Another way to classify the world’s terrestrial fauna

Based on the phylogeny and historical consistency of fauna components, the world's terrestrial fauna is divided into six regions: Holarctic, Oriental, Tropical, Neotropical, Australia and Antarctica.

The Holarctic region occupies most of the Northern Hemisphere, including from the northern edge of Eurasia to the Sahara and Himalayas and from the North American continent to the Mexican state of Sonora. The history of this fauna generally reflects the effects of glacial climate changes. During the maximum glacial period of the Pleistocene, due to the drop in sea level, a land bridge connected the Bering Strait, and the fauna in front of the glacier that was forced to move south were completely mixed. During the Tertiary Period, the differences in fauna between the northern parts of the New and Old Worlds finally disappeared. form a unified fauna. Such as the mammals Moleidae, Hedgehogidae, Pyrididae, and Beaveridae; the birds the Loonidae, Grouseidae, Waxwingidae, Panfinidae, Erythidae, and Schistidae; and the amphibians the Caveidae family. , Salamanderidae, etc. are all typical animals found in both places. After the glaciers retreated, the two places lost their connection due to the disappearance of the land bridge, and the newly exposed areas were repopulated. The differences in fauna between northern Eurasia and North America developed, resulting in the differentiation of genera and species. Some people divide the whole northern region into Gubei District and New Taipei District.

(The Palearctic region includes Europe, Africa north of the Tropic of Cancer, the central and northern parts of the Arabian Peninsula, and the Asian continent north of the Himalayas and Qinling Mountains. Mammals include Lebozoidae, Lebozoidae, and Dormiceidae. , Molidae, etc. are endemic to the Palearctic region. Birds such as the Pipitidae and the amphibian Trichopodidae are mainly distributed in the Palearctic region. There are also some unique genera in this region, such as moles, golden monkeys, raccoon dogs, badgers, Camels, deer, roe deer and partridges, bustards, sand grouse, larks, ground crows, rock pipits, sand sparrows, etc.

The New North includes northern Mexico and North America to the north. The Antelope family, the Mountain Beaver family, the reptiles Anguidae, the amphibians Anguidae, Amphibian Salamanderidae, and fishes such as the Archopteridae and the Eelidae are unique to this area, including the American musk ox and the American muskoxen. Beaver, American badger, American squirrel, leopard rat, web-footed mole, wild rooster, etc.)

The Oriental Region is also called the Indo-Malayan Region, including India, Indochina, the Philippines and southern China. . This area has many similarities with the tropical areas. In the Tertiary Period, they were both tropical rainforests, inhabited by some worldwide tropical species. Such as Crocodileidae, Psittacidae, Sun Grebeidae, Pythonidae, Geckoidae and Caecilidae, etc. The Pleistocene climate deteriorated, and warm-loving Palearctic forest animals migrated south into this area and tropical areas, such as great apes, monkeys, elephants, rhinos, cattle, pigs, civets, hornbills, ducks, sunbirds and other taxa. Due to the separation of land, the unique taxa in the two areas have undergone some differentiation and developed their own unique genera, such as gibbons, orangutans, Asian elephants, Eastern civets, etc. The unique mammals in this area include tree shrews, spiny mice, tarsiers, giant pandas, and red pandas; birds include peacebirds and hooded swifts; reptiles include ratite, heterospermidae, Alligator family, Pseudomonas family, and piscivorous crocodiles. This region is divided into three subregions: India, Indochina, and South China-Himalayas. Obvious differences in fauna are evident at the species level.

The tropical zone, also known as the Ethiopian zone, includes the African continent south of the Sahara and Madagascar. The climate deteriorated during the Pleistocene, and warm-loving animals in the Palearctic region moved south into the Oriental and tropical regions, but there were no moles, deer, or bears. The endemic genera differentiated in this area include chimpanzees, gorillas, colobus monkeys, baboons, African black rhinoceros, African elephants, etc. Unique taxa include hyraxes, tubeodonts, golden moles, elephant shrews, aardvarks, hippopotamuses, giraffes, guinea fowls, eagles, ostriches, and African lungfishes. Among them, the giraffe family did not originate in Africa. It is native to Europe, India, China and other places. It is now extinct in its place of origin, but remains in Africa and has become an endemic animal. There are some ancient faunal elements in this area, such as lumbar lizards, caecilians, chubs and freshwater mussels. Their fossils have never been found in the Palearctic area, but they are found in South America (Neotropical area), proving that the African continent once It was part of Gondwana in the Paleozoic era. The fauna of Madagascar is significantly unique. Almost all tropical mammals do not exist here. Only African river pigs migrated from the African continent in recent times. As endemic groups to the island, there are Lemuridae, Great Lemuridae, Aye-aye family, Horse Island Hedgehog family, Quailidae family, Barebrowed Thrush family, Cuckoo family family and so on.

The Neotropical Zone includes the entire Central and South American continents, southern Mexico and the West Indies. It is the most unique fauna in the world. During a long geological period, South America was an isolated island that developed many endemic groups and had few connections with other regions. Representatives of the ancient components in this area are the primitive mammals in the oligodonts and marsupials. There are three extant families of marsupials: Neokangaridae and Possumidae, and there are three extant families of Slothidae: Slothidae, Armadilloidae, and Myrmecidae. Special families of rodents include Porcupinedae, Porcupinedae, Chinchilladae, and Agoutiidae. The unique alpaca is a representative of the artiodactyls. Endemic birds account for one-third of all birds, such as Ostrichidae, Erbillidae, Anatidae, Musk Pheasantidae, Stovebirds and Umbellidae. Unique fish include the American catfish and the South American lungfish. There are also some species that were originally endemic to this region but are now distributed in New Taipei Region, such as the Western family, the Raccoon family, the Hummingbird family, the Tyrant flycatcher family, etc.

Australia Zone, also known as Oceania Zone, includes Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Irian Island and the Pacific Islands. It is the oldest fauna in the world. From the Mesozoic to the Pliocene, Australia experienced a long period of isolation.

The fauna is highly specialized and has many unique taxa, including platypuses, echidnas in the monotremes of the subclass Prototherium, and quolls, wombats, and kangaroos in the metatherian marsupials. Among birds, there are three unique families of parrots: Parrotidae, Pupinidae, and Nectaridae. There are also some very special families: emu, cassowary, lyrebird, mound pheasant, wingless and bowerbird, etc. Freshwater fish include barramundi. European immigrants introduced some Palearctic animals, such as British cave rabbits and European foxes, which had a significant impact on the original fauna.

Antarctic Region The Antarctic continent is now completely covered by ice and snow, but in most of its geological history, it was rich in tropical flora and fauna. According to fossil research, the extinct animals in this area belong to the ancient Gondwana fauna. There is evidence that the three-pronged protodonts and cuposaurs that have been discovered are the same species as the fossils found in South Africa. Modern fauna consists of extremely cold-tolerant invertebrates, especially mites and wingless insects. The most famous vertebrates are penguins, shearwaters, and gulls. Penguins are a very ancient group, with Antarctica being the center of their origin and radiating northward from there.