a Family of Coleopterous hisects. 6ll 



posed this natural resemblance to consist, since I can scarcely 

 conceive that these insects are more nearly allied to Clerus than 

 they are to Cerocoma. Swederus was equally distant from their 

 true affinities, when he considered Cerapterus as intermediate 

 between Silpha and Hispa ; but the legitimate study of affinities 

 was in the days of these authors in its infancy. 



Latreille, in the Histoire Naturelle Spc. vol. xi. p. 206. "profitant 

 de quelques rapports naturels qu'ont ces insectes avec les Scolites, 

 les Bost7'iches, les Cis," adds, " J'avois soupfonne qu'on devoit 

 r6unir les uns et les autres dans une meme famille. De nouvelles 

 considerations ont confirme ce sentiment, et malgre que les or- 

 ganes de la manducation des Paitsses different de ceux des Sco- 

 lites, on voit cependant qu'il y a entre eux une grande affinite." 



He accordingly places Paitssus immediately between the Cur- 

 culionidce and the genus Scolijfus (a location by no means tena- 

 ble), forming the genera Pamsus, Scoli/tus (including the modern 

 groups Scoli/tus, Tomicus, liylesinus and Hylurgus'), Platypus and 

 Phloiotribus, into the family Scolitaires; the genera Bostri- 

 chus, Cis and Cerylon, into that of Bostiuchini ; and the genera 

 Colydium, l^emosoma, Bitoma, Lyctus, Latridius, Silvanus, Trogo- 

 sita, Meryx and Mycetophagus, into the family Xylophagi. In 

 the Genera Crustacearum SfC. the family Paussili was established 

 and placed between the Scolitaires and the Xylophagi ; which 

 latter family was made to include the Bostrichini as well as the 

 genera of which it was previously composed. In the Considera- 

 tions Ghi6rales the Paussidce were properly still further removed 

 from the Scolitaires, being placed between the Bostrichini (in- 

 cluding both the Scolitaires and the Bostrichini) and the Xylo- 

 phagi of the Histoire Naturelle. In the Regne Animal, Families 

 Naturelles, and 2nd edition of the Regne Animal, all these genera 

 and families are formed into one great family group, under the 

 name of Xylophagi, by which Latreille endeavours, but as it 



appears 



