INTRODUCTION. 5 
relative numbers of the Curculionids, which here, as in the living fauna, 
easily hold the first place. The other relative differences between the Ter- 
tiary and existing faunas in America are but slight, the Calandridze of the 
Tertiaries losing about as much as the Anthribidee gain in relative numbers 
when compared with the existing fauna. As compared with the European 
Tertiary fauna the American shows the same excess in the relative num- 
bers of Rhynchitidze and Otiorhynchidee as it does when compared with the 
recent American fauna; but both the Curculionidze and the Scolytide gain 
in relative importance in the European Tertiaries, whose chief peculiarity, 
however, consists in the considerable development of the small family 
Byrsopidz. ‘The Rhinomaceridz and Brenthidz alone, small groups, do not 
occur in either Tertiary fauna, and the Attelabidze and Byrsopidz are also 
absent from the American. 
To bring the differences to view in another way and consider only the 
families represented in the American Tertiary fauna, we may mark their 
relative position in the scale of numbers as in the following table: 
Relative importance of the families of Rhynchophora. 
Place as to numbers. 
Families. a == — 
Receut Fossil | Fossil 
American. | American. | European. 
bymchitid se Seceniieeo-s ale ses sea cee a see oe rin swciscasemcees 6 3 
Omorhwehid sey 2 =e tiatteem = ose seeps se Ss ssioe Sees s52 sass scc 3 2 2 
Cuncaltonidiepe sae seca n sen nose ce eclosion s= sere eae Seas 1 1 il 
Calamadnidweieet = cess ae select arse cece t ce ace ces hctedos sees ones 4 5 /}2 3-4 
MOGI PFI eadscdicccatdsca cess ondase Gata edeenase Asse Csanee ane 2 6|5 
JAIN OED igeecisotece Gs. coda EPS a aa D OBC REISE ASS HARARE Area te Baae 5 4 5 
This shows by a different method the same fact: That the recent 
American Rhynchophorous fauna agrees better in its broad features with 
the Tertiary fauna of Europe than with the Tertiary fauna of America. 
Of the 66 old genera to which the fossil species of Rhynchophora are 
here referred, including 136 of the 193 species, 6 may be regarded as cos- 
mopolitan or nearly so; 15 as gerontogeic and especially European, though 
often having a few American species among them; 16 as characteristic of 
the northern hemisphere in general, while the remainder are about equally 
