THE AMERICAN PROVINCE. wey 
is so complete, that it might, perhaps, appear more 
natural to have followed up the developement of this 
change by immediately entering upon the zoology of 
Australasia ; but this transition, striking as it is, is not 
more conspicuous than that which may be traced from 
the zoology of Asia to that of America. It must be re- 
membered, also, that each of these zoological provinces 
are connected with the rest at more than one point. The 
Asiatic blends into the European, both at its northern 
and at it western confines; and it is again united to 
the African range through the medium of Asia, Minor 
and Arabia: nor will it be found less harmonised with 
the zoology of the New World, when we look to the 
productions of Kamtschatka, in Arctic Asia, and the 
opposite shores of California; while the islands of Papua 
or New Guinea, New Ireland, and New Caledonia, as 
before remarked, incontestably prove the union of the 
Asiatic with the Australian range. United, therefore, at 
so many points, it becomes perfectly immaterial from 
which we depart, and commence a further investigation, 
provided we preserve that uniformity of plan so desir- 
able in expositions of this nature. 
(79.) The Arctic regions, as we have already urged, 
can only be considered as equally belonging to the three 
great zoological provinces of Europe, Asia, and America. 
Their productions, at these extreme limits, although not, 
in numerous cases, perfectly similar, belong nevertheless 
to the same natural groups. Several of the northern 
quadrupeds of Asia range over the Arctic snows of 
Europe, and again occur, in similar latitudes, upon the 
American continent. Many, however, remain within 
what may be termed their original boundaries. The 
aquatic birds are more generally dispersed ; and there 
are very few in one continent, that have not been de- 
tected in another. In proportion, therefore, as we leave 
these frozen latitudes, common to animals whose nature 
fits them for extreme cold, and advance to the more genial 
latitudes of these continents, shall we discover a corre- 
sponding developement of their true zoological features. 
