REVIEWS. 141 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



Lepidoptera of the Amanus. — Eine Lepidopterenausbeute aus 

 dem Amanusgebirge (Alman Dagh). — Von Professor Hans Rebel, 

 Wien, 1917. 



In 1914 Professor Franz Tolg assisted by a grant from the 

 Imperial Scientific Academy of Vienna, made an entomological 

 exploration of the Amanus Range, that spur of the Cicilian Taurus 

 which divides the Antioch Plain from the lowlands of Cilicia and 

 terminates abruptly at the mouth of the River Orontes. A paper by 

 Dr. Hans Rebel dated February 15th, 1917, deals with the Lepidoptera 

 collected at a number of localities in the Amanus by Professor Tolg, 

 who while serving in the Austro-Hungarian Army in the great war v 

 was killed by an accident less than two months after Dr. Rebel's paper 

 had been laid before the Academy. 



Professor Tolg visited a large part of the Amanus range between 

 May 2nd and July 28th, 1914. He worked many different levels 

 from low lying Toprak Kale at the head of the Gulf of Alexandretta 

 to the Diimanli Dagh, 2,160 metres above sea level, the highest point 

 of the Amanus. 



Eight new species or forms are described by Rebel. These include 

 a white female form of Colias aurorina var. taurica described as ab. J 

 leiicothea, and a race of Melitaea phoebe, var. amanica n. var. described 

 from a male taken at Kushdjula, or as I should write it Kushjular {i.e., 

 The Fowlers), in the Cilician Taurus, and two females from the 

 Amanus. This form is described as having a less acuminate forewing 

 than other races, well marked black pattern and an uniform yellowish- 

 brown ground colour. This last character is marked in specimens 

 from Beirut and the Lebanon in my collection, but these have 

 decidedly pointed forewings. Orgyid tolyi is an interesting form 

 grouped by Professor Rebel with the Orgyias — but in pattern and 

 colour somewhat resembling Lymantria dispar. 



Sciapteron aurantiacum and Sesia (Chamaesphecia) alntana are new 

 " Clearwings " described each from a single $ specimen. The former 

 is a large handsome species 32 mm. in expanse, the latter seems to be 

 allied to S. osmiaeformis from S. Italy. A new Pyralid Herciilia 

 almanalis is close to H. incarnatalis. A new race of Cledeobia 

 bombycalis, Schiff., is described as alrnanica n. subsp. Pyrausta aeralis 

 has a new subspecies in unicolor, from the Diimanli Dagh. This form 

 is near v. mauretanica, Rebel. 



Of new records for Syria I may mention Melanargia grutni (though 

 Professor Rebel does not seem quite satisfied with this identification) 

 and lolana (Lycaena) astraea, the former from Yarbashi (Jarbaschi) 

 and Marash, the latter from Yarbashi. 



In a note on the faunistic character of the Amanus, Professor 

 Rebel upholds the view that the Amanus if politically Syrian is 

 faunistically merely an extension of the Cilician Taurus. 

 He bases this view on the following considerations. 



A. A number of the characteristic Taurus forms occur also in the 

 Amanus. Thus Parnassius mnemosyne is represented not by the 

 Syrian form libanotica, Bryk, but by the same author's sheljuzhkoi ; 

 Colias aurorina by taurica, Rbl., not libanotica, Led. 



B. Out of 222 species taken by Professor Tolg 32, i.e., 14% of the 

 total, do not extend further S. than the Amanus. 



