386 TROPICAL NATURE v 



metallic colouring surpass anything found in the whole 

 eastern hemisphere, if not in the whole world. 



In the Andaman islands, in the Bay of Bengal, there are a 

 considerable number of peculiar species of butterflies differing 

 slightly from those on the continent, and generally in the 

 direction of paler or more conspicuous colouring. Thus two 

 species of Papilio which on the continent have the tails black, 

 in their Andaman representatives have them either red or 

 white-tipped. l Another species 2 is richly blue-banded where 

 its allies are black ; while three species of distinct genera of 

 Nymphalidae 3 all differ from their allies on the continent in 

 being of excessively pale colours as well as of somewhat larger 

 size. 



In Madagascar we have the very large and singularly 

 white -spotted Papilio antenor, while species of three other 

 genera 4 are very white or conspicuous as compared with 

 their continental allies. 



Passing to the West Indian islands and Central America 

 (which latter country has formed a group of islands in very 

 recent times), we have similar indications. One of the largest 

 of the Papilios inhabits Jamaica, 5 while another, the largest 

 of its group, is found in Mexico. 6 Cuba has two of the same 

 genus whose colours are of surpassing brilliancy ; 7 while the 

 fine genus Clothilda confined to the Antilles and Central 

 America is remarkable for its rich and showy colouring. 



Persons who are not acquainted with the important 

 structural differences that distinguish these various genera 

 of butterflies can hardly realise the importance and the 

 significance of such facts as I have now detailed. It may 

 be well, therefore, to illustrate them by supposing parallel 

 cases to occur among the Mammalia. We might have, for 

 example, in Africa, the gnus, the elands, and the buffaloes, 

 all coloured and marked like zebras, stripe for stripe over 

 the whole body exactly corresponding. So the hares, mar- 

 mots, and squirrels of Europe might be all red with black 

 feet, while the corresponding species of Central Asia were all 



1 Papilio rhodifer (near P. doubledayi), and Papilio charicles (near P. 

 memnon). 2 p ap ii io mayo . 



3 Euplaea andamanensis, Cethosia biblis, Cyrestis codes. 



4 Danais nossima, Melanitis massoura, Diadema dexithea. 



6 Papilio homerus. P. daunus. 7 P. gundlachiamis, P. villiersi. 



