( 188) 



Apisa lamborui .s|>. nov. 



<?. Entirely pnrplisli sooty l)laek with four semihyaline wliitisli spots on 

 forewing, one on hindwinjj. 



Ivength of forcwing : I',' nnu. 



Iltib. Lagos, Marcli ITi, I'll 2 (W. A. Lamliorn). 



SOME NOTES ON THE GENERA ZAOLOSSTTS AND 

 TACRYOLOSSUS. 



By tiir Hon. WALTER ROTHSCHILD, Ph.D., F.R.S. 



WHEN I wrote the short note on Zaplossus in 77ie Field, December 1912, 

 I had not read Mr. Glover Allan's article in the Harvard C'ollegp 

 Memoirs of the MxaeKm of Comparative /.ooloqi/ vol. xl. No. 5, thongli Mr. 

 Oldtiold Thomas had inlorraed me of its main contentions. Now having studied it 

 carefnlly, I find that, thongli ray note in Tlic Field retinires mnch ex]ilanation and 

 amplification, I cannot agree with Mr. Allan's conclnsions that the differences of 

 pelage and spines iiri' dne solely to age and season, and are not racial. 



In these notes 1 sliall deal entirely with external characters and distribution, 

 leaving a comjiarutive anatomical description till we iiave fresh or alcoholic material 

 of each form for comparison. 



When in ISS.") Mr. Oldiield Thomas jjublisbcd his exhaustive review of Echidna 

 (/'.X.S. 188."), ]ip. :('.;U-:i'.i), modern metlu'ds of Systematic work had not generally 

 been ajjplied to the Maninialia, and I am sure tiiat he would be the first to 

 acknowledge tiiut we inive progressed far beyond the standpoint adopted by him 

 ill that article. 



In 1905, induced by Dr. K. Toldt's paper published in Vienna {Ver/>. A'. A". 

 Zooloyisrh-bot. (ie.sellxrhaft inOo, pp. o-ll) 1 gave a review of Zai/h.-ixiis; but 

 since then, apart from Mr. Allan's paper, we have learnt much, and the 

 culminating point has been reached l>y the arrival in Europe of eight living 

 Xai/lnsxus, all from u single locality. IJefore going into the i|ue8tion of the 

 various races of Zdyloxxiix a summary of the external characters of the specimens 

 at Harvard which led Mr. Allan to his conclusions are given. A specimen 

 from Mount Arfak (in sjjirit) is dark brown, deepening on back, spines black with 

 white tips large, fur thick and woolly. Two from Fak Fak : (I) very old, spines 

 mostly white, but a few grey, very flat, hair and spines thinly scattered, colonr pale 

 buffy on liead, rest blackish l)rown ; (2) spines hirge, stout, white, and thickly set, 

 hair thick, coarse brown. Two from Sorong, hair long, thick, coal-black with 

 paler bases, spines dark horn to black. One from Arfak, pelage thick and woolly, 

 si)ines short. From these facts, at first sight, Mr. Allan's statement tliat his 

 eiglit specimens prove that these differences are due to age, season, and possibly 

 sex, would be accepted ; but I think the facts that I am bringing forward will 

 tend to disprove it. 



However elementary it may appear, I would like to remind my readers that 

 there are numerous degrees of variation, for, while in one species of animal the 



