Flora and Fauna
One bird family, the accentors (Prunellidae) is endemic to the Palearctic region. The Holarctic has four other endemic bird families: the divers or loons (Gaviidae), grouse (Tetraoninae), auks (Alcidae), and waxwings (Bombycillidae).
There are no endemic mammal orders in the region, but several families are endemic: Calomyscidae (mouse-like hamsters), Prolagidae, and Ailuridae (red pandas). Several mammal species originated in the Palearctic, and spread to the Nearctic during the ice ages, including the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos, known in North America as the Grizzly), Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) in Europe and the closely related Elk (Cervus canadensis) in far eastern Siberia, American Bison (Bison bison), and Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus, known in North America as the Caribou).
Read more about this topic: Palearctic Ecozone
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