342 (iUNDLACH's WORK ON THE ODONATA OF CUBA 



Giindlach did not revise his descriptions between sometime previ- 

 ous to 1867 and 1888; on the other hand, the Spanish and German 

 descriptions of Tramea marceUa differ more than by mere dif- 

 ferences of transhxtion. 



Dr. Ramsden lias kindly sent me the following information, 

 obtained through Dr. Carlos de la Torre, respecting the existence 

 of the types of Gundlach's new species of Odonata in the Instituto 

 de Segunda Ensefianza at Havana. I quote from a letter of 

 July 4, 1919: 



"The speciniens in the Gundlach collection are kept in small boxes, some- 

 tiling like cigar boxes, with a glass front; this glass is held on by pasting paper 

 all around the sides of the box and edges of the glass, thus it is impossible to 

 repair or even to study closely any specimen; these small boxes are again 

 placed in larger glass covered cases, several boxes to each case, the glass covers 

 of which are screwed on." [Cf. Ent. News, xxvi, page 256.] 



"The general state of the collection is satisfactory, as notwithstanding that 

 most of the types are over 50 years old and some as much as 70 years, about 

 75 per cent of them are in good condition and those that have been mutilated 

 have the pieces in the same box where they have fallen due to knocks. (I 

 refer to the heads and abdomens.) 



"The labels are like this: 



104 Lestes 

 129 scalaris cf 



.all of them written in Gundlach's own handwriting. He used to send the 

 specimens for identification and receive the types back, so there is no doubt 

 that the above mentioned specimens are Types. I must explain that in the 

 above numeration, the top number refers to the Gundlach number, while the 

 lower one is the number used by Poey in his own collection; this double num- 

 bering appears in all of Gundlach's catalogues and notes, whether insects or 

 shells are being treated. 



" I have given you the data on each label [of the five new species of Odonata], 

 as also the number of specimens of each species in the cases, but in ( ) I have 

 stated the condition these are in, and I have also given whatever information 

 exists in Gundlach's own MS. catalogue, so you have all the information 

 obtainable on each species. Wherever ( ) appear it means that what is 

 between is not on label, nor in catalogue, but notes taken by the observer." 



« 



Dr. Ramsden's notes on the types of each of the five species are 

 quoted in appropriate places after each species respectively in 

 the following pages. 



Extracts from Gundlach's Text, with Comments 



In the following pages are given the text of the Prologue to 

 Tomo II of the Contrihucion, extracts from the Introduction to 

 the Neuroptera, with some comments, and then the species of 



