ClCINDELID/E AND CARABID/E 95 



San Francisco. The species are to be mutually distinguished more 

 by general habitus than special modifications of a structural nature 

 again as in Scarites. 



Feronia Group. 



About twenty-five years ago, the writer during a residence in 

 the Pacific districts, brought together a large amount of material 

 in Pterostichus and allied genera, including extended series of many 

 species, and, since that time, this collection has been considerably 

 augmented from all parts of the country. After identifying a 

 large proportion of the described species and confirming most of 

 the published synonymy, it is found that a very large part of this 

 material is still nondescript and it seems desirable that it should 

 be recorded in a systematic manner and the published types thus 

 rendered available for discussion and comparison in one of our 

 public museums. It is impossible to identify several of the species 

 of Mannerheim, Motschulsky and Chaudoir, and in case foreign 

 museums should be willing to lend such American museum the types 

 for study and observation, this direct comparison, which is the 

 only way to identify them, would forever banish the uncertainties 

 that have in great measure retarded progress and such synonymy 

 as might become evident could readily be recorded. It is hardly 

 advisable to cease all systematic work, merely because a consider- 

 able number of the older species cannot be identified and future 

 revelation of synonymy can do no great harm. 



The genera erected by LeConte at the expense of Pterostichus, as 

 it exists in America (Proc. Acad. Phila., 1873, p. 302) are in my 

 opinion all valid, the weakest perhaps being Holciophorus. I would 

 modify the scope of the latter genus in such a way as to make the 

 peculiar habitus, which distinguishes ater from the other Ptero- 

 stichids, its principal raison d'etre, excluding therefore serripes, 

 which has the facies of planctus and tarsalis, and include with ater 

 the morionides, of Chaudoir, which has precisely the habitus of 

 ater and is principally distinguished therefrom by the unique and 

 highly specialized tarsi, the form of the latter not being suggested 

 by the tarsi of tarsalis, included with morionides in our lists as a 

 distinct genus Hammatomerus Chaud. The three examples of 

 tarsalis at hand, taken on the shores of Lake Tahoe, have a facies 



