he
eastern coast; the insect-fauna of which is as yet almost unknown, but
will probably be found to have more resemblance to that of Ceylon than
to the insects of northern and western India--just as the insect-fauna
of Malaya appears more to resemble the similar productions of
Australasia than those of the more northern continent.

[Footnote 1: On the subject of this conjecture see _ante_, p. 60.]

"Mr. Layard's collection was partly formed in the dry northern province
of Ceylon; and among them more Hindustan insects are to be observed than
among those collected by Dr. Templeton, and found wholly in the district
between Colombo and Kandy. According to this view the faunas of the
Nilgherry Mountains, of Central Ceylon, of the peninsula of Malacca, and
of Australasia would be found to form one group;--while those of
Northern Ceylon, of the western Dekkan, and of the level parts of
Central Hindustan would form another of more recent origin. The
insect-fauna of the Carnatic is also probably similar to that of the
lowlands of Ceylon; but it is still unexplored. The regions of Hindustan
in which species have been chiefly collected, such as Bengal, Silbet,
and the Punjaub, are at the distance of from 1300 to 1600 miles from
Ceylon, and therefore the insects of the latter are fully as different
from those of the above regions as they are from those of Australasia,
to which Ceylon is as near in point of distance, and agrees more with
regard to latitude.

"Dr. Hagen has remarked that he believes the fauna of the mountains of
Ceylon to be quite different from that of the plains and of the shores.
The south and west districts have a very moist climate, and as their
vegetation is like that of Malabar, their insect-fauna will probably
also resemble that of the latter region.

"The insects mentioned in the following list are thus distributed:--

"Order COLEOPTERA.

"The recorded species of _Cicindelidae_ inhabit the plains or the coast
country of Ceylon, and several of them are also found in Hindustan.

"Many of the species of _Carabidae_ and of _Staphylinidae_, especially
those collected by Mr. Thwaites, near Kandy, and by M. Nietner at
Colombo, have much resemblance to the insects of these two families in
North Europe; in the _Scydmaenid, Ptiliadae, Phalacridae, Nitidulidae,
Colydiadae_, and _Lathridiadae_ the northern form is still more striking,
and strongly contrasts with the tropical forms of the gigantic _Copridae,
Bupr