B9^ Mr. J. Hardy on new British Coleoptera. 



destitute of punctures, and tlie sides carry only a few ; in the fe- 

 male the thorax is subquadrate, the punctures are more thickly 

 disposed upon the sides and likewise scattered over the disc ; the 

 male is distinctly tuberculated, while the clypeus in the female 

 is almost smooth. It may also be remarked, with reference to 

 A. ferrestris and ^. melanopuSj that the larger the specimen the 

 more obsolete becomes the puncturing, and the number of punc- 

 tures and their size augment in proportion as it approaches nearer 

 to the size of the female. Thus also we have, in the specimens 

 of A, suhalpinus from Prestwick Car, which are of the female size, 

 a combination of the male and female characters, a result that 

 may have been produced by their becoming dwarfed towards the 

 limit of their geographical range. In A. melanopus I find that 

 the character of the female thorax goes to oppose a portion .of 

 the specific character as drawn from the male, Mr. Stephens ha- 

 ving described that species as having the thorax rather finely and 

 sparingly punctured. Being in possession of a series of this spe- 

 cies, I shall venture to point out its characters with a slight de- 

 tail, to compare with that author's description. 



Aphodius melanopus, Kirby. 

 Steph. 111. Mand. iii. 198. lb. Manual, No. 1293. 

 Niger, nitidus, clypeo antice rugoso, postice Iseviore punctis minutis, 

 tuberculis tribus, duobus lateralibus antice linea curva conjunctis, 

 tuberculis in feminis minutis vel totis obsoletis, thorace maris sub- 

 rotundato tenue punctulato, feminse subquadrato punctis frequenti- 

 oribus majoribusque, utriusque linea media longitudinali leviter 

 depressa antice evanescehte, " elytris piceo-nigris apice pallidiore, 

 punctato-striatis," interstitiis parum elevatis, punctis intefstitiali- 

 bus perminutis, corpore subtus parce fulvo-pubescente, pedibus 

 nigris, tarsis dilutis. Long. corp. lin. 2 — 2^. 

 My specimens were taken at Prestwick Car in April, in Com- 

 pany with Mr. T. J. Bold of Newcastle. 



Aphodius uliginosus. Hardy. 

 Niger, nitidus, clypeo tuberculis tribus instructo, lateralibus minutis, 

 in femina omnino obsoletis, thorace sparsim punctate, anguiis 

 posterioribus rufis, elytris punctato-striatis, piceis, humeris apici- 

 busque rufis, pedibus nigris vel piceis. Long. corp. lin. 1| — 2. 

 Black, shining : clypeus narrower in front and slightly emar- 

 ginate ; hinder angles rather distinct, finely and somewhat di- 

 stantly punctured, bearing in front a very indistinct bent ridge 

 before which the surface is slightly depressed; there are three 

 tubercles on the crown, but excepting the middle one they are 

 very faint, and all three are obsolete in the female ; edge of the 

 clypeus usually red : antennse rufous at base ; club black or piceous 

 with ashy reflections : maxillary palpi piceous : thorax as broad as 



