HISTERID.E 229 



and especially propygidial, sculpture; it resembles fluviatilis in 

 the latter respect but, besides the entire fourth dorsal, it differs 

 from that species in the much longer outer pronotal stria. 



Phelister Mars. 



The species of this genus are numerous and, although distributed 

 very widely throughout the world, are more essentially North and 

 South American. The East Indian species were separated by Mr. 

 Lewis under the subgeneric name Eblisia. While most of the struc- 

 tural characters are reproduced in aberrant species coming under 

 the generic complex known as Hister, there is one feature regarding 

 Phelister that distinguishes the species as a group apart from Hister 

 the size of the body. So uniformly small are all the forms of 

 Phelister known to me, when compared with even the smallest of 

 true Hister, that this apparently trivial character becomes one of 

 generic significance. The North American species in my collection 

 may be separated very clearly by the following tabular statement :* 



Color black or piceous, nubilously reddish on the elytra as a rule 2 



Color metallic green or aeneous; elytra punctate apically; anterior tibial 



denticles widely spaced distally II 



2 Elytra not punctulate 3 



Elytra, as well as the pronotum, very finely punctulate throughout. .10 



3 Elytra with five entire dorsal striae, the fifth barely traceable basally 



in sayi and simplex, outer subhumeral alone visible and only toward 



apex 4 



Elytra with four entire dorsal striae, the fifth and sutural abbreviated 



basally; pronotum not punctulate medially 6 



4 Disk of the pronotum finely punctulate throughout, with the usual 

 larger scattered punctures toward the sides, which however are in 

 this case notably small; elytral striae fine as in subrotundus, but with 

 the fifth obsolescent basally, with a more distinct basal foveola; 

 outer subhumeral extremely fine and faint; stria of the inflexed 

 sides coarse, deep and subentire; lateral thoracic stria fine, broadly 

 inwardly arcuate at apex; propygidium finely, sparsely punctate; 

 prosternal striae slightly diverging posteriorly, parallel anteriorly; 

 body very small in size, colored as in subrotundus. Length 1.4 mm.; 

 width 0.95 mm. Alabama (Mobile). A single example . .sayi Cam. 

 Disk of the pronotum faintly punctulate, without trace of the usual 

 lateral stria of the preceding and following forms, having merely 

 the extremely fine marginal stria, and lacking also any trace of the 



* The species from this point onward have the striae behind the humeri, or on the 

 upper part of the flanks, feebly developed as a rule, so that neither has much close 

 relationship with the humeri. When they exist at all, I have therefore called them 

 subhumeral striae the outer and inner, as either or both may be evident. 



