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6818415 eT
BIOLOGIA CENTRALI-AMERICANA.
ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, AND
ARCH AOLOGY.
EDITED BY
FREDERICK DUCANE GODMAN, DOL, FRS,,
AND
OSBERT SALVIN, MA, FERS.
INTRODUCTORY VOLUME.
BY
FREDERICK DUCANE GODMAN, D.C.L., F.R.S.
1915,
To My Beloved Wife
ALICE MARY GODMAN who has taken the deepest interest
and given me much assistance and sympathy an the completion of this work
a2
*
CONTENTS.
PREFACE
Puatss J., IT.
INTRODUCTION. . . . Physical Features, etc., of the Area treated .
Sources from whence our Material was obtained
Itinerary of Mr. G. C. Champion’s Travels in Central America, 1879-1883
List of Completed Volumes, Zoology, Botany, and Archeology Analysis of Contents of each Volume Summary of Contents of each Volume .
Origin, etc., of the Fauna and Flora of Central America :— Fauna: . Mamata. By R. I. Pocock rr ree Reptitia, Batracuis, and Pisces. By C. Tate Regan . AracunipA (Opiliones and Acari excepted). By R. I. Pocock
Cuitopopa, Dieroropa, and Protorracnzata. By R. I. Pocock .
Frora. By W. B. Hemsley Mars I.-VIII.
87, 142 . 105 118, 142 . 183 ~ 145
CORRIGENDUM.
Page 55, line 11 from top. For Protobracheata read Prototracheata.
PREFACE.
I FreeL that an apology, as well as an explanation, is due to the subscribers of the ‘Biologia Centrali-Americana’ for the length of time that has been occupied in the production of this work. When it was commenced, in September 1879, it was estimated in our prospectus that, when completed, the Zoology would ‘not much exceed sixty parts, equivalent to about twelve volumes of 500 pages each,” and that twenty parts would suffice for the Botany, the two subjects to be issued concurrently. The inclusion of the Archeology was not at that time contemplated, and this subject was only undertaken later in consequence of the investigations made by my friend Mr, A. P. Maudslay of the famous ruins in Central America, which, together with his beautiful photographs, made a valuable addition to our knowledge of the country. We had, moreover, underestimated the vast amount of additional material which subsequently came into our possession, and thus necessitated the extension of the
work to a total of 215 parts, or 63 volumes,
It had been our intention at the termination of the work, and after a careful study of the Zoological and Botanical material accumulated from this hitherto little-known but exceedingly rich ‘country, to have summarised the result and discussed its bearing on the interesting subject of geographical distribution, Salvin’s death after a long illness, and my own advancing years and ill-health, compelled me to abandon this project, and I should have been obliged to content myself with the conclusions arrived at by the various contributors in their respective Introductions had it not been for the assistance of Messrs. R. I. Pocock and C. Tate Regan, to whom I am greatly indebted for their respective articles on the Mammals, Reptiles, Fishes, Arachnida, Chilopoda, etc., which are included in the Indroductory Volume. As regards the Insecta generally, which occupy such a large portion of the work, so little is as yet known of the fauna
of other tropical regions that no satisfactory comparison can be made.
vill PREFACE.
Mr. W. B. Hemsley, who had previously contributed the volumes on the Botany, had almost completed an article on the geographical distribution of the Flora, practically bringing this subject up to date, when, I regret to state, his health completely failed, and he was reluctantly obliged to relinquish his task. Recently he has, however, been able to furnish me with a précis of his conclusions, which forms a valuable
addition to our knowledge of the subject.
It now only remains for me to offer my grateful acknowledgments to all those who have assisted me with their various contributions, and without whom the work could not possibly have been undertaken. To my Secretary, Mr. G. C. Champion, I am specially indebted for the valuable assistance he has rendered as collector, contributor, and also as subeditor, in which last capacity his advice has been of inestimable value. His knowledge of Entomology, especially of Coleoptera and Rhynchota, has made him one of our most important contributors, and he has either undertaken alone, or shared in the production of, no less than nine volumes of the ‘ Biologia.” My warm thanks are also due to my assistant, Mr. A. Cant, who has given very important help during the progress of the work, both in setting the insects, in labelling and arranging them, as well as in making very careful dissections
aud preparing slides for microscopic examination.
F. D. G. June 1915,
PLATE I.
LQ. Godesti-
PLATE IL
INTRODUCTION.
A sHorT account of the events that led to the publication of the ‘ Biologia Centrali- _ Americana’ may be of interest to our readers, and I will therefore first give a sketch of the early days of Salvin and myself, so far as they have a definite bearing on the study-of Natural History, and of the circumstances which drew our attention especially to Tropical America.
Osbert, the second son of Mr. Anthony Salvin, the eminent architect, was born at Finchley in 1835 and educated at Westminster and Cambridge. That he developed a very early taste for natural history is clear from the series of bird skins, now in the Natural History Museum, collected by him as a boy and labelled ‘ Finchley.’
I, Frederick DuCane Godman, third son of Joseph Godman, of Park Hatch, Surrey, was born in January 1834, and at the age of ten went to Eton, but three years later a very severe attack of what was then called low fever necessitated my removal, and for some years I was unable to work at all. When my health was sufficiently re-established, I received instruction from tutors until I was eighteen years old, when I made a trip to the Mediterranean and Black Sea, visiting Gibraltar, Southern Spain, Athens, and Constantinople en route. During the time spent at home I interested myself in Natural History, paying special attention to the British Mosses and Ferns, of which I made a considerable ccllection. Birds were always a source of delight to me, and I could recognise a large number of British species as well by their flight as by their note. |
In 1853 I entered Trinity College, Cambridge, as an undergraduate, and Salvin, in the following year, went to ‘Trinity Hall, of which College he became a scholar; he graduated as a Senior Optime in the Mathematical Tripos and was afterwards made an Honorary Fellow. With similar tastes, it was only natural that we soon met and became fast friends, thus forming that close intimacy which only terminated with Salvin’s death on June Ist, 1898. Salvin was a skilful mechanic, and very ingenious in carpentry and cabinet making. Whilst still at Westminster, with the assistance of his elder brother, he built a boat thirty feet long and fitted it with a steam engine, the whole of which, with the exception of the boiler, was made by the two brothers. This boat was launched on the river, and in it they went to a Thames regatta, but, having tested its powers and proved its capability, their object
BIOL, VENTR.-AMER., Introd. Vol., January 1915. B
2 INTRODUCTION.
was achieved, and the boat was finally sold. Some years afterwards, at Duefias, in Guatemala, when we required specimens of the duck and waterfowl which frequented the neighbouring lake, Salvin again turned his hand to boat building. ‘This time the ribs and frame were made of sticks of green wood cut and fastened together ; over this, the hair having previously been removed, a raw ox-hide was drawn. and as the hide shrank, it bound the whole tightly together and made an excellent boat, easily accommodating two people. In this craft we had many sails upon the lake and obtained examples of the birds resorting there.
During our College days, Salvin and I made frequent expeditions together to the fens and other places in the neighbourhood of Cambridge, in order to collect birds’ eggs and lepidoptera. On one occasion we heard of a bustard which had been seen in Wicken Fen, and we spent a couple of days searching for it, but with no intention of shooting so rare a visitor. We found both its foot-tracks and some shed feathers, but, as we learned afterwards, the bird had been shot at and probably wounded by one of the fenmen, as it was never seen again. We also spent our leisure hours in Baker’s shop, the well known bird stuffer in the Trumpington Road, skinning and setting up birds—an experience which we found of great service to us afterwards when in Central America and on other expeditions,
A good deal of fenland being then undrained, Swallow-tailed butterflies were always to be found, and we collected the larvee and bred them in Baker's shop. ‘The ‘Large Copper’ had so recently become extinct, that we searched in vain for it, though Brown, the tailor in Cambridge, who was an ardent British lepidopterist, had a long series in his cabinet, mostly specimens bred from the larve he had collected a few years previously.
While still at Cambridge there were several other University men keenly interested in Ornithology, notably the two brothers Newton, Simpson, and my brother Percy, and after our spring rambles we used to meet in each other's rooms and discuss the result of our various expeditions. It was at one of these meetings in 1807 that it was first suggested that some record should be kept of these proceedings, and the idea of estabiishing a Magazine solely devoted to Ornithology was mooted, but nothing further was done till November 17th in the following year, when a meeting took place in Alfred Newton’s rooms in Magdalene College, at which Salvin and myself, Simpson, Wolley, Sclater, Newton, and other ornithologists were present. Before the party broke up it was resolved: ‘That an Ornithological Union of twenty members should be formed, with the object of establishing a new Journal devoted to Birds: that Lieut.-Colonel H. M. Drummond should be President, Professor Newton the Secretary of the Union, and P. L. Sclater should edit the Journal: that the title of the Journal should be ‘'The Ibis.’ ”
The first volume of ‘'The Ibis’ appeared in 1859, and the Magazine has now reached its 56th volume, and the Union has over four hundred and forty members.
INTRODUCTION. 3
In 1857, Salvin made a birds’-nesting expedition with the Rev. H. B. Tristram and Mr. W. EH. Simpson (afterwards Huddleston) through Tunisia and Eastern Algeria, in which I was to have joined them, but an accident in the hunting-field laid me up for some weeks and prevented me from accompanying them. ‘The result of this five months’ journey forms the subject of two valuable papers, one by Salvin, the other by Tristram, published in the first volume of ‘The Ibis.’ Later in the year, when I had sufficiently recovered from my accident, I went with my brother Percy to Bodé, in the north of Norway ; there we remained for some weeks exploring the surrounding country and were fortunate enough to meet with and secure the eggs of the Great Snipe (Scolopax gallinago). Taking the steamer northward to the Alten River, we crossed Lapland on foot to Haparanda, on the Gulf of Bothnia, paying John Wolley a short visit at Muonioniska. Before returning home we visited Stockholm, St. Peters- burg, and Nijnei-Novgorod. A short paper on the birds obtained on this journey appeared in ‘The Ibis’ for 1861.
In the autumn of 1857 Salvin paid his first visit to Central America, in company with Mr. George Ure Skinner, a gentleman well known to both Botanists and Ornithologists through the collections of crchids and birds he had brought from that country on previous expeditions. Salvin undertook the journey, at the request of Messrs. Price & Co., to examine and report upon the nuts of a palm which it was thought might be used in the manufacture of candles. ‘The palm-nuts, however, proved to be useless for practical purposes, and Salvin spent the remainder of his time in travelling through the country and making a collection of birds and insects. He reached Belize, British Honduras, in December 1857, and after spending a few days there, proceeded down the coast to Yzabal and thence by easy stages to Guatemala City, making Duenas, 3U miles south-west of the capital, his headquarters for six months. Salvin made two excursions to the Pacific coast region and one to the Lake of Atitlan in the ‘Altos.’ Leaving the country towards the end of June 1898, he returned to England vid San José and Panama. On his return he published a paper in ‘ The Ibis,’ in conjunction with Mr. P. L. Sclater, on the Ornithology of Central America (not including Mexico), in which the authors enumerated 381 birds, all that were then known to inhabit that country.
What he saw, however, on this expedition so whetted his appetite that he returned again to Guatemala in the spring of 1859, with the sole object of studying Natural History. He revisited Duefias, and collected in the neighbourhood for some months. In October he went to San Gerdénimo, Coban, and other places in Vera Paz, returning to Duefias about the end of the year. In March 1860, he was again in Aita Vera Paz, at Coban, Lanquin, &c., and left for home, wd Belize, in the following month. On this occasion he added very considerably to his collection of birds, as well as insects, and as a result wrote various papers in ‘The Ibis’ for 1860 on his discoveries.
B2
4 INTRODUCTION.
In August 1861, I joined Salvin on his third expedition to Guatemala, and, after spending three weeks in Jamaica en route, we landed at Belize; thence taking our passage in a coasting schooner we arrived at Yzabal on the Golfo Dolce. Here we remained a few days, making preparations for our journey and engaging Indians and mules to transport ourselves and our baggage to the interior. This place will, however, always be associated in my mind with my first sight of a living example of one of the most striking and gorgeous of all butterflies, Morpho peleides. Iwas sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree in the forest, when it came floating past me, but 1 was so overcome with astonishment and delight at this wonderful vision that, although I had a butterfly net in my hand, I was utterly unable to rise in pursuit until it was too late to capture it.
Crossing the Mico range of mountains, we spent a few days at Quirigua, where © I first encountered the great Howling Monkey (J/ycetes villosus), which frequents the dense forest in troops, making night hideous with its howls, which could be heard in the stillness for a distance of some miles. As we were sleeping in hammocks swung from the boughs of trees, we were somewhat disturbed in our slumbers. We also spent our time photographing the old Indian ruins and exploring the forest in the vicinity. Dry and highly sensitive plates, such as are in ordinary use now, did not then exist, and every photographer was obliged to carry about the necessary materials for preparing and developing his own plates, which might either be wet, entailing immediate development, or dry (tanning), when they could be kept for some days. The whole photographic apparatus, including chemicals, fitted into a case, which formed a load for one of our Indian carriers. Our first essay at photo- eraphy in the forest was not a success, as we found that after exposing the plates for twenty minutes no details were to be seen. ‘This we discovered was owing to the dense green foliage overhead, through which the light had scarcely any effect in dissolving the nitrate of silver on the plate, and consequently no image was produced. In order to overcome this difficulty, we then hired Indians to cut down the trees which shaded the objects we wished to photograph. This delayed us a few days, which, however, we employed in collecting birds and insects, until a sufficient number of trees were felled to admit light upon the ruins, when we again proceeded to take photographs of the large monoliths, now obtaining very successful results. These ruins are fully described and illustrated in the ‘Archeology’ of the ‘ Biologia,’ by A. P. Maudslay.
From Quirigua we again took the mule track, for it could hardly be called a road, through the valley of the Motagua River to Zacapa, and thence to Guatemala City. We spent a day or two at the Capital and then proceeded to Dueftas, where we remained for some weeks in most delightful quarters at the house of Mr. William Wyld, a friend of Salvin’s. Our time at this place was devoted to collecting, chiefly in the high forests of the Volcan de Fuego, the peak of which we ascended, and
INTRODUCTION. . 5
I made a separate expedition to Escuintla in the Pacific Coast region. After our stay at Duejias we retraced our steps to the Capital, and, crossing the Chuacus Range into the plain of Salama, we took up our abode at the Hacienda of San Geronimo. Here we resided for some weeks, finding several species of birds and insects which we had not previously obtained. From San Gerdnimo we went to Coban, and, after spending some time collecting in the neighbourhood, we visited Cubilguitz and Choctum in the low damp forest of Alta Vera Paz. At Cubilguitz, unfortunately, I contracted a sharp attack of fever, which obliged me to remain for some days at Coban to recruit and prevented my accompanying Salvin on his long and arduous Journey on foot to Peten.
When I had recovered sufficiently I returned to San Gerénimo and then went to Buenaventura on the upper waters of the Motagua River, there called the Rio Grande, where I employed Indians to poison some nine miles of the water in order to make a collection of the fish. Before commencing operations I noticed one of the ‘ mozos’ lying flat beside the river, wafting some burning material over the surface of the water, and, upon questioning him, I elicited that he was propitiating the spirit of the river in order that success might attend his efforts and the fish be permitted to die. The method adopted for this purpose was to beat the plant (Tephrosia toxicaria, Pers.*, B. C.-Am., Bot. i. p. 258) on the rocks until a froth not unlike soap-suds was formed, this when mixed with the water caused the fish ‘to sicken and come to the surface. At intervals V-shaped wicker guides were placed, so that the fish floated down to the point of the V, where they were then collected in baskets, and when not otherwise required were used as food by the Indians, who considered them perfectly wholesome. Vast numbers were thus obtained, and from them I made a selection and preserved a good many specimens in spirit (aguardiente), but was somewhat disappointed to find there were but few species represented. On my return to the Capital I journeyed to the Alotepeque silver-mines in company with the manager, and thence to Copan, Honduras, where, after spending a couple of days in examining the interesting ruins, I proceeded vid Zacapa to Yzabal, and there met Salvin on his way back from Belize. Here we again parted, I returning to England, while he started for Duefias and the interior, passing through the ‘Altos,’ staying at Totonicapam and Quezaltenango, and making expeditions to the Costa Grande, Retalhuleu, and the lagoons of the Pacific coast at Huamuchal, close to the Mexican frontier. Salvin returned home early in 1863. .
During our outward journey to Guatemala in August 1861 Salvin and I passed through the Azorean Archipelago, and I then wished I could stop and explore these islands, but onward we went and soon again lost sight of land. I frequently throughout the voyage recalled these isolated islands and determined, should opportunity occur, that I would explore their fauna and flora at some future date.
* Order Leguminose.
6 INTRODUCTION.
It was not, however, till the spring of 1865 that I was able to carry out this project. The careful researches of Wollaston and others had brought to light many interesting forms from Madeira, the Canaries, and Cape Verde Islands; but the Azores had been very imperfectly explored, and it was with the idea of giving a more satisfactory account of the natural history of these islands, and to trace their relationship to the neighbouring Archipelagos, that I decided to investigate their fauna. Oranges from St. Michael’s then formed almost the only trade with England, and in connection with the business large numbers of schooners were employed, but with this exception there was no regular, direct communication with England. <A small steamer, which carried the mails, left Lisbon once a month for the two nearest groups of islands, but rarely visited the two outer ones. Accompanied by my brother, Captain Temple Godman, I took a passage in this vessel, and shortly after our arrival at St. Michael’s we were joined by Mr. Brewer, a well known coleopterist whom I had engaged for the purpose of collecting. Interest in island faunas had been much stimulated by the publication of Darwin’s “ Geology of the Voyage of the ‘ Beagle’” and other works on the subject. The question was whether the Azores had in former times formed part of a continent now submerged, as Professor Edward Forbes believed, or whether they had been thrown up from the sea bottom by volcanic agency. After spending four months on the islands, during which time I visited all except Santa Maria, I came to the conclusion that they had always been volcanic islands, and that they derived their fauna and flora from neighbouring lands. In 1870 I published a small octavo book entitled ‘The Azores,’ enumerating the plants and animals as far as then known, and setting forth my reasons for the conclusion above stated.
The visit to the Azores was followed in 1873 by an expedition to Madeira and the Canaries, in order to compare their respective faunas more critically, but unfortunately the regulations in respect to quarantine were then so stringent that, apart from Madeira, my investigations were limited to the island of Teneriffe. There can, I think, be no doubt that the conclusion I had already formed with regard to the Azores was fully borne out in these islands also.
In the meantime, Salvin was residing at Rotherham, Yorkshire, looking after some ironworks in which he was financially interested; but this was not a congenial employ- ment, and he soon gave it up.
In 1865 he married Caroline, daughter of J. Whitaker Maitland, of Loughton Hall in Essex, and they lived for some years at 23 The Boltons, South Kensington, which became for a time the headquarters of our Museum.
Although both Salvin and I had jointly collected ever since our undergraduate days, it was not until the material was housed at 8. Kensington that we really did serious work together ; but from thence onwards we spent the greater part of the week in London arranging our collections, publishing papers on them, and attending the meetings of various scientific societies of which we were both members.
INTRODUCTION, 7
Salvin’s fourth and last visit * to Guatemala was made in conipany with his wife, to whose skilful brush we are indebted for the coloured plates of the plants figured in the Botany of the ‘ Biologia.’
They sailed in a Royal Mail Steamer in April 1873, touching at St. Thomas and Jamaica; then crossing the Isthmus of Panama they reached the City of Guatemala early in June. Proceeding thence to Duefias, which became their headquarters for some months, Salvin occupied himself in collecting in the forests on the mountain slopes. Together they ascended the crater of the Volcan de Fuego, and a few days later that of Acatenango. Leaving Duefias for Atitlan they made the ascent of the peak from Santa Lucia on Jan. 17th. Subsequently they visited Mazatenango, the coffee estate of Las Nubes (Cerro Zunil), Quezaltenango, the Lake of Atitlan, Solola, Pantaleon, and San Gerdnimo, and after a short stay at the last named place the journey was continued to Coban. Having revisited the Capital they left Guatemala in March 1874. Again erossing the Isthmus of Panama, they sailed for the United States and visited the museums of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, and made the acquain- tance of the leading scientific people, returning to England on June 4th, 1875.
In the autumn of the same year, Salvin was appointed to the Curatorship of the Strickland Collection of Birds at Cambridge, which necessitated his residence at the University. On his giving up the house in South Kensington in 1873, it had become necessary to find fresh quarters for our museum and library, which now occupied a considerable amount of space, and we took for this purpose a house in Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, to which they were transferred. ‘The building being rather larger than we required, we shared it with some of our ornithological friends, of whom Lord Lilford, Dresser, and Seebohm were among the number. After the evening scientific meetings of the Zoological Society, the offices of which were then in Hanover Square, our rooms became a favourite social resort of ornithologists, and many pleasant and instructive hours were spent there.
During his stay at Cambridge, Salvin came frequently to Tenterden Street and worked at the collections with me, and continued so doing until the death of his father in 1880, when he succeeded to his property at Fernhurst, Sussex, where he afterwards resided, continuing, however, his work in London as before. In the autumn of 1878 we moved our museum and library to 10 Chandos Street, Cavendish Square, and here they remained till after Salvin’s death. In 1907 the house at Chandos Street was given up and the library transferred to 45 Pont Street, S.W., while the collections still remaining in our possession were handed over to the British Museum.
In addition to the material obtained during our various visits to Central America and that sent us by the natives we had trained, we found it necessary, for the sake of comparison, to acquire a more thorough knowledge of the South American fauna, and,
* In the notice of his journeys given in the Introduction to the ‘ Aves’ (p. vili) the second expedition, 1859-1860, was not mentioned, and the last visit was incorrectly stated to have been made in 1867.
8 INTRODUCTION.
with that view, employed various expert collectors, whose names are recorded in the body of the work, to visit special localities in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guiana, and other places in South America. We continued to receive consignments from them for several years without having any idea of publishing a connected account of the results, and a very large amount of material, especially amongst the birds and insects, was thus accumulated. It was not till the year 1876 that it was suggested that the ‘ Biologia ’ should be undertaken, and three years later (September 1879) the first part appeared.
In the meantime, various collectors were sent by us to Guatemala and other parts of Central America.
Our method of publication was to bring out six quarto parts a year ; each part to contain twelve sheets made up of various subjects with six coloured plates, the plates and letterpress so numbered and paged that the parts might ultimately be broken up and bound together in their respective volumes when completed. In this way it was possible to keep several subjects in progress at once, and the plan answered well. We were, however, unable to adhere to the original scheme of completing the work in 60 parts, owing to the ever increasing amount of material received from our collectors—an amount so great that 215 Parts of Zoology alone have been required, the dates of issue extending over a period of 36 years. Even now some families of Insects, the Crustacea, &c., have not been dealt with—though this is chiefly attributable to the fact that no experts on these subjects were available.
On arrival in England, the various consignments were opened, every specimen labelled with its exact locality, and the name of the collector attached. The animals sent were then sorted into their respective orders and families, and as occasion offered, handed over to specialists to be worked out. It was obviously impossible that we could undertake every subject, but the birds and the butterflies we set aside for our own share of the work. The names of the various authors who kindly helped us will be a sufficient indication of our good fortune in securing the services of so many eminent men, all of whom joined the enterprise with great spirit.
In 1886, in company with Mr. H. J. Elwes, I visited Bombay, Simla, Delhi, Benares, Calcutta, and Darjeeling; thence crossing the Rungeet River by a swinging bamboo suspension bridge we entered native Sikkim, collecting plants, birds, and butterflies en route. At Darjeeling I purchased a large collection of butterflies, made by Lidderdale, which at the time was considered very representative of the Northern Indian fauna. Starting again from Darjeeling we made a second trip, this time on horse- back, travelling by the Government road constructed by Sir Richard Temple along the Nepaul ridge till we reached Falute (16,000 ft.), and there passed the night in a fairly comfortable bungalow. Next morning we witnessed a magnificent sunrise and obtained splendid views of Mounts Everest and Kinchinjunga rising from the mighty Himalayan range. I also visited Madras and Southern India and Ceylon before returning home.
INTRODUCTION. 9
In the autumn of 1887, having been ordered abroad for the benefit of my health, I decided to visit Mexico, as in working out the Central American fauna, especially the Birds, we found ourselves more deficient in material from that country than from further south. Crossing the Atlantic to New York I took the train to Mexico City, then a six days’ journey, entering the Mexican Republic at El Paso (3700 ft.) on the Rio Grande. From this river the land gradually rises and spreads out into the great plateau of Central Northern Mexico, bounded on the east and west respectively by ridges of high mountains covered with pines, and falling abruptly on the east to the Atlantic and on the west to the Pacific. The rainfall being chiefly on the two coasts, the plateau is extremely dry and arid, and the vegetation consists largely of cacti, yuccas, agaves, and mesquite (Prosopis), with willows and poplars along the margins. of the few water-courses or lagoons. The early part of the journey was passed during the night, but next morning it was evident that a considerably higher elevation had been attained, and on reaching Zacatecas (8000 ft.), a large mining district, the aspect of the country was very desolate and unpromising for natural history purposes, and continued much the same for some distance, but improved a little nearer to the Capital. After spending a few days in Mexico City in making necessary preparations, I was joined by W. B. Richardson, an American bird-collector, and taking him with me started for the Atlantic coast. The first part of the journey, still on the high plateau, was through fields of ‘agave’ grown for the production of the fermented drink called ‘ pulque,’ so much beloved by the Indians. In about six hours we reached Esperanza, in the State of Puebla, at the Eastern edge of the plateau ; here the train enters the wonderful gorge by which it descends to Orizaba, Cordova, Atoyac, and Vera Cruz. The scenery at once changes, the vegetation becoming luxuriant on entering the region of the rainfall.
Before reaching Orizaba we crossed and recrossed the gorge by a series of viaducts amongst palms, tree ferns, and tropical plants, loaded with orchids and tillandsias. At Orizaba we spent a few days coilecting, and I was there joined by Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Smith, who went with me as far as Atoyac, where they remained for some time before crossing to the Western side of Mexico. The Smiths had previously been in Brazil, where they made large collections of insects, which are now in the Pittsburg Museum. Mrs. Smith was also skilled in skinning birds which were shot and brought to us by the Indians, and through her we made many additions to our store of ornithological treasures. Leaving the Smiths at Atoyac, a village at the foot of the steep descent from the plateau—still, however, about 1500 feet above the sea and about fifty miles from the coast,—Richardson and I continued our journey to Vera Cruz, the land gradually | sloping down to the Atlantic and forming a savanna or plain of sandy ground, sparsely covered with grass and scrub. After spending a few days in collecting, chiefly to the north of the town, we took the mule tram to Jalapa, which being on higher ground reaps the benefit of the rainfall and the vegetation is far more luxuriant. At this
BIOL. CENTR.-AMER., Introd. Vol., January 1915. C
10 INTRODUCTION.
place I engaged Mateo Trujillo, a half-breed Indian, who accompanied me during the greater part of the time I was in Mexico and proved a very skilful collector. He was a first rate climber, and amongst other things made a considerable collection of the frogs, newts, and insects which inhabit epiphytical Bromelias growing on the trees in the neighbourhood of Jalapa. We made an excursion to Misantla and Papantla, on the low ground near the coast at the foot of the mountain range, which proved to be very good collecting ground and added considerably to our birds and insects. On leaving Misantla we returned to Jalapa and over the Cofre de Perote to Esperanza, and thence by train to Mexico City. From the Capital I made two expeditions, the first in company with Mr. Flohr to the pretty town of Cuernavaca, and thence to the caves of Cacahuimilpa, where he hoped to have found some blind insects. The second and also interesting expedition was to Morelia and Lake Patzcuaro, where I added to the collection of Birds, but it was attended with no very valuable results.
On returning to the Capital I next visited Yucatan, crossing the Gulf of Campeche from Vera Cruz to Progreso by steamer, thence to Merida by train, where the railway then ended. My first object was to visit the well known naturalist Dr. Gaumer, who kindly accompanied me to the celebrated ruins of Ticul and Uxmal, a distance from Merida of about forty miles, which journey was performed on horseback. The low forest through which we passed is said to be still frequented by the beautiful ‘ Pavo real’ (Meleagris oceliata), but it has become so rare in the neighbourhood that we ourselves did not meet with it. Leaving Yucatan I went back to Mexico City, where I was joined by Mr. and Mrs. Elwes, and together we went to Jalapa, thence riding across the country to Cordova, a most delightful journey of three days, and obtaining magnificent views of the Volcano of Orizaba, with its snow-clad peak. We continued our journey to Puebla and Mexico City, and thence to Amecameca at the foot of the volcanoes Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl; the latter we ascended as far as the pine belt, shooting many interesting birds and collecting plants and insects. We left Mexico in the spring of 1858, having been absent from home about five months, and returned to England wd California and New York.
For several years after my return from Mexico, Salvin and I continued diligently to work out the material on hand and the ever increasing amount sent over by our collectors. Salvin’s failing health finally obliged him to relax his efforts, and though he still came to London as formerly, he was unable to take the same active part in the work and the difficulty of concentrating his attention on any one subject became increasingly great. He died suddenly at Hawksfold, Fernhurst, Sussex, Jure Ist, 1895, 'eiving me alone to complete the ‘ Biologia.’
The severance of a friendship such as ours had been for forty-four years was a terrible blow to me, for we were more intimately connected than most brothers, and, besides the personal loss, I missed his knowledge and experience in all things connected with our book. At the time of Salvin’s death, 14] Parts of Zoology (completing 13 volumes),
INTRODUCTION. 11
the whole of the Botany (5 volumes), and nine Parts of Archeology had been issued : since then 74 Parts (142-215) of Zoology, completing 39 more volumes, and 8 Parts of Archeology have been required, to bring these subjects to aconclusion. It was with a heavy heart that I took up my pen again. With the assistance of Mr. G. C. Champion I continued Vol. II. of the Rhopalocera and finished it in 1901, and in 1904 Vol. III. of the ‘ Aves’ with the help of Dr. R. B. Sharpe, of the British Museum, was also completed.
Salvin had made a special study of the Procellariide, a very difficult group of birds, and for a long time we had missed no opportunity of adding specimens of Petrels to our collection. After writing the catalogue of this family for the British Museum, he intended to publish an illustrated monograph on the subject, and for that purpose 40 plates had already been drawn by Keulemans. It remained for me to carry out his intention, and having again sought the aid of Dr. R. B. Sharpe we completed the work in 1910, enumerating 123 species, and illustrating them with 106 coloured plates.
It will be seen that the travels of Salvin and myself covered only a comparatively small part of Mexico and Central America, but we employed a considerable number of expert collectors to travel in districts we had not visited, and they continued to send us the results of their labours for some years after we had left. Amongst them must specially be mentioned W. H. Richardson, Mr. H. H. Smith, and Mateo Trujillo, all of whom accompanied me while I was in Mexico, and Lloyd and Armstrong, who devoted their attention particularly to the Northern provinces of that country.
In working out the Mexican Birds we found ourselves hampered for want of an authentically named collection of North American species for comparison, which did not exist in Europe at that time. In order to remedy this, I acquired the Henshaw collection, numbering 13,326 specimens, and this was rendered still more valuable through the courtesy of the authorities at the United States National Museum, who allowed Mr. Ridgway, the highest authority in America, to go through and verify all the names on the labels attached. I likewise purchased 2500 carefully named birds from Florida from Mr. W. E. D. Scott, 321 named specimens from California, Texas, &c., from Mr. C. K. Worthen, and a series of Mexican birds from Sefior F. Ferrari-Perez ; and these collections proved of great advantage to us.
In a similar manner we dealt with the insects, &c. I bought H. W. Bates’s collection of butterflies, including those he obtained from the Amazons, as well as that of Herbert Druce, containing the ‘ Kaden’ types; the first set of the extensive series of Mexican and Central American Coleoptera amassed by A. Sallé (including the types of several of the older authors, and some thousands of specimens found by himself or by M. Boucard). I also acquired the general collection of Heteromera of F. Bates (22,390 specimens); a portion of Dr. J. S. Baly’s collection of Phytophaga ; the Janson collection of Elateride (25,000 specimens); various Reptilia, Coleoptera, &c.,
C2
12 _ INTRODUCTION.
collected by A. Forrer in N.W. Mexico and the Tres Marias Islands; a second set of the very large number of Coleoptera obtained by C. T. Hége in his two expeditions to Mexico, the ‘first set now in the Berlin Museum, having been retained by his employer, Mr. Flohr ; collections of insects from Messrs. Becker, Biolley, Blancaneaux, Conradt, Gaumer, Janson, Lankester, Morrison, Staudinger, Underwood, Van Patten, Wittkugel, &c. In addition to this material, we had, of course, the whole of that procured by our other collectors, E. Arcé, G. C. Champion, and H. Rogers. Further details are appended on pp. 44, 45.
All the insects from Mexico and Central America, the Sallé and Janson collections of beetles, our own general collections of birds and butterflies, and the Henshaw collection of birds, have been presented by us to the British Museum, and are being gradually incorporated with the National Collection.
The various accessions are enumerated in detail in Vol. II. of the ‘ History of the Collections contained in the Natural History Departments of the British Museum’ (1906) and in the subsequent Annual Reports of that Institution. The first instalment of Neotropical birds (50,120 specimens) was presented in January 1885, and other instalments followed from time to time till the whole of them became the property of the Nation. Amongst the insects, up to 1906, the total number of specimens given in the ‘History’ is as follows: Coleoptera (85,920), Lepidoptera Rhopalocera (17,829), Lepidoptera Heterocera (12,883), Diptera (17,525), Hymenoptera (10,004), Rhynchota Heteroptera (5543), &c. These figures do not include the Rhynchophora or weevils (22,793), the Staphylinide and water-beetles (9474), the Odonata (3000), ‘the Rhynchota Homoptera (5509), the supplementary unworked parasitic Hymenoptera (6293), &c. From 1906 onwards the remaining collections have been handed over to the Museum as soon as the enumeration of the species was completed; that of the Coleoptera was finished in 1911. Our own general collection of butterflies probably included nearly 100,000 specimens, and the beetles alone from Mexico and Central America perhaps double that number. Besides these a considerable number of mammals, reptiles, fish, &c., of which no account was kept, were presented to the National Museum.
F. D. G.
beddg
PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC. OF THE AREA TREATED.
Tue area treated in the ‘Biologia’ includes the whole of Mexico south of the Rio Grande as far as El Paso, thence to the Gila River, and following it as far as the Gulf of California (but excluding Baja or Lower California). The distant Revillagigedo Islands have been added, owing to certain species of sea birds being common to these islands and the Tres Marias on the western coast of Mexico. Further south we include British Honduras, Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, which collectively are spoken of as Central America. The country stretches in a south-easterly direction, having a width in the north of about 1140 statute miles and gradually decreasing till at the Isthmus of Panama it does not exceed 45 miles, and the land only attains an altitude of 300 feet (tierra caliente). In shape Mexico and Ceritral America have been likened to a cornucopia, which collectively they somewhat resemble. Of the physical aspect of each country I propose giving an outline, but as the travels of Salvin and myself covered only a small portion of the area, I shall supplement the account with extracts from other writers ; moreover, upwards of fifty years have elapsed since I was in Guatemala, and doubtless great changes have taken place in the interval throughout the whole of Mexico and Central America, partly owing to the extensive destruction of forest for the purpose of cultivation, the construction of railways, and the wanton devastation of large tracts by fire. ‘Thus various places which in our time were good collecting grounds are no longer so, and many species of both animals and plants must either have migrated or become extinct. Earthquakes, too, have done much to alter the configuration of the land, as well as the nature of the vegetation.
The country is divided by the natives into three zones—the ‘ tierra caliente,’ ‘ tierra templada,’ and ‘tierra fria’ (or hot, temperate, and cold climates respectively). The tierra templada corresponds on an average with an elevation of 3000 to 5000 feet, but the natives of the Mexican State of Vera Cruz draw this imaginary line at a level very different from that used by the people on the western slope of Mexico, For instance, Chilpancingo at 4000 feet in Guerrero has no tropical vegetation and the climate is much cooler than in the State of Orizaba at an almost similar altitude on the eastern slope, which is in every sense subtropical.
The difference is due to the greater rainfall on the Atlantic coast, for the prevailing wind in passing over the ocean is charged with humid air, and when driven by the mountain ranges into a higher and colder elevation, the moisture is then precipitated as rain, thus inducing a much more vigorous vegetation than is found on the Pacific slope. |
14 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
MEXICO.
The general aspect of the Mexican plateau, as far south as the City of Mexico, has been previously alluded to in the account of my journey there in 1887-1888 (antea, pp. 9, 10). On each coast, between the mountain ranges and the sea, there is a com- paratively narrow strip of low land, producing a tropical vegetation, which on the Atlantic extends a little to the north of Tam pico, where the forests with epiphytical orchids suddenly disappear; while on the Pacific the low land terminates a little above Mazatlan, where the coco-palm ceases to grow, but the vegetation generally is less luxuriant on this coast than on the Atlantic. The plateau itself is arid in consequence of the rainfall being precipitated on the two coastal ranges, and produces but a scanty vegetation, consisting chiefly of Yuccas, Agaves and Cactacee, and Mesquite (Prosopis). The margins of the few existing streams or pools produce a few scattered willows and poplars, and the whole country presents a desolate appearance. ‘The plateau is indeed a continuation of that of Arizona and New Mexico, and though it is depressed in the valley of the Rio Grande at. El Paso, where the railway crosses, it is still at an altitude of 3700 feet above the sea. Southward it mounts considerably higher, and on reaching Zacatecas, the highest point on the railway leading to the Capital, there is an elevation of 8000 feet. The City of Mexico is situated in a valley surrounded by ranges of hills clothed towards their summits with pine trees, and reaching an elevation of about 10,000 feet, while to the south-east are the two lofty volcanoes of Popo- catepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, the tops of which reach above the snow limit. Numerous streams descend from the mountains and empty themselves into an alluvial valley with swampy meadows and form several large lakes, of which Texcoco, Chalco, and Xochimilco are the most important. It was on Texcoco that the old Aztec Capital was situated; the houses were built on piles, and the city, which was approached by a causeway, was destroyed by Cortes at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1519— 1621. The modern town was placed by the conquerors on the swampy ground about two miles from the eastern margin of the lake, but notwithstanding the altitude it became one of the most unhealthy capitals in the world, for owing to the frequent rising of the level of the lake, the town was constantly inundated. Eventually a great drainage scheme was inaugurated, and for 150 years vast numbers of natives were employed in cutting a huge dyke for the purpose of draining the overflow of the lake : but the sodden ground had become so impregnated with sewage that the mortality was still extremely high, and it was not till 1900 that President Diaz finally completed the extensive drainage system which now renders the city a comparatively healthy resort. ‘There can be but little doubt that in former times one large piece of water covered the whole area of the three lakes, and a map published about 1628 shows Chalco united with Texcoco, when the surface of the two lakes was far greater than it is at present. Owing to the drainage system so recently completed, there are
MEXICO. 15:
now several separate lakes draining from one into the other, and finally ending in Lake Texcoco, which is greatly reduced in size; the water of this lake is brackish, while that of the other is fresh. .
An account of my journey from Mexico City to Orizaba has been already given (p. 9), so, after stating that I found myself on a limestone formation surrounded by rich vegetation, with the high peak of Citlaltepetl towering above, I will refer to Dr. Gadow for his description of the ascent of this volcano in company with his wife (‘Through Southern Mexico,’ chap. iii. 1908). He gives in some detail the change of climate at various altitudes, and its consequent influence on the Flora and Fauna, which is of special interest here, as conditions somewhat similar prevail on nearly all high mountains in the tropics.
Starting from Orizaba, Dr. and Mrs. Gadow camped near the village of Xometla at an altitude of 8600 feet, where they remained for a few days exploring the neighbour- hood. On their way there they crossed a deep limestone gorge, with fertile vegetation consisting of a species of P/atanus, magnolias, crotons, and various kinds of oaks, most of these supporting a luxuriant growth of bromelias, ferns, selaginellas, and orchids, interspersed with lichens and tillandsias which proved to be * hotbeds of life.” Northward the open slopes were covered with pasture and clusters of trees and shrubs, including mimosas, acacias, yuccas, plane-trees, and bamboos. Here was reached the upper limit of coffee and cotton plantations, while in the damper ravines tree-ferns were plentiful. Higher up, at the level of the central plateau, maize fields became scarce, and tree-ferns and datura disappeared. At this altitude a great change in the vegetation takes place ; there is now but little trace of tropical plants, and the climate is temperate, moist and fertile, coinciding with the cloud belt. The vegetation near the camp consisted chiefly of pines, P. montezume and P. liophylla, with open spaces bordered with deciduous and evergreen oaks, arbutus of two species, alder and Fuchsia microphylla, with tillandsias in abundance. The larger tillandsias occur up toa level of 9600 feet, where they suddenly disappear, and mistletoe then takes their place on the trees. In the ‘barrancas’ or gorges are high trees covered with creeping aroids and lianas hanging from the branches with abundance of bamboos and maiden hair fern. Here bird life was almost absent, and only a few tits, a tree-creeper, a woodpecker, and some blue jays were recorded. A few small mammals were not uncommon, and the armadillo, which is fairly plentiful in the lower and tropical country, still exists at an elevation of 8000 feet. Several species of amphibia and reptiles are also found at this altitude, living chiefly in the bromelias and other epiphytical vegetation. They have either no lungs or only tiny vestiges of them, respiration being chiefly carried on through the moist skin. One genus, Spelerpes, has a wide distribution in Mexico, and S. orizabensis, which leads only a partially arboreal life, ascends to an altitude of 12,500 feet. Hylodes rhodopis, which leads the life of a tree-frog, occurs at 10,000 feet, while it also inhabits the
16 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
low hot country of Vera Cruz. Snakes of the genus Crotalus are common in the. neighbourhood of Orizaba, but disappear entirely in the wet and cloudy zone about Xometla, being again represented by a small species with a poor rattle at an elevation of 13,000 feet. Of harmless snakes, only Zropidonotus scalaris. was met with, a representative of a typically northern genus. A small lizard, Sceloporus microlepidotus, also has a great vertical range from the hot plains of Oaxaca to the upper tree limit of Citlaltepetl.
At their highest camp, 12,500 feet, were stunted pines and juniper, while at their feet grew asphodel and tussock grass, which continued to an altitude of nearly 14,000 feet. At 14,400 feet they reached what appeared to be permanent patches of snow, but the white summit of the peak, which from this side they found impracticable of ascent, was still 4000 feet above them. |
At a later date Dr. Gadow, however, ascended the peak itself, an elevation of 18,200 feet, approaching it on the north-east side from La Barbara.
Proceeding in a south-easterly direction from Cordova (2700 feet) there was dense tropical vegetation on limestone formation all along the foot of the slopes. Eastward the country showed open savannas, followed by lagoons, swamps, and low forests in the neighbourhood of Agua Fria. The Rio Papaloapan with its many tributaries carries an enormous volume of thick yellow water, and for months the low ground is to a great extent submerged. Further on, Dr. Gadow describes low undulating erazing land, until he reached the railway which crosses the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
The eastern slope is clad with humid evergreen forests, but farther west the line crosses a ridge at an altitude of rather less than 1000 feet, and passes through dense tropical forests with occasional open patches, but on the Pacific coast a drier type of vegetation prevails. From Salina Cruz and Tehuantepec north-westwards to the City of Oaxaca the land again ascends towards the high plateau. The hills at first are covered with low vegetation, until at 3000 feet pines and oaks appear, but nowhere is there continuous forest. The general character of the country is dry. Deep gorges and sandy river beds alternate with an intricate system of hills and patches of xerophile vegetation. Looking south from an altitude of 5300 feet, the tierra caliente appears to be densely covered with wood, while to the north is seen a flat, almost treeless plateau, with here and there outcropping barren ridges of volcanic nature, or with wooded slopes of Paleozoic formation.
The whole of the Western or Pacific slope is much drier than that of the Atlantic, and the vegetation is consequently less dense. Pine trees descend to about 2000 feet, and cacti prevail.
It was on this occasion that, in company with Mr. Julius Flohr, I made a three days’ expedition on mule-back from Mexico City to the Cave of Cacahuimilpa, stopping at the pretty little town of Cuernavaca en route, from which a fine view of the western slope is obtained.
MEXICO. 17
The caves, though of considerable size, were on the whole rather disappointing, and the only animals seen were innumerable bats, which tainted the whole atmosphere ; as regards other living creatures, even after a diligent search, neither Mr. Flohr nor myself succeeded in discovering any traces of insects. A Lepisma and a beetle are, however, reported as having been found by other collectors.
Gadow’s account of the Rio Balsas or Mescala basin informs us that it is bordered on the south side, parallel with the Pacific coast, by a long high range of mountains, attaining an altitude of 10,000 feet, densely wooded and intersected by deep gorges, while the river beds, which form the only available roads, occasionally widen into meadows.
At Chilpancingo there is a wind swept, shallow depression of cretaceous formation, surrounded by sparsely wooded hills with meadows on the top of the ridge. ‘To the west the slopes of the Sierra Madre del Sur are covered with rich forest growth: oaks, dwarf palms, and pines abound, higher up oaks, pines, and arbutus, and, finally, pines alone, form dense high forests; while in the gorges, especially within the cloud-belt, most luxuriant undergrowth prevails. Omilteme (7100 feet) where many specimens were obtained, is situated in these mountains.
At Cumbre de Los Cajones, a pass of 3500 feet marks the beginning of volcanic formation. The typical ‘tierra caliente,’ with an essentially tropical flora and fauna, is found on the southern slope of the main ridge, coinciding with what is officially known as La Costa. The upper limit may be put at 1000 feet, but the country loses its tropical character on the ridges, which rise higher than 1500 feet.
From Coquillo to Chacalapan (700 feet) there is tropical life, and from thence to the coast across lower ridges, the subsoil consists of gneiss and granite in rapid decom- position, while wooded ground and open pastures are also found. The rivers during the winter season are frequently dry, but near the granite bound coast are lagoons mostly containing pure water ; a broad belt of almost impenetrably high forest extends in places to the sea. Mangrove swamps are permanent features of the landscape, but in the rainy season many parts of the forests are inundated, and over nearly the whole of the coastal district a dense mass of tall herbs usurps the place of brushwood in the forest belts.
Throughout the State of Guerrero large collections, chiefly consisting of birds and insects, were made for us by Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Smith, who spent a considerable time in the district, paying special attention to the fauna during the time I employed them in Mexico. ;
We have no detailed account of the States of Durango, Sinaloa, and Sonora, but the general aspect is barren and rocky, and although I sent one or two collectors to those districts, I gained no accurate information as to the physical features.
BIOL. CENTR.-AMER., Introd. Vol., January 1915. D
18 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
REVILLAGIGEDO ISLANDS.
Neither Salvin nor I were able to visit these islands, and the only information respecting the physical features and distribution of the avifauna is from the account given by Mr. A. W. Anthony in the ‘ Auk,’ xv. pp. 311-318, after his visit in 1897.
The Reyillagigedo Islands lie to the 8.W. of Cape San Lucas, Lower California, and consist of a group of four islands, at some considerable distance apart, but all are of volcanic origin and in general appearance extremely rough and broken. Socorro, the largest of the group, is about 240 miles south-west of Cape San Lucas and about 285 miles to the westward of Maria Madre, the largest island in the Tres Marias group, off San Blas. It is estimated to be about one hundred square miles in extent, and rises to a height of 4000 ft. in the centre, where there is an extinct voleano. ‘The greater part of the island is covered with a dense mass of undergrowth which it is almost impossible to penetrate, especially on the north and north-west, or weather side. ‘Trees are abundant there, but do not exceed forty or fifty feet in height, though usually covering a considerable area with their spreading branches. On the south and east the trees are mostly confined to the cafions, where they are smaller than on the northern slope.
Clarion Island lies approximately about 200 miles westward of Socorro and some- what further south, and has little in common with the other islands, either in fauna or flora. Its length is about five miles, and width one mile, the ground rising about 1500 feet above the sea. A few low trees or shrubs, the largest not over ten feet in height, are scattered along the main plateau, and in a few places extend to the level ground on the south side, which lies between the Mesa and the coast. Nearly the whole of this flat ground is covered with a dense growth of cactus (Platopuntia), over which has grown a mass of vines, and a passage through this belt can only be made by the diligent use of a bush knife. At a short distance from the beach were found two small shallow ponds, which contain water during the rainy season only, but as the high tides evidently overflow the barriers and flood them with sea water, it is doubtful if they are ever otherwise than brackish. At the time of Mr. Anthony’s visit, the ponds had been dry for some months, and no water was found upon the island.
As might be expected from the position and vegetation of Clarion, the birds were quite different from those on Socorro and San Benedicte. The only land bird common to any two islands was the Raven, but on Socorro it was not seen.
San Benedicte is a small island about three miles in length with an average width of half a mile, and lies 35 miles north of Socorro. ‘There is little vegetation, but wherever sufficient soil is found, there is a heavy crop of coarse grass growing five or six feet in height, and rendering progress extremely difficult. The barbed seeds
REVILLAGIGEDO AND TRES MARIAS ISLANDS. 19
penetrate a man’s clothing, and were found to be even more unpleasant than the cactus thickets on Clarion Island.
Roca Partida, or Divided Rock, lies 65 miles north-west of Clarion, and is the fourth of the group. It is of considerable elevation and has the appearance of a ship under sail.
The number of species of birds observed by Mr. Anthony are as follows :—Socorro (24—13 of which were generally distributed land birds), Clarion (17—10 of which were land birds), San Benedicte (11—including 3 land birds).
TRES MARIAS ISLANDS.
As in the case of the Revillagigedo Group, neither Salvin nor I visited the Tres Marias Islands; but Alphonse Forrer collected in Maria Madre on our behalf and obtained a large number of specimens. For a description of the physical aspect of the islands we ate indebted to Mr. E. W. Nelson, who wrote a ‘General Account of the Tres Marias Islands with Reports on Mammals and Birds,’ supplemented by Notes by other authors on the Reptiles, Crustacea, and Plants (North American Fauna, No. 14, 1899).
The islands are situated about 65 miles off the west coast of Mexico from San Blas, between lat. 21° and 22° and long. 106-107, and consist of a group comprising Maria Madre, Maria Magdalena, Maria Cleofa, and San Juanito, arranged in a north- westerly and south-easterly direction.
About 20 miles from the mainland lies the small island of Isabel, about 1 mile long and 150 feet high. It chiefly consists of the remains of an old volcano, and a small crater still occupies the centre. ‘There is evidence of its having once been a much larger island, though now apparently sinking. ‘The soundings in the channel between the islands and the mainland gradually deepen to nearly 300 fathoms, but west of the group the sea bottom falls rapidly to over 1500 fathoms. |
Maria Madre, the largest island, measures 8 by 15 miles, and rises over 2000 feet above the sea. The interior is occupied by a mountain ridge extending almost the whole of its length, but descending to a gently sloping area at each end. ‘The eastern side has the longer slope, while the western or seaward face is much more abrupt, thus corresponding with the formation of the mountains parallel to the coast on the adjacent mainland. Both slopes are scored at intervals with cafions, which usually descend ina nearly direct line to the sea, and along the lower slopes of which, Spanish cedars and wild figs are grown, certain trees attaining a great size. Generally speaking, the forest is low and scrubby near the shore, but increases in luxuriance farther up the slopes. In its primeval condition before the advent of wood cutters, a fine example of typical forest growth must have been presented here.
North of Maria Madre, and separated by a channel 4 miles wide and 5 or 6 fathoms D2
20 . PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
deep, is an islet 3 or 4 miles in diameter and only about 100 feet high; there is a narrow border of buffs along the northern shore, thus forming an exception to the other islands, which are mountainous and rise in successive slopes to the culminating point near the centre. Here the vegetation largely consists of bush and serubby trees 8 to 15 feet high, with many agaves on the sandy southern end.
South-east of Maria Madre, and separated by a shallow channel 8 miles wide, is Maria Magdalena, roughly triangular in outline, and 7 or 8 miles across, rising in the centre to an altitude of about 1500 feet; south-east again lies Maria Cleofa, the last of the group. In shape it is irregularly rounded, and about 3 miles in diameter; the altitude is apparently much less than 1320 feet, as recorded on the charts. The channel between the two last named islands is about 12 miles wide and much deeper than the others. Maria Magdalena and Maria Cleofa have a central mountainous elevation from which cafions descend in all directions to the sea.
The north-eastern points of both islands are low, flat, sandy areas of limited extent, while the western faces are rocky and precipitous. Permanent fresh water is very scarce on all the islands.
When visited near the end of the long dry season in May 1897, most of the herbaceous plants were withered. ‘The general appearance of the vegetation was, however, the same as in similar situations on the mainland. The most noticeable plants were Spanish cedar (Cedrela), 3 species of wild fig, 2 of Pithecolobium, 5 of Solanum, 2 of Ipomea, a Passiflura, Cassias, Euphorbias, a large Agave, a large Cereus, and 2 Opuntias.
The following is a summary of the species of animals and plants known from the Tres Marias in 1897, as quoted by Mr. Nelson :—Land mammals, 11 (7 peculiar) ; birds, 83 (24 peculiar); reptiles, 18 (1 peculiar); freshwater fish, 2; freshwater shrimp, 1; land molluscs, 6; plants, 136 (12 peculiar). Two species of bats found by Forrer were not met with by Mr. Nelson, and he was of opinion that both were stragglers from the mainland.
The relative situation of this group of islands, all with narrow, shallow channels between them, shows conclusively that at one time they formed a single island at least 45 or 50 miles long, and at a still earlier stage they must have been connected with the mainland. One of the strongest proofs of this former connection is shown by the correspondence between the fauna and flora. The breaking down of the original island into several smaller ones and the continuous encroachment of the sea appear to indicate that the subsidence is still in progress. The mainland in Tepic near the coast was within a comparatively recent period the scene of great volcanic activity, and the Tres Marias Islands bear evidence of having undergone various oscillations, while the marine deposits of Maria Madre are further indications of the recent change.
YUCATAN. ‘21
YUCATAN.
During my stay in Mexico in 1887-1888, I determined to visit the province of Yucatan with the object of exploring the wonderful ruins of Chichen Itza. Taking my passage in a steamer from Vera Cruz, I landed at Progreso, a port of Yucatan situated on a spit of sand separated from the mainland by marshy swamps, which, during the stormy northers that prevail in winter, is occasionally inundated.
After spending a day or two at Merida, the capital, I visited Dr. Gaumer at Izamal about fourteen leagues distant. ‘This American gentleman, long resident in the country, had made considerable collections of ‘birds and insects, some of which he had previously forwarded to us in England.
My original intention had been to ask him to accompany me to Chichen Itza, but, owing to the disturbed state of the Indians in the vicinity, he advised me not to attempt the journey, volunteering instead to go with me to Ticul and Uxmal, a journey we performed on horseback. On leaving Merida we passed through a forest with patches of open ground, some of which were cultivated with Indian corn and an agave, from which a fibre called ‘sisal’ is obtained and exported in large quantities. The name ‘sisal’ is derived from an old port on the north coast, six leagues from Progreso, from whence the fibre was originally shipped. As we proceeded further south, the forest trees became larger, but still not of the great size usually found in the tropics. The ruins of both Uxmal and Ticul have been very much despoiled, a vast number of the stones having been carried away for building purposes, while many of the carved pieces formed part of the ‘hacienda’ at which we resided. Froma detailed account of these ruins when described by Mr. A. P. Maudslay in the ‘Archeology’ of the ‘Biologia,’ it is evident that they were enormously reduced in size since the visit In 1839 of J. L. Stephens, who published in 1843 an account of them in his ‘ Incidents of Travel in Yucatan,’ with admirable illustrations by Catherwood.
The peninsula of Yucatan is flat and of a recent limestone formation ; there is a low range of hills which stretches from a point a few miles south of Merida to the neighbourhood of Peto some distance south of ‘Ticul, but nowhere exceeding 500 feet in height.
The coast is very low and swampy, while further inland are forests, which in a few cases have been cleared, but the whole country is very sparsely inhabited. ‘The southern part is, so far as I could learn, but little known, but it is said to be largely covered with forest and the trees are much finer than those in the north.
The following description of the country is mainly taken from Dr. Gaumer’s notes published in Boucard’s account of a ‘ Collection of Birds from Yucatan’ (P.Z. 8. 1888, pp. 484-439), supplemented by my own observations in 1887-1888. At Tizimin the country, like the rest of Northern Yucatan, is on a low level, but to the north east and south lie vast forests, for the most part uninhabited since the migration of the Indians
22 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
half a century ago. This region is filled with ruins both ancient and modern, but of the former very few of any size remain. Some of the ranchos have, however, been re-peopled and most of the birds have been obtained in the vicinity of the clearings. At Yok Jonat Ku there is a large forest where the trees are high and the ground comparatively open; here the magnificent turkey Meleagris ocellata is still to be found. At one time this bird was distributed all over the peninsula, but owing to the depre- dations of the Indians, who esteem it highly as an article of food, it is now almost exterminated.
Lagartos is a sea-port town at the mouth of the river, or more properly an arm of the sea bearing the same name, and innumerable streams or—as Dr. Gaumer believed— subterranean rivers find an outlet there. The waters are very salt, and in the dry season are even more saline than the sea itself. ‘This so-called river is broad and shallow, bordered by a dense growth of low bush, behind which he marshes of salt or brackish water, and here in June and July thousands of flamingoes in their finest plumage were seen by Dr. Gaumer, while swarms of other sea-birds were always in sight. The innumerable hosts of mosquitoes which come with the first rain impeded the work here, and the intermittent and pernicious fevers render collecting both difficult and dangerous. The country generally has no surface water, and the only supply is from the Aguadas and Cenotes (Senotes or Jonats), as they are called by the natives. Fortunately the Aguadas, which are said to be of natural formation, but which appear to have been reconstructed by the ancient Indian races, are very numerous; they consist of a deep excavation in the earth, sometimes circular in form, but giving the idea of having been at one time quadrilateral, and from fifty to one hundred feet in diameter. They contain water all the year round, though never of any great depth. ‘The sides being inclined, they form natural drinking places and are much frequented by animals and birds—so much so, that the collector usually obtains a good number of specimens in the vicinity. .
The Cenotes are probably natural openings in the earth with steep walls of limestone frequently sixty feet high; they vary in size and shape, but always contain clear, fresh water. They are believed to be openings to underground rivers, and are frequently found in immense caves with a narrow circular mouth ; at the water's edge there is no resting-place and no approach except by the steep sides. Vultures, owls, and similar birds nest in the walls. The caves are also frequented by swallows, bats, and motmots, and reptiles are said to occur in immense numbers. ‘The water contains numerous fish belonging to the Siluride, and in the shallow open water-holes near the coast there is said to be another species belonging to the same group, but Dr. Gaumer was, unfortunately, unable to capture a specimen. ‘The distribution of these Siluride confirms the belief that underground rivers in Yucatan do exist.
A very interesting description of the climate (in 1878-1879) is given by Dr. Gaumer *,
* See Boucard, P. Z.8. 1883, pp. 434-462.
YUCATAN. 93
who first reached the country in the middle of October 1878. The summer rains had ceased about ten days previously and the weather had been good, but throughout Qctober, November, and December ‘norther’ followed ‘norther’ every ten to fourteen days, accompanied by light drizzling rain which lasted generally from two to four days with increasing cold. In January there were four moderately heavy rainfalls with strong ‘northers’ and cold nights. In February there were five ‘northers’ and one with very heavy rainfall accompanied by hailstones of such size that they were quickly gathered up and by many people placed in bottles thinking that they might so be preserved. From February 26th to May 23rd no rain fell and the sky was cloudless for weeks at a time. The heat during the day gradually increased, until in April and May it was almost intolerable, and on account of the dry air and clear sky the radiation was so great that the nights were disagreeably cool, though generally so balmy and pleasant. ‘The birds disappeared as the dry season advanced, when only a few common resident species round the ranchos and Aguadas were to be found. On May 23rd the first summer rains commenced and were followed by daily showers at mid-day. All nature changed as if by magic, new leaves grew, and the forests were again populated with songsters. In June the rains began at 11 a.m. and ceased at 2 P.M. with an almost daily regularity. In July they began at 10 a.m. and ceased at 3 or 4 P.M., but never earlier. In August it rained from 10 a.m. till nightfall and sometimes later. During these last three months there were from five to eight days in each month upon which no rain fell. The heat was almost insup- portable, even to the natives, and yellow fever raged in the towns of the interior. In September the rains lasted from 8 or 9 a.m. till midnight and not infrequently all night, but the weather became milder. Reptiles were almost the only things to be found. In October 1879, during the first twenty-seven days, rain fell in torrents and almost incessantly, the sun was seen but on four or five days and the stars appeared in patches on five nights only, and not five consecutive hours were fine during those twenty-seven days. Yellow fever gave place to bilious fever. Insects were rarely seen, birds almost entirely disappeared, and any skins were worthless, as either owing to the heavy rain or to some other cause the feathers had not yet commenced to grow.
An account of Yucatan would scarcely be complete without some particulars of the distribution of species and a comparison with that of the islands off the coast and in the Bay of Honduras, which were visited on our behalf by Dr.Gaumer. In a summary of the island-birds examined in detail by Salvin (‘ Ibis,’ 1890, pp. 84-95) he arrives at the conclusion that they split up naturally into three groups. Leaving out Meco, the exact position of which is uncertain, he considers that those from Holbox and Mugeres may be classed together, Cozumel by itself, and Ruatan and Bonaca (Guanaja) by . themselves, though all show a strong affinity to the birds of the mainland. The two last named islands are stated to be very different in their physical features to the others mentioned ; they are of high altitude and attain an elevation of 1200 feet, and
24 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
have the upper parts covered with pines, in contrast to the low ground and recent coral-limestone formation of the remainder.
The total number of species obtained was 214, of which 79 are migrants from North America, and of the remaining 135 species, 27 are birds which frequent the sea coast. The table of distribution of the 108 non-migrating species shows that the affinities of the birds of these islands as a whole are largely on the side of those on the mainland, the West Indian element being very slight. Northern Yucatan and the islands adjoining are separated from Cuba by a depth of over 1000 fathoms, and the Bay Islands from Jamaica by over 500 fathoms. Had there been any recent land con- nection, a supposition which the similarity of the birds alone would justify, the main- land as well as the West Indies would hardly fail to show such a connection in a much more pronounced manner, and we should not find the strong contrast which exists between the faunas of Cuba, Jamaica, and the mainland, but a larger number of features in common ; this contrast is still more marked in the Lepidoptera Rhopalocera.
The alternative supposition to account for the West Indian element in these islands is that the birds have reached them at no distant date by flight. When we consider that the trade wind blows in the direction of Yucatan and this coast for several months in the year, it is scarcely a matter of wonder that some West Indian birds stray so far west. Cozumel appears to have been separated from the mainland for a considerable period, during which time it has received casual immigrants from the West Indies, from North America, and from the mainland, some at a distance of time sufficient to allow of their modification. There are 159 species of birds, 65 of which are migrants and 27 of very wide range.
My stay in Yucatan was very short, and owing to the state of my health, which rendered me unfit for much exertion in a country so little explored, I was able to do very little collecting. ‘The specimens acquired, however, were, as before, mostly due to the enterprise of Dr. Gaumer, who employed natives to collect, but they were necessarily from a limited area. My trip ended very much as it began, for I was obliged to return to Progreso, and from thence by steamer to Vera Cruz.
BRITISH HONDURAS.
British Honduras, or the colony of Belize, as it is often called, situated on the south- eastern shore of the peninsula of Yucatan, is about 160 miles from north to south and 60 at the widest part. The navigation of the coast is both difficult and dangerous, on account of the numerous cays and coral reefs with which it is bordered. In the neighbourhood of the town of Belize, and for some distance inland, the ground is low and swampy and thickly clothed with mangroves and tropical jungle. Further west there is a narrow belt of alluvial soil, beyond which, and parallel to the coast, are tracts of arid sandy land called ‘pine ridges,’ from the pine trees with which they
BRITISH HONDURAS. 25
are covered. Still further inland are the ‘ Cahoon Ridges,’ clothed with palm trees, while beyond are broad savannas studded with clumps of trees and intersected with streams. The Manatee Hills rise in a further succession of ridges parallel to the coast, and are from 800 to 1000 feet in height, while to the south the Coxcomb Mountains attain an altitude of 4000 feet; further inland there are said to be a succession of valleys and hills at altitudes varying from 1200 to over 3000 feet above sea-level, but this part is very imperfectly known. The climate near the coast is generally hot and damp, but tempered by the trade winds, and though the annual rainfall is said to be about 100 inches, the country is tolerably healthy. Unlike the rest of Central America, British Honduras is not subject to earthquakes ; it appears to be entirely outside the volcanic area, which otherwise extends from Mexico to Western South America.
In 1862 Salvin, as stated on p. 5, went from Coban by way of Peten, down the Belize River to the town of Belize on the coast, but unfortunately he left no details of the country through which he passed. His intention was to proceed direct to Yzabal, and thence back to the interior of Guatemala, but finding no vessel ready to sail, he hired a schooner and occupied the time in exploring some of the numerous atolls and coral-reefs which line the coast, and later published an interesting account of this expedition in ‘The Ibis’ for 1864. He described the Barrier Reef as extending from Ambergis Cay to Ranguana Cay, its most northerly point; this last cay is twenty- five miles from the coast, so that the reef, instead of running more or less parallel with it, forms an angle enclosing a long lagoon, which, as weil as the reef, is studded with numerous cays. Nearly due east of the town of Belize, outside the Barrier Reef, and separated from it by a deep channel, lies the Atoll of Turneff, within which several lagoons are included. Fifteen miles eastward of Turneff lies another atoll, called Lighthouse Reef, on the eastern margin of which are four cays—Long Cay, Middle Cay, South-West Cay, and South-West-of-All Cay; the remainder of the reef consists of a line of breakers, showing here and there a stranded log or a protruding spit of sand. It will be easily understood that these reefs, many of which are covered with mangroves and coco-nut palms, form an ideal place for sea-birds, and as Salvin’s visit took place at the height of the breeding season, he procured a large number which he had not previously obtained.
In addition to these sea-birds, Salvin mentions two humming-birds, two tyrants, a warbler, a mocking-bird, an osprey, an ibis, egrets, etc. ‘The paper quoted is too long to reprint in detail, but it is still the only account known to me describing the cays in question. His subsequent visit to the lagoons on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala in 1863 is referred to under the heading for that country.
BIOL. CENTR.-AMER., Introd. Vol., January 1918. E
26 . PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
HONDURAS.
The Republic of Honduras is bounded by the Bay of that name and the Caribbean Sea on the north, by Guatemala on the west, and Salvador, the Pacific Ocean, and Nicaragua on the south; it includes the islands of Ruatan, Bonaca (Guanaja), and the islands adjacent. The general aspect of the country is mountainous, and it is traversed by ranges and hills radiating from the base of the Cordillera. ‘The main chain, which does not approach within 90 or 60 miles of the Pacific, is not an unbroken one, as it turns back and forms basins or valleys, within which are collected the head-waters of the streams which flow in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean. Viewed from the Pacific, the mountains present the appearance of a great natural wall, with a lower range bristling with volcanic peaks between it and the Western Ocean. The Cordillera proper forms an irregular line from north-west to south-east, interrupted, however, by the great transverse depression of Comayagua, which extends about 40 miles to the north with a width of from 5 to 15 miles, and contains the Humuya River, which discharges its waters into the Atlantic; while to the south it forms the valley of the Goascoran River, which flows into the Pacific. The whole country has a great diversity of surface and elevation, with fertile valleys and high plains, affording every variety of climate.
Some notes on the aspect of this country were published in ‘ The Ibis’ for 1860 by G. Cavendish Taylor. He crossed from the Pacific to the Atlantic Coast, and many of the places described have been mentioned in the ‘Aves’ section of this work. Arriving in December 1857, from Panama, at La Union, Salvador, he crossed to the island of Tigre, and thence to La Brea in the Gulf of Fonseca, which is studded with densely wooded volcanic islands. Tigre abounds with scorpions and large hairy spiders, and many birds were obtained near an old crater, now a lagoon full of reeds and floating grass. Mr. Taylor visited Aremecina, Caridad, San Juan, and Lamani, and so over the tolerably level plain mostly covered with forests to Comayagua. In the vicinity of the town were cactus bushes on one side, dense jungle intersected by rivers and woods on the other, and high mountains bounding the plain. Continuing his journey towards the Atlantic, Siquatepeque was reached by a route crossing the top of the mountains at an elevation of 5000 feet—here again was open plain, 2600 feet above sea-level, and surrounded by mountains; then after passing over undulating ground covered with pine trees, giving it a park like appearance, he arrived at Taulevi. Here arrangements had to be made for the journey through the dense forests to the Lake of Yojoa, some three leagues distant. Men had to be sent forward to clear a path and engage boats for the passage down the lake. The route lay at first by open
HONDURAS.—GUATEMALA. 27
savannas and wooded hollows, but soon a broad, rapid stream was crossed, and entrance was made into the dense forest, through which a road had to be cut, but further on the trees were lofty with huge buttresses at the base, and the undergrowth was not very thick. It was nearly dark when the river, flowing from the lake, was reached and the canoes launched. The current was slight, the water deep and still, and the banks were covered with high trees and dense forests, every bush and bough was alive with fire-flies, and the cries of night-hawks, coupled with the croaking of innumerable frogs, made no inconsiderable noise. The wind was ahead and occasionally so strong that the travellers were unable to proceed until it lulled, but at dawn they had completed twelve miles and had reached their destination. ‘Two days were spent at Agua Azul, so called from the colour of the deep spring which rises near the ‘hacienda’ and flows into the lake. Numerous interesting birds were seen among the reeds and alligators (Crocodilus americanus) were not uncommon, while every tree and blade of grass swarmed with ‘garrapatas.’ Leaving the lake, which was surrounded by high mountains, the journey was made principally over savannas and open ground to the town of Yojoa, and vid Potrerillos to the Atlantic. In the forest the route lay for miles through vistas of palm trees and bamboos, which shaded the path with their feathery branches, but unfortunately prevented the deep mud-holes from drying up. After leaving San Pedro, where brown monkeys with white faces were seen, a high range of mountains was crossed and Omoa reached on February 14th.
G. C. Taylor enumerates one hundred species of birds, and G. M. Whitely sub- sequently sent us a collection of 135 species from the same country. These were named by Salvin and a list of them published in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for 1870, pp, 835-839. Whitely’s skins (520) were obtained in 1869 in the vicinity of Puerto Caballo (Cortes) *, Julian, Medina, and San Pedro. The three last named places are situated in the low forest-lands on the Chamelicon River; San Pedro, the farthest inland, is not more than 30 miles from Puerto Caballo, now the Atlantic terminus of an incompleted inter-oceanic railway.
After examining the collection carefully, it became apparent that the Ornithology of this part of Honduras scarcely differs from that of the thoroughly explored iowlands of Vera Paz.
GUATEMALA.
Guatemala is coterminous on the north and west with Mexico, the flat low lying peninsula of Yucatan extends to the north-east, British Honduras, the Caribbean Sea, and the Republics of Honduras and Salvador are on the east and south-east, while on the south-west lies the Pacific Ocean. The greater part of the country is
* Often confused with Puerto Cabello in Venezuela.
E2
28 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
mountainous, the main chain of the Cordillera forms the watershed, and at a mean elevation of 7000 feet runs nearly parallel to the Pacific coast at a distance of about fifty miles from it. The steep slope on the Pacific side is broken by many voleanoes, while towards the Atlantic the land sinks in a gentle incline with subsidiary ranges extending nearly to the water’s edge. Of the voleanoes several are active, the most noted is the Fuego (14,070 feet) with its twin sister the Agua, so called because in 1541 a lake, which occupied the centre of the crater, was discharged by a great eruption on to the former capital below and the city now called Ciudad Vieja was com- pletely destroyed by water. Both volcanoes are clothed with dense forests from about 7500 feet to 10,000 feet, above which level there are scattered pines for 1000 feet or more, of which stunted examples are even to be found in the extinct crater of the Agua. Below 7000 feet the forest has been cleared for cultivation, and only parts are now clothed with a dense growth of scrub. ‘The chief rivers are the Usumacinta, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico, and the Motagua and Polochie, which fall into the Bay of Honduras. Those flowing into the Pacific Ocean are short and rapid, as the fall from the Cordillera is very steep.
The so-called ‘coast country,’ however, extends a long way inland, as during the wet season the torrents which descend from the Cordillera are charged with volcanic sand and disintegrated scorie, and when discharged into the ocean they are cast back by the waves and the deposit forms a line of sand-bank. The constant heaping up of this bank often closes the mouths of the smaller streams during the dry season, and when the current is not sufficient to reduce the sand-bar the water expands inside the beach, forming lagoons and marshes along the whole coast. ‘These lagoons are a favourite resort for waders and sea-birds, of which Salvin later obtained a large number, as well as a considerable quantity of fish.
As previously mentioned, Salvin made no less than four expeditions to Guatemala, but I will only describe the physical aspect of the country we travelled over together, alluding, however, to those parts which he visited alone and giving extracts from some of his scattered papers published in ‘The lbis’ and other magazines. We landed in September 1861 at Yzabal, on the Golfo Dulce, and after a short stay we proceeded towards the Capital. The neighbourhood of Lake Yzabal is covered with dense forest extending beyond the Mico Mountains, which we crossed into the Motagua Valley in order to reach Quirigua. Here we spent a few days, and then proceeded up the river valley to Zacapa by mule path, the country gradually becoming drier and the vegetation more arid; cacti and thorny shrubs became abundant, taking the place of more luxuriant plants. Indian settlements were found at intervals of every few miles, where the brushwood had been cleared for the cultivation of maize and coffee-trees, which were growing in small patches. Much the same character of dry country prevailed throughout the journey to Guatemala City, which is situated on
GUATEMALA. 29
the Cordillera at an altitude of about 4500 feet above the sea. From the Capital we visited Duefias, a village on the Pacific slope situated in a plain at the foot of the Volcan de Fuego and between it and the Volcan de Agua. Here we spent about three months, exploring the country and making frequent excursions into the forest of the Volcan Fuego, which furnished a great contrast to that near the coast; the high trees were the only corresponding feature, but both vegetation and climate were entirely different. Instead of the incessant noise of the buzzing of myriads of insects, life seemed almost extinct and a dead silence reigned throughout, broken only by an occasional gust of wind or the fall of some rotten tree. The mountain itself is furrowed with deep ravines, called ‘barrancas,’ the sides of which are exceedingly steep and quite impassable, and in ascending the mountain, care must be taken to keep on the top of the ridges between them. ‘The forest shuts out the view of the surrounding country, consequently landmarks are not available, and as one ravine almost exactly resembles another it is an extremely easy matter to lose one’s way by inadvertently following the edge of a new ‘barranca.’ ‘The lower part of the forest up to about 7000 feet has been cleared for cultivation, but quickly reverts to a dense growth of scrub, above which is found a belt of evergreen-oaks followed by deciduous trees of various species, amongst which the remarkable Cheirostemon platanoides mingles in the highest range with alders. ‘Then follows more open ground with pine trees and coarse grass, but the trees become stunted as the ascent increases, and finally disappear at an elevation of about 11,000 feet. From thence to the summit of the Fuego the cone is composed of cinders and ashes interspersed with short coarse grass. The mountain is divided into two peaks or cones near the summit, connected by a narrow ridge of cinders, the southern and higher peak is still active, and from it a perpetual column of thin smoke is always plainly visible. ‘This cone is very steep, and the climb to the edge of the crater itself is exceedingly laborious, as the foot sinks at each step deep into the ashes. The view, however, from the point well repays the trouble of the ascent. Southward the eye travels a distance of 50 miles to the coast, far beyond again is seen in dim outline the horizon of the Pacific Ocean, while below on the other side lies the deep abyss of the crater itself. The northern cone is more or less covered with coarse grass extending to the summit, while the interior of the crater has been almost filled with the eruptions of the more recent southern volcano; but signs of internal fires are not wanting, as jets of steam and sulphurous vapour are still seen issuing from the fissures in the rocks. In one of the hotter crevices I found a vigorous plant of Lycopodium clavatum and a Selaginella taking advantage of the warmth and moisture and growing with wonderful luxuriance at an altitude of nearly 14,000 feet. The descent was by no means easy, as there was no track to mark our way, but we had fortunately taken the precaution of slashing the trees with our big knives or ‘machetes’ on our way up, which indicated our
30 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
route sufficieatly to enable us to return to camp in safety. ‘The Volcan de Agua is very similar to the Fuego, though somewhat less in height, but there is a fairly good mule track nearly to the summit. This track is frequented by the Indians, who ascend the mountain for the purpose of charcoal-burning and also in search of ice, which they found in the old crater in sufficient quantity to supply the needs of the Capital at that time.
Having made considerable collections, we returned to Guatemala City and, recrossing the Motagua River and the Chuacus Range of mountains, took up our abode at San Gerénimo, a sugar-cane plantation in the plain of Salama, in Baja Vera Paz. The surrounding mountains are clothed with forest composed of various trees, including pines. The plain itself is arid, except when irrigated for cultivation, as at the Hacienda of San Gerénimo. We next proceeded to Coban through the district north of the plain of Salama. The road soon leaves the plain, and the broken country is covered with scrub and forest, the rainfall being much greater as one approaches Coban than on the Pacific side of the Cordillera. During the rainy season there is usually a severe thunderstorm in the afternoon, followed by a clear sky, but during the dry season little or no rain falls and vegetation suffers greatly. In Alta Vera Paz and towards the Atlantic rain apparently falls at all seasons and all hours, and vegetation is consequently much more abundant. :
At Tactic, a forest district near the head of the Polochic River, our porters failed to arrive, and we were forced to spend the night without our baggage. It was so bitterly cold that in the morning the ground and even the backs of our mules were covered with hoar-frost. A few days later, on our return journey, the effects of the unprecedently low temperature were plainly visible on the vegetation around. On reaching Coban we found a large Indian village where the inhabitants were born collectors, and very soon they brought in, in almost embarassing numbers, specimens of birds, frogs, toads, lizards, snakes, and insects of all kinds. ‘The natives there were specially expert in the use of the blow-pipe, with which they killed most of the smaller birds. The weapon consisted of a straight piece of hollow wood about eight feet long, and the projectile, a hardened pellet of clay, fitted closely into the groove of the pipe and was blown from the mouth by the marksman. In this way a large number of birds was obtained with little or no damage to the plumage. Such was the accuracy of aim that, even at a distance of from 15 to 20 yards, many humming-birds were killed.
After some weeks spent in collecting at Coban we visited Cubilguitz and Choctum in the low damp forest of Alta Vera Paz, thence travelling towards Salinas in the humid valley of the Chixoy or Rio de la Pasion, a tributary of the Usumacinta River. The roads or tracks made by the natives were extremely bad in this locality, the eround very broken, and the soil a stiff clay, so slippery in places that it was scarcely
GUATEMALA. aL
possible for animals to keep their footing. As there were no villages whence food could be obtained in this little known district, it was necessary to take a three weeks’ supply from Coban and also to engage a number of Indians to act as porters. It was somewhat difficult to estimate the amount of food required per person, and for this purpose we decided to make a preliminary or trial trip extending over three days. We found that an Indian consumed daily about half his straw hat full of ‘topopoxti’ or baked Indian corn cake, and this with a few onions and ‘frijoles’ or black beans supplied the necessities of life. Having arrived at the quantity required, we made up a sufficient number of loads and these were carried by the porters on their backs.
En route we occasionally discovered a small Indian settlement, where our “‘ mozos” found shelter in a hut formed of poles and thatched on the top and on two sides. These were resting places used by the natives on their way to Salinas in search of salt. Salvin and I preferred, however, sleeping in our hammocks slung to the trees in the adjoining forest, and as we were each provided with a waterproof sheet, we slept in dry beds notwithstanding the constant wet nights.
The days were usually fine and were mostly spent in exploring the forest and collecting birds, insects, and plants. We remained a little over three weeks, till our supplies were exhausted, and then returned with our spoils to Coban.
Owing to my having contracted an attack of fever and ague in the low ground at Salinas I was unable to accompany Salvin on his journey to Peten and Belize. On his second expedition to Guatemala, Salvin had already visited Lanquin and Cahabon, about three or four days’ journey from Coban. He describes (‘ Ibis,’ 1861, pp. 138-149) the country as very wet and covered with forest, the roads —or rather tracks—impassable for animals, and all baggage had to be carried by Indians. The forests on the slopes of the limestone mountains were the home of the Quezal, the royal bird of the Aztecs, as well as of many other birds not found on the Pacific side, such as members of the families Cracide, Tinamide, etc. Salvin says: ‘“‘These forests are perhaps more worth seeing than anything in Guatemala, quite different to those on the West Coast, where the heat is excessive and mosquitoes and other insects abound and destroy one’s comfort. In these forests it is otherwise ; no ‘ garrapatas,’ no mosquitoes, and a climate in the dry season which might challenge any in the world. Most parts are free froma brushwood, and one may ramble where one pleases without being stopped by dense thicket. What strikes the eye most is the number of ferns, not only of plants, but of species; every tree is clasped, every stone clothed with them, besides many of terrestrial habit.”
As soon as I had recovered from the effects of fever, I left Coban for Buenaventura on the Motagua River in order to collect fish, and the methods employed have already been described on a preceding page. |
32 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
Salvin then revisited his old quarters at San Gerénimo, and taking his friend Robert Owen, the proprietor of the Hacienda, with him, he rode over the high land round Quiché and Totonicapam at an altitude cf 10,000 feet. Here the climate is temperate, potatoes and wheat are largely grown, and on the uncultivated ground oaks, pines, and alders abound. Thence, crossing the Cordillera, he proceeded to Quezaltenango, a large town in the ‘ Altos,’ and the capital of a considerable district, which he describes (‘Ibis,’ 1865, p. 187) as a corn growing and sheep producing highland ; thence to Retalhuleu and on to the port of San José. At Retalhuleu he he «d such glowing accounts of the prospect of obtaining a valuable collection of sea-birds and fish from the lagoons on the coast that he took a passage in a trading barque which was going from San José to Champerico to take ina cargo of coffee and sugar, and succeeded in procuring a large number of specimens.
When Salvin had finished collecting on the lagoons, he made an expedition to a belt of tropical forest parallel to the coast, but about twelve miles distant. Here it was that he specially remarked the contrast between the birds of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts—many of the most familiar birds of the low forest of Vera Paz, the Tinamide, Columba nigrirostris, and Ostinops montezuma, being entirely absent, nor does one find the genera Rhamphocelus or Calliste, or the beautiful Cotinga amabilis. Much of the forest consists of bamboo, with here and there a huge tree standing high above it. Between this forest and the coast the soil is comparatively unproductive, bearing the stamp of land reclaimed from the ocean at no very distant date. The long line of volcanoes suggests a recent upheaval, and the constant discharge of sand by every river would tend to advance the coast by slow degrees. This low country is very subject to malarial fever—although Salvin escaped, his two attendants contracted it. Salvin returned to England soon after this, early in 1863, but ten years later, in the autumn of 1873, he paid his fourth and last visit to Guatemala, this time in company with his wife; although he added considerably to our collections the route taken was much the same as on previous expeditions.
In this description of Guatemala, it must be remembered that when I visited it over fifty years ago there were no railways. ‘There is now a railway from Puerto Barrios on the Atlantic Coast up the Motagua Valley to the capital and thence to the Pacific coast at San José, with a branch running from Mixtan near Escuintla to Retalhuleu and Champerico. The country, therefore, is at the present time readily accessible by steamer from Belize and thence from the Atlantic port by train.
SALVADOR.—NICARAGUA. 33
SALVADOR.
Salvador, though the smallest of the Central American Republics, is one of the most densely populated and largely cultivated, and consequently there is but little forest. It is bounded by Guatemala on the west and Honduras on the north and east. The country averages about 60 miles in breadth, and the coast line on the Pacific is 160 miles in length. The seaboard consists of a comparatively narrow alluvial plain, beyond which is a plateau with a mean elevation of 2000 feet, broken by a number of volcanic cones lying to the south of the main Cordillera, and the whole Republic is’ very subject to earthquakes and volcanic outbreaks. ‘The general aspect of Salvador led us to believe that the fauna and flora would be very similar to that of Guatemala and Honduras, consequently we neither visited the country ourselves nor did we employ any collectors there.
NICARAGUA.
The Republic of Nicaragua, wedged in between Honduras on the north and Costa Rica on the south, has a coast-line of about 280 miles on the Caribbean Sea and about 200 on the Pacific. The land gradually decreases in width from north to south, while the main watershed extends eastward from within a few miles of the Pacific Ocean. Greytown (San Juan del Norte), at the mouth of the San Juan River, formerly possessed a fine harbour, but of late years the Colorado branch of the river, which bifurcates about twenty miles from the coast, now takes most of the water and the old channel and harbour have silted up. The main geographical feature of the country is the remarkable depression stretching for about 200 miles from the north-west to the south-east, parallel with the Pacific Coast and to the central plateau. This depression, which lies at a mean elevation of about 100 feet, is flooded by two great lakes, Managua and Nicaragua, which collect the drainage-water of the western provinces and also that from the eastern range of mountains, finally discharging it through the San Juan River into the Caribbean Sea, a distance of 120 miles. ‘The Lake of Managua is about 50 miles in length and 25 in breadth; the level is 16 feet higher than that of Lake Nicaragua, but the natural outlet, except in high flood, carries but little water, the surplus passing off by evaporation. The Lake of Nicaragua is about 100 feet above the sea-level and 150 miles long. Throughout its entire length this great depression is traversed by a remarkable chain of isolated volcanic cones, which, north of the lakes, takes the name of Marabios, terminating at the extreme north-west with Coseguina (4000 feet), and in the extreme south-east in the low wooded archipelago of Solenti- name and Chichicaste, near the entrance to the San Juan River. These volcanoes range from 4000 to over 6000 feet, while Momotombo, the highest point in the Republic of Nicaragua between the Gulf of Fonseca aud Lake Managua, reaches an altitude of
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34 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
7000 feet. To the above mentioned series of volcanoes also belong those on the islands of Zapatero and Ometepe, in the lake of Nicaragua. The latter, after a long repose, burst into renewed activity in 1883, and for seven days continued to spread devas- tation, destroying the crops and compelling the people to take refuge on the mainland. Several other volcanoes are still more or less active, and in 1835 Coseguina was the scene of one of the most tremendous eruptions on record. The outbreak lasted four days, during which time sand and ashes were carried to such a distance that they fell in Jamaica, Mexico, and Bogota. No rivers of any size flow westward to the Pacific, but the Lake of Nicaragua receives, near its outlet, the important Rio Frio from Costa Rica, which, at certain seasons, brings down a vast amount of water. Little is known of the region of rugged plateaux and savannas occupying fully half the country between the lacustrine depression and the Caribbean Sea. A large portion of the low ground is said to be covered with dense forest intersected by innumerable streams, all flowing eastward to the Mosquito Coast, which is low, swampy, and very unhealthy.
Mr. Thomas Belt, a mining engineer and a well known naturalist, spent over four years at the gold mines of Santo Domingo in Nicaragua, and published an excellent account of his travels on his return in 1874. A considerable part of his book is occupied with extremely interesting observations on the Indians and the natural history of the district through which he passed, and I am indebted to him for the following details. Landing at Greytown he proceeded in an open boat up the San Juan River, which he describes as having a dangerous bar, over which he had to pass; he then entered a wide channel with shallow water and beds of high grass on one side and a sandy shore on the other, in which alligators floated about like logs of wood and flocks of wading birds were seen in the marshes beyond. Proceeding up the river in still water, he emerged into a wider channel with a stronger current. The banks of the river were at first low and marshy, intersected by numerous streams fringed chiefly with palms and beds of wild cane and grass; further up the banks became higher and drier, and plantations of bananas and plantains were noticed in the clearings of the forest. About twenty miles above Greytown Mr. Belt reached the Colorado branch of the river, which now takes the greater part of the water from the lake to the sea by another outlet. ‘There the banks were hidden by high trees laden with creeping and twining plants, many of which bore beautiful flowers, while beneath were tree- ferns with their light green foliage and siender stems. Higher up he passed the mouth of the Chiripo River, which rises in the interior of Costa Rica and joins the San Juan about thirty miles above Greytown, It is navigable for about twenty miles from this point, after which it becomes a rough mountain-torrent, and a mule track leads thence to San José, the capital of Costa Rica. At Castillo, on the river bank, a considerable quantity of ‘Ulli’ (ule) or rubber is collected by the Indians, which forms an important object of trade. This is obtained from a species of wild fig (Castilloa elastica), a plant with large leaves, differing entirely from that found on the banks of
NICARAGUA. 35
the Amazon (Siphonia elastica), and which is prepared in another manner; the former is abundant in the forests of Nicaragua and Honduras. ‘The San Juan River continues with much the same high forest on its banks as far as San Carlos, at the entrance to the Lake of Nicaragua; it is about 120 miles long and the lake is 107 feet above the sea, so the water falls a little less than one foot a mile. The height of the lowest pass between the lake and the Pacific Ocean is said to be only 26 feet, and consequently this is the greatest depression in Central America between the Atlantic and Pacific. Owing to the enormous reservoir of water in the lakes, it has frequently been suggested as a practicable route for a ship canal between the two Oceans.
On reaching the lake a sail was hoisted on board the little boat, and in a couple of days Belt arrived on the northern shore at Ubaldo, the landing-place for the machinery and goods destined for the mines at Santo Domingo. Leaving Ubaldo the road crosses some low rocky hills with scanty vegetation, consisting of spiny cacti, leathery leaved trees, thorny palms, prickly acacias, and bromelias with sharply serrated leaves; this being the dry season, the mule track was parched and dusty, though during the rains it becomes a slough of mud and water. The road led through the town of Acoyapo, which is in a grazing district with large cattle ‘ haciendas.’ Soon after this, Belt crossed the range which divides the forest region extending from the mountains of Segovia to the Caribbean Sea, and separating it from the great lake depression. The savannas on this side were more humid and the moisture increased as he proceeded across the upper waters of the Mico River, which enters the sea at Blewfields. The black margin of a great forest, which had been visible for some time, was reached in the neighbourhood of Santo Domingo; the ranges of irregular hills running mainly east and west were covered with vegetation, which was usually enveloped in a dense mist and produced a most depressing effect. The last part of the road was through brushwood, which had sprung up where the high forest had been cleared for planting maize; but Belt soon found himself under a canopy of high trees the trunks of which were entwined with creeping aroids and lianas, sending down their : great rope-like stems to the ground. This forest is always wet, and the undergrowth consists of small palms and magnificent tree ferns, with thin stems and delicate foliage, and broad leaved heliconie, leathery melastome, and flesh-coloured begonias, with a variety of other damp forest loving plants.
In 1872 Belt made a long journey to Segovia in order to engage labour, as the Indian miners mostly came from that province. The road lay over a rough forest country on the east side of the range dividing the great lake valley from Matagalpa, and this part of his journey strongly contrasted with any former one, as he was now at a long distance from the Atlantic, in a dry and arid region, due to the north-east trade wind having deposited its moisture on the intervening stretch of high land. Belt crossed several high ranges before reaching Ocotal, the capital of Segovia, situated near the sources of the Rio Wanks; here grew pine trees and evergreen oaks at
F2
36 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
probably the southern limit of the former in Central America. Descending a steep slope beyond Ocotal, he came to a forest resembling that around Santo Domingo, though the trees were not so large, but tree ferns, palms, lianas, broad-leaved heli- coniz, and melastome were again abundant, and he was told that the Quezal, the royal bird of the Aztecs, was occasionally met with. Belt, having successfully obtained the required number of Indians, returned by nearly the same route to Santo Domingo, and shortly after left for England.
Mr. C. W. Richmond, who resided in Eastern Nicaragua from February 1892 to January 1893, when describing the climate, says [Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. xvi. (1893) ] that the east coast has a protracted rainy season of eight or nine months, with occasional spells of fair weather; the rainfall is enormous, in some years reaching 296 inches at Greytown. He went up the Rio Frio into Costa Rican territory, from the Lake of Nicaragua to the Guatusa Indian settlements, at the head of the canoe navigation. A shark, doubtless the same species as that known to inhabit the lake (Carcharias nicaraguensis), was seen as far up the river as he ascended. Later Mr. Richmond spent some months on the Escondido River, chiefly about 50 miles from the mouth. This river was formerly known as Bluefields, or Blewfields, and is probably the most important on the coast of Central America, with the exception of the San Juan. There is no troublesome bar, as is usually the case, and large ocean steamers ascend to Rama, 65 miles from the mouth, where two rivers, the Rama and the Sequia, join and form the Escondido. The banks for many miles, including both branches above Rama, are Jined with banana plantations, the monotony of which is broken by the numerous picturesque ceiba and ebo trees which have been left standing in the clearings, while the dense tropical forest lies in the background. In the last 15 or 20 miles of its course, the river winds through dreary silico swamps nearly devoid of bird life, and then empties itself into the Bluefields Lagoon, 15 miles long and 7 miles broad. Mr. Richmond enumerates 281 species of birds which he observed during this journey.
COSTA RICA.
This country was not visited by either Salvin or myself, and I am indebted to Mr. Carriker, Mr. Ridgway, and other writers for the following information.
The little Republic of Costa Rica has an extreme length of 250 miles with a breadth of about 150. ‘The greater part of the country is very mountainous, with narrow coastal plains on both sides, finally extending to about 30 miles in width in the north- eastern corner. ‘The drainage system is complicated, the extreme northern portion is comparatively low, draining into Lake Nicaragua to the north and the San Juan River on the Atlantic; while on the eastern side the streams and rivers have their sources in the high mountains, and descend rapidly through narrow valleys or gorges, separated by abrupt forest-clad ridges, which are frequently very narrow. The
COSTA RICA. 37
country is extensively wooded, the forests consisting of trees of all sizes, many of them attaining enormous girth and height, especially on the eastern slope, where the rainfall is most abundant; consequently, vegetation is there much denser and penetration very difficult. On the Pacific side the forests have less undergrowth, the trees are larger and taller, and progress through them is comparatively easy. ‘There is, however, an exception in the Guanacaste region in the Nicoya peninsula, where great tracts of erass lands or savannas, with scattered patches of woodland prevail. Trees with berries and other kinds of fruit abound at all altitudes, furnishing food throughout the year for the multitudes of tanagers, finches, parrots, toucans, and trogons, while their blossoms give sustenance to innumerable humming-birds. The tree which, throughout the tropics, mostly attracts other birds is one of the Leguminose, bearing biennially great masses of fragrant tassel-like blossoms which persist for some days before fading, while the season of flowering extends over a period of more than two months; it is known as the ‘guava’ (this is not, however, the guayava of commerce).
On the Caribbean slope the rainfall is fairly continuous during the whole year, reach- ing on an average from 200 to 230 inches on the lower land. ‘The greatest rainfall is from the middle of December to the middle of January, and again from the middle of June to the middle of August, while from January 15th to March Loth it is fairly dry and cool, and this season on the eastern slope is delightful. In the high regions the rainfall is less, and there are alternately six months of wet and dry season. During the first and last months of the rainy season the fall is slight and rarely of daily occurrence, while in July, August, and October it rains every afternoon, and often violently. During the dry season high winds prevail at all altitudes, but little if any wind blows during the wet season. Influenced by the constant rain, the vegetation is most luxuriant, and with it we find animal life consequently much more abundant. So numerous are the species that probably not less than three hundred and ninety land and fresh-water birds may be found on the lower portion of the Caribbean slope up to 3000 feet. The high peaks rising above the regions of the Central plateau constitute quite a distinct life zone. The main range of mountains extends from the extreme north-west to the eastern central portion, gradually increasing in height and ending in a chain of volcanoes reaching an altitude of from 8000 to 11,000 feet, including Poas, Barba, Irazu, and Turrialba. Here there is a break formed by two deep, broad valleys, the river Reventazon flowing in the one to the Atlantic and the Rio Grande de arcoles in the other to the Pacific; their sources are within half a mile of each other, the ‘divide’ or watershed being known as ‘ El Alto’ and having an elevation of 5000 feet. The whole country to the south is an unbroken mass of mountains containing but few inhabitants except the rapidly diminishing Indians.
Mr. Carriker (Ann. Carnegie Museum, vi. 1910) considers that the Avifauna of Costa Rica is composed of three primal groups—the Boreal, the Sonoran, and the
38 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
Tropical,—the first two coming down from the north, the last coming up from the south, and all meeting in the Republic of Costa Rica. He says, and truly, that the geographical position and meteorological peculiarities of the country make this enormous bird fauna within its confines explicable, but at the same time they greatly increase the difficulty of a satisfactory disposition of many of the species with respect to life zones. The continent decreases from 3000 miles in breadth to scarcely more than 60 at the narrowest part of Costa Rica, and within those 60 miles are crowded a diversity of climatic conditions, altitudes, etc., scarcely paralleled in the world. ‘The northern and southern forms of the Pacific and Atlantic lowlands meet here and overlap, a single remnant of the Canadian bird-fauna persists on some of the isolated peaks of the high mountains (Junco vulcani), while modified forms of this northern species are found on the high lands of Mexico and Guatemala. A very large number of North American migrants arrive during the winter months and distribute themselves widely as to altitude throughout the country. Mr. Carriker also observes that amongst certain species there is a seasonal migration from a higher to a lower altitude, doubtless for the sake of food, and Salvin and I noticed similar migrations of several species of birds in Guatemala; this was especially the case with humming- birds, which were very abundant at Duefias during the flowering season, but in the dry season, when the flowers failed, this district was entirely deserted and the birds migrated to the Pacific Coast, where the atmosphere was damper and the blossoms on which they fed were abundant.
The cultivation of bananas, however, is having a marked effect on the birds, which are decreasing at an alarming rate, for in the few years since the establishment of the Fruit Company at Port Limon the forest has been completely cleared—not only there, but also southward towards the Talamanca district. Very few of the forest birds frequent the banana plantations, and with the destruction of the forest they recede or disappear altogether.
Mr. Ridgway (‘ Condor,’ vii. 1905) gives an interesting account of Poas, which is the only active volcano in Costa Rica. After spending the night at San Pedro, he resumed his journey by bright moonlight at 4 o'clock the next morning. The ‘lecheria’ or dairy farm at the upper edge of the cleared zone was reached soon after daybreak, and the primitive forest which covers the last thousand feet of the mountain was then entered. No pine trees were found here, as would have been the case at the same altitude in Mexico or Guatemala, as south of Nicaragua they cease to exist. The density of the forest was, however, such that it was impossible to leave the track without cutting a way with ‘machetes,’ and as the undergrowth consisted mostly of slender climbing bamboos, with exceedingly hard stems, which almost filled the spaces between the trees, the difficulty of making much headway may be imagined, ‘Lhe variety of trees was very great, and all were laden with orchids, bromeliads, and mistletoes, the latter often conspicuously and brilliantly flowered and the bromeliads
COSTA RICA. 39
of dazzling hues of orange, scarlet, and crimson. Here, too, was seen the Quezal, amid surroundings no less magnificent than itself.
Leaving the horses in the open basin of an ancient volcano surrounded by forest, Mr. Ridgway proceeded on foot to the summit of the cinder cone, but the view was disappointing, as the crater was filled with dense clouds, except for one moment, when a strong wind dispersed the mass of vapour and allowed a brief glimpse of the boiling lake, 400 metres below. From the summit a descent was made to the lagoon, another extinct crater filled with clear water almost icy in its coldness and surrounded by dense forest. The time spent on Poas was too short to learn much of the birds, but except at the summit they were everywhere found in great numbers.
At Bonilla, an estate on the Atlantic slope near Turrialba, the roughness of the ground and the density of vegetation in the hot humid zone made it very difficult to collect, but in the cleared areas, where the ‘potreros’ or pastures are found, the variety and abundance of birds was remarkable. In one locality at least four hundred species were obtained, and in the thick growth many escaped capture, while humming- birds were so plentiful that fifteen species were shot round one flowering ‘ guava’ tree. From here also was witnessed a flight of migrating hawks, passing northwards in hundreds and thousands.
At Coliblanco, near Turrialba (6500 feet), the trees, including the brilliant scarlet- flowering Lrythrina, were covered with creepers and epiphytes, while near the water-courses at least three species of magnificent tree-ferns were common, as well as Caladium-like plants with leaves large enough to form a shelter against rain. As might be expected at this altitude, the birds were mostly different from those of Bonilla.
Another interesting place was Pigres, at the mouth of the Rio Grande de Tarcoles, in the Gulf of Nicoya. Between this and the mainland proper lies the ‘estero,’ a broad creek of smooth water, bordered by dense mangrove swamps, somewhat narrow on the Pigres side where the land mostly consists of bare sand, but in places covered . with trailing [pomea, bearing broad leathery leaves and pink flowers; matted clusters of thorny leguminous shrubs and thickets of low spreading mimosa-like trees inter- _spersed with the poisonous manzanilla, formed the rest of the vegetation. Notwith-
standing the dry season and the almost total absence of flowers, birds were very numerous in the vicinity of the village. Immediately beyond the fringe of mangrove swamps, on the other side of the ‘estero,’ a high mixed forest extended for many miles, the undergrowth consisting chiefly of small biscoyal palms bristling with © long slender thorns of needle-like sharpness. Further inland these palms gave place to high cannas, and in the forest of tall trees, macaws, parrots, and parrakeets were numerous and noisy.
An expedition from Coliblanco was made to the base of the cinder cone of Turrialba, about 9100 feet. Here everything was different from what had been seen below.
40 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
The several hundred acres composing the ‘potrero’ resembled an immense well kept park, with long vistas through groves and clumps of magnificent trees on undulating grassy slopes, cropped closely by the grazing cattle. On the right rose the cone of the volcano, covered with dense ‘chaparral, or bush of evergreen oaks, while to the left the long ridge-like mass of Irazu was plainly visible. :
Mr. Ridgway made an ascent of this volcano, about 11,500 feet. The forest, of which but little remains, consists chiefly of oaks and differs widely from that of Poas and Turrialba. Higher up and close to the ash-cone the trees become scarce and scrubby, and finally only a growth of stunted Vaccinium-like shrubs exist.
It is remarkable that in Costa Rica at least 700 species and subspecies of birds have been found. Dr. Outram Bangs, when alluding in the ‘ Auk’ (1907) to the Costa Rican collections made by Mr. Underwood, remarks that the extensive bird-fauna of this small country, scarcely larger than the State of Florida, is due to the fact that the Central American forms extend to the Atlantic lowlands, while those from Panama and the south go up the Pacific slopes, separated only by the range of high mountains.
An account of the Costa Rican Odonata, their larval forms and their habits, is given by Dr. Calvert in the ‘ Entomological News’ for July 1910. He and his wife remained in the vicinity of Cartago for a year, making collections of Odonata as well as of terrestrial molluscs, annelids, araneids, orthoptera, microdiptera, coleoptera, and lepidoptera to a smaller extent, but they were hurried away by the severe and frequent earthquakes which finally destroyed the town in May 1910.
PANAMA.
This State—or Republic, as it must now be called—comprises the neck of land extending from Costa Rica to Colombia, an area equal in extent to about two-thirds the size of England and Wales, and forming the most southern country dealt with in the ‘ Biologia.’ Very little, however, of the Isthmus of Darien, the land south-east of the Canal, has been visited by collectors. The main chain of the Cordillera decreases greatly in height towards the City of Panama, and between that place and Colon, where the railway and Canal traverse the country, the elevation falls to less than 300 feet. Salvin crossed by rail on more than one occasion, and spent some time collecting near the Station of Obispo, where he obtained a good many specimens ; but Enrique Arcé and Mr. Champion were specially employed in Chiriqui, Arcé subsequently proceeding to Veraguas where he remained for several years.
The rivers, taken as a whole, are unimportant, but the Chagres with its tributary the Obispo attains formidable dimensions in the wet season, overflowing j inundating a large area. ia eat tees Ares
The district immediately adjacent to the Canal has recently been described by Mr. A.
PANAMA. 4]
Busck (‘ Report on the Mosquito Fauna of Panama,’ 1908), who spent three months in the neighbourhood of Tabernilla near Colon. The ground slopes towards the Chagres River, and in the intervening country lies the bed of the old French sea-level canal which, even in the dry season, is covered with a series of shallow lakes connected by low marshes. Between these and the river are tall bamboos, sparsely interspersed with large hardwood trees, the crowns of which are covered with parasitic plants, orchids, and tillandsias, the last named affording a breeding place for several species of mosquito.
When Mr. Champion visited Panama in 1881-1883 he investigated the Pacific slope only, that on the Atlantic side being very inaccessible, and except at Colon and along the railway, or near the coast, there were no villages or means of obtaining food or shelter. He endeavoured to ascend the Volcano of Chiriqui, which attains an elevation of 11,000 feet, but the only route through the forest lay by narrow tracks made by tapirs, and on reaching the summit of a ridge, at 8000 feet, further progress was im- possible, owing to the presence of an immense ravine, from which the upper part of the volcano could alone be seen. The night was spent in a hut erected by orchid collectors, but as no water could be obtained he was obliged to descend the following day.
On the western slopes of the volcano the savannas reach an altitude of about 6000 feet, while at 4000 feet cattle are pastured in large numbers for the Panama market. Higher up, to the north and west, a dense belt of forest covers the mountain side, but this does not extend to the summit. On the southern slope the forest had been cleared in many places for the cultivation of coffee, and a fine palm was locally abundant, but Coniferz were entirely wanting. At Chorcha (300 feet) the dense forests descended to the coast. and interrupted the continuity of the large savannas bordering the Pacific Ocean.
The Avifauna of Central America south of the Lake of Nicaragua, including Costa Rica, Chiriqui, Veragua, and Panama, is exceedingly rich. These countries contain more species than the whole of Europe, and nearly as many as the whole of America north of Mexico; 432 species have been found in Veragua, including Chiriqui.
Areé’s collections, like those of other naturalists who have since visited the country, were almost, if not entirely, made on the southern or Pacific slope.
Summarising his analysis of the birds of Veragua *, Salvin remarks (P.Z.S. 1870, pp. 178-179) as follows :—“ The characteristic elements of the Central American fauna consist not so much in the amount of generic peculiarity, which is very small, as in the fact that a very considerable portion of South American forms are here represented, not as specifically identical, but, in a large number of instances, as definably distinct in degrees of varying value. The element of the Central American bird-fauna to be traced to the northern continent, on the other hand, maintains a very different relationship to the bird-fauna of that continent. With the exception of a few species
* Chiriqui was included by him under Veragua.
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42 PHYSICAL FEATURES ETC.
isolated in the mountains of the higher portions of the Isthmus, and some others, we find that northern forms found in Central America are specifically identical with northern species, and that their presence is due in a great measure to migration during the winter season. As regards numbers, we find a gradual diminution as we recede from North America. These migrants are everywhere present, some few passing still further south into the equatorial provinces of the southern continent. Costa Rica and Veragua, with Panama, possess these characteristics of the Central American fauna in the highest degree. It is here we find the greatest number of South American genera represented; but the species are to a considerable extent not the same as the _ continental species. If we endeavour to account for the facts as we find them, by changes in past times in the physical features of the Isthmus, we seem to require :— 1st. A union between Costa Rica, Veragua, and Panama with the southern continent, when those united lands possessed in common a much larger number of species specifically the same as at present, during which time the oceans may have been united north of Costa Rica. 2nd. The long duration of Costa Rica and Veragua as a ‘continental’ island, when the union of the two oceans has been of greater extent. This period must be long enough to have established specific differences much as we now find them. 38rd. The emergence of the whole Isthmus in its present form. These requirements seem to fall in fairly with what has been demanded in other branches of natural science. Dr. Duncan requires a union in Miocene times between the oceans to account for the specific identity of certain corals. The union here demanded will suit my first and second requirements, I only regulate the amount ; and as for the period when it took place, fixing it to Miocene times would seem to answer to the requirements of the birds. That all the peculiar features of so varied a fauna can be accounted for by this theory I do not pretend to say. The changes in the physical features of the Isthmus, indicated by the numerous minor modifications of existing species, belong to the most recent events in geological history. To account for the greater differences observable we must go deeper into the abyss of geological time, where light is at present barely perceptible.”
In his first paper on this subject (P.Z.S. 1867, pp. 129-161), based upon less extensive material, Salvin stated that there was a closer affinity between the birds of Veragua and those of Costa Rica than between those of Veragua and of the Isthmus of Panama, but this proved not to be the case when Arcé’s later collections were examined. He then remarked that it was evident that Costa Rica and Panama had for a long period occupied the position of one or more islands between the two continents at a time when the two oceans were united by two or more channels; and that an obvious division separating Costa Rica, Veragua, and Panama from the southern continent was a line drawn from the Atlantic Bay of San Blas to the mouth of the Bayano on the Pacific.
PEARL ISLANDS.. 43
PEARL ISLANDS.
In the Bay of Panama there lies a small group of islands known as Las Perlas, or the Pearl Islands, consisting of Pedro Gonzales, San José, and San Miguel; the last mentioned, also known as the Isla del Rey, is by far the largest, only twenty miles from the nearest mainland and sixty from Panama. This island is about fifteen miles long and irregularly oblong in shape, covered with low hills, which in turn are clothed with luxuriant tropical forest. The climate is hot and unhealthy, and the population consists almost entirely of negroes, who manage the affairs of the island and are very independent of the Panama Government. The pearl-diving industry having been almost abandoned, the people now grow vegetables, coco-nuts, and fruit for the Panama market.
Mr. Champion, who visited San Miguel on our behalf in April 1883, was only there in the dry season, and the “luxuriant forest” of other writers he describes as “scrubby wood.” ‘The interior was somewhat inaccessible, the few paths or tracks leading only to the patches of cultivated ground. The coast, like that of the adjacent mainland, is covered with mangrove-swamps, which can only be traversed at low water. | Pa
The Islands are in such close proximity to each other that probably the birds would be the same on each. On San Miguel 46 species were found, of which only four were considered by Mr. Bangs (‘ Auk,’ xviii. pp. 24-33, 1901) to be well-marked island-forms, the remainder were, as might be expected from the semicircular form of the Coast of Panama, similar to those of the adjacent mainland. Some birds are undoubtedly carried across to the Islands by storms, but others perform the journey voluntarily, among them a small green humming-bird (Chloristilbon assimilis), which has been seen in perfectly calm weather flying straight for the Archipelago.
Certain well known butterflies from the mainland also occur, including a Morpho ( peleides 2), etc.
[ 44 ]
SOURCES FROM WHENCE OUR MATERIAL WAS OBTAINED.
Tue following particulars as to the sources from whence our material was obtained supplement the account given in the Introduction, antea, pp. 11,12. In Volumes I. of the ‘Aves’ and of the ‘Lepidoptera Rhopalocera’ the names of the various collectors who were specially employed to obtain material for the present work are recorded, viz. Messrs. F. B. Armstrong, E. Arcé, G. C. Champion (1879-1883), W. Lloyd, W. B. Richardson (1897-1898), H. Rogers (1877), and M. Trujillo (1888), and Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Smith (1888). From many others, also, we acquired or received vast numbers of specimens, all of which were duly acknowledged by our Contributors.
As regards the Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia and Batrachia, Pisces, Mol) usca, Lepidoptera Rhopalocera, and Neuroptera (Odonata), the sources from whence our collections were derived are mentioned in detail in the ‘ Introductions’ to the volumes on these subjects and need not be repeated. The Coleoptera, or beetles, however, numbering 18,029 species in all, and requiring eighteen volumes for their enume- ration, by twelve contributors, demand special notice. Notwithstanding their vast number, and the great abundance of individuals, this is the only group of insects, the Lepidoptera excepted, for which sufficient contributors have been forthcoming to enable us to complete their investigation. The Coleoptera, therefore, occupy in this work an undue amount of space amongst the thirty-eight completed volumes of Insecta, as compared with the Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, &c., certain important families of which still remain unworked, this being due to the fact that the beetles have proved more attractive both to the collector and describer.
The Coleoptera examined have been mainly supplied by the following col- lectors from each of the various countries :—Mexico—A. Sallé, C. T. Hége (who collected in nearly all the different States, Tamaulipas and Yucatan excepted), H. H. Smith (who specially visited Guerrero, Morelos, Vera Cruz, Tabasco, &c., for us), G. F. Gaumer (Yucatan), A. Forrer (N.W. Mexico, including the Tres Marias Is.), J. Flohr, F. D. Godman (Central and Southern Mexico), M. Trujillo (S. Mexico), Becker (Durango), Buchan-Hepburn (Chihuahua and Durango), and H. F. Wickham ; British Honpuras—F. Blancaneaux ; GuaremaLa—A, Sallé, O. Salvin, J. Rodriguez, G. C. Champion, L. Conradt, and F. Sarg; Nicaragua—lT’. Belt, E. M. Janson, and W. B. Richardson ; Costa Rica—H. Rogers, P. Biolley, Van Patten, C. F. Underwood,
SOURCES OF MATERIAL. 45
and H. Lankester ; Panama (including Chiriqui, the Pearl Is., and Taboga)—G. C. Champion, EK. Trotsch, H. Ribbe, and A. Boucard. The Hymenoptera examined and reported upon by P. Cameron mainly consisted of the collections made by G. C. Champion in Guatemala and Panama, and by G. F. Gaumer in Yucatan, most of the vast number of specimens obtained in Mexico by H. H. Smith having been received too late to be included; it must be remembered, too, that the bees and social wasps have not been dealt with. ‘The Lepidoptera, apart from the specimens captured by Salvin or myself, were obtained from the collectors who supplied us with the other insects; very extensive additions to both the Rhopalocera and Heterocera have, however, been made since 1900, especially by W. Schaus, who visited Mexico and Costa Rica in search of them. The Diptera examined were comparatively few in number, though H. H. Smith did his best in Mexico to make up the deficiency. The Rhynchota were very numerous, both in Heteroptera and Homoptera, as regards Guatemala and Panama, but till H. H. Smith went to Mexico we had received very little from that country, the habitat of most of the previously described species from our region. The Orthoptera, again, were few in number, none of our collectors having paid very much attention to them. The Arachnids were mainly supplied by H. H. Smith (Mexico), F. Sarg (Guatemala), and G. C. Champion (Panama); the Acaridea, however, were mainly procured by, and belonged to, Dr. Otto Stoll. In the Botany, the collections made by Mr. and Mrs. Salvin were used by Mr. Hemsley, but the study of the plants was almost entirely made from material contained in the Herbarium at Kew, including that which we had previously sent from Guatemala. Mr. Maudslay’s work on the Archeology was based on his own observations on the various ruins visited during his sojourn in the country; Mr. J. 8. ‘Goodman, in his Appendix to this subject, gives an account of the system he used to decipher the Archaic Maya Inscriptions, which relate to a series of calendars. |
Mr. Champion’s Itinerary is given on pp. 46-54, and the places he visited in Guatemala are easily traceable on Map 8; we are unable, however, to find space on our other maps to include all the Mexican localities quoted in the Zoology and Botany, some of which, indeed, cannot now be traced *.
* It must be remembered that nearly all the names commencing with ‘San,’ ‘ Santo,’ and ‘ Santa’ have been used over and over again in the different States. The spelling of some of the others has been emended
on our Maps to agree with official Mexican diréctories.
[ 46 ]
ITINERARY OF MR. G. C. CHAMPION’S TRAVELS IN CENTRAL AMERICA,
1879-1883.
THE only detailed itinerary supplied by any of our collectors is that of Mr. G. C. Champion, who, it must be remembered, devoted almost the whole of his time to entomology. A brief account of the numerous Guatemala and Panama localities he visited will be of interest to entomologists. His expedition to Central America extended from March 16th, 1879-May 28rd, 1883. The itinerary of his travels *, which is here reproduced with additional details, appeared in the American ‘ Entomological News’ for February 1907, pp. 33-44. The Guatemala routes are shown on Map 8. During his stay in that country, March 16th, 1879-April 7th, 1881, he investigated both the Pacific and the Atlantic slopes, the central plateau, &c. From August 10th, 1879-July 26th, 1880, he made his headquarters at San Gerdnimo, six miles from Salama, and made many distant expeditions to various parts of Alta and Baja Vera Paz from that place. The central plateau was traversed from Salama (vid Rabinal, Cubulco, Joyabaj, and Quiché) to Quezaltenango, and also from the latter place to the Capital. The Pacific slope was explored from La Gavia to the Mexican frontier of Chiapas, at elevations between 1000 and 4000 feet. The ports of San José and Champerico, the lagoons at Paso Antonio, and the lakes of Amatitlan and Atitlan were visited. The Volcan de Agua was ascended on January 13th, 1881. In Vera Paz, the Rio Dolores, near Cubilguitz, on the Coban—Peten road, was reached; and the Polochic Valley was twice visited, once by boat from Panzos as far as the Lake of Yzabal. An expedition was also made across the Chuacus range of mountains from San Gerénimo to Tocoy in the Motagua valley. Mr. Champion is of opinion that, from what he saw of the country during his travels, Guatemala might well be divided for zoological or botanical purposes into three (or four) districts :—(1) “The Atlantic slope,” which is mainly of limestone formation in Alta Vera Paz, and has a very long rainy season—in Coban sometimes lasting into March,—-and an abundance of humid
* All made on horse- or male-back or on foot; the first Guatemalan railway—from San José to Escuintla— was opened just before he left.
ITINERARY. 47
forest; (2) ‘The Central Plateau,” including the ‘ Altos,’ which is an arid upland region becoming higher towards the Mexican frontier and bordered southward by. volcanoes which protrude from the main cordillera—pines and oaks here clothe the mountain sides, on which cereals, maize, and, at high elevations, potatoes are culti- vated ; (3) “The Pacific slope,” which has forest in the ‘tierra caliente’ and on the mountain sides, now largely replaced by second growth (rastrojo) or cultivated with sugar-cane, cacao, or (at elevations up to 4500 feet) coffee. The plain of Salama, in Baja Vera Paz, with San Gerdnimo at its eastern end—draining to the Atlantic,—is very hot and arid, abounding in Cacti, Yuccas, Agaves, &c., like the Motagua valley, from which it is separated by the Chuacus range of mountains. The mountains to the north of this plain, as shown by the abrupt change in the nature of the vegetation between Salama and Purula or Tactic, form the dividing line between the humid Atlantic slope and the plateau. These lower central valleys must either be included under district 2 or treated as a separate faunal subregion. A comparison of the Lepidoptera Rhopalocera alone illustrates the great difference in the fauna of the two slopes *—many Erycinids, Ithomiids, Heliconius, Papilio, Leptalis, Thecla, &c., are peculiar to the Atlantic ; while Drucina, Euterpe, a few special Euptychia and Heliconius, a Morpho, &c., are found on the Pacific. The dry central plateau doubtless forms an impassable barrier for many species, and it has altogether a very restricted butterfly fauna. In the mountains in the neighbourhood of the plain of Salama a few peculiar Rhopalocera occur, such as Anewa nobilis and eacellens, &c. The ‘tierra fria’ or * tierra helada’ (10,000 feet and upwards) produced no alpine or subalpine forms, merely stragglers from below. |
In Panama, April 17th, 1881—May 21st, 1883, Mr. Champion spent nearly all his time in Chiriqui, on the Pacific slope, between the Rio Chiriqui Viejo (near the Costa Rica frontier) and Tolé, making his headquarters at the various coffee-plantations on the mountain-slopes, at an elevation of 3000-4000 feet, or else at David or Bugaba. The Volcan de Chiriqui was ascended on June 7th, 1882, to 8000 feet, and the Cordillera above Tolé explored. ‘The old route across the mountains from David and Caldera to the Chiriqui lagoon and the Bocas del Toro Islands, on the Atlantic side (used during the early days of the gold-mining in California, and before the Panama Railroad was finished), was found to be almost impracticable, and the northern slope was therefore not visited. The principal forests in Chiriqui are situated on the mountain slopes, in the low country to the east of David, and in the‘ tierra caliente’ to the west of Bugaba and Divala; the forests alternate with extensive savannas along the lower part of the Pacific slope and in the country immediately adjacent to the western precipices of the Volcan de Chiriqui. The whole of the towns and villages are situated in the ‘tierra caliente,’ and the Indians living in out of the way places in the Cordillera
* Unfortunately this could not be very well shown in the Table of Distribution of the genera given in the - Introduction to the Rhopalocera.
4§ ITINERARY.
or on the northern slope are very seldom seen. On the southern slope of the Volcano, between 2000 and 4000 feet, a great deal of the forest had already been cleared (in 1881) to plant coffee. San Miguel (Isla del Rey) in the Pearl Islands and Tobago were visited by Mr. Champion, in April and May 1883, from Panama, and a certain number of insects, &c., were collected by him in these places. The absence of Conifers in the mountains, the paucity of Cacti, and the much less arid nature of the country afford a striking contrast to Guatemala, the fauna of Panama being very similar to that of Tropical South America. There is no arid central plateau in Panama, and the Cordillera, the loftiest part of which is in Chiriqui, decreases towards the isthmus, where it is only a few hundred feet high, so that the fauna of the two slopes is not likely to differ greatly. ‘he Atlantic slope, however, bas not yet been investigated. A Tenebrionid-beetle of the seashore, Phaleria dytiscoides, is recorded by Mr. Champion as common to the coasts of British Honduras on the Atlantic and of Guatemala and Nicaragua on the Pacific [ef. Coleopt. vol. iv. pt. 1, pp. 218, 219 (1886)], indicating a former connection of the two oceans at the isthmus of Panama. His itinerary was as follows * :—
1879. March 16-18. San José de Guatemala, the Pacific port of arrival for travellers from Panama or San Francisco. Sea-coast, mangrove-swamps, lagoons, &c.
March 19, 20. Travelling up to capital vid Escuintla, by diligence, over execrable roads, all inches deep in dust at this (dry) season.
March 21-April 2. Guatemala city (about 4500 feet). Open plains, intersected by deep barrancas (ravines). Scrubby oak and pine woods in places on_hill-sides. The volcanoes Pacaya, Agua, and Fuego visible to
1879. May 13-June 22. Zapote (about 2000 feet). On the forest-clad southern slope of the Volean de Fuego. Broad, deep, dried-up watercourses, full of great boulders, ran downward through the forest here, making travelling difficult. The locality good for insects. Coffee cultivated. Some very fine forest passed through at San Cayetano, between Zapote aud Capetillo, along the descending coast-read. June 24, 25. Antigua. June 26-July 21. Dueiias (about 4500 feet). Near
the southward. Many insects found on the banks of the streams in the barrancas.
April 3-5. Ciudad Vieja. The first capital of Guate- mala, in the valley between the volcanoes Agua and Fuego. Coffee-plantations and cultivated ground, unsuitable for collecting-purposes.
April 6-8. Guatemala city.
April 9. Aceituno. Coffee-plantation near the capital.
April 10-16. Guatemala city.
April 17-May 12. Capetillo. Valley between the voleanoes Agua and Fuego. Coffee and sugar-cane plantations, with the forest-clad slopes of the Fuego adjacent. This estate is the property of the well- known Guatemalan naturalist, Juan J. Rodriguez, who has, from time to time, fur upwards of thirty years, supplied the editors of this work with material from his district.
Capetillo. Coffee and Opuntia (for rearing the cochineal-insect) plantations adjacent to the Lake of Duefias. Various excursions made from here to Calderas, on the upper eastern slope of the Volcan de Fuego, up to about 7500 feet. Pines on the higher slopes. Earthquake-shocks frequent—the house be- longing to the owner of the estate (who had to leave it and live in Antigua) in ruins. The Acatenango peak of the Volcan, as well as the smoking Fuego itself, conspicuous from Dueiias.
July 22-Aug. 7. Guatemala city.
Aug. 8. Carrizal. Arid district with scrubby woods.
Aug. 9. Llano Grande (about 2600 feet). Scrubby woods, cultivated ground, and pasture. Mule-trains and Indians bearing heavy loads constantly met with
here, the route from the capital to Salama, Coban, &c., passing through this place.
* Elevations approximate only, taken from an uncorrected aneroid barometer.
Probably too low in many cases.
ITINERARY.
1879, Aug. 10-Sept. 9. San Gerénimo, Baja Vera Paz (about
2950 feet). East end of plain of Salama, and six miles distant from the town of that name. Hot, dry region, with many cacti. Chuacus range of mountains adjacent, bordering the plain southward ; lower slopes clothed with pines, with forest of deciduous trees above. Sugar-cane and coffee planta- tions near village, belonging to English owners, the estate having a local reputation for the quality of the aguardiente (rum) and sugar produced by them. Drainage to Atlantic. Headquarters for about one year. Many long excursions made from here to distant places in both Alta and Baja Vera Paz, on the Atlantic slope. Some fine butterflies (Anca spp.) peculiar to the Chuacus range. Various Longicorn (Ochresthes), Buprestid (Acmeodera), and other genera of Coleoptera characteristic of the drier portions of Mexico occur on the plain of Salama, A large Buprestid (Chalcophora virginiensis) in the pines on
1879.
49
down to near Rihaco and upward towards Matanza. Road from Sabo descending very abruptly through forest in which a transparent-winged Pierine-butterfly (Dismorphia fortunata) was abundant.
Oct. 16. Purula.
Oct. 17. Cachil. Open arid mountain-slopes north of the plain of Salama, with agaves, palms (Zhrinax), &c. <A peculiar Kuptychia (rubricata) taken here. *
Oct. 18—Nov. 3. San Gerdnimo.
Noy. 4-6. Tocoy (about 2000 feet), Arid district on
_ the Zacapa road.
Nov. 7. El Jicaro, near the Village of Guacamaya, on eastern slope of Chuacus range. Scrubby woods, pines above.
Nov. 8-12. San Gerdnimo.
Nov. 18,14. Purula.
Nov. 15. San Miguel Tucuru (about 2000 feet). Polochic valley. Mostly cultivated ground, cotton, maize, &c.
the Chuacus slopes. An Ithomiid butterfly (Dircenna Nov. 16. La Tinta. Polochie valley. Tropical vege- klugi) seen swarming in the shady garden of the tation. Indigo formerly cultivated here, hence the hacienda. name.
‘Sept. 10. Santa Barbara (about 4450 feet). Moun- Nov. 17-23. Senahu (2800 feet). Limestone moun- tainous region east of San Gerénimo. Scattered tains north of the Polochic valley. Humid forests,
woods. Pines below. Cultivation of maize, &c.
Sept. 11,12. Santa Cruz (5500 feet). Mountainous region of Chilasco, the watershed between the Motagua and the Polochic, east of Santa Barbara. Scattered woods of Liquidambar, &c. Forest appa- rently all cleared in vicinity of village. Nights very cold here, ~
Sept. 18-Oct. 1. San Gerénimo.
Oct. 2-5. Purula (about 4000 feet). Open ground with a humid virgin forest adjacent on mountains. A new track through the forest towards Cerro Verde, an excellent entomological locality, the road to Sabo also productive. These localities again visited in April or May, 1880. The ‘quezal’ (Pharomacrus mocinno) not rare in the dense forest on the Cerro Verde road, and a ‘Howler’ (Mycetes villosus) frequently heard between Purula aud Sabo.
Oct. 6, 7. Sabo (2900 feet), Clearing made in dense humid forest to plant coffee, on a steep mountain- slope. <A very productive locality. Pulea irritans, however, swarmed to such an extent in the disused hut used for sleeping-quarters that it was impossible to remain very long in the place.
Oct. 8-15. Panimd * (1800 feet). Hot, narrow valley of the Rio Sinanja, a tributary of the Polochic.
1880.
cleared in many places for coffee-plantations. Long rainy season, but water scarce, rapidly disappearing underground. <A district rich in land-shells. visited in June, 1880.
Nov. 24-30. San Juan (1800 feet). A small coffee- estate, no village, on the mountain-slopes north of the Polochic. Forest mostly cleared. Mountains of the Republic of Honduras visible to the S.E.
Dec. 1, 2. La Tinta.
Dec. 3-7. Tamahu, a few miles higher up’ the valley than Tucuru (about 2250 feet). Mostly cultivated ground.
Dec. 8. Santa Rosa (about 4000 feet).
Dec. 9-28. San Gerénimo.
Dec. 29. Tactic (4300 feet). Scattered Liguidambar and other deciduous trees. Forest all cleared to near the inaccessible mountain-tops.. Large Indian popu- lation in district, hence the continuous clearing of the trees to plant inaize (‘ milpas’).
Dee. 30, 31.) Coban, Alta Vera Paz (about 3800 feet*).
Jan. 1, 2. } Humid region, rainy season sometimes extending into February or March. cleared to plant coftee, maize, &e. Numerous German traders and planters settled here. The residence for many years of a keen zoologist, F. Sarg. Large Indian
Again
Forest nearly all
Valley, mostly cultivated with maize, &c., followed population. Jan. 3. Tactic. * Misprinted ‘ Pancina’ on many of the labels attached to insects in the Jan. 4-6. San Gerénimo.
collection made by Mr. Champion, and therefore wrongly quoted in some of the volumes of this work.
* Maudslay makes it 4280 feet. BIOL. CENTR.-AMER., Introd. Vol., January 1915. Hl
50 ITINERARY. 1880. Jan. 7. Buenaventura. Jan, &-12. Guatemala city. Jan. 13. Lake of Amatitlan (about 3450 feet). Arid
district, with many ‘nopales’ (plantations of Opuntia for rearing the cochineal insect, all enclosed within dusty adobe walls). The Volcan de Pacaya not very far distant.
Jan. 14-18. Guatemala city.
Jan. 19. Buenaventura.
Jan, 20-25. San Gerdnimo.
Jan. 26. Santa Rosa.
Jan. 27—Feb. 1. San Joaquin, Alta Vera Paz (about 3200 feet). Pine-clad, arid mountain-slopes. Rio Chisoy (or Chixoy) below. About the northern limit of the arid region of the central plateau.
Feb. 2. San Cristobal (4250 feet). Cultivated ground adjacent to the Lake of San Cristobal. Feb. 3-5. Balheu (Valeu) (8850 feet),
mountain-s!opes.
Feb. 6-10. Coban.
Feb. 11. Chiacam (2400 feet). scrubby woods.
Feb. 12. San Agustin Lanquin (1000 feet). stone formation. Second-growth woods; forest all cleared. Rio Cahabon, a large tributary of the Polochic, adjacent. An unproductive locality.
Feb. 13-23, Cahabon (Cajabon) (about 800 feet). Second-growth woods, forest all cleared near village. Large Indian population. No other people here, except the priest (who kindly accommodated stray travellers) and two or three Guatemalan officials. The very large church here is placed on a hill, higher than the smaller ones on which the Indians have built their huts. Plantations of cacao, maize, &c., around the village. ‘Toucans seen in these places.
Feb. 24-28. Lanquin. The large limestone cave visited *, in company with an Austrian plant-collector casually met in the village. Only insects seen in the cave, an apterous Orthopteron (Arachnomimus cavicola). The Rio Cahabon, a broad stream, issues from its mouth, making its first appearance above ground at this place.
Feb. 29-March 6. Chiacam.
March 7-9. Coban.
March 10-20. Cubilguitz (1050 feet), near Choctum. Limestone region, with humid forest on the hills, the roads between the hills extremely bad. Broad valleys with scattered trees. The Rio Dolores reached, but mot crossed. On main road from Coban to Peten, the track to Salinas (a place where salt is obtained and sent on Indians’ backs to Coban) turning off to
* Also entered by Salvin, on Mareh 8th, 1860 [cf ‘ Ibis,’ iii, pp. 140, 141 (i861)},
Pine-clad
Coffee-plantations and
Lime-
1880.
the westward near Cubilguitz. A good locality, but food absolutely unobtainable from the scattered Indian residents.
March 21. Satchicht (2000 feet). In fording the river here my mule was so badly cut about the legs by the jagged knife-edged submerged limestone ledges that it was unfit for work for three months afterwards.
March 22-24. Coban.
March 25. Tactic.
March 26-April 13. San Gerénimo.
April 14-23, Purula.
April 24-28. Panima.
April 20-May 2. Sabo.
May 3. San Miguel Tucuru.
May 4-12. Chacoj, near Chamiquin, sometimes called La Hamaca (from the old suspended rope-bridge over the Rio Polochic) (about 500 feet). Tropical forest, with many palms (mainly Attalea cohune), which decrease in size as the Polochie is ascended. A new iron bridge in course of construction (in 1880). A very good entomological locality.
May 13-18. Teleman, on the Rio Polochic, the upper limit of navigation for small boats from the Lake of Yzabal. Tropical forests, with many: palms, the leaves of the lofty Attalea cohune arching across the road. Culicide swarming. Unhealthy district. The ‘ Howler’ frequently seen in the trees near the river. Some peculiar Syntomid- moths found amongst the prickly herbage.
May 19-22. Panzos, on the Rio Polochie. forests, &c., as at Teleman. Willows on river-bank. Unhealthy district. My first attack of fever here.
May 23. Danta, on northern shore of the Lake of Yzabal, about fourteen hours’ journey by small boat from Panzos. Many alligators and ‘ Howlers’ seen on my way down, manatees also noticed in the lake. Culicide swarming.
May 24-25. Travelling up the Rio Polochic, two days, against stream.
May 25-June 2. Panzos. Culicidee (especially a sooty- black species) so bad here, even by day, that it was almost impossible to do more than a few hours’ collecting at a time. Local name for them, ‘zancudos.’
June 3-14. Senahu, travelling up from Panzos by way of Trece Aguas. [The American entomologists, Messrs. H. 8. Barber and E. A. Schwarz (of the U.S. National Museum at Washington) have visited this district during recent years, and they succeeded in obtaining various minute Coleoptera of the same species captured by myself in 1880.]
June 15-21. San Juan.
Tropical
1880.
ITINERARY.
June 22, 23. Chaco}.
June 24. San Miguel Tucuru.
June 25-27. Purula.
June 28-July 26. San Gerénimo. My last (8th) visit to this place.
July 27. Rabinal (2850 feet), en rowte for the ‘ Altos.’ Dry region, with scrubby woods, cacti, agaves, yuccas, &e., as on the plain of Salama.
July 28. Cubulco (2900 feet). Similar country.
July 29. Joyabaj (4300 feet), an Indian village, reached by a long precipitous ascent from Cubuleo. Open mountainous region, intercepted by deep barrancas. Pines and oaks on slopes. Central plateau becoming higher westward. An interesting butterfly (Chryso- phanus pyrrhias) seen in numbers on the way up from Cubulco.
July 30. Santo Tomas Chiché (6100 feet). Los Altos region.
July 31-Aug. 5. Chimente, Quiché Mountains (7600 feet). Indian village. Oaks, pine, alder, &c., on slopes. Potatoes and maize cultivated. Cyanide bottles (with the results of a day’s collecting) stolen trom saddle-bags here.
Aug. 6. Totonicapam (7900 feet). Pine-clad slopes, but too far from the town for collecting purposes. Aug. 7. Chevuc (9900 feet). Pine woods. Be- nighted at this place, having missed the road along
the Cordillera to Los Encuentros in the dark.
Aug. 8. Los Encuentros (8400 feet). A resting- place for the night, on the road to Solola or the capital. Arid open ground. ([Conradt collected insects at Tecpan, a place to the eastward. ]
Aug. 9, 10. Desconsuelo (Solchicha) (about 10,500 feet). Pine-forests. Very bleak situation above Totonicapam. Carriage-road from Quezaltenango to Guatemala city passes this place, following the summit of the highest portion of the Cordillera. Potatoes only cultivated. A very gvod locality *, most of the Coleoptera, and some of the Lepidoptera Heterocera, collected proving to be new, but no peculiar butterflies were met with.
Aug. 11-15. Pachoe (or Patchoc) (9200 feet). Indian village. Pine-woods. Only accommodation obtainable a small schoolroom used during the day, the bare earth covered with pine-branches serving as a bed. Slopes of the Cordillera accessible from this place.
Aug. 16. 'Totouicapam.
Aug. 17-19. Quezaltenango (7600 feet). Cultivated ground mostly. Large Indian population. Un- productive locality.
* The insects from Desconsuelo and Pachoe were collectively labelled ‘Totonicapam ’ (a town at the foot of the Cordillera) in the collections made by Mr. Champion.
ima
51
1880. Aug. 20-Sept. 9. Finca of Las Nubes on the southern
(Pacific) slope of the Cerro (or Volcan) Zunil, above Mazatenango (4050 feet). Extensive coffee-planta- tions, with dense forest above. The most productive locality visited on the Pacitie slope. Several new butterflies (species of Drucina or Euptychia) met with, An interesting bird (Oreophasis derbianus), a monkey (Ateles ater ?), &c., seen in the forest. An enormous Passalid-beetle (Proculus goryi) found commonly beneath the large tree trunks left on the ground to decay in the ‘ cafetales ’ (coffee-plantations).
Sept. 10-23. San Isidro (1600 feet). ‘Tierra caliente,’ Pacific slope, below Mazatenango. Second-growth woods, cleared in places for coftee and cacao planta- tions. A Cualigo plentiful in the tangled under- growth, but difficult to secure.
Sept. 24. Retalhuleu (950 feet). Similar country. Now connected by rail with the port of Champerico. Sept. 25-Oct. 7. Las Mercedes (3200 feet). Pacitic slope. Immense coffee-plantations in this Costa Cuca district. Nearly all the original forest cleared,
Oct. 8-17. El Reposo (800 feet). Low country near Pacific. Mostly second-growth woods, but some forest, with lofty palms, in vicinity. Macaws (guacamayo’s) often seen.
Oct. 18, 19. Paraiso(300 feet), Near Pacific. Scrubby woods, bamboos, &c.
Oct. 20-22. Champerico. Sea-coast. The remarkable fish (Anableps dovit) seen in the lagoons, [Also met with by Salvin, at Chiapam, near here. |
Oct. 23. El Reposo.
Oct. 24-26. Las Mercedes.
Oct. 27, 28. Coatepeque (1250 feet). Mostly culti- vated ground. [Village almost completely destroyed by earthquakes during recent years. |
Oct. 29. Rio Naranjo (450 feet). Second-growth woods. Mexican frontier adjacent. A new iron bridge in course of construction.
Oct. 30. Near Naranjo. Benighted by losing road.
Oct. 31-Noy. 38. Finca La Union (2250 feet). El Tumbador district, department of San Marcos. Coffee-plantations and second-growth woods. No villages hereabouts, the town of San Marcos on higher ground in the Cordillera.
Noy. 4-7. Finca La Carolina (2600 feet). Tumbador district, overlooking lower portion of Soconusco, Chiapas, to Mexican coast, the Volcanoes Tacana and Tajumuleo visible to the north-west. Unpro- ductive locality.
Nov. 8. La Union.
Noy. 9. Rio Naranjo.
Nov. 10. Coatepeque.
Noy. 11-14. Las Mercedes.
H 2
1880,
52 ITINERARY.
Nov. 15. San Martin, near Ostuncalco (7400 feet). Scattered trees, ground mostly cultivated.
Nov. 16-18. Quezaltenango. Cerro Quemado visited.
Nov. 19-Dee. 14. Las Nubes (Cerro Zunil). [The village of Santa Maria, on way down from Quezal- tenango, almost destroyed during recent years by an eruption of the volcano of that name. |
Dec. 15. San Isidro.
Dec. 16-26. San Agustin (2250 feet). Southern (Pacific) slope of the Volcan de Atitlan. Second-
growth woods, coffee-plaritations, &c., all very dry and dusty at this season. Many Lepidoptera Heterocera taken ‘at light’ in the verandah of the house.
Dec. 27-29. San Lucas Toliman (4900 feet). Indian village on the borders of the Lake of Atitlan, which is very deep and has no visible outlet to the Pacific. Oak-woods, &c., arid region. Pampojilaj, on the coast road, visited, and the lake crossed (at night) to northern side. Numerous thickly populated Indian villages round the lake, the Indians not very friendly.
Dee. 30. Panajachel (4900 feet). Stayed at a flour- mill, close to the lake. The town of Solola not very far distant.
Dec. 31. San Lucas Toliman. Returned from Pana-
jachel by a tortuous detour along the high ground above the lake.
. Jan. 1. Godines (6900 feet). Arid district above the
precipitous cliffs bordering the Lake of Atitlan on the N.E. side. Magnificent view at sunset of the lake and the adjacent volcanoes and mountains to the southward during the cloudless skies of the dry season.
Jan. 2. Chimaltenango (5650 feet). Reached by way of Patzun and Patzitzia. Upland district cultivated with cereals.
Jan. 3-11. Guatemala city.
Jan. 12. Antigua.
Jan. 18. Volcan de Agua (about 13,000 feet) ascended at night (moonlight) from the Indian village of Santa Maria (6500 feet). Belt of deciduous trees above the cultivated ground to about 9500 feet, scattered pines above, even in crater. Path up deep and extremely narrow, between dense tussocks of high grass. Very few insects met with on summit, the butterflies seen merely common stragglers from below. Indians ascend to fetch a little ice obtained from holes made in the ground. So windy that it was impossible to remain long on summit, clouds forming rapidly after about 10 a.m.
Jan. 14. Antigua.
Jan. 15-Feb. 3. Pantaleon (1700 feet), Pacifie slope. ‘Tierra caliente. Sugar-cane fields and second growth (rastrojo). ;
1881. Feb. 4-14. Mirandilla (1700 feet). Similar ground.
Feb. 15. Escuintla.
Feb. 16-18. Torola (1000 feet). Scattered patches of forest.
Feb. 19-28. Paso Antonio (400 feet). Open savannas, with scattered Crescentia and other trees, near Pacific, above Istapa. Lagoons here adjacent to the Rio Michotoya drained and used for pasturing the hungry cattle in dry season. Silurians and other fish captured in large numbers by the natives when the water becomes low in the lagoons, and iguanas also sought after, for food. Culicide and ticks very troublesome. Some new Dytiscide and other aquatic insects taken.
March 1-3. ‘Torola.
March 4. Savana Grande, near the Rio Maria Linda (about 1150 feet). Scrubby woods, pasturage, and cultivated ground. Passed through village of Guanagazapa.
March 5. La Gavita (La Gavia) (1700 feet). Similar ground. ;
March 6, 7. Brito.
March 8-16. Torola. District swarming with ticks in dry season, and extremely unproductive, entomo- logically, like the rest of the ‘tierra caliente’ of the Pacific slope, during this period.
March 17-April 38. Guatemala city.
April 4,5. Escuintla.
April 6, 7. San Joséde Guatemala. Left by coasting steamer on 7th en route for Panama.
April 9. La Union, Salvador. Landed for a few hours.
April 10. Corinto, Nicaragua. Landed for a few hours.
April 12. Punta Arenas, Costa Rica. Landed for a few hours.
April 17-20. Panama city. Left on 20th by small steamer for Chiriqui; the ‘“ port” reached by a tortuous passage through mangrove-swamps, navi- gable at high-water.
April 22-380. David. Principal town of Chiriqui. Open savannas, with scattered, leathery-leaved, deci- duous trees. Denser growth by river-side and on hills adjacent, the latter productive, entomo- loyically.
May 1-27. Finca Nance Bonito (about 2860 feet). Southern slope of the Volcan de Chiriqui. Plenty of forest, cleared in places for coffee-plantations, a fine palm locally abundant beneath the larger forest- trees, at about 2000 feet, just above the limit of the savannas. Conifere altogether wanting in the district, probably not reaching south of Nicaragua. Two species of monkeys (Cebus hypoleucus and an Ateles, almost certainly geoffroyz) seen. Productive locality.
1881.
1882.
ITINERARY.
May 28—June 25. Las Potrerillas (El Banco) (about 2500 feet). Similar ground, not far from Nance Bonito.
June 26-July 13. David.
July 14-Aug. 1. Finca La Elvira. Similar to Nance Bonito.
Aug. 2-8. Las Potrerillas.
Aug. 9-11. Boquete (3550 feet). South-eastern slope of the Volcan de Chiriqui. .
Aug. 12-20. La Caldera (1500 feet). Savanna region, with scattered trees. On old route from David to Atlantic coast, practical on foot only, but rarely used, all provisions having to be carried.
Aug. 21-Sept. 27. Las Potrerillas.
Sept. 28-Oct. 20. David.
Oct. 21-Nov. 28. Bugaba (1000 feet). Fine forests here *, extending into Costa Rica, eastward and south- ward savannas, with scattered trees. Rio Ascaria and Rio Chiriqui Viejo descending through forest-country. Sugar-cane and coffee cultivated to a small extent. The place of residence of the brothers Trétsch and other collectors formerly employed by Staudinger, the well-known Lepidopterist.
Nov. 29. Jugales. Resting-place on way up to the Potrero del Volean.
Nov. 30-Dec. 10. Potrero del Volcan (4000 feet). Road from about 1000 feet above Bugaba rapidly ascending through dense forest. Savannas up to 6000 feet, to the precipitous western slope of the Volcan de Chiriqui (about 11,000 feet), and to the abruptly descending banks of the Rio Chiriqui Viejo. Dense forests westward and southward, in which peccary are not rare, and jaguars, &e., occur. Large numbers of cattle for the Panama market pastured on these savannas. Monkeys (Ateles sp.) and peccary (Dicotyles labiatus) sometimes shut for food by the ‘vaqueros. Uninhabited district.
Dec. 11,12. Bugaba.
Dee. 13-26. David.
Dee. 27-31.
Jan. 1-Feb. 2. } Bugaba.
Feb. 3-5. Camaron (1750 feet). Milpas (maize-fields) in forest-clearings, on Costa Rica road.
Feb. 6—March 15. Bugaba.
March 16-21. Las Potrerillas. Country in a smoky
haze at this season, due to the general burning of the
undergrowth. Fires dangerous to the thatched houses, owing to the strong ‘ northers.’
March 22—April 19. Bugaba.
April 11-13. David.
April 14-18. Bugaba.
April 19-29. Potrero del Volcan. Second visit, more
* Probably all destroyed by this time.
t
D3
productive than first. Many large Lamellicorn- beetles (Plusiotis, various Dynastids, &c.) found floating in the water of the large shallow lagoons in the forest, on the banks of which numerous trees frequented by the insects were in flower. The short- tailed ‘quezal’ (Pharomacrus costaricensis) seen at about 5500 feet.
1882. April 30-May 30. Bugaba. A very good locality at
this season, the commencement of the rains. New clearings in forest—made to plant rice, maize, or tobacco—productive in Coleoptera, Rhynchota, &c. A large number of interesting Lepidoptera Rhopalo- cera occur in the district, including Morpho eypris and other species of the genus. A marmoset, Chiyso- thrive oerstedi, occasionally seen in numbers on the outer limits of the forest ; also an occasional peccary (Dicotyles tapaju).
May 30-June 5. Las Potrerillas.
June 6-8. Slope of the Volcan de Chiriqui (5500 feet). Staying in hut erected by Swiss orchid collectors on the very steep forest-clad slope. Ascended to 8000 feet, by tracks made by tapirs through the dense undergrowth of bamboo, &e., to summit of ridge. Further progress stopped by an immense precipitous ravine, beyond which the upper part of the volcano could be clearly seen through the trees. The vege- tation on the summit consisted apparently of low bushes (? Vaccinium). No water could be found near hut and a longer stay not possible. Some interesting new Lampyridex, Hispid, and other Coleoptera found in these places.
June 9-12. Las Potrerillas.
June 13, 14. Finca Nance Bonito.
June 15-July 38. Bugaba.
July 4. Jugales.
July 5-7. Potrero del Volcan.
July 18-Aug. 15. Bugaba.
Aug. 16-19. David.
Aug. 20-28. Bugaba.
Aug. 29, 30. Divala (Vivala) (350 feet), Savannas, covered in places with a short prickly Mimosa, the Rio Chiriqui Viejo adjacent. Tropical forest, with many lofty palms, westward. A ‘road’ into Costa Rica passes this place, not many miles from the Pacific. Eastward, on the savanna, is the old capital of the district, Alanje. Abandoned saw-mill noticed on one of the streains.
Aug. 31. Mosque (700 feet).
Sept. 1-Nov. 30. Bugaba.
Dec. 1-3. David.
Dec. 4-27. Bugaba. Garrapatas (ticks) swarming in the bush during dry season, necessitating a frequent change of clothing. Boas occasionally met with. Insects scarce, except near water, butterflies mostly
1883,
2, Dec. 28-30.
‘b4 worn. Many species of latter found about the scattered pools of the nearly dry Rio Ascaria at this season, iostly Nymphalids and Hesperids. Culicids not very troublesome.
David.
Dec. 31. Chorcha (300 feet). Dense forest, descending down to the mangrove-swamps of the coast, inter- rupting the continuity of the large savannas border- ing the Pacific east of David, said to be infested with snakes.
Jan. 1. San Lorenzo (200 feet). here and there.
Jan. 2, 3. Los Remedios. through mangrove-swamps. Savannas inland.
Jan. 4-10. Tolé (1150 feet). Similar country. Ex- cursions made from here to various places in Cordil- lera. Cattle-breeding the principal business here.
Jan. 11. Cerro Algodon (2000 feet).
Jan. 12-17. Petia Blanca (3000 feet). Very broken open country in vicinity of the Pena (Bluff), Slopes of the mountains covered with forest. Ascended to about 5500 feet. Indians from distant places on the Atlantic (northern) slope assemble in an unin- habited spot in the Cordillera near here annually. Dancing in the open air is kept up for two or three days, till most of the men and women become hope- lessly drunk from the aguardiente supplied by travelling traders. The adults seen at one of these functions were tattooed with blue and red pigment.
Jan. 18. Cerro Algodon.
Jan. 19-22. Tolé. Nearly the whole of my money stolen from saddle-bags at this place, a return to David therefore imperative. Savannas east of Tole, on the Santiago de Veraguas road, visited, but found to be unproductive at this (dry) season. Several interesting Malacoderm-beetles (Astylus, Lycostomus, &c.) were, however, taken from flowers. Very little cultivation seen.
Savannas with woods
A small port, reached
Jan. 23-28. Nancito (800 feet). Jan. 29. Los Remedios.
ITINERARY.
| 1883.
Janu. 30-Feb. 3. San Feliz (650 feet). Savannas, with patches of wood.
Feb. 4,5. Lalsleta. Adjacent to the Rio Fonseca. A ‘ Howler’ (Mycetes palliatus) seen in the trees along the streams.
Feb. 6, 7. Chorcha.
Feb. 8-10. David.
Feb. 11-March 3. Bugaba.
March 4-9. David.
Mareh 10,11. Bugaba.
March 12,13. David.
March 14. Boquita, on way down to coast.
March 15-17. Boca Chica, near coast.
March 18-24. En route to Panama in small coasting- vessel carrying various passengers, who were accom- modated in the open air on planks above the cargo of pigs. Punta Mala passed with difficulty.
March 25, 26. Panama.
March 27. Colon (Aspinwall). Many butterflies seen from train on way across isthmus, but next to none found at Colon.
March 28-April 2. Panama.
April 3-27. San Miguel, King Island (Isla del Rey), PearlIslands. Scrubby woods much cleared in places to plant yams, &c. Tangled jungle, with some large trees, in southern portion of island. Coast fringed with mangroves and coco palms. Darien coast and mountains visible from San Miguel. A few interest- ing insects obtained. Unhealthy place. Too unwell to do much collecting. No horses or cattle. Tracks available along beach at low water.
April 28, 29. On way back to Panama in small boat.
April 30. Panama.
May 1-17. Taboga Island, Bay of Panama. Rocky ground, ascending to about 800 feet, with small streams. Pine-apples grown on the slopes, often stolen by sailors. Many butterflies and other insects occur on the island.
May 18-21. Panama.
Cafia Fistula. Near the Montana de
rm Or Cu Li
LIST OF COMPLETED VOLUMES.
ZooLoey, Botany, AND ARCHAOLOGY.
Tue 215 Parts of Zoology, 25 of Botany, and 17 of Archaeology are divided into 63 Volumes, of which a complete list, with their contents, is given in tabular form
on pp. 55, 86. The analysis of the contents of each of these volumes supplies the names of the contributors and other particulars, and, in the case of the Zoology,
a brief summary of the author's views on the nature of the Fauna, as stated in their Introduction. The 215* Parts of Zoology form 52 volumes—one devoted to Mammalia, four to Aves, one to Reptilia and Batrachia, one to Pisces, one to Mollusca, four to Arachnida, one to Chilopoda and Diplopoda, and thirty-eight to Insecta. The Crustacea, Protobracheata, Vermidea, &c., have not been studied, mainly for lack of material. Amongst the Insecta, too, no worker has been found for certain groups of Hymenoptera, Diptera, Rhynchota-Homoptera, and Neuroptera, and these omissions are specially noted in the analysis of the volumes dealing with the Orders in question. The 25 Parts of Botany form five volumes—four of text and one of plates. The 17 Parts of Archeology form four volumes of text, together binding into one volume, with an additional common titlepage, four volumes of folio plates, and an Appendix (text only), the whole subject thus extending to six volumes—two
of text (quarto) and four of plates (folio).
* Part 211 was issued in two sections: ‘ A” in Dec. 1911, “ B” in May 1912. Part 212 » ” » +: “A” in Feb, 1913,“ B” in April 1914,
[ 56 |
ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS OF EACH VOLUME.
1. The ‘Introductory Volume’ includes the general preface to the whole work, Zoology, Botany, and Archeology, a complete list of the subjects contained in each Volume, general statistics, maps, &c. The ‘Contents’ of this Volume, which forms the first of the entire series, are given in detail on p. li.
ZOOLOGY. 2. Mammatia: by E. R. Alston, with an Introduction by Dr. P. L. Sclater.
The author of this Volume died on March 7th, 1881, before the enumeration of the species was concluded. The MSS., however, of the Supplement (pp. 203-212) was left by Mr. Alston in an almost complete state, and was finished by Mr. O. ‘Thomas in 1881. Vhe Tables (I-VIIIL.), printed in the Introduction, were drawn up at our request by the author shortly before his death, and Dr. P. L. Sclater gives an analysis of them in his Introductory remarks on the subject (pp. x—xix), published in 1882. The total number of species enumerated is 181, of which a complete list is given in the Introduction (pp. iv-ix). These fall into five categories: (i.) Nearctic, 48 ; (ii.) Neotropical, 65; (ili.) Neogean, 17; (iv.) Autochthonous, 47; and (v.) Intro- duced, 4 (AZures). The eight Tables drawn up by the author show: I. General dis- tribution; II. Nearctic species (17) found in the Northern States of Mexico, but not recorded from south of 25° N. lat.; iI. Nearctic species (18) found in Central and South Mexico, but not recorded from south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec; IV. Nearctic species (8) extending to Guatemala and Honduras, but not recorded from south of Nicaragua; V. Nearctic species (5) extending to Costa Rica and Panama, but not recorded from south of the Isthmus of Panama; VI. Species (17) common to the Nearctic and Neotropical Regions; WII. Species (47) peculiar to Central America, or not yet ascertained to occur elsewhere; VIII. Distribution of the Neotropical genera. Dr. Sclater (p. xiv) summarizes the analysis of the Central American Mammal fauna as follows :—“It may fairly be said that (excluding the introduced Mures) at least 100 of the constituent species are essentially Neotropicalin their character or have Neotropical! affinities, while of the remainder not above 60 can be said to be decidedly Nearctic. There is therefore no doubt that the Central American isthmus, at any rate as far north as Tehuantepec, should be assigned to the Neotropical Region, of which it should be deemed to constitute a distinct province, characterized (1) by the incursion of a considerable number of Nearctic forms, especially in the northern districts, (2) by the presence of a certain number of peculiar
ZOOLOGY. 57
species of Neotropical genera, and (3) as being the focus of the families Procyonide and Geomyide, two well marked groups of Mammals which have extended alike into the Nearctic and Neotropical Regions.”
The twenty-two coloured plates include figures of thirty-four species, a list of which is given on p. Xx.
3-6. Aves: by O. Salvin and F. D. Godman: Vols. I-III. (text), III. completed with the assistance of Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe and Mr. Ogilvie-Grant ; IV. (plates).
Three Volumes are required for the enumeration and description of the 1413 species of Aves belonging to the Central American fauna, and a fourth for the 84 plates. Vol. I., published in 1879-1887, gives an account of a portion of the Passeres, the families Turdide to Alaudide; and, on the conclusion of the work, in 1904, an Introduction to the whole subject was issued, with Tables (pp. xi-xxxvili) showing the geographical distribution of the families and species represented in Mexico and Central America. Vol. II., published in 1888-1897 *, includes the continuation of the Passeres and the whole of the Macrochires, Pici, Coccyges, and Psittaci. Vol. III., published in 1897-1904, includes the Striges, Accipitres, Steganopodes, Herodiones, Phoenicopteri, Anseres, Columbe, Galline, Geranomorphe, Limicole, Gavi, Tubinares, Pygopodes, Alce, and Crypturi. Vol. IV. contains the whole of the Plates and a complete list of the 149 species figured. Salvin’s long continued. ill health, and sudden death in 1898, retarded the conclusion of the Third Volume, and this was subsequently finished with the assistance of Dr. Sharpe and Mr. Ogilvie-Grant. For this reason, too, all idea of a Supplement was abandoned, notwithstanding the large amount of additional material which had come to hand during the progress of the work. The additions, however, were mainly amongst the Passeres, completed in 1892. The Introduction to Vol. 1. (1904) contains an account of the authors’ various expeditions to Central America, the sources from whence their material was obtained, &c., and the following par- ticulars as to the nature of the Bird-fauna of the region :—To summarize the results, the Avifauna of Central America may be described as essentially Neotropical, with certain peculiar forms restricted to it. The fifteen families represented are all rich in endemic forms, and the families themselves are almost all tropical. On the other hand, a large number of species belonging to the more widely distributed genera find their winter home in Mexico and Central America, or further south, returning to breed in the Nearctic Region, even Humming-birds and others wandering far north at this season. The data is insufficient to show the lines of migration of all the species. Some, no doubt, travel southward from the United States to the mainland of South America by way of the Caribbean Sea or the West Indian Islands, perhaps just
* The permanent Titlepage and ‘ Contents’ were issued in 1904.
BIOL. CENTR.-AMER., Introd. Vol., January 1915. I
58 CONTENTS OF EACH VOLUME.
touching the eastern portion of our region en route; others probably find their way down to the central tablelands, and a few western species, again, pass over the low lands of the Pacific coast.
Nearly half (636) of the 1413 species enumerated are treated as endemic, fifteen of the families—Trochilide, Fringillide, Tanagride, Formicariide, Dendrocolaptide, Troglodytide, Turdide, Psittacide, Phasianide, Peristeride, Cotingide, Trogonide, Cracide, Tinamide, and Rhamphastide—having many peculiar forms. Compared with America north of Mexico, the fauna of the region here dealt with is particularly rich, the numbers being, North America (1895) 768 species as against Central America 1413; while India (with Ceylon and Burma), with nearly double the area, has (1898) only 1626 species. All, or nearly all, the new species were described first in the ‘Ibis’ or ‘P. Z. S.’ by Salvin.
Birds, from their power of flight and the habit of migration common to a large number of them, are much more easily distributed than most other vertebrates, and, therefore, do not throw the same light on the subject of geographical distribution as in the case of more sedentary animals. This must, nevertheless, be applied in a general sense, for many of the species are extraordinarily local.
In dealing with the Aves the limits of the region have been extended to include the Revillagigedo Islands on the Pacific side, on account of the numerous sea-birds inhabiting them; the Island of Old Providence on the Atlantic side, which has a humming-bird peculiar to it; and some places on the Isthmus of Darien.
The eighty-four coloured plates illustrate 149 species.
7. Reprivia and Barracuta: by Dr. A. Giinther.
The author, in his Introduction published in 1902, summarizes his remarks on geographical distribution as follows:—The general features of the Reptilian and Amphibian Faunas of the area under investigation have been satisfactorily ascertained. Forming the connecting link between the two Neogean regions, Central America possesses a Reptilian and Batrachian Fauna with the various constituent elements so mixed that, if only certain families or genera were taken into consideration, almost every district of this area could be associated with either the North- or South-American region. ‘The tropical Fauna, as we proceed from lower to higher latitudes, gradually changes or is replaced by that of the temperate region; but this change is not uniform throughout the breadth of the land, and the two faunas frequently overlap in deep and manifold indentations. ‘Tropical types are found to preponderate in the low lands of the Atlantic side, which expand into the broad Yucatan peninsula, and on the humid slopes of moderate elevation; some extend to, and even reach northwards of, the Rio Grande. On the Western side they are found in similar localities, but in a narrower belt, along the Pacific coast. On the other hand,
ZOOLOGY. 59
numerous types of the southern North American Fauna are spread over Northern Mexico, extending along the Central American plateau to the extreme limits of our area, and even beyond. This southward extension of northern types is due partly to the identical physical conditions of the arid tableland of Sonora and Chihuahua, which is merely a continuation of that of Arizona and New Mexico, and partly to the great altitude and temperate climate of the Central American plateau. Thus, a boundary line between the North and South American regions cannot be drawn: Central America forms a transition-tract unlike any other part of the world, showing the most extraordinary diversity of climatic, physical, and meteoric conditions within comparatively small areas, favouring the evolution of a great variety of types of genera and species, and influencing the dispersal of immigrants from the North and South.
The range of the 695 species enumerated is shown in the Table appended to the Introduction (pp. x—xvil).
Since the conclusion of Dr. Giinther’s work, Dr. Hans Gadow has twice visited Mexico (1902 and 1904), mainly to study the distribution, &c., of the Amphibians and Reptiles. He collected specimens of 135 species. The following papers have been written by him :—
(1) ‘Evolution of the Colour-pattern and Orthogenetic Variation in certain Mexican Species of Lizards, with Adaptation to their Surroundings ” [ Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. Ixxii. pp. 109-125, pls. iii.—v. (1903) ].
(2) “The Mexican Axolotl” [‘ Nature,’ lxvii. pp. 330-332 (1903) ].
(3) “The Distribution of the Mexican Amphibians and Reptiles” [P. Z. S. 1905, ii. pp. 191-245].
(4) “ A Contribution to the Study of Evolution based upon the Mexican Species of Cnemidophorus” (P. Z. 8. 1906, i. pp. 277-375, pl. xx.).
(5) ‘Through Southern Mexico.’ London, 1908.
(6) ‘“‘ Geographical Distribution of Animals” [‘ Darwin and Modern Science,’ pp. 319- 336 (1909).
(7) “The Effect of Altitude upon the Distribution of Mexican Amphibians and Reptiles” [Jahrb. Jena Abt. f. Syst. xxix. 1910, pp. 689-714].
He also published an excellent account of the portions of Mexico visited during his travels, and we give elsewhere a copious extract from one of his papers.
During recent years attention has been called to various Reptilia, Batrachians, Arachnids, Coleoptera, &c., living in the Bromeliads on the branches of trees. Specimens of Spelerpes variegatus and Hyla godmani were obtained from these plants by one of our collectors, Mateo Trujillo, in Mexico, and other species have since been
captured by Dr. Gadow. . 12
60 CONTENTS OF EACH VOLUME.
8, Pisces: by C. 'T. Reaan.
The Introductory remarks to this subject (published in 1908) are arranged by the author under five headings -—(1) Principal Faunal Works on the Fresh-water Fishes of Mexico and Central America; (2) Principal Collections described in this Work ; (3) Classification ; (4) Geographical Distribution, illustrated by two separate maps; (5) The Shore-Fishes of the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of Mexico and Central America. The geographical distribution is discussed at length under the headings to the separate families, ten of which are represented in the region, that of the Cichlide, Percide, Characinide, Catostomine, and Cyprinine being illustrated by shaded maps in the text. The author considers that the Nearctic and Neotropical Regions are quite distinct, and to explain the distribution of fresh-water fishes he says that the volcanic chain of mountains which stretches across Mexico from Colima nearly to Vera Cruz may be taken as the boundary. The Nearctic Region he divides into three subregions, one of which, the “Lerma,” lies wholly within Mexican territory. The Neotropical Region is also divided into three subregions, the Central-American subregion again being separated into four “ provinces,” Balsas, Guatemalan, San Juan, and Isthmian ; the limits of these are shown on Map 2.
Mr. Regan says that the Cichlide, which form a very large family of fresh-water fishes, is the dominant perciform group in Tropical America and Africa. In America the Cichlide extend from Texas to Argentina, and comprise about 150 species. Africa appears to be somewhat richer in both genera and species, whilst three representatives occur in India and Ceylon. A mapis given in the text to show this distribution. He states that the Mexican and Central American Cichlids must have originated in the Southern Continent.
‘The Percide are fresh-water fish inhabiting Europe, Northern Asia, North America east of the Rocky Mountains, and Northern Mexico. Fossil Percide are found in the Eocene deposits of Wyoming.
The distribution of the Characinide, also fresh-water fish, is equally interesting. They extend from Northern Mexico over all the South-American continent, except the extreme south, and are found also in Africa, but not in Madagascar.
These two families and the Lepidosirenide support the theory that a land connection between South America and Africa may have persisted until the beginning of the Tertiary period.
The Catostomine extend from Guatemala all over North America and into Eastern Asia.
The Cyprinine are found from Canada southward to the Lerma Valley in Mexico and throughout Africa and Eurasia, except in the extreme north. ‘They abound in Borneo, but are absent from Celebes.
Amongst the Shore-Fishes entering fresh water, eighteen Pacific coast species are specially noted as having a closely related representative on the Atlantic.
ZOOLOGY. 61
Mr. Regan concludes his remarks on these fishes as follows :—‘ The fact that in so many cases species may be paired is more in harmony with the view that there has been a gradual modification during isolation than with the supposition that a mutant has arisen which has replaced the parent form.”
The twenty-six plates include figures of seventy-eight of the 415 species enumerated. The Maps inserted in the Introduction showing the distribution of certain families are worthy of attention.
9. TERRESTRIAL and FiuviatineE Mo.uusca: by E. v. Martens.
In this volume the author summarizes the characters and distribution of the species in common Tables, instead of giving separate descriptions. The geographical distri- bution is given at great length in the ‘ Introduction’ (published in 1901), accompanied by separate Tables of the Terrestrial and Freshwater genera. The difference between the fauna of the Pacific and Atlantic slopes is noticed, but is stated to be not very important as regards the land shells. Central Guatemala (Baja Vera Paz), however, is said to be occupied chiefly by metamorphic rocks, while North Guatemala (Alta Vera Paz) is mostly of limestone formation: this difference accounts for the greater richness of land shells in the latter province. One peculiarity of the fauna of the Pacific slope is worthy of note, viz. the occurrence of large sized Otostomi and Bulimult in Western Mexico related to various Andean forms, the distribution being somewhat analogous to that of the majority of the Cactacee. The submarine Mollusca of the eastern and western shores are said to be distinct, more so than some truly marine shells, but there are some remarkably analogous forms among them.
Of the forty-four plates belonging to this subject, the first twenty-eight are coloured.
[The Crustacea have not been studied. The FresHwaTerR Matacostraca were undertaken by Prof. T. H. Huxley, but his contribution was never finished. |
10. ARACHNIDA ARANEIDEA. Vol. I.: by the Rev. O. Pickard-Cambridge.
This volume contains descriptions and figures of 417 new species of Araneidea, and a list of species identified by the author. The new forms are illustrated on the thirty- nine coloured plates.
11. ARAcHNIDA ARANEIDEA and Opruiones. Vol. II.: by F. O. Pickard-Cambridge.
Vol. II. of this subject gives the systematic arrangement of the whole of the species of Arancidea described in Vol. I. and the large number added in Vol. II. A synopsis of the Families is given on pp. 541-544. The ‘Opiliones,’ or ‘ Harvestmen,’ are dealt with on pp. 546-585, and illustrated by three plates, LIL—LIV. ‘The author is unable to say very much about the general distribution of the Araneidea, the material
62 CONTENTS OF EACH VOLUME.
at hand being insufficient for the purpose. They are said to date back at least as far as the Carboniferous period, when they were represented by forms of which the two species of Liphistius are the sole survivors. The earliest known Arachno- morphid spiders in any way resembling those living belong to the Oligocene times. At that period there existed many forms, very similar to those occurring at the present time, whose remains have been found in amber washed up on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The Opiliones are stated to have preceded, during the Carboniferous epoch, the air-breathing scorpion, Anthrascorpius, and their specialization probably began during the still earlier Silurian times, since in that period there existed an Arachnid which is a true scorpion in every sense, except that it had apparently no trace of air-breathing lung sacs. The ‘ Harvestmen’ make no web for the ensnaring of their prey, and the females, after depositing their eggs, take no further interest in their offspring. In the two volumes 1181 species are enumerated, this number including the 422 described as new in Vol. II. ‘The Opiliones number 70 species, 58 of which are described as new, with 11 new genera. The ninety-three plates (39 in Vol. I. and 64 in Vol. II.) include figures of 981 species.
12. ARACHNIDA ScorPIONES, PEeprpatri, and Souiruc#: by R. I. Pocock.
Very little material was available for the study of these Arachnids, sixty-nine species only being enumerated for the three groups. The twelve uncoloured plates include figures of thirty-seven species. The Scorpiones are represented by three families, the Pedipalpi by two, and the Solifuge by a single family.
In this Volume the author gives the geographical distribution under the heading for each genus, and no general ‘ Introduction’ to the whole subject was prepared, for
want of data.
13, ARACHNIDA ACARIDEA: by O. Stoll.
‘The material for this subject was obtained almost entirely by the author during a residence of nearly five years in Guatemala. He made the drawings on the spot, but unfortunately he had no modern literature on Acarids with him, and his microscope was anything but satisfactory. Dr. Stoll’s work, therefore, must be treated as a contribution to the fauna of Guatemala, rather than as an enumeration of the Acaridea inhabiting Central America. The types of the species described remained in his possession. In his ‘Introduction’ (published in 1893), p. vii, he states that it is remarkable that not one of the forms described represents a generic type entirely new or peculiar to the region. Doubtless a great deal remains to be done in the way of collecting before we shall have any true idea of the Acarid-fauna of Central America.
The twenty-one coloured plates illustrate 43 species.
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14. CurLopopa and DipLopopa: by R. I. Pocock.
The dates of publication of this Volume are, Chilopoda 1895-1896, Diplopoda 1903-1910. For the two groups 255 species are enumerated, of which 106 are described as new, the Chilopoda numbering 53 (19 new) and the Diplopoda 202 (87 new) respectively. The author, for want of sufficient data, does not give any © particulars as to general distribution, beyond that mentioned under each genus or species in the text. ‘The three plates belonging to the Chilopoda are partly coloured, the twelve others referring to the Diplopoda are uncoloured.
[The Prororracuzata (Peripatus, &c.) have not been studied. One species at least has been recorded from Nicaragua. |
15. Cotnoptera. Vol. I. part 1: by H. W. Bates: Cicindelide and Carabide.
The author, who had previously studied the insect fauna of the Amazons during his long residence in that region, remarks, in his ‘ Introduction’ (published in 1884), on the Central-American fauna of these two families as follows :—‘‘ The number of species (1086), belonging to 154 genera, is greater than the apparent poverty of tropical regions in Carabide would have led us to expect. The tolerably well-worked valley of the Amazons, although rich in species of genera belonging to alluvial plains, and in arboreal forms, contains only 576 species belonging to 124 genera; and the fauna of such tropical regions as the Malay archipelago is still poorer. The reason for the comparative paucity of Carabide has been supposed, apparently on good grounds, to be that their place, as predaceous terrestrial insects, is to a great extent occupied by the ubiquitous ants. The undoubted fact that purely epigzeous Carabidee, except marsh species, are scarce in the Tropics, especially near the Equator and in the low- lands, and that arboreal or climbing forms alone are numerous and varied, affords support to this hypothesis. ‘The essentially Neotropical character of the Central- American fauna is generally admitted, and is strikingly confirmed by the Cicindelidze and Carabide. But with regard to the northern limits of the fauna, and especially the extent to which Nearctic and North-temperate forms have penetrated the region from north to south, these are points not yet settled. Wallace included, or seemed inclined to include, the whole of the central highlands of Mexico and Guatemala in the Nearctic province, which must mean that the North-temperate American forms are there in the majority. The two families of Coleoptera we are dealing with do not support this conclusion. The Nearctic forms are comparatively few, and in the ‘ tierra templada’ are far outnumbered by tropical genera. The northern limit of the Central American fauna appears to be—on the highlands, if not also on the maritime lowlands east and west—a little south of the political frontier of Mexico. Does the Ceutral American fauna constitute one homogeneous province, or is it divisible into two subprovinces, as Salvin (‘ Ibis,’ 1866, p. 202) has shown to be probably the case with
64 CONTENTS OF EACH VOLUME.
the birds, many genera of which are represented by distinct species on each side of a line which he is inclined to place north of the Nicaraguan lakes and their outfall, the Rio San Juan ?”
‘The thirteen coloured plates include figures of 324 species.
Mr. Bates subsequently wrote two papers on the Mexican materia] received from our collectors afier the present Volume was closed :—
(1) ‘ Additions to the Cicindelide Fauna of Mexico’ (Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1890, pp. 4938-510, pl. 16).
(2) ‘Additions to the Carabideous Fauna of Mexico’ (op. cit. 1891, pp. 223- 277, pls. 18, 14).
16. Cotzoprera. Vol. I. part 2: by D. Sharp: Haliplide, Dytiscide, Gyrinide, Hydrophilide, Heteroceride, Parnide, Georisside, Cyathoceride, and Staphylinide.
For these nine families of Coleoptera 1790 species are enumerated, 1405 of which belong to Staphylinide, 168 to Dytiscide, and 141 to Hydrophilide, the others being of limited extent. The author, in his ‘Introduction’ (published in 1887), states that the water beetles (Dytiscide) are apparently subject to different laws of distribution from other Coleoptera, illustrating in this respect what he believes to be the case with aquatic organisms generally, viz. diminished endemicity, and therefore but little adapted for consideration in questions of zoo-geography. The study of the exotic Staphylinide appears to be practically in its infancy, and but little can be done in the way of comparison with the fauna of other tropical regions. In the case of genera with a large number of species and a wide distribution, the Central American Staphylinids are stated to be much more nearly allied to those of South than to those of North America. Dr. Sharp is therefore inclined to agree with the opinion expressed by Bates that the fauna of the region under investigation is essentially Neotropical. The Staphylinide first brought from the tropics included an undue proportion of comparatively large, bizarre, or brilliantly coloured forms, but it is clear that this was chiefly due to imperfect collecting. Indeed, one of the striking facts in connection with the material brought together by the Editors is the very large number of minute and obscure insects, so that it can scarcely be said that the Central American Staphylinide are, on the average, larger or more brilliant than those of Europe.
Of the nineteen coloured plates, fourteen are devoted to Staphylinide, 445 species being figured altogether.
17. Cotroptera. Vol. II. part 1: by Dr. Sharp, A. Matthews, and G. Lewis: Pselaphide—Byrrhide.
The twenty-two families enumerated in this volume are collectively termed Clavicornia by various authors, and in recent catalogues of Coleoptera the Erotylide,
ZOOLOGY. . 65
Endomychide, and Coccinellide (these three families being here placed at the end of the Coleopterous series in Vol. VII.) are treated as belonging to the same division. The Silphide, Corylophide, Trichopterygide, Spheriide, and Scaphidiide were worked out by Mr. Matthews, the Histeride by Mr. G. Lewis, and the remaining sixteen families by Dr. Sharp, the last named author also contributing a list of the Rhipidandri—a small group of somewhat uncertain position, but really belonging to the Tenebrionid-series near Boletophagini. The total number of species is 1629, of which 996 are described as new. ‘The dates of publication of the various subjects are: Pselaphide and Scydmenide, 1887; Silphide—Scaphidiide, 1887-1888; Histeride, 1888; Phalacride—Byrrhide, 1888-1905; Rhipidandri, 1905. The ‘ Introduction’ to this Volume was simply an editorial note; but in his remarks on the Histeride (p. 182) Mr. Lewis states that the chief interest of this series of insects centres in the species which feed on the wood-boring Coleoptera of other families. ‘The nineteen uncoloured plates include, it is believed, some of the finest lithographic illustrations of beetles that have as yet been published, those devoted to the Colydiide (plates xiv. and xv.) being particularly excellent. The artist, Baron Max Schlereth, was unfortunately unable to draw the whole number.
18. CoLeortera. Vol. IL. part 2: by H. W. Bates: Pectinicornia and Lamellicornia.
The total number of species for these two impcrtant families is 1100—72 Pectini- cornia and 1028 Lamellicornia. ‘The author, in his ‘ Introduction’ (published in 1890), remarks that the Pectinicorn-fauna is exceedingly poor in the chief family of the tribe, viz., the Lucanide; but, on the other hand, it is unusually rich in the more aberrant family, the Passalide. A comparison with such allied faunas from other parts of the world, which have been sufficiently worked out to give approximately accurate results, seems to show that the poverty in Lucanide arises from Central America lying too far south to have been reached by many species of Old-World genera, ‘and too far north for the genera characteristic of South Brazil, Chile, and the Andes. The conditions seem, however, to be very favourable to the Passalidz, which all pass their earlier stages in rotting tree-trunks, reaching their highest development and exhibiting more diversity of form here than in any other region. All the families of Lamellicornia are well represented in Central America; they include 1028 species belonging to 127 genera, but a comparison of the Lamellicorn-fauna with that of other tropical regions of similar extent is impossible, as the necessary data do not exist ina connected form. The actual number of species described up to 1890, for the whole world, may be roughly estimated at 10,000. Of the twenty-four plates illustrating the 492 species figured, all but one (Pectinicornia) are coloured.
Since this Volume was finished (in 1890) a good many species of Lamellicornia have been added by various authors, these showy beetles being great favourites
BIOL. CENTR.-AMER., Introd. Vol., January 1915. K
66 CONTENTS OF EACH VOLUME.
with collectors, but the additions do not materially affect the conclusions arrived at by Bates.
19. Cotzoprera. Vol. III. part 1: Serricornia: Buprestide by C. O. Waterhouse ; Throscide and Eucnemide by G. H. Horn; Elateride *_Dascillide by G. C. Champion.
For these families of the Serricorn-series, 1353 species are enumerated from Central America, 805 of which are described as new. The Buprestide were published sn 1882-1889: the Throscide and EKucnemide in 1890; the remaining families in . 1894-1897 ; and a short Appendix in 1897. The Buprestide, numbering 434 species (exclusive of those mentioned in the Appendix), do not appear to be very much in evidence, apart from the gigantic Huchroma, in the tropical forests of Mexico and Central America, their place being to a great extent taken by the conspicuous Elaterid- genera Chalcolepidius and Semiotus. The open parts of Mexico, however, have a rich Buprestid-fauna, as shown by the number of species obtained by Hoge in his later expeditions to that country ; these were enumerated in the ‘Supplement’ (published in 1889). The distribution of Conifers, which do not extend south of Nicaragua, probably affects the range of certain genera of this group. ‘The Elateride, numbering 531 species, have exceedingly few endemic genera, and it may be said in a general way that the tropical forms are mostly confined to the forest regions, and that many of those inhabiting the open country or higher ground are nearly allied, or actually belong, to Nearctic genera. Pyrophorus has one species in North and sixteen in Central America, and is essentially Neotropical. The Dascillide, with 130. species and twenty genera, is one of the ‘neglected’ families of Coleoptera, and there are no available data for comparison with other regions. The Eucnemide, of which a table of the genera is given by Horn (pp. 211-213), are represented by 113, the Throscidee by forty-four, the Cebrionide by twenty-nine, and the Rhipideceride by fourteen species.
The twenty-seven plates, one of which shows the form of the terminal segment of the males of the Buprestid-genus Pachyscelus, illustrate 648 species.
20. Conzoptera. Vol. III. part 2: by H. S. Gorham: Malacodermata.
This Volume includes the following nine families :—Lycide, Lampyride, Tele- phoride, Lymexylonide, Melyridx, Cleride, Ptinide, Bostrychide, and Cioide. The total number of species enumerated is 813; but as very many of our specimens added in the ‘Supplement’ were not critically examined by Mr. Gorham, it is probable that the actual number represented in the material obtained by our collectors is about 900. The author, in his ‘Introduction’ (published in 1886), states that it is now seen that
* First undertaken by E. W. Janson,
ZOOLOGY. 67
the tropical portions of the earth are as rich, or richer, in these groups (he presumably refers to Telephoride) than the cooler parts. ‘The Lycide, Telephoride, Lampyridae, and Cleride clearly show a closer relationship between our fauna and _ that of Tropical South America than with any they possess with that of America north of Mexico—this being rendered even more apparent in such large genera as Calopteron amongst the Lycids and Chauliognathus in the Telephorids. More striking, however, is the marked peculiarity of the Central and South American genera as compared with the faunas of other parts of the globe. The author remarks :—‘ If it were true that similar conditions would produce similar forms, how is it that the specialized genera of the Neotropical regions are so dissimilar from those of the Asthiopian and Indo-Malayan? Of the few genera common to Central America and to the Palearctic or Tropical regions of the Old World, there is not one which is not of the rank of feebly differentiated forms, or persistent forms of an earlier stage of development. The total absence of many widely distributed well marked forms cannot be explained by any intrinsic dissimilarity in the conditions, which certainly do not differ more than they do in the wide areas over which such genera are dispersed, but rather by the isolation from these other areas, contact with which is only effected through the northern parts of the globe. One further fact is noted, viz., that, to whatever cause it may be due, where a genus is common to Central or South America and other distant parts of the World, it is also the case that it is represented by a species also identical or nearly related in the two districts. In this case its presence must be due to recent transmission, through artificial means, or to the conditions having long remained practically similar under which it exists in places so far apart.”
Thirteen coloured plates are issued in this Volume, 330 species being figured.
Some of the Clerids received by us since the conclusion of Mr. Gorham’s work have been described by Herr 8. Schenkling in German publications, and a certain number of Bostrychide have been dealt with or revised by M. P. Lesne. The Chauliognathine, Malachiide, and Melyridee, and a portion of the Ptinide, have also been revised by Mr. G. C. Champion (Trans. Ent. Soe. Lond. 1913, 1914).
21, 22. Cotzorrera. Vol. IV. parts 1 and 2: by G. C. Champion: Heteromera.
The fourteen families included in the Heteromerous-series are dealt with in two volumes: (1) Tenebrionide, Cistelide, Othniide, Nilionide, and Monommide ; (2) Lagriide, Melandryide, Pythide, Gtdemeride, Xylophilide, Anthicide, Mordel- lide, Rhipidophoride, and Meloide. ‘The general ‘ Introduction’ (published in 1893), which includes a Table showing the geographical distribution of the genera repre- sented within the limits of Mexico and Central America, is given in part 1. The total number of species enumerated is 1776, of which 1295 are treated as new. Amongst the Tenebrionidee, the apterous terrestrial forms clearly belong to the
| K 2
68 CONTENTS OF EACH VOLUME.
Nearctic beetle fauna which extends down the central plateau to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Asida) or to the Los Altes region of Guatemala (Zwodes), while the winged forest forms are Neotropical. The winged genera inhabiting the open country (Epitraqgus, Blapstinus, Xystropus, &c.) have a wide distribution, and such apterous forms as appear to be insensible to drought and heat (e. g. Zopherus) range from the Southern United States through our region to Colombia and Venezuela. The humid forest regions of Central America possess a very rich Tenebrionid—fauna, as so many species attack decaying trees, or the fungi growing upon them, even in gloomy places; the Melandryide, however, are poorly represented, as in other tropical regions. The Cistelidee, Xylophilide, and CEdemeride belong to the ‘neglected’ groups, not a single Central American species of any one of these families having been described before the publication of these volumes. The Meloidze, on the contrary, had been studied by various Coleopterists, especially by E. Dugés in Mexico, and many of the species were previously described. ‘The Heteromera, as stated in the Introduction, comprise a greater variety of forms than any of the other main divisions of the Coleoptera, nearly all of which are reproduced here. Probably no better case of mimicry or homochroism can be found amongst beetles than that existing between the Tenebrionid genus Cuphotes and Cypherotylus (Erotylide) and the Lagriid genus Uroplatopsis and Uroplata (Hispidee). Some of the smaller subcortical Cucujids of the Clavicorn-series are so closely related to various Pythids— from which they are only distinguishable by the number of joints in the hind tarsi of the males—that it is probable that these latter will have to be removed eventually from the heterogeneous series of families known collectively under the name Heteromera.
The two volumes devoted to this group include forty-four coloured plates, illustrating upwards of 1000 species.
23. CotzopreRA. Vol. IV. part 3: by D. Sharp and G. C. Champion: Curculionidee (part).
The Rhynchophora, or weevils, include a larger number of species (3848) than any of the other main divisions of the Coleoptera, and no fewer than five volumes of the present series are devoted to their enumeration. In the First Volume (Part 3) 616 species of the following subfamilies of the Curculionide are dealt with: Attelabine, Pterocoline, Allocorynine, Apionine, Thecesternine, and Otiorrhynchine. Dr. Sharp’s contribution, pp. 1-177, was published (pp. 169-177 excepted) in 1889-1891; this portion included the first five subfamilies and the apterous Otiorrhynchinx, and that of Mr. Champion, dealing with the winged Otiorrhynchine, appeared in 1911. ‘The Attelabine and Apionine, both numerous in species, do not differ greatly from the representatives of these subiamilies in temperate northern regions. The Pterocoline,
ZOOLOGY. 69
Allocorynine, and Thecesternine, each including a few species only, are common to North America and Mexico or Central America. The apterous Otiorrhynchids are mostly restricted to the central plateau—Hupagoderes, Epicerus, and Epagriopsis being the dominant genera in the highlands of Mexico,—while the winged forms preponderate in the warmer forest regions to the east, west, and south, this distribution being similar to that of the Tenebrionids. Pandeleteius and Pantomorus are characteristic winged genera in the open country. Various papers on the Apionine by Herr Hans Wagner, in which additional species from our region are described, have been published during recent years. Unfortunately, very little is known as yet of the actual food plants of any of the Central-American Rhynchophora. The fifteen coloured plates include figures of nearly 400 species.
24. CoteopTreRA. Vol. IV. part 4: by G. C. Champion: Curculionide (part).
The whole of this Volume is devoted to the Subfamily Curculionine, which are so. numerous in the forest regions of Tropical America as to deter most Coleopterists from venturing to describe them. Twenty-two groups are enumerated, the Sitonina to the Cryptorrhynchina inclusive, numbering in all 1365 species, 1146 of which are treated as new. Some of the genera include a very large number of species: Conotrachelus (nearly 200), Anthonomus (over 100), Hilipus, Otidocephalus, Cryptor- rhynchus, Kubulus, &c., so that it seems an almost hopeless task to prepare a complete list of these insects. Dr. Sharp and Mr. Champion have been the first to describe the whole of the Curculionide of a tropical country, and, though the genera of the Cryptorrhynchina still remain in inextricable confusion, the present contribution will doubtless be of considerable assistance to future workers. Some of the Groups, Anchonina, Cholina, &c., are purely Neotropical ; others, Pissodina, Sitonina, Hyperina, Balaninina, Cleonina (Lirus excepted), belong to more temperate regions, but extend southward to within our limits.
The thirty-five plates include figures of nearly 1000 species: nineteen (x. and XVill.—-xxxv. inclusive) are coloured, one (xii.) partly coloured, and the rest uncoloured.
25. CoLEorTeRA. Vol. IV. part 5: by G. C. Champion: Curculionide (continued).
This Volume deals with four more Groups of the Subfamily Curculionine—the Zygopina, Tachygonina, Ceuthorrhynchina, and Barina, the vast complex mass known as Barina being represented by eleven Sections, all but three of which are purely tropical. The Zygopina also are almost entirely tropical, a few forms only occurring north of the Mexican frontier and they are wholly wanting in the European fauna..
70 CONTENTS OF EACH VOLUME.
The Ceuthorrhynchina, on the other hand, are numerous in temperate regions and but poorly represented in the tropics. Of the 908 species enumerated for the four groups mentioned, 620 belong to Barina; 717 are described as new, with 81 new genera.
The remaining groups of the Curculionine—the Acamptina, Trypetina, and Cossonina—are described in Vol. LV. part 7. The twenty-three plates belonging to Part 5, illustrating 720 species, are wholly or partly coloured. |
26. Connoprera. Vol. IV. part 6: Brenthide by D. Sharp; Scolytide by WwW. X, H. Blandford ; Anthribide by K. Jordan.
Three families of the Rhynchophora are enumerated in this Volume: the Brenthide, published in 1895,.by Dr. Sharp; the Scolytide, published in 1895-1905, by Mr. Blandford; and the Anthribide, published in 1906-1907, by Dr. Jordan. Part 6 was reserved for them in 1895, long before the Parts 4 and 5 were commenced, The general sequence of arrangement adopted in this work has therefore been interrupted by the interposition of these families in the present volume; the remainder of the Curculionine belonging to Part 5 were concluded in Part 7. The total number of species included in the three families is: Brenthide 140 (104 new), Scolytidee 272 (181 new), and Anthribide 193 (148 new). The Brenthide are mostly confined to the forests of the tropics, and are particularly numerous in Tropical America, Madagascar, and the Indo-Malay region. As regards the Scolytide the author, Mr. Blandford, remarks that the genera are either cosmopolitan or Neotropical, some of the latter being represented by stragglers in North America; he also says that the southward limit of many northern forms is doubtless determined by the distribution of the Conifer, which do not reach south of Nicaragua. . Dr. Jordan, in his intro- ductory remarks on the Anthribide (p. 299), writes as follows :—‘‘ The present treatise offers an illustration of the great increase in the number of known species when a tropical district has been more exhaustively examined. Hardly three dozen forms were known from Central America, while the material now before me comprises close on 200 species.” ‘These insects are rarely found in large numbers, owing to their ereat resemblance to the bark of trees on which they occur. The author divides the Anthribide into two ‘subfamilies, the Pleurocerine and the Anocerine, and gives a key to the whole of the genera (pp. 300-302). In the text the type of each genus is indicated, and the species of the larger genera are tabulated.
Fourteen plates are issued with this volume: three for the Brenthide, six for the Scolytide, and five for the Anthribide, the last mentioned being coloured.
27. Cotroptera. Vol. 1V. part 7: by G. C. Champion: Curculionide (concluded).
This Volume finishes the Rhynchophora, the rest of the Curculionide belonging to the Subfamily Curculionine—the Groups Acamptina, Trypetina, and Cossonina—and
ZOOLOGY. 71
the whole of the subfamily Calandrine being here dealt with. An Appendix to the Curculionide is added, on pp. 178-212, enumerating a few additional forms and making some corrections to the synonymy. ‘The Cossonina and Calandrinz are each represented in Central America by a large number of species, some of the Calandrids attacking palms, cacti, sugar-cane, maize, Musacew, &c. The Mexican Cossonids (the genus Cossonus excepted) had been previously studied by Wollaston and the Calandrids by Chevrolat, nevertheless, with more abundant material, many new forms were found in our collection. Altogether 344 species are enumerated, 231 of which are described as new. ‘The nine plates are coloured or partly coloured.
28. CotropTerA. Vol. V.: Longicornia by H. W. Bates; Bruchides by D. Sharp.
The greater part of this Volume (pp. 1-436), published in 1879-1885, is devoted to the enumeration of the Longicornia by Mr. Bates, the Bruchides, by Dr. Sharp, published in 1885, occupying pp. 437-504. Altogether the two tribes number 1445 species: Longicornia 1273 (648 new), Bruchides 150 (117 new). Mr. Bates,