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Lionel de Niceville, "Gazeteer of Sikkim," p. 170, n. 459 

 (1894), says of Cerberus, " The N. Indian form has been 

 described by Felder as 0. Cerberus, but it cannot, I think, 

 be separated from the typical form, which was described 

 from Batavia in Java (by Cramer)." It is more common 

 than Rhadamanthus, and occurs at the same time of the 

 year. Mr. de Niceville also speaks of the species as 

 having been collected by Mr. F. E. Dempster during the 

 expedition to Chin Lushai in 1889-90, and at Lamtok on 

 June 4th, 1890. 



The Andaman Island form of Pompeus or Cerberus was, 

 in 1877, described by Mr. F. Moore (Proc. Zool. Soc, 

 p. 592), as a distinct species under the name of O. 

 Heliconoides. For the sake of comparison, this description 

 is here reproduced. " S Upper side of fore wings 

 entirely black ; hind wing golden yellow, with black 

 abdominal fold, and, from base of submedian to middle 

 of lower median veinlet, a marginal band formed by a 

 series of 9 conical spots, decreasing in size from the anal 

 angle ; the 1st or anal elongated at its apex, the 2nd, 3rd, 

 5th and 6th each with a contiguous small upper round 

 spot ; the space at base of wing broadly across end of 

 cell to middle of costal vein also black. Undersides as 

 above ; forewing very slightly grey, streaked along the 

 base of the lower median veinlets. 



" 2 Forewing with prominent greyish white streaks along 

 the veins, and similar streaks within the end of the cell : 

 hind wings with black abdominal fold, a partly con- 

 stricted elongated spot above the anal angle, outer 

 marginal band of large continuous cones, a discal series 

 of 5 small spots, the space at the base of the wings 

 occupying the interspace between the costal and sub- 

 costal to near its end. Under-side as above. Abdomen 

 greenish to black above, yellow at the sides and beneath. 

 Red collar slightly perceptible in 2 . Expanse $ 5 6-8ths, 

 2 6 4-5th inches. S. Andamans (Port Blair)." 



" In a series of 4 examples of the <? from the above 

 locality one specimen had all the black spots of the hind 

 wings absent except the first or anal, which is fused with 

 the marginal conical spot, as is generally the case in the 

 continental specimens. In another the 2nd spot is 

 present on the upper side only ; in a third the 2nd and 

 3rd, and in a fourth the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th." In the con- 

 tinental specimens, these variations occur on both sides 

 in a large series of example, as may be seen by examining 

 any of our collections, public or private — indeed it is not 

 easy to bring together a number of examples with a 

 uniformity of pattern from any locality. 



" Of 5 2 2 also two have the upper wings conspicuously 

 rayed with white, like some of the Assam specimens, 

 and 3 (2 from Little Brother Island and 1 from S. 

 Andamans) have the veins of these wings either simply 

 bordered on both sides with paler black than the general 

 ground colour, or only exhibit here and there faint traces 

 of white scales like others from southern slopes of the 

 Khasia Hills (Sylhet). The <? $ which are least differen- 

 tiated from the 2 2 in point of markings, also resemble 



I them in the fuller and more broadly rounded inner angle 

 of their anterior wings." [Wood Mason, " Journal of the 

 Asiatic Soc, Bengal, p. 252 n. 94, 1881] . I have thought 

 it best to quote almost the whole of this Author's remarks, 

 though in a somewhat different order. 



An examination of a <? of Mr. Moore's heliconoides in 

 the British Museum Collection may be added : — 



$ . 1st example in the series. Anterior wing quite 

 black — the veins almost invisible. Posterior wing yellow 

 with broad black marginal cones, the veins being black. 

 Under surface the same, except that the anal-angle cone 

 is larger and more pronounced than on the upper side, 

 and separate from a discal black spot at its apex. 



2 Anterior wing dark brown, a little lighter toward 

 the outer margin ; the ochreous-white adnervular rays 

 very broad, shaded or graduated very delicately from the 

 discoidal cell by a dusting of brown scales ; the cell at 

 its distal end is treated the same. Posterior wings 

 yellow, with a broad marginal band of black cones, or 

 rather dentate marks, each one from the upper part 

 of the wing reaching farther into the disc, and at the 

 apex of each, though detached from them (except at near 

 the apical angle) is a different-sized tear-shaped black 

 spot ; the costa, the basal part of the cell, and all the 

 space above the 2nd and 1st veins, except two small 

 yellow portions, black ; undersurface with the posterior 

 yellow area much paler than above, and suffused with 

 white ; the white fringe lunules prominent, and united 

 with each marginal cone by a dusting of white atoms. 



The type <? of Felder's Cerberus has on the underside 

 of the posterior wing, between the 2nd and 3rd median 

 veinlets a subconical black spot rather longer than the 

 marginal cone beneath, from which it is only slightly 

 separated by the discal yellow, and also a faint black 

 spot above it ; a small orbicular black spot also between 

 the 1st and 2nd median veinlets ; there is also a rather 

 large submedian black mark above the anal angle. In 

 other respects this example generally corresponds with 

 the prevailing specimens of Cerberus. Expanse of the 

 anterior margin of the upper wing 71 mms. Hab. Sylhet. 

 Felder's type 2 was from Cachar, collected by Dr. 

 Stoliczka. The anterior marginal length of the type 2 

 of Moore's Heliconoides is 90 mms. 



The types of the Javan Pompeus of Cramer are in the 

 British Museum (?) ; of Felder's Cerberus in the Tring 

 Rothschild Museum ; and of Moore's Heliconoides in the 

 rich Indian collection of Mr. Frederick Moore. 



By the foregoing it will be seen that I propose to 

 recognise Pompeus as the type form of this species, by 

 reason of its priority of description by Cramer 90 years 

 before Felder described its continental relative ; Cerberus 

 and Heliconoides will thus be varieties of Pompeus — the 

 latter being considered again a local var. of Cerberus. 



A careful comparison of sets of the 3 forms will prove 

 that they all belong to one widely distributed species. 



