Page:Transactions NZ Institute Volume 15.djvu/31

Crambus and referred them separately to the Galleridæ, Phycidæ, and Chilonidæ, three groups which do not even, so far as is known, occur in New Zealand at all. In the same paper he has described the sexes of one of the Tortricina as two distinct species, and placed them in two distinct genera in different families, when in fact the species was not in the least allied to either of those genera, and the sexes, though slightly differing in appearance, are precisely identical in structure. I could multiply instances, but they will be referred to in their proper place, and I desire now only to point out clearly that Mr. Butler's authority on these groups is as unreliable as that of Walker.

The Crambidæ, which form the subject of the present paper, are represented in New Zealand, so far as is at present known, by 29 species, of which 16 are here described for the first time. The character of this fauna is very interesting. Seventeen species, or more than half, belong to the genus Crambus; this cosmopolitan genus is nearly equally plentiful throughout the world, but it is very remarkable that it is almost entirely absent from Australia, whence are known only two species, of which certainly one, and perhaps both, do not belong to the indigenous fauna, and neither is related to the New Zealand species. These latter form a single connected group, diverging from a common centre, which appears to be C. vittellus, the commonest and most variable species of the group, and very similar to some European forms. From the unity of the group, and its connection with the rest of the genus at one point only, it is natural to infer its common origin; but it seems hardly probable that this origin should have been by way of Australia, or representatives would have been found there, as they are universally elsewhere. Nine species belong to the peculiar and very distinct genus Diptychophora; besides these there are as yet only four other species of the genus known, three being from South America, and the fourth from Australia. The South American species are nearly allied to most of those inhabiting New Zealand, so that we have here another very clear illustration of the affinity between the fauna of South America and that of New Zealand, which is indicated in several other groups of animals and plants. Not much stress can be laid on the single Australian species, though it is of a rather peculiar type, differing markedly from any other. The remaining three species of the family are referable to three different genera, one of these being Thinasotia, very largely represented in Australia; the New Zealand species is very distinct, yet perceptibly allied to a Tasmanian species. The other two genera are endemic, and apparently form transitional links between Thinasotia and Diptychophora, so that they may perhaps be regarded as approaching in character the common progenitors of these two very distinct genera. In connection with the above may be noticed the entire absence of the large nearly-allied family of the Phycidæ, which occur