BY THOMAS G. SLOANE. 225 



both in rathei' an imperfect state, so that it is impossible to 

 examine them as thoroughly as one could wish ; they appear to 

 be both males, having only one setigerous puncture on each side 

 of the anus ; in both the tarsi are not spongiose below. A more 

 thorough examination of both sexes may show that this species 

 should be removed from Promecoderus, but at present I prefer to 

 leave it in that genus. There is an undescribed allied species in 

 the Australian Museum, but the specimens are too old to describe 

 satisfactorily ; there is also a specimen in Sir William Macleay's 

 collection which represents a new species. These specimens are 

 from Western Australia. 



Promecoderus gracilis. 



P. gracilis, Germ. I.e. p. 169; Anheterus gracilis, Putz. Stett. 

 Eat. Zeit. 1868, p. 345 ; P. parvulus, Macl. I.e. p. 331. 



A well known species which it would serve no useful purpose to 

 redescribe. M. Putzeys founded a new genus Ariheterus for P. 

 gracilis, on account of the ^ having no spongiose tissue on the 

 underside of the joints of the anterior tarsi. In all other respects it 

 agrees with Promecoderus, and, as that genus stands at present, I 

 think this an insufficient reason for subdividing it. In any case, 

 as genera can merely be looked upon as arbitrary assemblages of. 

 species, if we apply hard and fast rules in their definition it is apt 

 to lead specialists into an endless number of generic divisions that 

 causes the binomial system to become almost as cumbrous as that 

 it supplanted, and tends to completely bewilder all who do not 

 devote a laborious and wearying research into the intricacies of 

 nomenclature. 



I cannot separate P. parvulus Macl. from P. gracilis, and have 

 therefore been compelled to regard them as identical. 



Hah. — N. S. Wales (Mulwala, Wagga Wagga, Bathurst, (fee), 

 and South Australia. 



Genus Cerotalis. 



Cerotalis, Casteln. I.e. p. 175. 



By M. Putzeys, Count de Castelnau's genus Cerotalis has been 



looked upon as merely a division of Promecoderus, but I think it 

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