ZOOLOGY. 803 



on the contrary, the Oriental and Australian, (so widely different in 

 their Batrachians,) are extremely similar. We find also that the Palae- 

 arctic or Europseo- Asiatic, (the Batrachian fauna of which is so well 

 characterized, and without any affinity whatever to the Ethiopian,) bears 

 the closest resemblance to the latter region, differing only in the ab- 

 sence of various types which flourish in the tropical and sub-tropical 

 zones." 



In fine, according to Mr. Boulenger, " we arrive at the conclusion 

 that the zoo-geographical regions generally in use, and especially their 

 degree of relationship to one another, receive little support from the 

 study of the distribution of the lizards ; that the distribution in zones, 

 which is so satisfactorily shown by the Batrachians and the fresh- water 

 fishes, is contrary to the plainest evidence as regards lizards, which at 

 the present time range more according to longitude ; that the two great 

 divisions originally proposed by Mr. Sclater, and derived from the study 

 of passerine birds, hold good ; and that if a division of the world had to 

 be framed according to the lizard faunas, the primary divisions would 

 be the following: 



"I. Palceogean realm. — Two regions: 1. Occidental (=Pal8earctic re- 

 gion, excluding the Manchurian subregion + Ethiopian region of Wal- 

 lace); 2. Oriental (=:Oriental + Australian regions of Wallace). 



"II. Neogean realm. — Nearctic -{- Neotropical regions. ^^ 



The faunawhich especiall}" interests Americans — that of the jSTeogean 

 realm — may be briefly considered in the words of Mr. Boulenger. That 

 fauna is " very uniform as regards groups of higher rank, and the changes 

 from the center towards the north and south are very gradual. And 

 it is noteworthy that the Central American lauua (of which the North 

 American is but an offshoot) presents a greater variety of types than the 

 South American ; thus it possesses representatives of every one of the 

 eleven families which occur in the realm, viz : Geckonidse, Eublepha, 

 ridse, Iguanidae, XenosauridaB, Anguidae, Aniellidae, Helodermatidai, 

 Xantasiidaj, Teiidre, Amphisbainidaj, and Scincidaj ; whereas South 

 America lacks the small groups Eublepharidse, Xenosauridaj, Aniel- 

 lidee, Helodermatidse, and Xantusiid*. As the greater abundance and 

 variety of forms of the Anguidae occurs in the northern half and the 

 West Indies, and the reverse is the case as regards the Teiida3 (espe- 

 cially with reference to variety of genera) and the Amphisbaenidae, we 

 may safely draw the boundary line between two regions or sub-regions, 

 as it may be thought fit to term them, at the Isthmus of Panama, tlie 

 West Indies being comprised with the northern region. Lizards range 

 only as far north as British Columbia {Gerrhonotus cwruleus), Minnesota 

 {Eumeces septentrionalis), and Massachusetts {Eumeces faseiatus) ; whilst 

 they have penetrated to the straits of Magellan [Liolcemus magallen- 

 icm):^—{Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), v. 16, pp. 77-85.) 



The contrast offered by the lizards to the fishes is marked, but not in 

 the manner indicated by Dr. Boulenger. The fresh-water fishes are not 



