FAUNA AND FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND. 5 
between the American and Australian marsupials does not 
militate against Mr. Wallace’s theory. The distribution of the 
birds is decidedly favourable to it. The Fly-catchers, Sunbirds, 
Hornbills, Bee-eaters, King-crows, Kingfishers, Nightjars, Swifts, 
Bustards, and other Australian birds are all related to Old-world 
forms ; exceptions, perhaps, being found in the Megapodes, or 
Mound-builders, which are probably allied to the Curassows of 
Brazil, and also in the Brush-tongued parrots, which have their 
nearest allies in the parrots of South America. 
Most of the families of lizards follow the same rule of distri- 
bution as the birds, but the Gymnophthalmide are not known in 
North America although found in Timor, New Guinea, Polynesia, 
and South America; and of the /ewanzde (a characteristic 
South American family) a very distinct species is found in Fiji, 
and another is supposed tooccur in Australia. With the snakes 
the case is different. Out of the fourteen families of land snakes 
inhabiting the Australian region, no less than four are found in 
India, Africa, and South America, but not in North America ; 
and another family, the Amblycephalide, is found in India, in 
South America, and doubtfully in New Caledonia, but not in 
‘ North America; although all, according to Mr. Wallace, must 
have passed through North America. The fresh-water tortoises 
are found only in Africa, Australia, and South America. The 
principal genus, however, occurs both in Australia and in South 
America, but not in Africa. Here, therefore, the distribution is 
not in accordance with theory. 
The affinity between the faunas of Australia and South 
America is still better shewn in the frogs, whose distribution is 
quite at variance with that of the birds. One family (Pelodryade) 
is confined to these two regions: two others have the same dis- 
tribution as the families of snakes just mentioned, being absent 
from North America; while closely allied forms are found in 
Australia and South America: and a family of tree frogs, 
although widely spread and occurring in North America, has the 
South American species more closely related to those of Australia 
than to those of North America. 
The marine and most of the fresh-water fishes (except Osteo- 
glossum, which is found only in Borneo, Queensland, and Brazil), 
as well as some groups of insects, such as most of the butterflies 
and stag beetles, tollow the same rule in distribution as the birds; 
while other groups of insects, such as the Bupestridw, Longicorn 
beetles, and the family of Castnzzd@ among moths, follow the 
distribution of the frogs. 
The distribution of the marine mollusca of Australia and 
Polynesia is favourable to Mr. Wallace’s theory ; but the terres- 
trial mollusca, although most nearly allied to those of the Indian 
Archipelago, have strong affinities with the mollusca of South 
America, and shew no connection with those of Africa. This is 
seen in Zvochomorpha, Tornatellina, Cyclotus, Cyclophorus, and 
Hlelicina, which are found in Polynesia, Australia, and South 
America ; Macrocyclis in Australia and South America ; Partula 
