RECORD: Darwin, C. R. n.d. Southern South America has probably larger percentage of Birds. AMNH-47-D. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and John van Wyhe, edited by John van Wyhe 11.2022. RN1
NOTE: See record in the Darwin Online manuscript catalogue, enter its Identifier here. Reproduced with permission of William Huxley Darwin.
The brown crayon number '22' indicates that this document was filed by Darwin in his portfolio for the subject of Palaeontology: extinction as also indicated by the note by Francis Darwin.
A fair copy made by Francis Darwin is in CUL-DAR205.9.323 because he gave this manuscript to T.D. A. Cockerell during the 1909 Darwin commemorations in Cambridge. Cockerell published a facsimile of the manuscript in: The Darwin celebration at Cambridge. The Popular Science Monthly 76 (January): 23-31. F3515
[1]
Southern South America has probably a larger percentage of Birds, specifically same, as intertropic S. of equator, compared with Europe, hence it is closer allied by percentage system, but this can hardly be considered the case????
(22)
If North America had no mammal identical with Europe, in same way as S. America has not, then the percentage system would not show that N. America was incomparably closer allied in its mammifers to Europe than S. America is.─
It comes to this, may we not perceive a closer that the percentage system takes no account of relationship of organisms, when all species different.
For instance Galapagos land birds all different from S. American. yet certainly closest alliance
[1v]
From C. Darwin's portfolio on "Geology. Theory on Palaeontology & Extinction"
F Darwin
July 1909
Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
File last updated 18 October, 2023