386 
TROPICAL NATURE 
v 
metallic colouring surpass anything found in the whole 
eastern hemisphere, if not in the whole world. 
In the Andaman islands, in the Bay of Bengal, there are a 
considerable number of peculiar species of butterflies differing 
slightly from those on the continent, and generally in the 
direction of paler or more conspicuous colouring. Thus two 
species of Papilio which on the continent have the tails black, 
in their Andaman representatives have them either red or 
white-tipped . 1 Another species 2 is richly blue-banded where 
its allies are black ; while three species of distinct genera of 
Nymphaiidse 3 all differ from their allies on the continent in 
being of excessively pale colours as well as of somewhat larger 
size. 
In Madagascar we have the very large and singularly 
white -spotted Papilio antenor, while species of three other 
genera 4 are very white or conspicuous as compared with 
their continental allies. 
Passing to the West Indian islands and Central America 
(which latter country has formed a group of islands in very 
recent times), we have similar indications. One of the largest 
of the Papilios inhabits Jamaica , 5 while another, the largest 
of its group, is found in Mexico . 6 Cuba has two of the same 
genus whose colours are of surpassing brilliancy • 7 while the 
fine genus Clothilda — confined to the Antilles and Central 
America — is remarkable for its rich and showy colouring. 
Persons who are not acquainted with the important 
structural differences that distinguish these various genera 
of butterflies can hardly realise the importance and the 
significance of such facts as I have now detailed. It may 
be well, therefore, to illustrate them by supposing parallel 
cases to occur among the Mammalia. We might have, for 
example, in Africa, the gnus, the elands, and the buffaloes, 
all coloured and marked like zebras, stripe for stripe over 
the whole body exactly corresponding. So the hares, mar- 
mots, and squirrels of Europe might be all red with black 
feet, while the corresponding species of Central Asia were all 
1 Papilio rliodifer (near P. doubledayi), and Papilio charieles (near P. 
memnon), 2 Papilio mayo. 
3 Euplsea andamanensis, Cetliosia biblis, Cyrestia codes. 
4 Danais nossima, Melanitis massoura, Diadema dexithea. 
6 Papilio homerus. 6 P. daunus, 7 P. gundlacliianus, P, villiersi. 
