﻿270 
  RANID2E. 
  

  

  in 
  Germany. 
  It 
  is, 
  therefore, 
  not 
  serving 
  the 
  interest 
  

   of 
  exact 
  taxonomy 
  and 
  zoogeography 
  to 
  be 
  satisfied 
  

   with 
  the 
  comprehensive 
  notion 
  of 
  Bana 
  esculenta. 
  

   Attempts 
  should 
  be 
  made 
  at 
  a 
  division 
  of 
  the 
  specific 
  

   type 
  into 
  races 
  or 
  sub-species. 
  With 
  this 
  object 
  in 
  

   view, 
  I 
  have 
  for 
  the 
  last 
  fifteen 
  years 
  been 
  amassing 
  

   material 
  and 
  information, 
  and 
  have 
  subjected 
  the 
  

   many 
  hundreds 
  of 
  specimens 
  which 
  have 
  passed 
  

   through 
  my 
  hands 
  to 
  a 
  most 
  minute 
  examination 
  and 
  

   comparison. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  attempt 
  at 
  subdividing 
  Bana 
  esculenta 
  

   into 
  sub-species, 
  published 
  by 
  Camerano 
  in 
  1881, 
  

   proved 
  on 
  the 
  whole 
  a 
  failure. 
  In 
  various 
  papers 
  

   contributed 
  since 
  1884 
  I 
  have 
  endeavoured 
  to 
  throw 
  

   some 
  light 
  on 
  the 
  matter; 
  and 
  have 
  ultimately 
  pro- 
  

   posed, 
  in 
  1891, 
  to 
  divide 
  the 
  species 
  into 
  four 
  principal 
  

   forms, 
  viz. 
  — 
  

  

  1. 
  Yar. 
  ridibunda, 
  Pall, 
  (cachinnans, 
  Pall. 
  ; 
  caucasica, 
  

   Pall.; 
  tigrina, 
  Bichw. 
  ; 
  dentex, 
  Kryn. 
  ; 
  ? 
  maritima, 
  

   Risso 
  ; 
  hispanica, 
  Fitz. 
  ; 
  latastii, 
  Camer. 
  ; 
  bedriagae, 
  

   Camer. 
  ; 
  fortis, 
  Blgr. 
  ; 
  perezi, 
  Seoane). 
  

  

  The 
  largest 
  and 
  most 
  widely 
  distributed 
  form, 
  

   inhabiting 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  Europe 
  with 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  

   the 
  north-western 
  and 
  central 
  parts 
  and 
  Italy, 
  

   Western 
  Asia 
  as 
  far 
  east 
  as 
  North 
  Baluchistan, 
  

   Afghanistan, 
  and 
  Eastern 
  Turkestan, 
  and 
  North 
  Africa. 
  

   As 
  being 
  on 
  the 
  whole 
  the 
  least 
  specialised 
  form, 
  i. 
  e. 
  

   departing 
  less 
  from 
  the 
  normal 
  pattern 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  

   to 
  which 
  it 
  belongs, 
  it 
  deserves 
  to 
  rank 
  first 
  in 
  the 
  list, 
  

   although 
  the 
  denomination 
  of 
  format}) 
  pica 
  pertains 
  to 
  

   the 
  next 
  form, 
  as 
  having 
  been 
  first 
  described 
  under 
  the 
  

   name 
  of 
  Bana 
  esculenta. 
  

  

  2. 
  Forma 
  typica 
  (esculenta, 
  L. 
  ; 
  sylvatica, 
  Koch). 
  

   Northern 
  and 
  Central 
  Europe 
  and 
  Italy. 
  

  

  3. 
  Var. 
  LESSONS, 
  Camer. 
  

  

  The 
  habitat 
  of 
  this 
  froff, 
  which 
  in 
  its 
  characters 
  is 
  

   intermediate 
  between 
  the 
  preceding 
  and 
  the 
  next, 
  is 
  

  

  