by man. Eagles, owls, hawks, crows, and wrens are found in both regionsÉThese regions are both noted for the great number of cone-bearing trees, as the pines, spruces, firs, hemlocks, and cedarsÉIsland and Ocean LifeÉContinental Islands are usually close to the mainland, and many of them have not long been separated from it; hence their plants and animals are generally quite similar to those of the neighboring continentÉThe Oceanic Islands also have received their life forms from the continents, but they contain chiefly birds which can fly long distances, and such forms of life as have seeds or eggs which can be easily transportedÉ.Ocean Life. Many warm-blooded animals, such as whales, porpoises, seals, and walruses, live during a part or all of the time in the sea, but have to come to the surface to breathe. In addition to these there are hosts of true fishes that can live and breathe under water, as sharks and mackerel and codfish, besides hundreds of kinds of shellfish, as oysters and lobsters. The sea also contains thousands of lower forms of animal life, such as jellyfishes, sponges, and coral polyps; and many kinds of seaweed and other marine vegetation." —Redway, 1898.
Source: Jacques W. Redway and Russell Hinman, Natural Advanced Geography (New York, NY: American Book Company , 1898) 29
Map Credit: Courtesy the private collection of Roy Winkelman. |
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