ON THE CETONIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



I say that I will call the first five divisions of the animal kingdom, sub-kingdoms or provinces ; 

 the second 25 divisions of these, classes; the third 125, orders ; the fourth 625, tribes; the 

 fifth 3125, stirpes or races ; the sixth 15625, families ; the seventh number of circles, genera; 

 the eighth sub-genera ; and the ninth sections ; and the tenth sub-sections, &c. &c.* we 

 shall obtain one general rule for the Annulose creation, and at least obtain the great advantage 

 of understanding definitively what we are talking about. Theoretical, and to a certain degree 

 artificial, as this view of the matter may be, it will assuredly tend to clear up our practice. 



It may indeed be urged that difficulty occurs with respect to what are called insulated 

 species. A Cryptodinus is more insulated than a Cetoninus, and an Hippopotamus than a 

 mouse. This is true ; but then I understand that the genus Cryptodinus, were it more 

 perfect, ought to contain as many groupes of species as Cetoninus is known to do, and that to 

 comprehend perfectly the affinities of a Hippopotamus, we must suppose it to be immediately 

 surrounded with as many sections, sub-genera, and genera, as are known immediately to 

 surround the mouse. 



Thus, when the naturalist talks of any anomalous structure, J understand merely that 

 so many links, that is, so many groupes, of the great plan of creation are wanting, as 

 would connect this singular being with some other and better known form. If I say that the 

 Hippopotamus forms a stirps by itself, I only mean that it is the sole species of its stirps 

 known; and that, speaking theoretically, four families are wanting, or rather twenty-four 

 genera to connect it well with the other tribes of Pachyderms. It is of no consequence 

 whether the families and genera supposed according to this theory to be wanting, have 

 disappeared, or whether they have never been created. I merely suppose them to be 

 wanting, in order that I may obtain something like a just notion of the relation which the 

 Hippopotamus bears to the other Pachyderms. 



It will be seen on a review of the preceding remarks, that Guvier's definition of a 

 genus above given, most truly answers to what in the following observations on the 

 Cetoniida I shall call sub-sections, or even to still smaller groupes, if any such can be 

 pointed out ; and that if genera are found to contain sometimes a few beings only specifically 

 differing from each other, this results from our ignorance of certain sub-genera, sections, and 

 sub-sections that are wanting. To those persons who may choose to give the name of 

 genera to the entomological groupes which I call sub-sections, I have only to say that they 

 ought to do it in all cases. They have no right to call the groupe named Cetonia by 

 MM. Gory and Percheron, a genus, and also that which is termed by those gentlemen 

 " Dicker OS." I have avoided this confusion in entomology,^ by invariably considering genera 

 to be that sub-division of the animal kingdom which is the seventh in degree downwards ; 

 that is, to be the first sub-division of families. 



In the same way that we discover confusion to proceed from that definition of genera 

 which asserts them to be the next class of groupe above species, we shall also find a certain 

 degree of confusion to proceed from the definition of the word Family, as depending on 



* Some persons have imagined that I only assign five species to the lowest groupe in nature ; but the above theory 

 evidently proceeds on the assumption that if we knew all the species of the creation, their number would be infinite, 

 or in other words, that they would pass into each other by infinitely small differences. This actually takes place 

 sometimes in nature ; and as yet I do not know any good distinction between a species and what is called " a permanent 

 variety." 



t I suspect that genera among the Vertelrata may, from the comparative paucity of species, conveniently be considered as 

 standing one degree higher in the scale, or in other words, that we may in that sub-kingdom, neglect the use of the word stirpes. 



