Most writers on geographical distribution have completely overlooked its connexion with well-established geological facts, and have thereby created difficulties where none exist. The peculiar and apparently endemic faunæ and floræ of the oceanic islands (such as the Galapagos and St. Helena) have been dwelt upon as something anomalous and inexplicable. It has been imagined that the more simple condition of such islands would be to have their productions identical with those of the nearest land, and that their actual condition is an incomprehensible mystery. The very reverse of this is however the case. We really require no speculative hypothesis, no new theory, to explain these phenomena; they are the logical results of well-known laws of nature. The regular and unceasing extinction of species, and their replacement by allied forms, is now no hypothesis, but an established fact; and it necessarily produces such peculiar faunæ and floræ in all but recently formed or newly disrupted islands, subject of course to more or less modification according to the facilities for the transmission of fresh species from adjacent continents. Such phenomena therefore are far from uncommon. Madagascar, Mauritius, the Moluccas, New Zealand, New Caledonia, the Pacific Islands, Juan Fernandez, the West India Islands, and many others, all present such peculiarities in greater or less development. It is the instances of identity of species in distant countries that presents the real difficulty. What was supposed to be the more normal state of things is really exceptional, and requires some hypothesis for its explanation. The phenomena of distribution in the Malay Archipelago, to which I have here called attention, teach us that, however narrow may be the strait separating an island from its continent, it is still an impassable barrier against the passage of any considerable number and variety of land animals; and that in all cases in which such islands possess a tolerably rich and varied fauna of species mostly identical, or closely allied with those of the adjacent country, we are forced to the conclusion that a geologically recent disruption has taken place. Great Britain, Ireland, Sicily, Sumatra, Java and Borneo, the Aru Islands, the Canaries and Madeira, are cases to which the reasoning is fully applicable.

In his introductory Essay on the Flora of New Zealand, Dr. Hooker has most convincingly applied this principle to show the former connexion of New Zealand and other southern islands with the southern extremity of America; and I will take this opportunity of calling the attention of zoologists to the very satisfactory manner in which this view clears away many difficulties in the distribution of animals. The most obvious of these is the occurrence of Marsupials in America only, beyond the Australian region. They evidently entered by the same route as the plants of New Zealand and Tasmania which occur in South temperate America, but having greater powers of dispersion, a greater plasticity of organization, have extended themselves over the whole continent though with so few modifications of form and structure as to point to a unity of origin at a comparatively recent period. It is among insects, however, that the resemblances approach in number and degree to those exhibited by plants. Among Butterflies the beautiful Heliconidæ are strictly confined to South America, with the exception of a single genus (Hamadryas) found in the Australian region from New Zealand to New Guinea. In Coleoptera many families and genera are characteristic of the two countries; such are Pseudomorphidæ among the Geodephaga, Lamprimidæ and Syndesidæ among the Lucani, Anoplognathidæ among the Lamellicornes, Stigmoderidæ among the Buprestes, Natalis among the Cleridæ, besides a great number of representative genera. This peculiar distribution has hitherto only excited astonishment, and has confounded all ideas of unity in the distribution of organic beings; but we now see that they are in exact accordance with the phenomena presented by the flora of the same regions, as developed in the greatest detail by the researches of Dr. Hooker.

It is somewhat singular, however, that not one identical species of insect should yet have been discovered, while no less than 89 species of flowering plants are found both in New Zealand and South America. The relations of the animals and of the plants of these countries must necessarily depend on the same physical changes which the Southern hemisphere has undergone; and we are therefore led to conclude that insects are much less persistent in their specific forms than flowering plants, while among Mammalia and land birds (in which no genus even is common to the countries in question) species must die and be replaced much more rapidly than in either. And this is exactly in accordance with the fact (well established by geology) that at a time when the shells of the European seas were almost all identical with species now living, the European Mammalia were almost all different. The duration of life of species would seem to be in an inverse proportion to their complexity of organization and vital activity.

In the brief sketch I have now given of this interesting subject, such obvious and striking facts alone have been adduced as a traveller's note-book can supply. The argument must therefore lose much of its weight from the absence of detail and accumulated examples. There is, however, such a very general accordance in the phenomena of distribution as separately deduced from the various classes or kingdoms of the organic world, that whenever one class of animals or plants exhibits in a clearly marked manner certain relations between two countries, the other classes will certainly show similar ones, though it may be in a greater or a less degree. Birds and insects will teach us the same truths; and even animals and plants, though existing under such different conditions, and multiplied and dispersed by such a generally distinct process, will never give conflicting testimony, however much they may differ as regards the amount of relationship between distant regions indicated by them, and consequently notwithstanding the greater or less weight either may have in the determining of questions of this nature.

This is my apology for offering to the Linnean Society the present imperfect outline in anticipation of the more detailed proofs and illustrations which I hope to bring forward on a future occasion.


INDEX.

Page
Acridotheres, [176]
Alligator,[3]
Amblada, Walk.,[144]
—— atomaria, Walk., [145]
Ampsalis, Walk., [98]
—— geniata, Walk., [99]
Ancylus fluviatilis, [39]
Anoa, [177]
Anodon, [38]
Anomia, [37], [58]
Anopheles, Meigen, [91]
—— vanus, Walk., [91]
Anoplognathidæ, [183]
Ansa depressicornis, [176]
Anthomyia, Meigen, [141]
—— procellaria, Walk., [141]
Anthomyides, Walk., [140]
Anthrax, Fabr., [111]
—— antecedens, Walk., [111]
—— congrua, Walk., [112]
—— degenera, Walk., [113]
—— demonstrans, Walk., [112]
—— prædicans, Walk., [112]
—— prætendens, Walk., [111]
—— proferens, Walk., [113]
—— semiscita, Walk., [111]
—— Tantalus, Fabr., [111]
Anthreptes lepida, [175]
Aplysia,[38], [40]
Aragara, Walk.,[154]
—— crassipes, Walk.,[154]
Arca,[55]
Argonauta,[42], [60]
Aricia, Macq.,[140]
—— contraria, Walk.,[140]
—— integra, Walk.,[140]
—— nigricosta, Walk.,[140]
—— significans, Walk.,[140]
Asilidæ, Leach,[104]
Asilites, Walk.,[106]
Asilus, Linn.,[107]
—— areolaris, Walk.,[108]
—— determinatus, Walk.,[107]
—— introducens, Walk.,[108]
—— tenuicornis, Walk.,[108]
Aspergillum,[36]
Aye-Aye (Cheiromys madagascariensis, L., Cuv.) H. Sandwith on the habits of the,[28]
Babirusa,[176]
Baccha, Fabr.,[121]
—— dispar, Walk.,[121]
Baryterocera, Walk.,[120]
—— gibbula, Walk.,[120]
Belideus,[172]
Bombylidæ, Leach,[111]
Bombylites, Walk.,[111]
Buccinum,[41], [69]
Bucconidæ,[173]
Bulla,[66]
Cacatua,[173]
Cadrema, Walk.,[117]
—— lonchopteroides, Walk.,[117]
Cænosia, Meigen,[141]
—— luteicornis, Walk.,[141]
—— respondens, Walk.,[142]
—— signata, Walk.,[142]
Caiman,[3]
Callantra, Walk.,[153]
—— smieroides, Walk.,[154]
Calobata, Fabr.,[161]
—— bifasciata, Walk.,[162]
—— impingens, Walk.,[161]
—— resoluta, Walk.,[161]
Calyptræa,[39]
Cardiacephala, Macq.,[162]
—— varipes, Walk.,[162]
Cardium,[48]
Celyphus, Dalman,[147]
—— obtectus, Dalman,[147]
—— scutatus, Wied.,[147]
Ceria, Fabr.,[118]
—— lateralis, Walk.,[118]
Cervus,[173]
Chama,[54]
Chrysops, Meigen,[104]
—— fasciatus, Wied.,[104]
Chrysotus, Meigen,[116]
—— exactus, Walk.,[116]
Cleodora,[42]
Cleridæ,[183]
Clitellaria, Meigen,[95]
Clitellaria festinans, Walk.,[95]
—— gavisa, Walk.,[95]
Cœnurgia, Walk.,[164]
—— remipes, Walk.,[164]
Conus,[60]
Copsychus,[173], [174]
Coracias,[177]
Cordylura, Fallen,[142]
—— bisignata, Walk.,[142]
Crania,[37]
Crocodilia. Prof. T. H. Huxley on the specific and generic Characters of,[1]
Crocodilidæ,[5]
Crocodilus,[6]
—— Americanus (acutus, Cuv.),[11]
—— biporcatus,[11]
—— bombifrons,[13]
—— cataphractus,[16]
—— galeatus,[15]
—— Gravesii (planirostris),[15]
—— Journei,[11]-[16]
—— marginatus,[15]
—— Morelettii,[28]
—— rhombifer, [14]
—— Schlegelii, [16], [17]
—— suchus, [15]
—— vulgaris, [6]
Ctenophora, Fabr., [93]
—— incunctans, Walk., [93]
—— gaudens, Walk., [93]
Culex, Linn.,[91]
—— impatibilis, Walk.,[91]
—— impellens, Walk.,[91]
—— obturbans, Walk.,[91]
Culicidæ, Haliday,[90]
Cuscus,[172]
Cyclas,[38]
Cynopithecus,[76]
Cypræa,[63]
Cyrenoidea,[37]
Dacus, Fabr.,[149]
—— addens, Walk.,[149]
—— bilineatus, Walk.,[150]
—— contrahens, Walk.,[151]
—— diffusus, Walk.,[153]
—— divergens, Walk.,[149]
—— emittens, Walk.,[152]
—— exigens, Walk.,[151]
—— fulvitarsis, Walk.,[153]
—— imitans, Walk.,[150]
—— inaptus.,[151]
—— terminifer, Walk.,[152]
Dasypogonites, Walk.,[104]
Delphinula,[41]
Dentalium,[36], [88]
Dexia, Meigen,[129]
—— basifera, Walk.,[129]
—— includens, Walk.,[130]
—— præcedens, Walk.,[131]
Dexides, Walk.,[129]
Diaphorus, Meigen,[117]
—— resumens, Walk.,[117]
Diopsides, Walk.,[161]
Diopsis, Linn.,[161]
—— detrahens, Walk.,[161]
—— subnotata, Westw.,[161]
Dipterous insects collected at Makessar, in Celebes, by Mr. A. R. Wallace, Catalogue of, by Francis Walker,[90]
Discocephala, Macquart,[104]
—— pandens, Walk.,[104]
Discomyza, Meigen,[169]
—— obscurata, Walk.,[169]
Dolichopidæ, Leach,[114]
Dolichopus, Latr.,[115]
—— cinereus, Walk.,[115]
—— prædicans, Walk.,[115]
—— præmissus, Walk.,[116]
—— provectus, Walk.,[116]
—— proveniens, Walk.,[116]
Donax,[50]
Doris,[40]
Drosophila, Fallen,[168]
—— illata, Walk.,[168]
—— lateralis, Walk.,[169]
—— lurida, Walk.,[169]
—— rudis, Walk.,[168]
—— solennis, Walk.,[168]
Enicoptera, Macq.,[155]
—— arcuosa, Walk.,[156]
—— flava, Macq.,[156]
—— pictipennis, Walk.,[155]
—— ? plagifera, Walk.,[156]
—— tortuosa, Walk.,[155]
Ephydra, Fallen,[171]
—— borboroides, Walk.,[171]
—— maculicornis, Walk.,[171]
Eristalis, Latr.,[119]
—— Æsopus, Walk.,[119]
—— bomboides, Walk.,[119]
—— crassus, Fabr.,[119]
Eumerus, Meigen,[121]
—— figurans, Walk.,[121]
Eurygaster, Macq.,[125]
—— apta, Walk.,[126]
—— conglomerata, Walk.,[126]
—— contracta, Walk.,[128]
—— deducens, Walk.,[127]
—— progressa, Walk.,[128]
—— prominens, Walk.,[127]
—— remittens, Walk.,[125]
—— ridibunda, Walk.,[125]
Eurystomus gularis,[175]
Fissurella,[38]
Gallus,[175]
Garner, Robert, on the Shell-bearing Mollusca, particularly with regard to structure and form,[35]
Gavialidæ,[16]
Gavialis,[16], [20]
—— gangeticus,[20]
Gobrya, Walk.,[166]
—— bacchoides, Walk.,[166]
Graptomyza, Wied.,[118]
—— tibialis, Walk.,[118]
Halcyon collaris,[175]
Haliotis,[87]
Hamadryas,[183]
Hanley, Sylvanus, on the LinneanManuscript of the 'Museum Ulricæ',[43]
Heliconidæ,[183]
Helix,[83]
—— aspersa,[41]
Helomyza, Fallen,[143]
—— copiosa, Walk.,[143]
—— observans, Walk.,[143]
—— tripunctifera, Walk.,[143]
Helomyzides, Fallen ,[142]
Helophilus, Meigen,[119]
—— conclusus, Walk.,[119]
—— consors, Walk.,[119]
Hermetia, Latr.,[94]
—— remittens, Walk.,[94]
Hirundo javanica,[175]
Huxley, T. H., on the dermal Armour of Jacare and Caiman, with notes on the Specific and Generic Characters of recent Crocodilia,[1]
Hyalæa,[42]
Hydromyzides, Haliday,[170]
Jacare,[4]
—— and Caiman, Prof. T. H. Huxley on the dermal Armour of Idia, Meigen,[1], [132]
—— australis, Walk.,[132]
—— prolata, Walk.,[133]
Ixos,[173], [174]
Lamprimidæ,[183]
Lamprogaster, Macq., [147]
—— marginifera, Walk.,[147]
Laphria, Fabr.,[105]
—— complens, Walk.,[106]
—— concludens, Walk.,[105]
—— partita, Walk.,[105]
—— requisita, Walk.,[105]
—— Taphius, Walk.,[105]
—— Vulcanus, Wied.,[105]
Laphrites, Walk.,[105]
Lauxanides, Walk.,[145]
Leptidæ, Westw.,[110]
Leptis, Fabr.,[110]
Leptis ferruginosa, Walk.,[110]
Leptogaster, Meigen,[109]
—— munda, Walk.,[109]
Limnobia, Meigen,[92]
—— imponens, Walk.,[92]
Lispe, Meigen,[141]
Lispe bimaculata, Walk.,[141]
Lobster Common (Homarus vulgaris) and Shore Crab (Carcinus Mænas), S. J. A. Salter on the Moulting of the,[30]
Lonchopteridæ, Curtis,[117]
Lonchæa, Fallen,[145]
—— ? atratula,[146]
—— ? consentanea,[146]
Lymnæus,[41]
Macacus,[175]
Macropygia phasianella,[175]
Magilus,[40]
Malay Archipelago, A. R. Wallace on the Zoological Geography of [172]
Marsupials,[183]
Masicera, Macq.,[123]
—— dotata, Walk.,[123]
—— horrens, Walk.,[124]
—— immersa, Walk.,[124]
—— prognosticans, Walk.,[124]
Mecistops,[15]
—— Bennettii,[16]
Megalainia,[173]
Megapodiidæ,[173], [174]
Megapodius,[173], [174]
Megarhina, Desvoidy,[90]
—— immisericors, Walk.,[90]
Merodon, Fabr.,[120]
—— interveniens, Walk.,[120]
Meropogon,[177]
Merops javanicus,[175]
Metopia, Meigen,[128]
—— inspectans, Walk.,[128]
—— instruens, Walk.,[129]
Micropeza, Macq.,[164]
—— fragilis, Walk.,[164]
Milesia, Latr.,[118]
—— conspicienda, Walk.,[118]
Mollusca, shell-bearing, particularly with regard to structure and form, Rob. Garner on the,[35]
Murex,[75]
Musca, Linn.,[133]
—— collecta, Walk.,[139]
—— conducens, Walk.,[138]
—— delectans, Walk.,[134]
—— domestica. Walk.,[138]
—— electa, Walk.,[136]
—— favillacea, Walk.,[135]
—— flaviceps, Walk.,[135]
—— fortunata, Walk.,[137]
—— gavisa, Walk.,[138]
—— ingens, Walk.,[134]
—— inscribens, Walk.,[136]
—— intrabens, Walk.,[137]
—— obtrusa, Walk.,[135]
—— optata, Walk.,[137]
—— prædicens, Walk.,[139]
—— proferens Walk. [138]
—— promittens, Walk.,[134]
—— prospera, Walk.,[133]
—— refixa, Walk.,[138]
—— selecta, Walk.,[135]
—— sperata, Walk.,[136]
—— xanthomela, Walk.,[139]
Muscidæ, Latr.,[122]
Muscides, Walk.,[132]
Museum Ulricæ, Sylvanus Hanley on the Linnean manuscript of the,[43]
Mya,[46]
Mydas basifasciata, Walk.,[104]
Mydasites, Walk.,[104]
Mytilus,[58]
—— edulis,[38]
Natalis,[183]
Natica,[41]
Nautilus,[60]
Nemoræa, Macq.,[122]
—— amplificans, Walk.,[122]
—— tenebrosa, Walk.,[123]
Nerita,[85]
—— litoralis,[40]
Nerius, Wied.,[164]
—— fuscipennis, Macq.,[164]
Nerna, Walk.,[97]
—— impendens, Walk.,[97]
Nomba, Walk.,[169]
—— ticta, Walk.,[170]
Notiphila, Fallen,[170]
—— flavilinea, Walk.,[171]
—— lincosa, Walk.,[170]
—— quadrifascia, Walk.,[170]
Ochthera, Latr.,[171]
—— innotata, Walk.,[171]
Ochthiphila, Fallen,[147]
—— discoglauca, Walk.,[147]
Ommatius, Illiger,[109]
—— scitulus, Walk.,[109]
—— strictus, Walk.,[109]
Opomyza, Fallen,[168]
—— nigrifinis, Walk.,[168]
Ortalides, Haliday,[147]
Ortalis, Fallen,[157]
—— decatomoides, Walk.,[157]
—— vacillans, Walk.,[157]
Oscinides, Haliday,[167]
Oscinis, Fabr.,[167]
—— femorata, Walk.,[167]
Ostrea,[56]
Ovula,[41]
Oxycera, Meigen,[96]
—— manens, Walk.,[96]
Palæornis,[173]
Palloptera, Fallen,[160]
—— detracta, Walk.,[160]
Paradisea,[180]
Paradoxurus,[173]
Patella,[38], [39], [87]
Pecten maximus,[38]
Pericrocotus,[173]
Perna,[37]
Phasianidæ,[173], [174]
Philonotus melanocephala,[175]
Phœnicophæus,[176]
Pholas,[36], [46]
Phora, Latr.,[17]
—— bifasciata, Walk.,[172]
Phoridæ, Haliday,[172]
Phyllornithidæ,[173]
Picnonotus,[173]
Pinna,[60]
Piophila, Fallen,[167]
—— contecta, Walk.,[167]
Platypezidæ, Haliday,[117]
Platypeza, Meigen,[117]
—— glaucescens, Walk.,[117]
Platystoma, Latr.,[148]
—— atomarium, Walk.,[148]
—— basale, Walk.,[148]
Ploceus,[173], [174]
Prioniturus,[177]
Pseudomorphidæ,[183]
Psila, Meigen,[165]
—— bipunctifera, Walk.,[165]
—— munda, Walk.,[166]
Psilides, Walk.,[164]
Psilopus, Meigen,[114]
—— abruptus, Walk.,[115]
—— æstimatus, Walk.,[114]
—— filifer, Walk.,[114]
—— spectabilis, Walk.,[114]
Pterogenia, Bigot,[147]
—— singularis, Bigot,[147]
Pteropoda,[42]
Ptilocera Wied.,[94]
—— smaragdina, Walk.,[94]
—— smaragdifera, Walk.,[96]
Purpura,[41]
Rhynchosuchus,[16]
Rosapha, Walk.,[100]
—— habilis, Walk.,[100]
Ruba, Walk.,[100]
—— inflata, Walk.,[101]
Salter, S. J. A., on the moulting of the common Lobster and Shore-Crab,[30]
Sandwith, Hon. Dr. On the habits of the Aye-Aye, (Cheiromys madagascariensis, Cuv.),[28]
Sarcophaga, Meigen,[132]
—— aliena, Walk.,[132]
—— inextricata, Walk.,[132]
—— invaria, Walk.,[132]
—— mendax, Walk.,[132]
Sarcophagides, Walk.,[132]
Sargus, Fabr.,[96]
—— inactus, Walk.,[97]
—— mactans, Walk.,[97]
—— redhibens, Walk.,[97]
Sargus remeans, Walk.,[96]
—— repensans, Walk.,[96]
Saruga, Walk.,[101]
—— conifera, Walk.,[102]
Sciomyza, Fallen,[144]
—— (?) leucomelana, Walk.,[144]
—— replena, Walk.,[144]
Scissirostrum,[177]
Sciuridæ,[173]
Sepedon, Latr.,[145]
—— Javanensis,[145]
Sepia,[36], [39], [42]
Sepsides, Walk.,[161]
Sepsis, Fallen,[163]
—— fascipes, Walk.,[163]
—— frontalis, Walk.,[163]
—— revocans, Walk.,[163]
—— testacea, Walk.,[163]
Seraca, Walk.,[164]
—— signata, Walk.,[165]
—— signifera, Walk.,[165]
Serpula,[89]
Sipphidæ, Leach,[118]
Solemya,[37]
Solen,[47]
Solva, Walk.,[98]
—— inamœna, Walk.,[98]
Sophira, Walk.,[160]
—— bistriga, Walk.,[160]
Spilogaster, Macq.,[141]
—— xanthoceras, Walk.,[141]
Spondylus,[54]
Stigmoderidæ,[183]
Stratiomidæ, Haliday,[94]
Stratiomys, Geoff.,[94]
—— finalis Walk.,[94]
—— immiscens, Walk.,[94]
Strombus,[73]
Sturnopastor,[173]
Suragina, Walk.,[110]
—— illucens, Walk.,[110]
Sus,[175]
Syndesidæ,[183]
Syritta, St. Farg.,[121]
—— illucida, Walk.,[121]
Syrphus, Fabr.,[122]
—— consequens, Walk.,[122]
Systropus, Wied.,[113]
—— sphegoides, Walk.,[113]
Tabanidæ, Leach,[102]
Tabanus, Linn.,[102]
—— factiosus, Walk.,[102]
—— flexilis, Walk.,[104]
—— immixtus, Walk.,[103]
—— reducens, Walk.,[103]
Tabanus spoliatus, Walk.,[103]
—— succurvus, Walk.,[102]
Tachinides, Walk.,[122]
Tanysiptera,[174]
Tellina,[47]
Texara, Walk.,[166]
—— dioctrioides, Walk.,[166]
Thereva, Latr.,[111]
—— congrua, Walk.,[111]
Therevites, Walk.,[111]
Thressa, Walk.,[146]
—— signifera, Walk.,[146]
Tiga,[173]
Tinda, Walk.,[101]
—— modifera, Walk.,[101]
Tipula, Linn.,[92]
—— infindens,[92]
—— inordinans,[93]
Tipulidæ, Haliday,[92]
Torocca, Walk.,[131]
—— abdominalis, Walk.,[131]
Tracana, Walk.,[99]
—— iterabilis, Walk.,[99]
Trichophorus,[173]
Trigonia,[37]
Trochus,[40], [80]
Trogonidæ,[173]
Tropidorhynchus,[173]
Trupanea, Macquart,[106]
Trupanea calorifica, Walk.,[107]
—— strenua, Walk.,[106]
Trypeta, Meigen,[158]
—— amplipennis, Walk.,[159]
—— approximans, Walk.,[160]
—— basifascia, Walk.,[158]
—— lativentris, Walk.,[158]
—— nigrifascia, Walk.,[158]
—— stellipennis, Walk.,[159]
Turbo,[81]
Venus,[51]
Volucella, Geoff.,[120]
—— docorata, Walk.,[120]
Voluta,[67]
Vulsella,[37]
Walker, Francis, Catalogue of Dipterous Insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace at Makessar in Celebes,[90]
Wallace, A. R., on the Zoological Geography of the Malay Archipelago,[172]
Xarnuta, Walk.,[142]
—— leucotelus, Walk.,[142]
Zosterops flavus,[175]

THE END.

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