title: The theory of natural selection of Alfred Russel Wallace FRS.
abstract: Wallace's 1858 paper 'On the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type' is often thought to present a theory of natural selection identical with that of Darwin. Examination of Wallace's argument shows that it is different from Darwin's because Wallace thought that an inferior variety could coexist with a superior variety until environmental deterioration forced the extinction of the inferior one. Other interpretations of Wallace's argument are re-examined in the light of this finding.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bulmer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001695:Biology / Q000266:history; D049672:History, 19th Century; D012641:Selection, Genetic