y8 TEOCEEBINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Ophidian Beg ions. 



■ 1. Africa south of the Atlas. 



2. Western Palaearctic region. 



3. India with the eastern Palsearctic region. 



4. North America. 



5. Tropical America. 



6. Tropical Pacific. 



7. Madagascar. 



8. New Zealand. 



In the last case it is especially noticed that the relations of 

 Madagascar to tropical America are closer than would he supposed 

 from this classification. 



There is, I believe, no zoologist living whose knowledge of the 

 Eeptilia exceeds Dr. Giinther's, and as his attention was attracted 

 to the question of distribution so long ago as 1858, the views now 

 expressed are the results of a long study of the subject under the 

 exceptionally favourable circumstances of being in charge of the 

 largest collection in the world. I may add, from a long acquaint- 

 ance with Dr. Giinther, to whom I am indebted for calling my 

 attention to the article I have quoted, that he is not in the habit of 

 changing views once published without strong evidence. The 

 following sentence from his article on Reptiles is therefore of 

 great weight : — "The same arrangement of the so-called primary 

 zoological regions is not applicable to all orders of reptiles, and the 

 differences in their distribution are so fundamental that they can be 

 accounted for only on the assumption of the various orders and 

 families having appeared to spread over the earth at very distant 

 periods when land and water were difi'erently distributed over the 

 surface of the globe." 



The distribution of the Batrachia has been studied afresh by 

 Mr. Boulenger, who has arranged the regions thus : — 



I. Northern zone : Caudata abundant ; Apoda wanting. 



1. Europe- Asiatic region. 



2. North- American region. 



II. Equatorial southern zone. Either Caudata wanting or 



Apoda present or both Caudata wanting and Apoda 

 present. 

 A. Firmisternia division. 



1. Indian region. 



2. African region. 



