436 ME. W= P. KIRBT ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OP 



an island whose relations are somewhat doubtful and peculiar, 

 but which perhaps belongs rather to the Australian region than to 

 the Indian (but compare Mr. Wallace's paper " On the Zoological 

 Geography of the Malay Archipelago," Journ. Linn. Soc. Zool. iv. 

 p. 172). On the other hand, India possesses numerous represen- 

 tatives of many Palsearctic and African genera ; and many other 

 genera are about equally divided between the Indian and African, or 

 Australian, regions. A great similarity exists between the insects 

 of North India and those of Singapore ; the species peculiar to 

 South India and Ceylon are imperfectly known at present, and a 

 study of their affinities would no doubt be highly interesting and 

 instructive. It may be expected, however, that the south of 

 India is much poorer in species than the north, and would display 

 African or Australian affinities rather than Palsearctic. 



Although this fauna is very rich in comparison with any that 

 have preceded it, still only 1250 butterflies are known from the 

 Indian region, against 1500 birds ; so that here also the birds are 

 much more richly represented. Thus while in the birds we have 

 one species to each 2600 square miles nearly, in the butterflies we 

 have but one to 3200. Yet the zoology of the Indian region is 

 far better known than that of any other, except the Palsearctic 

 and perhaps the Nearctic. 



IV. Australian or Western Palceotropical Region. 



11 Extent. — Papua and adjacent islands, Australia, Tasmania, 

 and Pacific Islands; an area of perhaps 3,000,000 square miles." 



Characteristic forms. — Hestia, Ideopsis, Danaus, Euplcea, Ha- 

 madryas, Bletogona (Celebes), Argyroplienga (New Zealand), 

 Xenica (Australia), Heteronympha (Aust.), -Zbz5(Piji), Acrophtlial- 

 mia, Hypocysta, Tenaris, Hyantis (Waigiou), Messaras, Atella, Hy- 

 polimnas, Apaturina (Amboy na?) , Earthenos, Mynes, ErotJwe,Dical- 

 laneura, Lucia, Hypochrysops, Vtica, lalmenus, Ogyris, Elodina, 

 Delias, Eurycus (Aust.), Ornithoptera, Netrocoryne (Aust.), Trape- 

 zites (Aust.), Hesperilla (Aust.), Euscliemon (Aust.). 



The Australian region, although very rich in peculiar forms of 

 Lepidoptera Heterocera, is poor in butterflies. It has much affi- 

 nity to the Indian region, many genera, as Euploca, Danaus, and 

 Papilio, being pretty evenly divided between the two. On the 

 other hand, the marked absence of most of the characteristic 

 Indian genera, and the almost total absence of all forms charac- 

 teristic of any other region, point out the Australian region as 

 sufficiently distinct from any other. 



