1895.] L. deNiceville & Dr. L. Martin — Butterflies of Sumatra. 357 



A list of the Butterflies of Sumatra with especial reference to the Species 

 occurring in the north-east of the Island. — By Lionel de Nice'ville, 

 F.E.S., C.M.Z.S., &c, and Hofrath Dr. L. Martin. 

 [Received 1st ; Read 7th August, 1895.] 



The island of Sumatra, with Java, Borneo and Celebes, forms one of 

 the Great Sunda group of islands. Rather more than half as large as 

 Borneo and more than twice as large as Java, it is nearly as large as 

 France. Some 1,070 miles in length, with an average breadth of over 

 120 miles, it has a total area of about 128,000 square miles, or 8,000 

 more square miles than are contained in the United Kingdom. Oblong 

 in shape, with its longer diameter running north-west to south-east, 

 the island lies between 95° and 106° Long. E., and is almost exactly- 

 bisected by the equator, six degrees north and south of which it extends. 

 On the west it is wasbed by the great Indian Ocean with no adjacent 

 land except a parallel cbain of small islands of which Nias is the largest ; 

 to the east is the shallow Strait of Malacca, with the Malay Peninsula 

 and the large island of Banka and a few other smaller ones at no great dis- 

 tance. To the south lies the largo island of Java, separated only by the 

 narrow Sunda Strait; to the north the Nicobar and Andaman chain of 

 islands seem to form a natural continuation of the enormous volcanic range 

 of mountains that beginning in the Banda Sea, extends through the 

 islands of Wetter, Flores, Sumbawa, Lombok, Bali, Java and Sumatra, 

 and ends in the Andaman Sea. Throughout the whole length of Sumatra 

 extends a mountain-system of several parallel ranges, with large central 

 plateaus or highlands. In this system, called " The Barisans," the 

 highest mountains are mostly volcanoes, which reach an altitude of 

 about 15,000 feet in Mount Kassoumba. Other lofty peaks are Indra- 

 pura, 12,255 ; Lusi, 11,000 ; Dempo, 10,562 ; Abong-Abong, 10,000 ; 

 Ophir, 9,940; Merapi, 9,640; Talang, 8,470; and Salamanga, 6,825 

 feet. Two of these volcanic cones, Merapi and Talang, are said to be 

 still active. On the west coast the mountains rise abruptly from the 

 Indian Ocean, and in consequence there is no alluvial soil on that side of 

 the island ; whilst on the east coast there are large alluvial plaius, abound- 

 ing in water, and intersected by large rivers. This plain is increasing 

 every year, being gradually built up by a broad belt of mangrove- 

 swamp. In the northern half of Sumatra in the above-mentioned 

 alluvial belt, between 3°-4° N. Lat. and 98 D -100° E. Lon., are 

 situated the three small Malayan sultanates of Langkat, Deli, and 

 Serdang (with the butterfly fauna of which this paper deals), that 

 are world-renowned for the splendid tobacco grown there, which is 

 almost entirely used for making the outer covers of cigars. The southern 



