PEDERALLUS.—ACTOBIUS. 457 
1. Peederallus fragilis. (Tab. XII. fig. 1.) 
Gracilis, subdepressus, nigricans ; capite thoraceque dense subtiliter punctatis, hoc linea mediali, angusta levi- 
gata; elytris subtiliter minus dense, abdomine ecrebrius, punctatis; pedibus fuscis. 
Long. 9-10 millim. 
Hab. Panama, Pefia Blanca 3000 to 4000 feet (Champion). 
Antenne reaching nearly to the extremity of the elytra ; the joints very elongate, each 
of the fourth to the tenth slightly more slender in the middle than at the base and apex. 
Head rather narrow, greatly rounded at the hind angles; the eyes not occupying half 
the sides; the surface closely punctate, without a smooth space. Thorax slender, much 
narrower than the elytra, narrowed behind, punctate like the head, but with a narrow 
smooth line along the middle. Scutellum densely but indistinctly punctate. Llytra 
black, rather shining, rather closely and finely but very distinctly punctate. Hind body 
acuminate at the apex, densely punctate, the punctuation rather coarse, especially at 
the bases of the segments. 
Three examples only have been found; they all have the front tarsi simple, and 
offer no indication of their sex; they are unfortunately in a condition of imperfect 
preservation. 
ACTOBIUS. 
Erichsonius, Fauvel, Faune Gal.-rhen. iii. p. 427 (nom. preoc.). 
Actobius, Fauvel, idem Supp. p. 72. 
Bisnius, Thoms. (nec Leach) Skand. Col. ii. p. 168; Rey, Col. Fr. Staphyliniens, p. 489. 
This genus comprises about forty species, and has a wide distribution in each hemi- 
sphere, but is probably more numerous in species in the New World than in the Old, 
Dr. Horn having just discriminated twenty-three species in the North-American fauna. 
These insects are of riparial habits, frequenting the margins of streams and moist places ; 
they are all of small size, and the species are frequently extremely similar and difficult 
to distinguish. Hence it will probably prove the case that some species that have been 
supposed to be found in widely separated localities have been incorrectly identified. 
1. Actobius fortis. 
Major, nigerrimus, nitidus, femoribus basi fuscescentibus ; capite thoraceque crebrius fortiter punctatis, nitidulis ; 
elytris crebrius minus subtiliter punctatis, nitidulis, vix perspicue subchalybeis. 
Long. 74 millim. 
Hab. Panama, Volcan de Chiriqui 4000 to 6000 feet, Bugaba 800 to 1500 feet 
(Champion). 
Antenne slender, black, the penultimate joint slightly longer than broad. Head 
very distinctly punctate, with only an extremely small space on the middle smooth. 
Thorax quite straight at the sides, punctured like the head, with a narrow sharply 
defined space along the middle smooth. 
BIOL. CENTR.-AMER., Coleopt., Vol. I. Pt. 2, May 1885. 3 NN 
