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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST 



[Vol. XLV 



They then began to divide np the earth into a larger 

 number of " kingdoms," by separating one fauna from 

 another according to its similarities or differences. 



These divisions differed not alone according to their 

 originators, but also greatly in accordance with the 

 group of animals upon which they happened to be based. 

 Finally, it became generally agreed that Wallace, the 

 founder of the zoogeography of the present day, had 

 found a division which hold for all land animals. That 

 this opinion was in reality incorrect will be shown later 

 on. 



The divisions proposed by Sclater date from about 

 1858. Founded on the distribution of birds, it has been 

 held by almost everybody up to the present time as cov- 

 ering the distribution of birds and mammals. This 

 division of the earth is, with a few minor changes, as 

 follows : 



1. Palcearctic Region. — Europe; the greater part of 

 Asia ; Africa to the north of Atlas and Sahara. 



2. Ethiopian Region.— Africa to the south of the 

 Sahara; Madagascar and the neighboring islands; South 

 Arabia. 



3. Indian or Oriental Region.— India to the south of 

 the Himalayas; south China; the western portion of the 



4. Australian Region.— Eastern portion of the Indian 

 archipelago; Australia; New Zealand; Polynesia. 



5. Nearctic Region,— North America as far as north- 

 ern Mexico. 



6. Neo-Tropical Region.— Southern Mexico; the An- 

 tilles; South and Central America. 



The subdivisions of these regions need not be taken 

 np in more detail here. But it should be mentioned that 

 Huxley in 1868 proposed the name of Notogaea for the 

 Australian and Neo-tropical regions taken together as 

 contrasted to the others, which he combined under the 



me with the question of 

 the face of the earth, but 



