208 Mr. T. Vernon Wollaston on 
every portion of the three more southern archipelagos) , 
and the Homalium clavicorne (which swarms in the rotten 
Euphorbia-stems of the Madeiran Group) are, in a geo- 
graphical point of view, hardly less important. The 
entire number of species obtained by Mr. Godman was 
212; and of these Mr. Crotch remarks that 175 are 
common to Europe, 140 to Madeira, and 116 to the 
Canaries.” The “ 140,” however, may be increased at 
any rate to 144; for during our late sojourn at Madeira 
we met with the following species which are recorded by 
Mr. Crotch, but which had not until then been observed 
in any of the islands which constitute the more southern 
clusters :—viz., Stenolophus exiquus, Dej.; Latridius no- 
difer, Westw.; Lithocharis ripicola, Kr.; and L. apicalis, 
ies 
Although it is not my intention in this memoir to 
discuss the questio vewata of geographical distribution, 
T nevertheless can scarcely omit a brief notice of two very 
remarkable papers on some of the complex problems 
which arise out of that particular subject—both of which 
have made their appearance within the last few months, 
and which alike enter largely into the supposed ‘‘ origin” 
of the fauna of the Atlantic islands. The publications to 
which I allude are (1) by Mr. A. Murray, “‘ On the Geo- 
graphical Relations of the chief Coleopterous Faun,” 
which appeared in the Linnean Society’s Journal in 
October 1870; and (2) the extremely interesting Presi- 
dential Address of Mr. Wallace, read before the Entomo- 
logical Society of London in January last. Although 
with numerous and unmistakable points m common, 
the authors referred-to account for the colonization of 
these various sub-African archipelagos by methods which 
we cannot but regard as not merely dissimilar but even 
antagonistic,—Mr. Murray contending that a land-pas- 
sage (both inter se and with south-western Europe) is 
absolutely indispensable, and that accidental dispersion 
(as a general principle) between countries widely se- 
parated from each other by an oceanic barrier “is in its 
very nature exceptional, and one which cannot be expected 
to make its impress on a whole fawna;” whilst Mr. 
Wallace, on the other hand, affirms his belief that ‘‘ The 
Azores, and in a less degree Madeira, appear to teach 
us this important lesson in the laws of distribution of 
birds and insects,” namely, that the fauna has been de- 
