.m;t. WEST INDIAN BUPRESTIDAE FISHER 3 



canoes, attaining a considerably higher elevation than at present and 

 forming a single large island. 



The climate of these islands varies according to the elevation, 

 latitude, and to some extent by the degree to which they are exposed 

 to the influence of the trade winds and warm ocean currents, but as 

 a rule it is purely tropical. These conditions offer a bewildering 

 variety of tropical fauna, but whose distribution is by no means 

 uniform. The low lying Bahamas provide little support for vege- 

 tation and some are almost barren. 



Researches by Charles Simpson ^ and those of John Small ^°' " 

 have shown a close affinity between tlie fauna of the extreme southern 

 part of Florida, the Florida Keys, and some of the Antilles, just as 

 the fauna of the islands along the northern coast of South America 

 is allied to that of the coast with which they were, once connected. 

 In the Greater Antilles the forests are tropical, in some parts con- 

 sisting of various species of palms, mahogany, tree ferns, and various 

 trees furnishing edible fruits, while on the upper slopes the fauna 

 becomes more characteristic of the temperate zone, and up to an 

 elevation of 4,000 feet are often clothed with pines ; farther up, with 

 increased precipitation, rank growth of deciduous trees appear, while 

 the summits are thickly overgrown with ferns. 



Since the species are more or less limited in their distribution to 

 certain islands, and on account of the great variety of plants and 

 variation in the temperature, the family Buprestidae from this region 

 should be exceedingly rich in species. Very little collecting has been 

 done, especially in the mountainous sections, where are to be expected 

 a number of new forms. This is especially true of the smaller species, 

 which are mostly leaf and twig miners, and since these forms have 

 been practically neglected by collectors, the nmnber of species will 

 be largely increased by careful collecting. 



As the descriptions of the species are widely scattered throughout 

 various publications, some of which are not available to most stu- 

 dents, each species is herein redescribed from specimens which are 

 as nearly typical as is possible for the writer to determine from the 

 descriptions. Where specimens of a species are not available for 

 study, a translation of the original description is given. 



No attempt has been made to give a complete bibliography; only 

 the more important papers and those which apply to the region cov- 

 ered by the present paper have been cited. References to the species 

 listed in the Leng and Mutchler Catalogue, which has been of the 

 greatest aid to the writer, have not been cited under the species. The 

 collector's name, when known, is given in parenthesis after the local- 



» Lower Florida Wilds. 1920. 



1" Flora of Miami. Florida, 1913. 



" Journ. New York Botanictxl Garden, 1916, 1917, and 1018. 



