70 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 



A Review of T. L. Casey's Reasons for Striking Certain Spe- 

 cies of Coleoptera from the American-Asiatico-European 

 Catalogue. 



By JOHN HAMILTON, M.D. 



Conurus (Conosoma) pubescens Payk. was placed as one of 

 the species common to the two hemispheres in the first edition 

 of the catalogue of the Coleoptera common to these regions on 

 the authority of investigations made by Dr. Horn and others, 

 and on the authority of comparisons made by myself with sev- 

 eral Swedish examples. There seemed no difference whatever, 

 except a little tendency in the Swedish to color variation. Mr. 

 A. Fauvel published a French edition inserting pubescens and 

 extending its American distribution. Now comes T. L. Casey, 

 in Coleopterological Notices No. vi, recently published, with the 

 announcement that pubescens is not American. This is done on 

 the strength of a comparison with what he says are well authen- 

 ticated European types. From what is said of these types they 

 probably belong to an extreme variety known in Europe as crp- 

 ticola, which is in my collection, and which is so different in as- 

 pect from pubescens as to be readily convertible into a new species 

 by any one on the lookout for such opportunities. The weight 

 of the evidence is not favorable to Mr. Casey's view. 



Anthicus basillaris Say. Mr. Casey, in the work cited, 

 unites this with floralis Linn, placed in his new genus Hemantus. 

 I fell into the same error in the first edition of the catalogue re- 

 ferred to, as it was considered at that time to be the 9 of floralis. 

 In the French edition Mr. A. Fauvel rectified the error and 

 added basillaris to the list of common species, uniting with it 

 quisquilius Thorns. Since that time a new European catalogue 

 has made its appearance in which an older name, formicarius 

 Goeze, has been resurrected with which quisquilius has been 

 united, consequently carrying with it basillaris. The species 

 now stands in the Catalogue: A. formicarius Goeze, basillaris Say. 



Any one conversant with Say's mode of describing will see at 

 once on turning to his description of basillaris that he had not 

 before him examples of floralis, as it is highly improbable he 

 would have- omitted so prominent a character as the two tuber- 

 cles on the apex of the thorax. Those not caring to adopt Mr. 

 Casey's genera will now find two species in Anthicus, each with 



