The geographical distribution of animals, with a study of the relations ...

;chap, iv.] ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS. 61half of Ceylon. 4. The Lemurian region ;consisting of Madagascarand its adjacent islands. 5. The Austral-Asian regionwhich is the Indian region of Mr. Sclater without the portiontaken to be added to the Ethiopian region. 6. The Melanesianregion ; which is the Australian region of Mr. Sclater withoutNew Zealand and the Pacific Islands, which form 7. thePolynesian region. Mr. Blyth thinks this is " a true classificationof zoological regions as regards mammalia and birds."In an elaborate paper on the birds of Eastern North America,their distribution and migrations (Bulletin of Museum of ComparativeZoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Vol. 2), Mr. J. A.Allen proposes a division of the earth in accordance with whathe terms, " the law of circumpolar distribution oflife in zones,"as follows : 1. Arctic realm. 2. North temperate realm. 3.American tropical realm. 4. Indo-African tropical realm.5. South American tropical realm. 6. African temperate realm.7. Antarctic realm. 8. Australian realm. Some of these aresubdivided into regions; (2) consisting of the American andthe Europaeo-Asiatic regions ; (4) into the African and Indianregions; (8) into the tropical Australian region, and one comprisingthe southern part of Australia and New Zealand. Theother realms each form a single region.Discussion of proposed Regions.—Before proceeding to definethe regions adopted in this work, it may be as well to makea few remarks on some of the preceding classifications, andto give the reasons which seem to render it advisable to adoptvery few of the suggested improvements on Mr. Sclater'soriginal proposal. Mr. Blyth's scheme is one of the leastnatural, and also the most inconvenient. There can be littleuse in the knowledge that a group of animals is found in theBoreal Eegion, if their habitat might still be either Patagonia,the West Indies, or Japan ; and it is difficult to see on whatprinciple the Madagascar group of islands is made of equalrank with this enormous region, seeing that its forms of lifehave marked African affinities. Neither does it seem advisableto adopt the Polynesian Eegion, or that comprising New Zealandalone (as hinted at by Professor Huxley and since adopted by