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Show 94 DR. F I N S C H O N A N E W SPECIES O F FRUIT-PIGEON. [Jan. 20, been given by Captain John Vine Hall*, whose interesting and instructive paper may be referred to for further information. In respect of animal life on Rapa, Capt. Vine Hall only tells us that wild goats are in abundance, as well as rats; of the birds ne says only, "there are a few fowls wild in the bush, some widgeon, and of course sea-gulls;" but he does not mention pigeons 1 am not aware whom we have to thank for the discovery of this remarkable Ptilonopus ; but I think I am not wrong in suspecting that the specimen was obtained during the period when the Panama and New-Zealand line of steamers was running. This line was stopped sometime ago; so that it will now be very difficult to get more specimens of this bird. . The geographical distribution of the Fruit-pigeons in the numerous islands of the Pacific is very interesting, and confirms the rule that insular regions produce a great quantity of species, peculiar in many cases to very small islands. Thus we find only Ptilonopus perousii generally distributed over the Central Polynesian island-groups, i. e. the Friendly, Navigators', and Feejee groups. •?'•/<«- ciatus, Peale, is found on the Feejees, Navigators', and the small island Uea of the Wallis group. All the other groups possess their peculiar species :-the Friendly Islands, Pt. porphyraceus, Forst. ; the Society Islands, Pt. purpuratus, Gmel., and Pt. chrysogaster, Gray; the Marquesas, Pt. mercieri, Des Murs, and Pt. dupetit-thouarsi, Neboux; the Paumotu group, Pt. coralensis, Peale; the Hervey (Cook) Islands, Pt. rarotongensis, H. & F., and the very unsatisfactorily known Pt. chalcurus, Gray ; the Pelews, Pt. pelew-ensis, H. & F.; the Mariannes, Pt. roseicapillus, Less. ; the New Hebrides and New Caledonia, Pt. grayi, Gray, and Pt. holoseri-ceus, Temm. Although some of these are nearly allied to each other, they are nevertheless valid species, which keep their distinctive characters always exact. At least, after a long acquaintance with most of them, I can declare that I have never found specimens which would lead to the belief that there exist intermediate forms between them. It must be remarked as a singular fact that in those island groups where two species occur, these are totally different and confined in their distribution to certain localities. Thus in the Society Islands we find Pt. purpuratus only on Tahiti, Pt. chrysogaster on Huaheine. As very prominent features in the geographical distribution of the genus Ptilonopus in the Pacific, we must further notice the total absence of Pigeons on the Sandwich Islands, and the occurrence of very peculiar species on certain remote and isolated islands. Thus the beautiful Chryscena victor, Gould, is confined to Taviumi, one of the smallest islands of the Feejee group, whereas Chryscena luteovirens, H . & J., lives in Viti-Levou and Ovalau, and now we learn that so small an island as Rapa produces one of the most remarkable species of the genus. In considering all these points we shall find it extremely difficult to explain what has caused such extraordinary phenomena * " On the Island of Rapa" in Trans, and Proceed, of the N. Z. Inst. vol. i. (1869), pp. 128-134. |