210 NOTES ON THE FAUNA AND FLORA OF SARAWAK. 



the power of retaining life for a long time out of water, have several 

 genera in Sarawak, of which probably the best known is he 

 " climbing perch " {Anabas scandens) : in South Africa the same 

 genus is also found. But the serpent heads {Ophiocephaliis). 

 which h ve the same drought-resisting faculty, and are common 

 in Sarawak, do not occur in South Africa. 



On the other hand, Borneo has no representatives of the Cichlid^e 

 nor of the Characiinidse families which are found in nearly ev^ry 

 part of Africa, Cape Colony excepted. The presence of the genus 

 Osteoglossum in Sarawak has been regarded as an indication of 

 the probable occurrence of a Dipnoan in that region, but as yet the 

 expectation remains unconfirmed by discovery. 



Amongst the invertebrata the two faunas present profound 

 differences in many groups. The large order of the Insecta* has 

 a specially rich development in both areas. So far as the Butter- 

 flies are concerned, however, those of Sarawak far exceed the 

 South African forms in number, in size and in beauty. As examples 

 of magnitude I will mention Thaumantis aliris, several species of 

 Troidcs (Ornithoptera). and the common Hestia lynceus ; and of 

 beauty the Troides hrookeanns, the Papilio arjuna carnatus (a 

 member of the magnificent green coloured Paris group) and the 

 Prothoe calydonia. 



Papilios and Danaids {Damns, Enplnuj, Hestia and Ideopis) are 

 very common in Sarawak : in South Africa the species are few. 

 Curiously enough Danais chrysippus so common in South Africa, 

 and so widely distributed elsewhere, does not occur in Sarawak, 

 whilst Hypolimnas misippus, whose female so closely " mimics " 

 the Danais, does occur but is a rarity. Amongst the Lycaenidse 

 of Sarawak, the genus Arkopala with many relatively large species 

 of a deep rich l)lue or green colouration figures prominently ; in 

 South Africa it does not occur at all. On the other hand, the 

 Acra;idse, so common in South Africa, have no representative in 

 Borneo, though a few occur on the other side of Wallace's line in 

 New Guinea and Australia. 



In South Africa butterflies of many species exhibit the pheno- 

 menon of seasonal dimorphism ; in Sarawak this is not the case 

 though sometimes {e.g., Melanitis ismene and leda), two forms, 

 which elsewhere would be referred to as wet and dry season forms 

 of the same species, do occur but contemporaneously and irrespec- 

 tive of the seasons. 



Amongst the Moths, the Saturnidae of South Africa include a 

 number of large and handsome species, but, whilst Sarawak has 

 only few species, the magnificent Attacus atlas is much superior in 

 size, and I think also in beauty. The Cossidse of South Africa are 

 probably of many species, but none of them are equal in size to 

 the Diiomitus ceramicits of Sarawak : I believe, too, that the large 

 Hepialid, fairly common in Sarawak, is larger than any of the 

 South African species. A family very common in the Bornean 

 jungle and apparently not represented here is that of the Chal- 



* I am indebted to Mr. C. J. Swierstra for my information on the subject 

 of South African insects. 



