He
has been kind enough to give me the following interesting results:
of the ninety shells, no less than forty-seven are unknown
elsewhere--a wonderful fact, considering how widely distributed
sea-shells generally are. Of the forty-three shells found in other
parts of the world, twenty-five inhabit the western coast of
America, and of these eight are distinguishable as varieties; the
remaining eighteen (including one variety) were found by Mr. Cuming
in the Low Archipelago, and some of them also at the Philippines.
This fact of shells from islands in the central parts of the
Pacific occurring here, deserves notice, for not one single
sea-shell is known to be common to the islands of that ocean and to
the west coast of America. The space of open sea running north and
south off the west coast separates two quite distinct conchological
provinces; but at the Galapagos Archipelago we have a
halting-place, where many new forms have been created, and whither
these two great conchological provinces have each sent several
colonists. The American province has also sent here representative
species; for there is a Galapageian species of Monoceros, a genus
only found on the west coast of America; and there are Galapageian
species of Fissurella and Cancellaria, genera common on the west
coast, but not found (as I am informed by Mr.
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