THE CHIKJf COLEOPTEROUS FAUNAE. 



23 



possesses nothing whatever in eommon with those of the three 

 sub-African archipelagos which lie further to the north — though 

 the great development of the Curculionideous subfamily Cosso- 

 nides is a remarkable fact which is more or less conspicuous 

 throughout the whole of them." 



In this judgment I cannot concur ; the list seems to me brist- 

 ling with Atlantic affinities and points of correspondence. It is 

 one of the very few instances in which I do not go entirely along 

 with my friend Mr. Wollaston's conclusions ; and I believe the 

 difference on this occasion arises chiefly from our looking at the 

 subject from opposite stand-points. I am looking at it as part 

 of a larger stirps, he as an independent object. I am anxious 

 that he and the large number of readers who, relying on his 

 well-known judgment and acumen, will naturally accept his con- 

 clusions as their own in fide parentum, should see that I have 

 strong grounds for dissenting from him ; and I have therefore 

 given in the Appendix a copy of the list of species recorded by 

 him distributed into the stirps and faunas to which I think 

 they belong, with full notes containing my reasons for placing 

 them as I have done whenever any doubt seems likely to exist 

 about the matter. On referring to this, it will be seen that, 

 according to my view, the seventy-six species as yet recorded 

 as inhabiting St. Helena (whether by Mr. Wollaston or others) 

 are to be accounted for as follows. There are : — 



1. Of doubtful identity and uncertain locality \ „ 

 through the fault of the original describers ... J 



2. New endemic species which I have not seen -n 

 either in nature or figured, and as to the affi- 

 nities of which I am thus unable to form an [ 

 opinion 



3. Cosmopolitan or introduced, which, with two j ^ 

 exceptions, belong to the micro typal stirps ... J 



17 



Deducting these 17 from the total 76, there remain 59 belonging 

 to the different stirps as follows : — 



South- American stirps 1 



Indo-African stirps 2 



Microtypal stirps, European branch ... 56 



59 



