January 31, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



187 



learned in reference to the lepidopterous fauna 

 of Central America, and the last word has 

 not been spoken even by the learned authors 

 in the three stately volumes before us, but a 

 foundation has been laid so broad and solid 

 and enduring that all who come hereafter will 

 be compelled to build upon it. These three 

 volumes in a peculiar sense reflect the intelli- 

 gence as well as the generosity of the two 

 lifelong collaborators, Messrs. Godman and 

 Salvin. With the exception of the volume 

 upon the avifauna of the region, written by 

 the same two gentlemen, they most strongly 

 illustrate their learning. Other volumes in 

 the great work reflect the excellence of their 

 editorial supervision, as well as their munifi- 

 cence, but the parts of the 'Biologia' which 

 have issued from their own hands and most 

 strikingly display their scientific accuracy and 

 the vastness of their learning are the volumes 

 dealing with the birds and these three volumes 

 treating of the butterflies. 



Eighteen hundred and five species of butter- 

 flies are enumerated in the work as occurring 

 within the region, three hundred and sixty of 

 them being described as new to science. Of 

 these species about twelve hundred and fifty 

 are figured in the one hundred and thirteen 

 hand-colored plates drawn by Eippon and by 

 Purkiss. It will be seen from the foregoing 

 statement that the region chosen is far richer 

 in the number of the species of Ehopalocera 

 than the continent of North America north of 

 Mexico or the Palsearctic region, the latter 

 covering Europe and northern Asia. The last 

 published list of the diurnal lepidoptera north 

 of Mexico cites biit six hundred and forty-five 

 species, a few of which, however, are dovibtful, 

 to which must be added a few others recently 

 described. There are probably not more than 

 seven himdred valid species of butterflies to be 

 found on the entire continent of North Ameri- 

 ca from Florida and the Eio Grande of Texas 

 to the Arctic Ocean. Staudinger & Eebel's 

 Catalogue, which has just appeared, enumer- 

 ates seven hundred and sixteen species as 

 found in the Palsearctic region, covering the 

 Barbary States, Europe, Asia Minor and tem- 

 perate Asia north of the Himalayan ranges. 

 Within the comparatively small area of Mexi- 



co and Central America more species of but- 

 terflies occur than are found in all temperate 

 North America, Europe, North Africa, and 

 temperate Asia put together. 



Compared with the fauna of the West In- 

 dian Islands so far as known, the latter are 

 exceedingly poor in the number of genera as 

 well as species of butterflies. While strictly 

 correct lists of the species of Ehopalocera 

 found on the various West Indian Islands are 

 not available for purposes of comparison, 

 enough is positively known to make it certain 

 that all of these islands together do not con- 

 tain more than one third of the number of 

 species which are accredited to the region cov- 

 ered by the 'Biologia.' In fact, it is doubtful 

 whether these islands have more than one 

 fourth as many species as are found in the 

 territory of which we are speaking, provided 

 the Leeward Islands and Trinidad be excluded, 

 as appears to the writer proper, in view of their 

 close contiguity to the South American main- 

 land. 



An examination of the exceedingly interest- 

 ing table given in the introduction to ' the 

 work, which is devoted to the display of the 

 geographical distribution of the various spe- 

 cies, shows that the region in and about Pana- 

 ma is probably the most prolific, Costa Eica 

 and Guatemala following closely. It is here, 

 in the humid tropical forests, that we have the 

 fullest development of the Ehopalocerous 

 fauna of the territory. The table of distribu- 

 tion is summarized as follows : 



Nymphalidas, 588 species 



Libytheidse, 1 



Erycinidse, 240 



Lycaenidffi, 234 



Papilionidse, 186 



Hesperiidae, 556 



a total of 1805 " 



Comparing this list with the great list of 

 the 'Ehopalocera Ethiopica,' recently pub- 

 lished by Professor Aurivillius, and adding the 

 Hesperiidss from the Ethiopian subregion, 

 which number about three hundred and 

 seventy-five species, we find that the continent 

 of Africa and the adjacent islands have up 



