484 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



The Primary Zoogeographical Regions of the Earth as determined 



by the Mammals. 



The interest for some years felt in the geographical dis- 

 tribution of animal life has been again stimulated, at least 

 in the United States, through the publication of an important 

 and elaborate memoir, by Mr. J. A. Allen, on the " Geograph- 

 ical Distribution of the Mammalia, considered in Relation to 

 the Principal Ontological Regions of the Earth, and the Laws 

 that Govern the Distribution of Animal Life." The data 

 bave been collected and co-ordinated with the conscientious 

 thoroughness that is characteristic of Mr. Allen's work. The 

 author finds no reason to change his views, formerly ex- 

 pressed and held in common with Humboldt, Wagner, Dann, 

 Agassiz, De Candolle, and others, "that life is distribut- 

 ed in circumpolar zones, which conform with the climatic 

 zones, though not always with the parallels of the geogra- 

 pher. . . . These are directly antagonistic to the scheme of 

 division of the earth's surface into the life-regions proposed 

 by Dr. Sclater in 1857," and recently adopted by Mr. Wal- 

 lace in his famous work. Mr. Allen has, however, modified 

 the scheme formerly (in 1871) promulgated by himself, and 

 now submits the following division of the earth's surface. 



The primary terrestrial regions of the globe are designat- 

 ed as (1) "realms;" the secondary as (2) "regions;" and 

 the regions themselves are subdivided into (3) " provinces;" 

 thus 



I. Arctic realm, undivided. 

 II. North Temperate realm, with 2 regions viz. : 



1. American region, with 4 provinces viz. : 



a. Boreal. 



b. Eastern. 



c. Middle. 



d. Western. 



2. Europa30-Asiatic region, also with 4 provinces 



viz. : 



a. European. 



b. Siberian. 



e. Mediterranean. 

 d. Manchurian. 



III. American Tropical realm, with 3 regions viz.: 



