There is a still closer resem blance in the fauna than in the flora of northern Asia to that of Europe. Asia south to the Himalayas, together with Europe and north Africa, forms a continuous region, which Dr. Sclater has designated as the Palaearctic; south eastern Asia, with Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the Philippines, he calls the Indian region; Africa south of the Atlas, with Arabia, Pales tine, south Persia, the dry part of Baluchistan and Sind, form the Ethiopian region; Celebes and the other islands beyond Wallace's line, with Australasia, the Australian region. Nearly all the mammals of Europe occur in northern Asia, with numerous additions to the species. Quadrumana are rare, Carnivora numerous, especially bears, wolves and weasels. Moles, shrews and hedgehogs are common among lnsectivora. Rodents are represented by mar mots, the pika, jerboas, rats, mice, etc. There are numerous species of wild sheep, antelopes and deer. Of the last, the musk and many others are characteristic. In the Indian region there are several peculiar genera of the Quad rumana or monkey tribe. Among the distinctive forms of this region is the elephant, the Asiatic species being distinct from the African. The lion, tiger, leopard, which are considered as Ethiopian forms, the bear, civets, ichneumons and other carnivorous animals are found. The lion inhabits Arabia, Persia, Asia Minor, Ba luchistan, etc., and extends as far east as India, being now, however, confined to Guzerat. The tiger is the most characteristic of the larger Asiatic Cdrnivora. It extends from Armenia across the entire continent, being absent, how ever, from the greater portion of Siberia and from the tableland of Tibet; it extends also into Sumatra, Java and Bali. The horse, ass and camel have their true home in Asia. In the Indian region we also find the rhinoceros, buf falo, ox, deer, squirrels, porcupines, as well as various species of Edentata. The avifaunas of Europe and northern Asia are identified to a still greater extent. A large number of Euro pean species extend over northern Asia as far as Japan. In the Malay Archipelago marsupial animals first occur in the Moluccas and Celebes, while various mammals common in the western part of the archipelago are absent. A similar transition toward the Australian type takes place in the species of birds. Of marine mam mals the dugong is peculiar to the Indian Ocean ; in the Ganges is found a peculiar species of dolphin. In birds, nearly every order except ostriches is represented. Among the most in teresting forms are the hornbills, the peacock, the Impey pheasant, the tragopans and other gallinaceous birds, the pheasant family being very characteristic of the region. The pheasant proper in the wild state is peculiar to northern Asia, the golden pheasant and several other species of pheasants to the northeast. The genera and species of passerine birds are very numerous. The desert region, extending from Arabia to Sind, is chiefly distinguished by the absence of many Indian forms and the presence of some African ones, which, however, are not widely spread, most of them being limited to Arabia and Syria. The chief haunts of the Reptilia of Asia are the northern portion of Hindustan, the southeastern peninsula, China and the islands of Ceylon, Sumatra and Java. At the head of the reptiles stands the Gangetic crocodile, frequenting the Ganges and other large rivers; the helmeted crocodile and the double-crested crocodile are numerous in various quarters, both insular and continental. Among the serpents are the cobra de capello and the Ceylonese tic-palonga, both among the most deadly snakes in existence; there are also very large pythons, besides sea and fresh-water snakes. There are also a number of species of frogs and toads and of fresh-water tortoises as well as many, terrestrial and aquatic lizards. The seas and rivers of Asia produce a great variety of fish. The Salmonicke are found in rivers flowing into the Arctic and north Pacific oceans, but not in southern Asia. Large num bers are caught. Trout are found in the feeders of the Indus and the Caspian. Sturgeons abound in the Black Sea and the Caspian. Two rather remarkable kinds of fishes are the climbing perch and the eriapthalmus. The well-known
gold:-fish is a native of China.
Asiatic Races.— The Mongolian race is the most numerous in Asia, and includes about two-thirds of the inhabitants. It occupies the Chinese empire, Tartary and probably Japan, with part of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula. It is partly settled, as in China, Japan and the penin sula; partly nomadic, as in Tartary and Mon golia. The Aryan is the next in numbers, and the most civilized of the Asiatic races. It was until the Mohammedan conquest the dominant, as it is still the most numerous, race in India. It also prevails in Persia and in the middle region from Afghanistan to Asia Minor. The Semitic race is widely spread in Arabia and southwest ern Asia, and formerly at least extended to Africa. The black race is represented by the Negritos of the Philippines, the Papuans .and some tribes of the Malay Peninsula. The Dravidian race in south India, the Malays in the Eastern Peninsula, the Ainos of Japan and other races locally distributed, have no well defined relation with the larger races. The Dravidians are variously associated with the Mongols and the Australians. The latter theory is connected with the hypothesis of a southern continent, which also connects these races with Africa. See ETHNOLOGY: Political Divisions.— A large portion of Asia is under the dominion of European powers. Russia possesses the whole of north ern Asia (Siberia) and a considerable portion of central Asia, together with a great part of ancient Armenia, on the south of the Caucasus; in all an area of 6,294,119 square miles with a population of (1913) 27,788,000. Turkey holds Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine. part of Arabia, Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, Armenia, Hejaz and Yemen in Arabia, with a total area of 699,342 square miles and a population of 19,382,900. Great Britain rules over India, Cey lon, a part of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula (Upper and Lower Burma), Aden, Cyprus, Hongkong, etc., in all an area of 1,969,065 square miles, with a population of over 323, 000,000; France has acquired a considerable portion of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula (Cochin China, Anam, Tonkin, Cambodia) and has be sides Pondicherry and four other colonies in India, making a total area of about 256,200 square miles with a population of about 17, 000,000, while to Holland belong Java, Sumatra and other islands or parts of islands in the Asiatic or Malay Archipelago, with an approxi mate area, including New Guinea, of 736,400 square miles and a population of about 38,000, 000. The chief independent states are the Chinese Republic and its dependencies, including Mongolia and Tibet, occupying an area of about 3,913,560 square miles with a population esti mated at about 320,650,000. Japan, including Korea, Formosa, Sakhalen, Pescaclores, with an area of 260,738 square miles and a population of about 70,000,000; Siam, area about 195,000 square miles, population about 8,149,000; Af ghanistan, area about 250,000 square miles, pop ulation about 6,000,000; Persia, area about 628,000 square miles, population about 9,500,000, and the Arabian states occupying about 5 per cent of the area of Asia. The total population of the continent is estimated at 918,000,000.
Religions.— Asia has been the birthplace of religions; the Jewish, Buddhist, Christian and Mohammedan having their origin in .Asia, where they grew up under the influence of still older religions, the Babylonian and that of Zoroaster, both also of Asiatic origin. At pres ent it is estimated that there are 138,000,000 Buddhists in Asia, 210,000,000 Hindus (chiefly in India), 142,000,000 Mohammedans (in west ern and part of central Asia), 300,000,000 Con fucianists and Yavists (chiefly in China), 17,200,000 Orthodox Greeks and Armenian Catholics (in Armenia, Siberia, Caucasus and Turkestan), 5,500,000 Roman Catholics and 6,000,000 Protestants. Roman Catholic and Protestant missions are established in almost every part of Asia, particularly in India, China and Japan. About 500,000 Jews arc scattered mostly in western and central Asia. A few fire-worshippers, Guebers or Parsis of India and Persia are the sole remnant of the religion of Zoroaster i while vestiges of Sabmism are found amidst the Gesides and Sabians on the Tigris.