258 



Prof. S. F. Baird on the Distribution and 



Dr. Sclater, in the article above alluded to, presents the 

 following scheme of the arrangement of " Regions " as best 

 illustrating their relationship : — 



Pal/eogean or Old World Creation. 



Neogban or New World 

 Creation. 



Pal»ai'ctic or 



North Old World 



Region. 



Nearctie or 



North American 



Eegion. 



II. 



III. 



IV. 



Western 

 Palaeotropical 

 or Ethiopian 



Eegion. 



Middle 



Palseotropical 



or Indian 



Region. 



Eastern 

 Palseotropical 

 or Australian 



Region. 



Neotropical or 



South American 



Eegion. 



The boundaries of these regions, as defined by Dr. Sclater, with 

 Mr. Wallace's corrections, embrace the following countries : — 



I. Palaarctic Region. — All Europe and Africa north of the 

 Sahara, and all continental Asia north of about the parallel 

 of 30° N. lat., including the whole mountainous country and 

 plateaux of Central Asia, as well as Japan and the Kuriles. The 

 Aleutians, assigned by Dr. Sclater to this region, appear to 

 belong more to North America. 



II. Ethiopian Region. — This embraces all of Africa south of 

 the Sahara, and on the eastern side all south of about 30° N. 

 lat., as well as most of Arabia, except the portion along the 

 Indian Ocean"aud the Persian Gulf. It includes also Madagas- 

 car and the adjacent islands, as Mauritius, Bourbon, &c. The 

 Sahara Mr. Wallace considers as belonging to neither the 

 Palsearctic nor the African region, but to occupy the position of 

 a sea, and to be essentially destitute of land species. 



III. The Indian Region. — This includes the low lands of 

 continental Asia, about south of 30^ N. lat., and the portion of 

 Arabia excluded from the Ethiopian Region, as well as Ceylon, 

 Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and the Philippines. It is the country 

 washed by the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the China 

 Seas, and its south-eastern limit passes between the islands of 

 Bali and Lombok, between Borneo and Celebes, and between 

 the Philippines and the Moluccas. 



IV. The Australian Region. — This includes Australia, New 

 Guinea, Tasmania, New Zealand, and Polynesia, also Lombok, 



