186 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [June, 



first, that Ectatoderus is quite distinct from any North American 

 form which has been referred to it. The greatly elongate pronotum 

 of the male, covering by far the greater portion of the abdomen, is a 

 character found in none of our species, while the form of the caudal 

 metatarsus is quite distinctive. The second fact is that Mogoplistes 

 is equally unrepresented in our fauna, the reference of forms from 

 North America to this genus being due to the fact that no males were 

 examined by the authors of those species. In all such cases we have 

 examined the types and unquestionably identical males, these 

 examinations proving that the species are not at all related to Mogo- 

 plistes brunneus, the type of that genus. The third fact is that 

 " Cycloptilus" as understood by Saussure is not Cycloptilum Scudder, 

 the characters of the pronotum, palpi and limbs being very different. 

 This misinterpretation was doubtless due to a certain amount of 

 vagueness in Scuclder's original description, but much uncertainty 

 as to what characters were really diagnostic of Cycloptilum resulted 

 from Saussure's error. The latter's key to the genera of the group 17 

 contained two groups of very misleading characters; first, the 

 division or non-division of the interantennal protuberance, and second, 

 the elongate caudal metatarsus with its non-sulcate and non-serrate 

 dorsum in "Cycloptilus.'' The former feature is of considerable 

 value as a major section in a generic key, but as that vertical division 

 is represented more or less clearly in a few genera by a sulcus, or in 

 several by a decided deep incision, it is necessary to qualify the word 

 "division." Saussure is completely in error in the characters which 

 he gives for Cycloptilum, the typical material of the type of the genus 

 being very different in these features. 18 The emphasis placed on 

 these two sets of characters was responsible for the present authors 

 describing Liphoplus zebra as a member of that genus, when it is 

 really a Cycloptilum. The presence of a weak but apparent sulcus 

 on the face, and the sulcate and serrate metatarsus easily ran the 

 species into the genus Liphoplus as placed in Saussure's key. 



Material Excmiined.—h\ the preparation of the present work the 

 types of the following species have been before us : 



• Cryptoptilum hesperum n. sp. 

 (Mogosiplistus slossoni Scudder, synonym of Cryptoptilum antil- 

 larwn Redtenbacher.) 



* 



17 Melang. Orth., II, p. 456. 



18 Davis (Jour. X. Y. Ent. Soc, XVII, p. 187, 1909) correctly analyzed the 

 mistakes of previous authors and properly presented the evidence of the type 

 of Cycloptilum squamosum. 



