THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS |
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Page xvii
10)—Climate as a Limit to the Range of Mammals (p. 11)—Walleys and Rivers as
Barriers to Mammals (p. 12)—Arms of the Sea as Barriers to Mammals (p. 13)—
Ice-floes and drift-wood as aiding the Dispersal of Mammals (p. 14)—Means of ...
10)—Climate as a Limit to the Range of Mammals (p. 11)—Walleys and Rivers as
Barriers to Mammals (p. 12)—Arms of the Sea as Barriers to Mammals (p. 13)—
Ice-floes and drift-wood as aiding the Dispersal of Mammals (p. 14)—Means of ...
Page 6
Many tropical and polar animals are pretty accurately limited by certain
isothermal lines; and the limits of the great forests in most parts of the world
strictly determine the ranges of many species. Naturalists have now arrived at the
conclusion, ...
Many tropical and polar animals are pretty accurately limited by certain
isothermal lines; and the limits of the great forests in most parts of the world
strictly determine the ranges of many species. Naturalists have now arrived at the
conclusion, ...
Page 8
... certain preliminary facts and principles essential for our guidance. . We must
first inquire what are the powers of multiplication and dispersal of the various
groups of animals, and the nature of the barriers that most effectually limit their
range.
... certain preliminary facts and principles essential for our guidance. . We must
first inquire what are the powers of multiplication and dispersal of the various
groups of animals, and the nature of the barriers that most effectually limit their
range.
Page 11
There seems therefore to be no limit to its powers of wandering, but the necessity
of procuring food and its capacity of ... equal powers of dispersal; so that
wherever there is land and sufficient food, there are no limits to their possible
range.
There seems therefore to be no limit to its powers of wandering, but the necessity
of procuring food and its capacity of ... equal powers of dispersal; so that
wherever there is land and sufficient food, there are no limits to their possible
range.
Page 12
Such are the polar bear and the walrus, which cannot live in a state of nature far
beyond the limits of the frozen ocean; but as they live in confinement in temperate
countries, their range is probably limited by other conditions than temperature.
Such are the polar bear and the walrus, which cannot live in a state of nature far
beyond the limits of the frozen ocean; but as they live in confinement in temperate
countries, their range is probably limited by other conditions than temperature.
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Common terms and phrases
absence abundant affinities Africa allied animals appear arctic Asia Australia belong birds Borneo Celebes Central Ceylon changes character characteristic China classed climate closely common comparatively confined connection consider considerable consisting Cosmopolite deposits developed distinct distribution district doubt east Eastern Eocene epoch equally Ethiopian Europe European existing extend extinct fact fauna feet forests forms genera genus groups Guinea Hemisphere Himalayas important India indicate inhabit insects interesting Islands Japan Java known land less limits living Madagascar Malayan mammalia means Miocene Moluccas mountains natural Nearctic nearly Neotropical North northern occur ocean Oriental Palaearctic peculiar genera perhaps period Philippines Pliocene portion possesses present probably range recent relations remains remarkable represented separate ſº South America southern species sub-region Sumatra Sylviidae temperate Thibet tropical types various West whole region wholly wide Zealand Zoological
Popular passages
Page 150 - Yet it is surely a marvellous fact, and one that has hardly been sufficiently dwelt upon, this sudden dying out of so many large mammalia, not in one place only but over half the land surface of the globe.
Page 328 - India consisting mainly of granite and old-metamorphic rocks, while the greater part of the peninsula is of tertiary formation, with a few isolated patches of secondary rocks. It is evident, therefore, that during much of the tertiary period,* Ceylon and South India were bounded on the north by a considerable extent of sea, and probably formed part of an extensive Southern Continent or great island. The very numerous and remarkable cases of affinity with Malaya, require, however, some closer approximation...
Page 37 - Straits, so that it is possible to go from Cape Horn to Singapore or the Cape of Good Hope without ever being out of sight of land ; and owing to the intervention of the numerous islands of the Malay Archipelago the journey might be continued under the same conditions as far as Melbourne and Hobart...
Page 278 - ... wonderful aye-aye (Chiromys) , the insectivorous Centetidae, and carnivorous Cryptoprocta, among the Mammalia. They speak to us plainly of enormous antiquity, of long-continued isolation, and not less plainly of a lost continent or continental island, in which so many, and various, and peculiarly organized creatures, could have been gradually developed in a connected fauna, of which we have here but the fragmentary remains.
Page 328 - ... much of the Tertiary period, Ceylon and South India were bounded on the north by a considerable extent of sea, and probably formed part of an extensive Southern Continent or great island. The very numerous and remarkable cases of affinity with Malaya require, however, some closer approximation with these islands, which probably occurred at a later period. When, still later, the great plains and tablelands of Hindostan were formed and a permanent land communication effected with the rich and highly...
Page 57 - Eegions in the first place, from a consideration of the distribution of mammalia, only bringing to our aid the distribution of other groups to determine doubtful points. Regions so established will be most closely in accordance with those long-enduring features of physical geography, on which the distribution of all forms of life fundamentally depends;* and all discrepancies in the distribution of other classes of animals must be capable of being explained, either...
Page 67 - ... who cannot recognize the essential diversity of structure in such groups as swifts and swallows, sun-birds and humming-birds, under the superficial disguise caused by adaptation to a similar mode of life. The application of Mr. Allen's principle leads to equally erroneous results, as may be well seen by considering his separation of 'the southern third of Australia' to unite it with New Zealand as one of his secondary zoological divisions."t Leaving Mr.
Page 44 - The introduction of goats into St. Helena utterly destroyed a whole flora of forest trees, and with them all the insects, mollusca, and perhaps birds directly or indirectly dependent on them.
Page 290 - The enormous disproportion between the mean height of the land and the mean depth of the ocean, which would render it very difficult for new land to reach the surface till long after the total submergence of the sinking continent. (2) The wonderful uniformity of level over by far the greater part of the ocean floor, which indicates that it is not subject to the same disturbing agencies which...
Page 76 - is undoubtedly a legitimate and highly probable supposition, and it is an example of the way in which a study of the geographical distribution of animals may enable us to reconstruct the geography of a bygone age. ... It...
Bibliographic information
| Title | THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS |
| Author | ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE |
| Published | 1876 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | 17 veeb. 2006 |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |