GEOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 
BY MR. DARWIN. 
The object of the present Introduction, is briefly to describe the principal loca- 
lities, from which the Zoological specimens, collected during the voyage of the 
Beagle, were obtained. At the conclusion of this work, after each species has 
been separately examined and described, it will be more advantageous to incor- 
porate any general remarks. The Beagle was employed for nearly five years out 
of England ; of this time a very large proportion was spent in surveying the 
coasts of the Southern part of South America, and of the remainder, much was 
consumed in making long passages during her circumnavigation of the globe. 
Hence nearly the entire collection, especially of the animals belonging to the 
higher orders, was procured from this continent ; to which, however, must be added 
the Galapagos Archipelago, a group of islands in the Pacific, but not far distant 
from the American coast. The localities may be briefly described under the 
following heads. 
Brazil. This country presents an enormous area, supporting the most 
luxuriant productions of the intertropical regions. It is composed of primary 
formations, and may be considered as being hilly rather than mountainous. La 
Plata includes the several provinces bordering that great river ; — namely, 
Buenos Ayres, Banda Oriental, Santa F6, Entre Rios, &c. My collections were 
chiefly made at Buenos Ayres, at Monte Video, the capital of Banda Oriental, 
and at Maldonado, a town in the same province, situated on the northern 
a 
