On the Geological Succession Of Organic Beings 12. Geographical Distribution 13. Morphology, Embryology, Rudimentary Organs 15. I have taken pains to verify this assertion, and have found it true, with the exception of New Zealand, New Caledonia, the Andaman Islands, and perhaps the Solomon Islands and the Seychelles. But why, on the theory of creation, they should not have been created there, it would be very difficult to explain.
Mammals offer another and similar case.
Although terrestrial mammals do not occur on oceanic islands, aerial mammals do occur on almost every island. I hear from Mr. Tomes, who has specially studied this family, that many species have enormous ranges, and are found on continents and on far distant islands. Hence we have only to suppose that such wandering species have been modified in their new homes in relation to their new position, and we can understand the presence of endemic bats on oceanic islands, with the absence of all other terrestrial mammals. Another interesting relation exists, namely, between the depth of the sea separating islands from each other or from the nearest continent, and the degree of affinity of their mammalian inhabitants. Mr. Windsor Earl has made some striking observations on this head, since greatly extended by Mr. Wallace's admirable researches, in regard to the great Malay Archipelago, which is traversed near Celebes by a space of deep ocean, and this separates two widely distinct mammalian faunas.