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Volume 51, Number 2
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purchased a book in this price range that did not disappoint—usually such books are all fluff and no content. At twice the price, Mariposas de Chiapas would be a bargain.
JOHN A. SHUEY, The Nature Conservancy, 1330 West 38th Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208, USA.
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 51(2), 1997, 193-194
Carcasson's African Butterflies: An Annotated Catalogue of the Papil-ionoidea and Hesperioidea of the Afrotropical Region, edited by P. R. Ackery, C. R. Smith, and R. I. Vane-Wright. 1995. CSIRO Publications, ix + 803 pp., 300 black-and-white photographs. Hardcover, 27.5 x 21.0 cm, ISBN 0-643-05561-4. $150. (In North America, order from ISBN, 5602 NE Hassalo Street, Portland, OR 97213-3640.)
Upon first glimpse of the title, one may ask: "Who is this fellow Carcasson, and which are his African butterflies?" The answers to these questions (and many others) are found on the first few introductory pages of this handsome book. Bob Carcasson was an English-born entomologist who spent a considerable portion of his highly productive career in Africa, studying the Lepidoptera of that continent. A draft manuscript prepared by Carcasson over 25 years ago was the nucleus upon which this extremely thorough treatment was built. The final product is the result of the masterful editorship and knowledge of three outstanding British lepidopterists—P. Ackery, C. Smith, and R. Vane-Wright.
This annotated (and illustrated) catalogue represents the first comprehensive treatment of the butterfly fauna (Papilionoidea and Herperioidea) of any large tropical region. Carcasson defined the Afrotropical Region (equivalent to the Ethiopian Region of other authors) on the basis of zoogeography rather than political boundaries; hence, the butterflies of North African countries such as Morocco, Libya, and Egypt are not included. The catalogue includes over 3600 species representing a whopping 20% of the world's butterfly fauna. (Among the major faunal realms, the Afrotropical Region supports the third richest butterfly fauna, following the Neotropical with approximately 7900 species and the Oriental with approximately 4100 species.) A representative of each of the 300 genera treated is illustrated in a life-sized, black-and-white photograph at the beginning of each generic treatment. The catalogue includes all generic, specific, and infraspecific names of the butterflies of the region, organized in a highly usable fashion. Families, subfamilies, and genera are arranged phylogenetically, with species names arranged alphabetically under each genus. There are about 14000 names in the catalogue, including all described species, synonyms, forms, etc.
Under each species citation is a reference to the original description and brief notes on its distribution. Where known, information on host plants and other biological features is summarized.
The text of the book begins with a brief introduction and a section on general butterfly biology in the Afrotropical Region. Next there is an extensive gazetteer, which is particularly useful given the instability of place names in Africa over the past 50 years. Following is a section on biogeography that is an updated and slightly modified version of one of Carcasson's most influential publications—A preliminary survey of the zoogeography of African butterflies. The next 620 pages are dedicated to the catalogue itself. The book includes a comprehensive index and an up-to-date bibliography on African butterflies.
There is little to criticize in this beautifully produced work. My only complaint is that there seems to be a considerable amount of wasted space. Numerous pages are only half-filled with text, and a few have only two or three lines. (This is an extremely trivial complaint for such a large work.)
In summary, Carcasson's African Butterflies is an extremely thorough, well-organized, highly usable catalogue of the butterflies of the Afrotropical Region. The introductory ma-
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terial and illustrations enhance considerably its usefullness and value. The book should have a wide appeal to professionals and amateurs interested in any aspect of the butterflies or zoogeography of the Afrotropical Region.
JOHN W. BROWN, Systematic Entomology Laboratory, ARS, PSI, USD A, c/o National Museum of Natural History, MRC 168, Washington, DC 20560, USA.