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Catalogue number: MSSWALL4
Letter from Wallace to Lord Walden commenting on the latter's catalogue of the birds of Celebes (Sulawesi), dated August 1872.
Wallace wrote this letter to the ornithologist and president of the Zoological Society of London, Lord Walden (previously known as Arthur Hay, 9th Marquess of Tweeddale). Walden had produced a catalogue of the birds of Celebes (now Sulawesi) showing their geographical distribution. Since this was an area of Wallace's expertise, he made comments on the catalogue. Wallace suggests an alternative and clearer way of allocating birds to a region.
Wallace originally noticed a separation of species in the region and lent his name to the boundary that separates the zoogeographical regions of Asia and Australasia: the Wallace Line. This imaginary line runs through the Malay Archipelago, between Borneo and Celebes (now Sulawesi), and between Bali in the west and Lombok in the east. West of the line are Asian-related species; to the east are Australian-related species.
For enquiries about the Wallace Collection please email the library
View high resolution scans and transcripts of Alfred Russel Wallace's correspondence, including all surviving letters between him and Charles Darwin.
