VI 



PREFACE. 



of type. Dr. Giinther shortly afterwards, in an elaborate paper before 

 the Zoological Society, showed that an examination of the reptilian fauna 

 gives us a division of the earth's surface into the same natural provinces 

 as holds good with the class Avcs ; and since that time zoologists appear 

 by common consent to have accepted Mr. Sclater's views as demonstrable 

 in every province of life. 



Accepting then Mr. Sclater's definition of boundary lines, Palestine 

 forms an extreme southern province of the Patearctic region, which 

 includes Europe, Africa north of the Atlas, Western Asia (but not 

 Arabia, which is .(Ethiopian), the rest of Asia north of the Himalayan 

 range, Northern China, and Japan. An analysis of each class of its fauna 

 and of its phanerogamic flora shows that while an overwhelming majority 

 of its species in all cases belong to the Palaearctic region, there are in each 

 class a group of exceptions and peculiar forms which cannot be referred 

 to that region, and the presence of many of which cannot be explained 

 merely by the fact of the Palaearctic infringing closely on the ^Ethiopian 

 region, and not very distantly on the Indian ; but can only be satisfactorily 

 accounted for by reference to the geological history of the country. 

 These species are, almost all, strictly confined to the area of the Jordan 

 valley and Dead Sea basin. 



The Analysis of the Results of the various Collections made, including all Species 

 hitherto recorded from Palestine, may be tabulated thus : 



* Exclusive of those common to Patearctic region. 



t Besides very many common to Indian and Ethiopian regions. 



