40 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE 



prove the circular and quinarian arrangement ; but we main- 

 tain that nature is, in this work of Mr. MacLeay, repeatedly 

 violated. Any one, for instance, unprejudiced by system, 

 would at once see that Platygenia is of far higher rank than 

 Valgus, — that in fact it is equal, in its characters, to the four 

 united sub-genera Osmoderma, Valgus, Trichius, and Cam- 

 pulipus. Hence we consider that three additional genera at 

 least ought to be added to the family as extended by Mr. 

 MacLeay, namely, Platygenia, Cryptodus, and Goliathus. — 

 With respect to the sections and sub-sections of the sub- ge- 

 nera we have a similar remark to make. If we take the low- 

 est of these groups, we find for instance, two well-marked 

 groups, Trigonophora and Jumnos, regarded as sub-sections. 

 Now the character of these two sub-sections of sections of 

 sub-genera, as they are tenned by Mr. MacLeay, have been 

 given by Mr. Hope, in his recently-published * Coleopterists' 

 Manual,' and are as strong even as those of the sub-genera 

 themselves separated by Mr. MacLeay from the genus Ma- 

 crominus. It is not difficult to prove that an equality of rank 

 is not maintained in the sub-genera, sections, and sub-sections 

 throughout. In the genus Cetoninus the sub-sections of the 

 sections of the sub-genus Cetonia are of very varied charac- 

 ter ; for instance, the sub-sections of the section Typicce are 

 so closely allied that they are only distinguished by colour, 

 C. aurata andfastuosa being types of two of these sub-sec- 

 tions, between which the relation is as close as possible. In 

 the Trichioidece we have the sub-sections characterised from 

 their geographical range, and thus the two equally allied spe- 

 cies C. capensis and stictica are placed in different sub-sec- 

 tions. The sub-sections however of the Cremastocheilideous 

 and Polybapheous sections of the sub-genus Cetonia are cha- 

 racterised by structural peculiarities, they must therefore be 

 evidently of higher rank than those distinguished merely by 

 colour. 



Mr. MacLeay will perhaps assert that he is correct in his 

 views, because Cetonia being the most complete in the num- 

 ber of its species, he is in that sub-genus best able to seize the 

 plan of the natural system ; but this will apply equally in con- 

 demnation of the application of his principles in other groups, 

 and even in working out this very sub-genus : thus if the spe- 

 cies composing " CETONINUS ; Cetonia, Typica? be so 

 close that no better character than colour can be found to 

 separate them into a required number of sub-sections, we 

 ought to consider that the same proximity would also exist 

 in every other group, if we knew all its species as fully as 

 those of the Typicce are known ; and hence, for want of a 



