480 
GEOGRAPHICAL ZOOLOGY. 
[part IV. 
Family 16. — HESPERIDAL (52 Genera (?) 1,200 Species.) 
General Distribution. 
Neotropical 
Sub-regions. 
Nearctic 
Sub-regions. 
PALiE ARCTIC 
Sub-regions. 
Ethiopian 
Sub-regions. 
Oriental 
Sub-regions, 
Australian 
Sub-regions. 
1 . 2 . 3 . 4 
j i . a . 3 . 4 
X . 2.3 .4 
1 . 2 . 3 . 4 
1 .2.3.4 
1 .2 . 3 . 4 
The Hesperidae, or Skippers, are an immense group of mostly 
small obscurely coloured butterflies, universally distributed, and 
of which hosts of species still remain to be discovered and 
described. As the grouping of these into genera is not yet 
satisfactorily accomplished, only the more extensive and best 
known groups will be here noticed. Pamphila and Hesperia, 
are universally distributed ; Nisoniades seems to be only absent 
from the Australian region. The Neotropical region is pre- 
eminently rich in Hesperid®, 33 genera being found there, of 
which 20 are peculiar to it; the Australian region has 12 
genera, only 1 (Etischemon) being peculiar; the Oriental has 18, 
with 3 peculiar ; the Ethiopian, 13, with 3 peculiar ; the Palse : 
arctic 6, with 1 (. Erynnis ) almost peculiar, a species occurring 
in Mexico; the Nearctic 9, with none peculiar, 4 being found 
also in the Neotropical region, 2 in the Palsearctic, and the rest 
being of wide distribution. Many new genera have, however, 
been recently described in the United States, but it is impos- 
sible yet to determine how many, if any, of these are peculiar. 
More than 100 species of the family are included in Mr. 
Edwards’ ff Synopsis of North American Butterflies,” — a very 
large number considering that Europe possesses only about 30. 
