38 ME. A. MURRAY ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL RELATIONS OF 



rophaga, and Dryophthorus (Calandra), all of which are certainly 

 microtypal. 



Next step to the south of California comes Mexico. It also 

 is largely supplied with Eleodes ; and although some of the finest 

 and showiest non-microtypal Coleoptera in the whole world come, 

 from Mexico, they have no bearing on this part of my inquiry ; 

 for they come from parts of Mexico which are in direct communi- 

 cation with another stirps, the rich Coleopterous fauna of Brazil 

 and Venezuela ; and the vast multitude of small European-looking 

 species which occur on the high lands and western side is quite 

 sufficient for my purpose. The collections made by Truqui in 

 Mexico show this thoroughly microtypal character in a very 

 marked way, Staphylinidous genera, such as Falagria, Homa- 

 lota, &c, abounding. Mexico, being a sort of halfway house be- 

 tween Europe and Australia, might be expected to contain species 

 both from the north and the south which have got thus far. 

 Eleodes is an instance of this from the north, Philonthus another ; 

 both reach as far as Chili, but not into Australia. Zopherus, on 

 the other hand, is an instance of a species which occurs in 

 Australia, and runs up into Mexico, w T here it is in strength, and 

 goes even a little further. Mexico may, indeed, have been its start- 

 ing-point, but the connexions and relations of it and the allied 

 genus Nosodendron decidedly indicate a separation between the 

 eastern and western type of both ; and the western type extends 

 into Australia and New Caledonia. 



Between Mexico and Peru, west of the Andes, there is a con- 

 siderable space, as to which more information must be obtained in 

 every branch of natural history before we can satisfactorily dispose 

 of this question. There have been many collectors in it, but they 

 have usually hurried to the interior and across to Columbia and 

 New Granada ; and I have seen no coast-collection of Coleoptera, 

 nor do I know of any published lists. Erom the mountains them- 

 selves we have, however, received very considerable collections. 

 Thanks to Professor Jameson, of Quito, we have a fair knowledge 

 of the Coleopterous fauna of its neighbourhood. That of Bogota 

 also is pretty well know r n. Erom these I can say that they con- 

 sist of a mixture of microtypal with Columbian forms, in which the 

 Columbian predominate; but the microtypal is represented by 

 undoubted members of that stirps, such as Graptodera, Philonthus, 

 small Harpalidae, &c. Of other classes of animals the birds are 

 best known, through the exertions of Messrs. Fraser and Salvin ; 



