82 BUTTERFLIES OF BORNEO, 



clared to be in every probability undescribed, t trust that my 

 new species are really '' good species." 



The question of nomenclature has been rather a difficult 

 one ; the systematist has to steer between the Scylla of 

 " lumping " and the Oharybdis of " splitting," fur to regard all 

 geographical varieties (topomorphs) of a wide-spread species as 

 identical is unscientific, to regard each variety, on the 

 other hand, as a separate species is almost equally un- 

 scientific and, further, tends to obscure the problems 

 of geographical distribution. There is a third alternative 

 and that is, to adopt the cumbersome trinomial system, dis- 

 tinguishing well-marked topomorphs of a wide-spread species 

 as sub-species, giving them separate names* and noting the 

 distribution of the species as a whole. Such is the method 

 adopted in this list ; a species is recorded, if the typical form 

 occurs in Borneo that fact is noted and the distribution of the 

 typical form and the sub-species (component parts of a species) 

 occurring outside Borneo are also noted ; if the typical form 

 does not occur in Borneo, the name of the sub-species that does 

 occur follows the name of the species and the distribution of the 

 species as a whole is recorded. 



Unfortunately some of the families of butterflies have not 

 been studied so thoroughly as others, whilst some families 

 again have been studied from a different point of view to 

 others : for example, Messrs. Elwes and Ud wards in their 

 " Revision of the Oriental llesperiid-.e " (Trans. Zool. Soc 

 Vol. XIV part IV, 181)7), do not allow a single sub-species, 

 whereas Hon. \V. Rothschild and Dr. K. Jordan in their 

 memoirs on the Papilionina* and on the Nymphaline genera, 

 EulepiSi Charaxes, etc., regard every topomorph of a wide- 

 spread species as a sub-species and this to my mind appears to 

 be the more scientific method. Much work along these lines 

 still remains to be done, but it can be done only by one who 

 has frequent access to extensive collections and well-stocked 

 libraries, therefore though this list lays claim to some complete- 

 ness so far as an enumeration of the forms of butterflies 



* For an able exposition and defence of the trinomial system of 

 nomenclature see Novitates Zoologicse Vol. IX. Supplement, 1903, 

 pp. xxvi et secj. 



Jour, Straits Branch 



