CUCUJIM; in 



Form cylindric though less elongate than in bicolor and much smaller than 

 in crqiialis, pale testaceous in color throughout above and beneath; 

 integuments polished; head evidently narrower than the thoracic 

 apex, shining, feebly impressed medially at apex; punctures widely 

 separated and unusually elongate, gradually smaller anteriorly; 

 eyes unusually small, scarcely at all convex, transverse, rounded 

 above, truncate behind; antennae rather short, the club parallel as 

 usual, more ochreous internally, the tenth joint not quite twice as 

 wide as long; under surface nearly smooth, the rugose area at apex 

 unusually small; prothorax longer than wide but differing in outline 

 from that of other species, wider at apex than at base, the apical 

 angles sharply defined and the basal just visibly subprominent, the 

 sides broadly and feebly angulate at the middle, elsewhere straight; 

 punctures well separated, moderately strong; scutellum small, 

 tumid, narrowly oval; elytra rather more than twice as long as the 

 prothorax, as wide as the apex of the latter but broader than the 

 base, sculptured nearly as in bicolor; abdomen cylindrically convex, 

 with sparse and very moderate punctures posteriorly, becoming 

 larger but not dense basally; posterior legs much smaller than the 

 anterior. Length 4.8-5.0 mm.; width i.o-i.i mm. California 

 (probably the coast regions) polita n. sp. 



The description of (zqiialis is translated from the original; the 

 type was sent to Reitter by Dohrn and the locality may not be 

 absolutely correct, but it "ist angeblich aus Californien" ; it is 

 materially larger in size than either of the other California species 

 described above. The synonymy given in our check-list is of course 

 incorrect; it is simply an easy way to overcome an uncertainty, 

 though scarcely just by any liberal code of ethics. I think, however, 

 that nigretta and teres of Melsheimer, may prove to be the sexes of a 

 single species although the difference in size is greater than usual, 

 in which case the former would become a synonym of the latter; 

 it seems to be extremely rare. The measurements of that author 

 are sometimes unreliable (see Mem. Col., V, p. 163). 



CUCUJIM: 



This family exemplifies in a peculiarly cogent way, the difficulties 

 in the way of defining homogeneous family groups among the so- 

 called Clavicornia. In the assemblage of incongruities now known 

 as the Cucujidae, we have a very variable degree of inclosure of the 

 anterior acetabula by the sternal pieces, and the tarsi are extremely 

 inconstant in structure, some genera having a joint less in the hind 

 tarsi of the male as in Monotoma and Rhizophagus, while others 

 have uniformly 4 or 5-jointed tarsi throughout. Again, the antennae 



