HYDROPHILUS. HYDROPHIL. 
Generic Character. 
A «feww<^clavato-perfoliat0e. 
Pedes postici villosi, iiata- 
torii. 
Antennce clavate-perfoliate. 
Hind-Legs villose, formed 
for swimming. 
JL H IS genus differs from that of Dytiscus only 
in the structure of the antennae, which, instead of 
being setaceous, are short, and furnished with a 
clavated and p'erfoliated tip or knob. 
The principal European species, which is not 
an uncommon insect in our own country, is the 
Ilydrophilus piceus, perhaps the largest of the 
British Coleoptera, if we except the Lucanus 
Cervns; measuring nearly an inch and half in 
length. It is entirely black, and of a smooth sur- 
face, and is particularly distinguished by the form 
of its thorax, which is produced beneath into a 
very long and sharp-pointed spine, stretching to 
a considerable distance down the abdomen: the 
hind-legs are furnished on each side with strong, 
but very fine hairs, as in the Dytisci, which the 
animal resembles in its manners. It is a native 
of stagnant waters, where its larva is principally 
