The result of these comparisons is, that although Celebes is a single,
large island with only a few smaller ones closely grouped around it,
we must really consider it as forming one of the great divisions of the
Archipelago, equal in rank and importance to the whole of the Moluccan
or Philippine groups, to the Papuan islands, or to the Indo-Malay
islands (Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Malay peninsula). Taking those
families of insects and birds which are best known, the following table
shows the comparison of Celebes with the other groups of islands:--
PAPILIONIDAE AND HAWKS, PARROTS, AND
PERIDAE PIGEONS.
Percent of peculiar Percent of peculiar
Species. Species.
Indo-Malay region.... 56.......... 54
Philippine group .... 66.......... 73
Celebes......... 69.......... 60
Moluccan group ..... 52.......... 62
Timor group....... 42.......... 47
Papuan group ...... 64.......... 74
These large and well-known families well represent the general character
of the zoology of Celebes; and they show that this island is really one
of the most isolated portions of the Archipelago, although situated in
its very centre.
But the insects of Celebes present us with other phenomena more curious
and more difficult to explain than their striking individuality.
The butterflies of that island are in many cases characterised by a
peculiarity of outline, which distinguishes them at a glance from those
of any other part of the world. It is most strongly manifested in the
Papilios and the Pieridae, and consists in the forewings being either
strongly curved or abruptly bent near the base, or in the extremity
being elongated and often somewhat hooked. Out of the 14 species of
Papilio in Celebes, 13 exhibit this peculiarity in a greater or less
degree, when compared with the most nearly allied species of the
surrounding islands. Ten species of Pieridae have the same character,
and in four or five of the Nymphalidae it is also very distinctly
marked. In almost every case, the species found in Celebes are much
larger than those of the islands westward, and at least equal to those
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