434 
ISLAND LIFE. 
[part II. 
groups, and produce upon them all a common result. Nearly 
thirty species of butterflies, belonging to three different families, 
have a common modification in the shape of their wings, by 
which they can be distinguished at a glance from their allies 
in any other island or country whatever ; and all these are 
larger than the representative forms inhabiting most of the 
adjacent islands . 1 No such remarkable local modification as 
this is known to occur in any other part of the globe ; and 
whatever may have been its cause, that cause must certainly 
have been long in action, and have been confined to a limited 
area. We have here, therefore, another argument in favour of 
the long-continued isolation of Celebes from all the surrounding 
islands and continents — a hypothesis which we have seen to 
afford the best, if not the only, explanation of its peculiar 
vertebrate fauna. 
Concluding Remarks . — If the view here given of the origin 
of the remarkable Celebesian fauna is correct, we have in this 
island a fragment of the great eastern continent which has pre- 
served to us, perhaps from Miocene times, some remnants of its 
ancient animal forms. There is no other example on the globe 
of an island so closely surrounded by other islands on every 
side, yet preserving such a marked individuality in its forms of 
life ; while, as regards the special features which characterise its 
insects, it is, so far as yet known, absolutely unique. Unfortu- 
nately very little is known of the botany of Celebes, but it 
seems probable that its plants will to some extent partake of 
the speciality which so markedly distinguishes its animals ; 
and there is here a rich field for any botanist who is able to 
penetrate to the forest-clad mountains of its interior. 
1 For outline figures of the chief types of these butterflies, see my 
Malay Archijpelago, Yol. I. p. 441, or p. 281 of the second edition. 
