TENEBRIONID^E 91 



in fact no close affinity of any kind between the Microschatia 

 group, containing Pycnonotida, Microschatia and one or two other 

 genera as yet undescribed, and Pactostoma, but this scarcely seems 

 to warrant the course suggested by Dr. Horn in making Astrotus 

 and Pactostoma a group apart, for Pactostoma is a form in some 

 respects transitional between Astrotus and the more normal Asidids, 

 in having the mentum slightly separated from the closed mandibles 

 and resting upon a rudimentary, though evident, gular pedestal, of 

 which there is no trace in Astrotus. 



The species and subspecies in the neighborhood of incequalis 

 are numerous but difficult to separate on expressible characters, 

 though clearly distinct under actual comparison; they have been 

 overlooked thus far and disregarded as accidental variations of 

 incequalis; those known to me have the following differential char- 

 acters : 



Upper surface wholly or in great part rugose 2 



Upper surface smooth or nearly so, the pronotum not muricate 8 



2 Pronotum densely and strongly muricate 3 



Pronotum variolately punctate 7 



3 Sides of the prothorax very rapidly converging anteriorly, the apex 



seldom more than one-half the maximum width 4 



Sides of the prothorax but little more converging anteriorly than pos- 

 teriorly, the apex two-thirds the maximum width 6 



4 Abdomen less coarsely and more closely punctate, with the interspaces 

 not more or less shining but densely opaque and minutely sculp- 

 tured; prothorax distinctly wider than the elytra in the male. Body 

 moderate in size, the minute hairs blackish; head coarsely punctate, 

 very densely so toward base; antennae as long as the prothorax, the 

 latter one-half wider than long, the sides strongly rounded, the apex 

 barely one-half the maximum width, evenly convex, feebly concavo- 

 explanate laterally, finely, strongly and very densely muricato- 

 punctate throughout, the basal impression deep, with an oval flat 

 space at its bottom on the hind margin punctureless; hind angles 

 very obtuse but scarcely at all blunt; apex sinuate, the angles slightly 

 blunt; elytra scarcely more than two-fifths longer than wide and 

 one-half longer than the prothorax, oval, the sculpture of each 

 resolvable into two coarse discal ridges, having their slopes deeply, 

 subtransversely gullied and the line of their crests finely sinuous; 

 fine granules strong except near the suture; legs closely, muricately 

 punctate; abdomen (d 71 ) not impressed basally. Length (cf ) 12.5- 

 13.0 mm.; width of prothorax 6.7 mm., of elytra 6.2 mm. Southern 



California (locality not recorded) laxicollis n. sp. 



Abdomen coarsely and rather sparsely punctate, with the interspaces 

 rather shining, the prothorax not obviously wider than the elytra 

 in either sex 5 



