16 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION CHAP. 
the name of Triarctic ; but in the next year (Nature, xxvi. p. 606) 
adopted for that union Prof. Newton’s earher term Holarctic. 
Some other general schemes have been promulgated, as those of 
M. Trouessart and Professor Mobius; but they have found little 
support, and with regard to the Class Aves, though certainly not with 
regard to other groups as Pisces, or Mollusca, what is practically 
the scheme of Mr. Sclater has met with acceptance, whether with 
or without the modifications proposed by Huxley and Professor 
Newton, there being really but two important points of difference— 
(1) the recognition of New Zealand asa distinct Region, and (2) the 
union of the Nearctic and Palaearctic areas into a single Region. 
It would be impossible here to set forth the arguments by which 
these views are maintained or contested, and it must suffice to 
trace brietly the outlines of the several districts. Mew Zealand, 
if admitted as a distinct Region, consists only of the islands so 
named, the smaller Chatham, Auckland, and Macquarrie groups, 
Antipodes Island, Lord Howe's, Norfolk and Kermadec Islands. 
The Australian, if the preceding be cut off, will include Tasmania, 
all Australia, and the islands to the northward as far as what has 
been called “ Wallace’s Line ” (between Lombok and Bala), Celebes, 
New Guinea, New Britain, and all the countless groups of 
tropical islands in the Pacific Ocean—except the Galapagos, which 
undoubtedly belong to the next Region. The Neotropical is made 
up of all South America, the Antilles and Central America, the 
only doubt being whether to draw the northern boundary so as 
to exclude or include Mexico, or even the southern part of the 
United States. To this naturally succeeds, but with an indefinite 
southern boundary, the Nearctic, comprising the whole of the 
rest of North America to the shores of the Polar Sea, with the 
addition of Greenland. Its north-western corner, Alaska, is now 
known to be largely tenanted by forms from Asia, not found 
elsewhere in America, and this is one of the chief reasons assigned 
for uniting it with the Palaearctic area, which may be taken to 
include Japan and all continental Asia to the north of China 
proper, the Himalayas, the Persian Gulf and the east end of the 
Mediterranean. Some authorities would add Northern Arabia 
and Lower Egypt; but all have agreed to include Tunis and the 
ancient Mauritania—the Barbary States lying north of the Great 
Desert to the Atlantic Ocean about Mogador, as well as the 
Canaries, Madeira and the Azores, with the whole of Europe 
