2 JOHN HAMILTO.V, M. D, 



lected all taken on Queen Charlotte Island. The authority for the 

 distribution in the eastei'n hemisphere and in North America, other 

 than Alaska, is the general records of entomological literature, and 

 in niany instances the author's own collection, in which case credit 

 has been seldom taken. 



On account of the extent and gi'eat dimension of Alaska (which 

 equals the area of all the United States eastward from the Missis- 

 sippi and northward from the BSth parallel of latitude; or that of 

 Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland and Italy with Greece thrown 

 in ; its southern boundary from British Columbia on the east to the 

 ishmd of Attn on the west being estimated at 2200 miles in an air 

 line, and its greatest breadth at 1400 miles, embracing an area of 

 over 580,000 square miles) a table of latitudes and longitudes of the 

 places mentioned where Coleoptera were collected has been compiled 

 from various sources ; but in many instances these must be consid- 

 ered as only approximate, though sufficiently correct for entomo- 

 logical purposes. It has been observed by Mr. Wm. H. Dall, in 

 his book " Alaska and its Resources" (p. 287), that Alaska seems to 

 be divided into two distinct faunal regions as regards birds and fish, 

 that of the great Yukon Valley being almost entirely eastern Cana- 

 dian. This observation seems to hold true also in regard to Cole- 

 optera ; those species taken on the islands and in southern Alaska 

 mostly belonging to the western or Pacific slope fauna, while those 

 occurring on the Kwichpakh (Yukon ), which seem to have been 

 taken about Nulato, are such as occur from the McKenzie River to 

 Hudson Bay. In fact, as pointed out in the same work, the Basin 

 of the Yukon is really on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountain 

 extension from Fort Yukon to the mouth of the river ; while in the , 

 first 700 miles of its course it flows northwestwardly in the basin 

 between the coast and Alaskan range, and the prolongation of the 

 Rocky Mountains, which also trend northwestwardly till about lati- 

 tude 65°, longitude 142°, where they become much depressed, and 

 turning southwardly at length become blended with the Alaskan 

 Mountains; the river, however, pursuing its northwestwardly course 

 cuts through them at the bend, debouching through a deep canon 

 on the eastern side about 130 miles above Fort Yukon. 



Alaska presents grand possibilities to the enterprising, enthusiastic 

 Coleopterist. It is comparatively unexplored territory. Sweden, 

 much of it in a higher latitude and with a lower average temperature, 

 has on its catalogue near 3500 s|)ecies ; while Alaska, more than 

 three and one-third times larger, only lists 572 species. 



