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Show GEOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. BY MR. DARWTN. THE object of the present Introduction, is briefly to describe the principal loca lities, from which the Zoological specimens, collected during the voyage of the Beagle, were obtain~d. At the conclusion of this work, after each species has been separately examined and described, it will be more advantageous to incorporate any general remarks. The Beagle was employed for nearly five years out of England ; of this time a very large proportion was spent in surveying the coasts of the Southern part of South America, and of the remainder, much was consumed in making long passages during her circumnavigation of the globe. Hence nearly the entire collection, especially of the animals belonging to the higher orders, was procured from this continent; to which, however, must be added the Galapagos Archipelago, a group of islands in the Pacific, but not far distant from the American coast. The localities may be briefly described under the following heads. BRAZIL. This country presents an enormous area, supporting the most luxuriant productions of the intertropical regions. It is composed of primary formations, and may be considered as being hilly rather than mountainous. LA PLATA includes the several provinces bordering that great river; - namely, Buenos Ayres, Banda Oriental, Santa Fe, Entre Rios, &c. My collections were chiefly made at BuENos AYREs, at MoNTE VIDEO, the capital of Banda Oriental, and at MALDONADo, a town in the same province, situated on the northern a |