. Geographical distribution of animals : with a study of the relations of living and extinct faunas as elucidating the past changes of the earth's surface. ins almost innumerable, there is aconsiderable amount of uniformity in its forms of animal the Ladrone islands on tlie west, to the Marquesas on thecast, a distance of more than 5,000 miles, the same characteristicgenera of birds prevail; and this is the only class of animals onwhich we can depend, mammalia being quite absent, and reptilesvery scarce. The Sandwich Islands, however, form an exceptionto this uniformity; and, as far
. Geographical distribution of animals : with a study of the relations of living and extinct faunas as elucidating the past changes of the earth's surface. ins almost innumerable, there is aconsiderable amount of uniformity in its forms of animal the Ladrone islands on tlie west, to the Marquesas on thecast, a distance of more than 5,000 miles, the same characteristicgenera of birds prevail; and this is the only class of animals onwhich we can depend, mammalia being quite absent, and reptilesvery scarce. The Sandwich Islands, however, form an exceptionto this uniformity; and, as far as we yet know, they are sopeculiar that they ought, perhaps, to form a separate arc, liowever, geographically a part of Polynesia; and amore careful investigation of their natural history may showmore points of agieement with the other islands. It is thereforea matter of convenience, at present, to keep them in the Poly-nesian sub-region, wliich may be divided into Polynesia pro])erand the Sandwich Islands. Iolyncsia ])r()])er consists of a number of groups of islands ofsome importance, and a host oi smalh-r intermediate islets. x:. I CIIAI-. xiii.] TIIK AlsriJALlAX KK(UON. 443 For tlic ]iiii]t(is« of /()()l()L;i(;>l coinitiirisoii, \v(; may class tliciii inlour main divisions. 1. Tlie Ladrone and Caroline Islands;2. New CaUdonia and the New Hel)rides ; 3. The Fiji, Tonga,and Samoa Islands; 4. The Society, and Marquesas ty])ical Polynesian fauna is most developed in the thirddivision ; and it will be well to describe this first, and then showhow the other islands diverge from it, and approximate othersub-regions. Fiji, Tonfja, and Samoa Islands.—The land-birds inhabitingthese islands belong to 41 genera, of which 17 are characteristicof the Australian region, and 9 more peculiarly characteristic Australian genera are the following : Peiroica(Sylvii(hc); Lalage (Campephagida?); Moiiarcha, Myiagra, Rhipi-dura (Muscicapida?); Pach
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