ALLEN ON GEOGRAPHICAL DISTEIBUTION OF MAMMALS. 365 



American af&nities. Judged by other classes of animals, the fauDa of 

 New Zealand is Australian (or Australian and Polynesian), but is yet so 

 specialized that the New Zealand islands must be recognized as forming 

 a distinct and highly differentiated region (New Zealand Region) of the 

 Australian Eealm. 



As regards mammalia (and the same is true of the fauna and flora 

 'considered collectively), Tasmania, Australia, and New Guinea have 

 many features in common, fully one-half of the genera (seven out of 

 fourteen) of mammals occurring in Tasmania being represented not only 

 throughout the greater part hf Australia, dut also in New Guinea. 



Tasmania and New Guinea are less rich in mammalia than Australia, 

 but this is obviously due to their insular character and small area. Tas- 

 mania is scarcely more closely related to Southern Australia than New 

 Guinea is to Northern Australia. Formerly, New Guinea was thought 

 to be very distinct from Australia, but the recent exploration of the 

 interior of New Guinea by MM. Beccari, d'Albertis, and Laglaize, has 

 brought to light the existence there of many forms before supposed to be 

 restricted to Australia and Tasmania. M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards, 

 in a recent communication to the French Academy respecting some new 

 species of mammalia discovered in New Guinea by M. Laglaize, in refer- 

 ring to the close relationship existing between the faunae of New Guinea 

 and Australia, thus observes : — " Plus on etudie la faune de la Nou velle- 

 Gulnee, plus on lui trouve de ressemblance avec celle de I'Australie, et les 

 indications fournies par la repartition des espfeces animales permet d'affir- 

 mer qu'autrefois ces terres ne formaient qu'un seul grand continent. 

 Deja les resultats des voyages de circumnavigation entrepris dans la 

 premiere moitie de ce siecle . . . avaient permis de soupgonuer 

 cetteconformited'origine; maisellea6t€ principalement miseeulumiere 

 a la suite des explorations de M. Wallace, de M. Beccari et de M. d'Al- 

 bertis. Enfln les collections qui M. Laglaize a form^es dans ces regions, 

 ainsi que celles qui lui ont 6te remises par M. Bruijn et qui viennent d'ar- 

 river en France, fournissent des faits nouveaux qui accentuent encore 

 les ressemblances entrevues."* 



Formerly the Monotremes were supposed to be restricted to the south- 

 ern half of Australia and Tasmania, but within the last two or three 

 years the existence of Tacliyglossus in North Australia (latitude 21°) has 

 been established, and an allied species has been discovered in the mount- 

 ains of New Guinea. M. A. Milne-Edwards has also just described a 

 species of Bromicia from New Guinea, and also a species of Sa^Jalotis, 

 and Dr. Peters has recently added species of Phalangista, Chcetocercus, 

 and Hydromys, making six genera recently discovered in New Guinea 

 that were previously known only from Australia and Tasmania. 



So far as at present known, only three or four genera ( Uromys, Ben- 

 drolagus, Borcopis, and Myoectis) of mammals are peculiar to New Guinea 

 and tbe small islands situated between New Guinea and Austialin, and 

 *Compte-reQdu, torn. Ixsxv, 1079, dec. 3, 1877. 



