192 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Rhopalocera Malay ana: a Description of the Butterflies of the 

 Malay Peninsula. By W. L. Distant. Koyal 4to, with 

 coloured plates. Parts I.— IV. London : The Author, care 

 of West, Newman k Co., 54, Hatton Garden. Penang : 

 E.Logan. 1882-83. 



This work, which it is proposed to complete in seven or eight 

 parts, and of which four are published, bids fair to be a most 

 valuable contribution to the science of Entomology. The author 

 has had the advantage of having himself collected many of the 

 species he so well describes, having resided in the Province 

 Wellesley and at Penang. He has been aided by the liberality of 

 Mr. Logan, of Penang, whose collectors have been despatched to 

 Quedah, Malacca, and Johore, and it is to that gentleman that 

 the inception of the work is clue. Many other collections have 

 been examined, and Mr. Distant appears to have made himself 

 familiar with the literature of his subject. 



The work is much more than a mere dry monograph of 

 Malay butterflies ; it abounds in philosophical observations, and 

 references are given to other authors who have dealt with the 

 biology of the Lepidoptera. 



The chromo -lithographic plates, by West, Newman & Co., 

 of which there are four in each part, are excellent, and in most 

 instances the representations are quite as good as if the more 

 expensive painting by hand had been resorted to ; indeed in one 

 respect chromo-lithography has an advantage over the latter, 

 inasmuch as greater uniformity is obtained, and it would be 

 difficult to select one copy better than another. 



It is very much to be regretted that the names of the insects 

 figured are not given on the plates, for the name should, if 

 possible, always appear in conjunction with the figure; references 

 are then more quickly made, and the memory is materially 

 assisted by the association. 



To those who study the Diurnal Lepidoptera of the Indo- 

 Malayan subregion the work will be indispensable. 



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