ALBERT

Description: Continuing the enumeration of the Lepidoptera from Simalur and neighbouring islets, collected by Mr. Edw. Jacobson, I have to notice only one new form of Cethosia and of Acca among a number of 16 species of Nymphalidae. The Satyridae were represented by one species and the Morphidae by two. According to a letter of Mr. Jacobson the Lepidopterous Fauna of the named islands must be much richer than the collection brought together by him, let think, because it was very difficult to capture the very high flying butterflies. In some cases Mr. Jacobson has made use of his rifle, what is very well to see in the specimens.

Description: Length 13 mm., breadth at the shoulders 7 mm. — Black; head, thorax and abdomen with a faint coppery hue, scutellum and elytra with a faint metallic green hue mixed with coppery; antennae pale fulvous, the palpi slightly darker. Head and thorax lustreless, elytra and abdomen subshining. — Clypeus densely punctured, broadly rounded, front margin turned upwards; separated from the face by a shining impunctate streak. Face strongly and deeply punctured, the punctures a trifle larger than those on the pronotum. — Pronotum exceedingly densely and regularly punctured, the narrow interspaces between the punctures forming irregular longitudinal and oblique fine ridges; the anterior lateral angles flattened, rather acutely protruding, shining, with a few punctures and upturned outer edge. Scutellum deeply punctured, the extreme base and the apex smooth. — Elytra strongly though not very densely punctured, with the 1st and 2nd costa very distinct, owing to the impressed bordering lines which are marked with very closely set punctures; these costae are impunctate and the 1st one is a trifle broader than the 2nd. The 3rd or humeral costa is rather indistinct and narrower; the space between it and the three lateral rows of punctures is punctured like the rest of the elytra. The sutural interstices bear a row of small punctures which doubles beyond the middle of the elytra. — The propygidium is rugosely punctured, the pygidium very coarsely and with a smooth longitudinal line at the base. — The sides of the metasternum are punctured about in the same way as the pronotum, the middle portion however is remotely punctured. The punctures on the ventral segments are large and not close together. — The anterior tibiae are tridentate, the upper tooth rather obliterate. Hab. Burma: Theinzeik (P. Loizeau). — The described specimen belongs to Mr. René Oberthür.

Description: Closely allied to A. sulcata Kolbe ¹), but at once distinguished by its strong metallic colour (sulcata is deep black), more robust shape and only slightly emarginate front margin of the clypeus (in sulcata the clypeus is deeply emarginate in both sexes). Length 11 mm. — Above glabrous, very shining, bright metallic purplish with metallic green tinges; beneath the metallic hue is less distinct, especially on the prosternum and sides of metasternum; the legs black, the tarsi dark pitchy with rufous hairs; the punctures on the under surface of the body and on the legs with a minute decumbent white hair. Antennae, palpi and claws dark rufous.

Description: The Director of the Zoological Garden in Rotterdam, Dr. J. Büttikofer, presented some fishes to the Leyden Museum, one of which is new to science and dedicated to its donor. They were brought to the above mentioned garden from Warri in Upper Nigeria, West Africa. They are: Calamichthys calabaricus Smith, a male and a female. Ophiocephalus africanus Steind., 2 specimens.

Description: In December 1910 the Zoological Garden of Rotterdam obtained, from a dealer, an interesting semi-adult female of a Cercopithecus, said to be imported from the Upper Congo, and belonging to the Mona-group as defined by Mr. R. I. Pocock in Proc. Zool. Soc. 1907, p. 708. This specimen belongs, as far as I am aware, to a hitherto undescribed species, which I propose to name Cercopithecus petronellae.

Description: This new species is closely allied to Helota Vandepolli Rits. ¹) from Borneo, but at once distinguished by the more strongly raised interstices of the elytra, by the deeper angular notches at the apical portion of the lateral margins of the elytra and by the more blackish (less bronze) colour of the upper side. Length 12 mm. — Subshining above, very shining underneath; above blackish, with very faint tinges of dark bronze green; each elytron provided with two small convex flavous spots, situated between the 3rd and 6th striae; underneath testaceous, except the head without the throat, the anterior margin and the front angles of the middle portion as well as the lateral portions of the prosternum, and the elytral epipleurae which parts are dark bronze green. Antennae dark pitchy, the 3 or 4 basal joints reddish. Legs testaceous, the tip of the femora and the extreme base and apex of the tibiae black, the tarsi dark pitchy brown. Head strongly produced in front of the eyes, almost inconspicuously raised between the eyes, the raised portion broadly flattened and covered with large punctures, which are strongly contrasting with those on the lateral streaks along the eyes, where they are minute and closely set; along the middle of the narrowed front portion the punctures are still smaller and scarce.

Description: Der Zweck systematischer Studien ist zunächst der, eine Ordnung zu schaffen, die es uns ermöglicht, die gegenseitige Beziehungen der aufgefundenen mannigfaltigen Bildungen zu übersehen. Da die moderne Zoologie auf dem Boden der Deszendenztheorie steht, so haben die Systematiker das Bestrehen die Verwandtschaft der Formen festzustellen und zur Einteilung alles heranzuziehen, was über den Bau der Tiere bekannt wird. Die Anatomie, Embryologie und Morphologie müssen zusammenhalten. Auch beim Auffinden von systematischen Merkmalen, hat man alles zu berücksichtigen, was zum richtigen Begriff der Spezies dienlich ist. Dieser Begriff „Spezies” ist ein Problem, das jeder Systematiker in der Praxis einigermassen für sich löst. Die Lösungen sind individuell und dadurch verschieden, aber diejenigen sind immer am besten, welche auf nicht bloss morphologischen Charakteren basiert sind. Für mich können weder die Farbe, noch die Zeichnung wirkliche spezifische Bedeutung haben; sie können nur sekundär in Betracht kommen und werden in praktischer Weise verwendet um den Namen eines Tieres annähernd zu finden. Für die Bestimmungssystematik sind die morphologischen Merkmale Hauptsache, aber weiter darf man nicht gehen. Auf diese Weise, also durch Bestimmung von Sammlern, die die Insekten, namentlich die Lepidopteren, ungenügend kennen, haben sich eine Menge Fehler eingeschlichen und es ist eine Synonymik entstanden, welche nun das System trüben. Die Anatomie soll und hat schon viele Verwirrungen aufgeklärt. Leider sind zur Zeit unsere Kenntnisse der Anatomie der verschiedenen Familien noch gering, und es werden viele Jahre vergehen, bis wir auf lepidopterologischem Gebiete weiter gekommen sind. Doch giebt es schon viele Forscher, welche uns die Richtung gezeigt haben. Dass die meisten Lepidopteren-Sammler nicht folgen, rührt daher, dass sie die Exemplare ihrer Sammlung nicht beschädigen wollen. Die Untersuchung von Organen, welche zur Beurteilung der Spezies notwendig ist, wird auch immer viel grössere Sicherheit schaffen als eine nur äusserliche Beobachtung.

Description: No doubt the female Helota from Lakhon (Siam) in the Paris Museum, determined by me in 1897 ¹) as Helota Vandepolli Rits., is a female specimen of the recently described Helota lugubris from Laos (see page 57 of this volume). The quoted ♀, which is now before me and which measures 12 mm. in length, agrees with the ♂ of lugubris except in the following points, which certainly are sexual differences.

Description: I may be allowed to furnish a few additional remarks concerning the above named list, which Dr. van Oort was so kind to prepare on a number of Javanese birds collected under my personal supervision for account of the Leyden Museum. The birds were for the greater part shot and the skins prepared by half-caste and native hunters, who also supplied mo with the native names.

Description: During the last twelve months our collection of indigenous birds has been augmented by 516 skins and about 65 clutches of eggs. Among the skins are two specimens of the black guillemot Cepphus grylle) a species, which was not yet represented in our collection. Of another species, also not represented in the collection and even new to the Avifauna of the Netherlands, which I have mentioned in a previous note in this volume 1), I had the good fortune to purchase a stuffed example, that has been shot some time ago in our country. Of three species, Colymbus imber, Egatheus falcinellus and Motacilla flava thunbergi, which belong to our rare visitants, I received this year examples, of the lastnamed species several ones. The following gentlemen presented the Museum this year with specimens for the indigenous bird-collection: D. Bakker, Dr. J. F. van Bemmelen, E. Blaauw, F. E. Blaauw, J. Boonstra, Jhr. W. C. van Heurn, C. Keyser Czn., J. M. van Oort, A. A. van Pelt Lechner, Dr. F. A. H. Schreinemakers, G. S. van der Spruyt, C. N. Tieleman, F. H. Verster and Mr. R. Baron van Zuylen van Nyevelt.