STAPHYLIXID.-E. 105 



basally and with the reticulation a little larger than in au&nraUs, trans- 

 verse and irregular but not strigilate; head moderate, three-fourths as 

 wide as the prothorax, distinctly transverse, otherwise as in the preceding 

 throughout, the antennae nearly similar, relatively a little longer, the 

 second and third joints each much shorter than the first, the third very 

 little longer than the second, fourth slightly longer than wide, the fifth 

 about as long as wide, the outer joints evidently wider than long, the 

 last rather longer than the two preceding; prothorax moderate, two-fifths 

 wider than long, parallel and evenly, moderately rounded at the sides, 

 with a small transversely oval ante-scutellar impression; elytra moder- 

 ately transverse, with diverging and nearly straight sides, at base slightly, 

 at apex very much, wider, the suture slightly more than a fourth longer, 

 than the prothorax; abdomen nearly as wide as the elytra, parallel, 

 arcuately narrowing very slightly behind, the fifth tergite a little longer 

 than the fourth, the sixth (9 ) very broadly rounded at apex. Length 

 2.2 mm.; width 0.67 mm. District of Columbia. 



Allied to the last but smaller, the prothorax relatively smaller 

 and the head larger; also differing radically in the form of the 

 metasternal projection, which is here much longer, narrower and 

 acutely angulate, as is generally the case in this section. 



The remaining species here assigned to typical Atheta, inhabit 

 the very broken country west of the Rocky Mountains and hold 

 together rather homogenously, having the general facies of prolata, 

 innocens, reticula and other similar forms. These western species, 

 many of which are structurally aberrant, differ from the eastern, 

 as a class, in their larger size, stouter build and darker colors, the 

 small slight pallid eastern forms of the gnoma type being unrepre- 

 sented there as far as known, another evidence of the radical 

 difference between the Atlantic and Pacific coast faunas in general. 

 This evident incongruity of the two Athetid faunas results directly, 

 in all probability, from the relative development of fungoid vege- 

 tation in the two regions, the latter being more abundant and 

 diversified in the moister Atlantic region, and, in the northern 

 Pacific coast regions, the excessive rainfall of which would seem to 

 encourage extensive fungous growths, the fungus-eating Atlantic 

 species of the preceding types are largely replaced by the Boli- 

 tocharid genus Stictalia. 



The following ten species inhabit the coastal regions from San 

 Francisco Bay to San Diego: 



Atheta novicia n. sp. Not very stout, rather convex, strongly shining, 

 finely, not densely or very asperately punctate, finely and very sparsely 



