Book contents
- Threatened and Recently Extinct Vertebrates of the World
- Threatened and Recently Extinct Vertebrates of the World
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1 The Arctic Realm
- Chapter 2 The Palearctic Realm
- Chapter 3 The Afrotropical Realm
- Chapter 4 The Madagascan Realm
- Chapter 5 The Indo-Malaysian Realm
- Chapter 6 The Papua-Melanesian Realm
- Chapter 7 The Australian Realm
- Chapter 8 The Polynesian Realm
- Chapter 9 The Nearctic Realm
- Chapter 10 The Caribbean Realm
- Chapter 11 The Neotropical Realm
- Chapter 12 The Patagonian Realm
- Chapter 13 The Antarctic Realm
- Chapter 14 The Oceanic Realm
- Chapter 15 Global Balance
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 9 - The Nearctic Realm
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 February 2023
- Threatened and Recently Extinct Vertebrates of the World
- Threatened and Recently Extinct Vertebrates of the World
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1 The Arctic Realm
- Chapter 2 The Palearctic Realm
- Chapter 3 The Afrotropical Realm
- Chapter 4 The Madagascan Realm
- Chapter 5 The Indo-Malaysian Realm
- Chapter 6 The Papua-Melanesian Realm
- Chapter 7 The Australian Realm
- Chapter 8 The Polynesian Realm
- Chapter 9 The Nearctic Realm
- Chapter 10 The Caribbean Realm
- Chapter 11 The Neotropical Realm
- Chapter 12 The Patagonian Realm
- Chapter 13 The Antarctic Realm
- Chapter 14 The Oceanic Realm
- Chapter 15 Global Balance
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The Nearctic Realm, as here defined, consists of most of the continental regions of the United States and Canada, along with parts of northern Mexico and certain satellite islands such as Bermuda. It is bordered by the Arctic Realm to the north and by the Caribbean and Neotropical realms to the south. The physical features and the major biogeographic regions of North America are almost a mirror of those of Palearctic Eurasia. In the northern part, below the polar areas, are vast coniferous forests succeeded by deciduous woodlands, grass prairies, deserts, chaparral, and subtropics. Cutting through these from north to south in western North America is an enormous mountain chain that divides midway into two separate ranges. Today, the climate ranges from subarctic in the north, through temperate to subtropical in Florida and Mexico.
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- Threatened and Recently Extinct Vertebrates of the WorldA Biogeographic Approach, pp. 374 - 411Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023