188 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XV. No. 370. 



to the present time only yielded us about two 

 thousand species of Ehopalocera. It is evi- 

 dent, therefore, that the Neotropical region, 

 which includes tropical South America as well 

 as Mexico and Central America, is likely to 

 prove to possess, when a final and exhaustive 

 catalogue of the species is made, the richest 

 Ehopalocerous fauna in the world. The 

 family of the Hesperiidse is far richer in 

 species in this region than anj'where else. 

 More species of these interesting and often 

 puzzling insects occur in Mexico and Central 

 America than are found either in the tropics 

 of the Indo-Malayan region or in the tropics 

 of Africa. The Erycinidse are also character- 

 istic of the region, and the number of species 

 of this family in the total vastly exceeds the 

 number of species found in all other regions of 

 the globe combined. The ISTymphalidse lead all 

 other families in the number of species, but 

 the nimiber of species, while great, is not equal 

 to the number that is found in the Ethiopian 

 subregion, nor is the number of species as 

 great as that known to occur in the Indo- 

 Malayan subregion. 



The general conclusions reached by Mr. 

 Godman as to the distribution of species 

 within the territory are best expressed in his 

 own language. He says: "Our study of the 

 Central American butterflies proves con- 

 clusively (1) that the fauna is mainly a north- 

 ern extension of that of tropical South Amer- 

 ica, extending on the Pacific side to Mazatlan 

 and on the Atlantic to a little beyond Ciudad 

 Victoria in Tamaulipas, some few species on 

 each coast reaching the southern United 

 States, with, of course, many peculiarly modi- 

 fied forms in the region; (2) that there are a 

 considerable number of Nearctic genera and 

 species coming down the central plateau a 

 certain distance into Mexico, and some even 

 into Guatemala, as Argynnis, Vanessa, Linie- 

 nitis, Grapta, various Colias, etc.; (3) that 

 there are no strictly alpine forms, the insects 

 met with above the tree-line being mostly 

 stragglers from below, such species as occur 

 at the highest limits of the forest being very 

 like those of similar Andean localities, these 

 mostly belonging to the genera EupUjchia, 

 Archonias, Caiasticta, Pereute, Enantia, etc. ; 



(4) that the fauna of the Atlantic slope to per- 

 haps as far south as Costa Eica is incom- 

 parably richer than that of the Pacific, this 

 being particularly noticeable in the Ithomiina, 

 the ErycinidsB, the genera Thecla and Papilio, 

 etc.; and (5) that some of the purely troj)ical 

 genera do not reach north of Nicaragua, Costa 

 Rica or Panama, as Eutresis, Scada, Ccerois, 

 Calliimra, Heimra, Oressinoma, Narope, Pana- 

 cea, Megistanis, Eypna, Zeonia, Ithomeis, etc." 



Within the limits of a brief review such as 

 this it is impossible to take up and consider 

 many of the interesting details in reference to 

 distribution which present themselves to view 

 upon a careful study of the work. The writer 

 commends to the careful attention of all stu- 

 dents of entomology the introductory chapter 

 of Volume I., which epitomizes in a masterly 

 manner the results of the years of study which 

 have been devoted by the learned authors to 

 the subject in hand. To the comparatively 

 few who are devoting themselves to a critic- 

 al study of the Hesperiidse that portion of 

 the work devoted to this family is of extreme 

 value. It is no exaggeration to say that it is 

 one of the most perfect examples of careful 

 monographic work which has ever appeared in 

 the English language. The amount of pains- 

 taking and microscopic research which has 

 been performed in order to attain the results 

 which are given has been prodigious. It is 

 certainly to be hoped that the work will 

 find a place in all the great libraries of the 

 New World, for without access to it the stu- 

 dent of entomology in America is certain to 

 find his labors greatly retarded. 



W. J. Holland. 



Caenegie Museum, Pittsbukgh. 



A Lahoraiory Course in Bacteriology, for the 

 use of Medical, Agricultural and Industrial 

 Students. By Frederic P. Gorham, A.M. 

 Philadelphia and London, W. B. Saunders 

 & Co. 1901. 8vo. Pp. 192. 

 In this unpretentious laboratory guide the 

 author has succeeded in combining technical 

 accuracy with sound pedagogy in a manner 

 which will commend the book to teaching bac- 

 teriologists. The directions for even the com- 

 monest processes have very obviously stood the 



