We collected available chorological data of birds and mammals in China and assigned faunal types. The 19 subregions of the zoogeographical regions of China were used as operative geographical units. Matrices of the geographical units using the species number of each faunal type were then constructed. Based on the matrices we clustered the geographical units using a hierarchical cluster analysis The results of the faunal divisions according to the cluster analysis were illustrated in a geographic information system (GIS). When 19 geographical units were clustered into two clusters, the boundary of the two clusters corresponded to that of the Palearctic and Indomalayan (Oriental) realms in the recent division of Chinese fauna. When the geographical units were clustered into eight clusters, the sub-region Southern Yunnan Hilly became an idiographic cluster. As a result, Southern Yunnan hilly should be regarded as a region rather than a sub-region at the same level as Southwest region, Central China region and South China region. The differences in the distribution patterns of birds and mammals among the units in the Indomalayan (Oriental) realm were more complicated than those in Palearctic realm. A few differences of the cluster analysis results based on the faunal types were found between the bird and mammal species. These differences might result from the different ecological and geographical distribution patterns of these two animal categories.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.