PLATYSTETHUS.—OXYTELUS. 687 
insects, living in very muddy places, and are not likely to be captured by casual collectors. 
About thirty species are known, including one from North America, and one from 
South America; both these latter have been met with in our region. 
1. Platystethus americanus. 
Platysthetus americanus, Er. Gen. et Spec. Staph. p. 784. 
Hab. Norra America, Pennsylvania and Virginia 1.—Mexico, Guanajuato (Sallé). 
We have received only one female, but I have no doubt about its determination. 
2. Platystethus obscurus. 
Niger, nitidus ; elytris piceis, pedibus testaceis; capite prothoraceque parce obsoleteque punctatis, hoc canaliculato, 
illo vertice utrinque impresso. 
Long. 2 millim. 
Hab. Mexico, Guanajuato (Sallé). 
Of this obscure little insect we have only received females. P. obscurus appears to 
be about equally allied to P. americanus and P. spiculus, from the former of which it 
is distinguished by the existence of a short deep depression on either side of the vertex 
(this depression is a little curvate and longitudinal in its direction, and being placed 
at a little distance from the eye gives rise to an appearance of aslight elevation between 
it and the eye), and another close to the inner margin of the eye; in P. spiculus there 
is a third stria between the two just mentioned, and punctuation can hardly be detected 
on the surface. 
3. Platystethus spiculus. (Tab. XVIII. fig. 9.) 
Platysthetus spiculus, Kr. Gen. et Spec. Staph. p. 784’. 
Hab. Guatemata, San Gerénimo, Quezaltenango 7800 feet (Champion); Panama, 
Bugaba, Volcan de Chiriqui 4000 to 6000 feet (Champion).—VENEZUELA, Caracas 1. 
OXYTELUS. 
Oxytelus, Gravenhorst, Micr. p. 101 (1802) ; Erichson, Gen. et Spec. Staph. p. 785 ; Leconte, Tr. 
Am. Ent. Soe. vi. p. 234. 
The unattractive insects of which this genus is composed are mostly of stercoraceous 
habits, and are but rarely secured by collectors in tropical countries. Notwithstanding 
this fact, more than one hundred species have been described, so there is no doubt that 
the members of this genus are very numerous. It is of almost universal distribution, 
and occurs from the Arctic regions to the equator; in the southern hemisphere few 
species have yet been obtained, except in Australia. 
