404 bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



in similar districts of red clay soil with Casuarina and Pandanus palms, 

 my results were the same as on Lakeba. The fauna of Fiji, excepting 

 that of the littoral portions, is a forest inhabiting one, and when the 

 forests have been destroyed, as in most of Lau, the dependent animal 

 forms have also disappeared, so the negative character of the Lau 

 fauna has little zoogeographical significance. 



The littoral fauna of the larger islands is much the same as in Lau, 

 and the other South Sea Island groups; few of the plant or animal 

 forms are endemic to Fiji. 



There is little virgin forest in Fiji. Seemann, in the '60's, states 

 that at that time none remained. This is due to the native custom 

 of clearing land for gardens by firing the forest. The moss forests 

 of the mountains about the lake on Taviuni and on Mt. Victoria and 

 Mt. Washington are exceptions and the rain forests at Nadarivatu, 

 if not virgin forest, are at least magnificent woods. 



In the forested districts, insect life is abundant, compared with other 

 insular regions, and chiefly endemic, though foreign species are coming 

 in rapidly. The life of mountain ranges of each of the larger islands 

 is similar to the others and careful collecting at any good locality 

 (Nadarivatu was the best) yields the majority of the species of the 

 group, though each island has peculiar species, or the same species 

 is represented on other islands by subspecific or varietal forms, a con- 

 dition typical of island faunas. 



Sixty-four species of ants have been recorded from New Caledonia, 

 so the ants of that island and Fiji are approximately equally well 

 developed. Forty-two genera are known from Fiji and New Caledonia 

 together, and of these the following seventeen genera are common to 

 both: — Trachymesopus, Ponera, Lobopelta, Anochetus, Odonto- 

 machus, Pheidole, Monomorium, Solenopsis, Rogeria, Tetramorium, 

 Strumigenys, Iridomyrmex, Technomyrmex, Tapinoma, Plagiolepis, 

 Camponotus. 



Of these, Trachymesopus, Technomyrmex, and Tapinoma are 

 represented only by tropicopolitan species. Two genera, Promerano- 

 plus and Prodicroaspis, are not known except from New Caledonia 

 and two, Poecilomyrma and Archaeomyrmex, are apparently confined 

 to Fiji. 



Genera of ancient aspect present in Fiji and not know^n from New 

 Caledonia are Wheeleripone, Proceratium, Cerapachys, Cardiocondyla, 

 Adelomyrmex, Triglyphothrix, and Rhopalothrix, most of them wide- 

 spread in distribution and not characteristic of any particular zoo- 

 geographical region. 



