in Zoological and Botanical Oeograpliy. 3 



The following six Regions are those established by Dr 

 Sclater : — 



Ist^ The Neotropical, comprising South America, Mexico, 

 and the West Indies ; 2d, The Nearctic, including the rest 

 of America ; 3c?, The PalEearctic, composed of Europe, 

 Northern Asia to Japan, and Africa north of the Desert ; 

 ^th, The Ethiopian, which contains the rest of Africa and 

 Madagascar ; oth, The Indian, containing Southern Asia 

 and the western half of the Mala}^ Archipelago ; and Qth, 

 The Australian, which comprises the eastern half of the 

 Malay Islands, Australia, and most of the Pacific Islands, 

 Each of these regions is characterised by a number of pecu- 

 liar genera, and even families of birds, which, while found 

 everywhere within the region, do not pass over its bounda- 

 ries ; and by other genera which, though found sparingly 

 in several regions, have their metropolis in one. This 

 scheme of Ornithological distribution has been founded on 

 such an extensive basis of facts, and after having been five 

 years before the world has met with such general accept- 

 ance, that it may fairly be taken as established, subject only 

 to modifications of the dividing lines between those regions 

 which gradually merge into each other. 



It remains to be shown whether this is not only a true 

 Ornithological, but also a true Zoological and Botanical divi- 

 sion of the earth ; and if not, to show how it is that what 

 is true for one part of nature should not be equally true for 

 all. 



In a paper on the " Geographical Distribution of Eep- 

 tiles" {Proc. Zool. 8oc. 1858, p. 373), Dr Gunther has shown 

 that for snakes and batrachians the same divisions will 

 almost exactly apply ; the only important discrepancy being 

 that Japan, judging from its snakes, would belong to the 

 Indian region, while its batrachians are decidedly related to 

 those of the Palsearctic region. 



In Mammalia the same geographical divisions are very 

 strongly marked, but here again one important discrepancy 

 has been pointed out, namely, that the quadrupeds of North 

 Africa are of Ethiopian, while the birds and reptiles are of 

 European forms. {Ihis, vol. i. pp. 93, 157. 



In the immense class of Insects, very little has been done 



