Casey — Observations on the Staphylinidae. 211 



humeri and apex flavate ; two basal ventrals bright red, the legs pale 

 honey -yellow, the antennae fuscous, pale toward base; pubescence not 

 conspicuous; head rounded, polished, scarcely perceptibly puuctulate, 

 not impressed, antennae nearly attaining the middle of the elytra, 

 moderately incrassate distally, the second joint evidently longer than 

 the third, the subapical joints not quite as long as wide; prothorax 

 rather small, a fifth wider than long, very slightly wider than the head, 

 the sides broadly, evenly rounded anteriorly to the apex, which is much 

 narrower than the base, and feebly convergent and nearly straight from 

 before the middle to the base; surface almost evenly convex, not im- 

 pressed along the median line but with a very small and feeble rounded 

 impression before the middle of the base; puuctulation extremely 

 minute and not very close; elytra about two-fifths wider and longer 

 than the prothorax, finely but closely, asperately punctulate, the humeri 

 rather well exposed; abdomen nearly parallel, much narrower than the 

 elytra but unusually little narrowed from near the apex to the base; 

 hind tarsi much shorter than the tibiae, the basal joint about as long as 

 the next two together; sixth ventral with a small and rather shallow, 

 subangulate emarginatiou at tip. Female not at hand. Length 2.7 mm. ; 

 width 0.6 mm. Texas (Del Rio), — H. F. Wickham. ..ornatella n. sp. 

 Form slightly more slender, much more convex, the prothorax relatively 

 much larger and the abdomen very much more strongly narrowed 

 toward base, feebly shining; prothorax and two basal ventrals pale, the 

 head and elytra throughout dark rufo-piceous, the remainder of the 

 abdomen black; legs pale honey-yellow, the antennae fuscous, pale 

 basally; punctures minute and very close-set throughout, subgranu- 

 liform on the head and pronotum, the interstices polished on the latter, 

 asperate on the elytra, excessively minute throughout on the abdomen 

 except in the basal depressions; pubescence very close, pale through- 

 out, giving a pruinose effect. Male with the head moderate, obliquely 

 and rapidly narrowed at base, convex, not impressed, the antennae 

 short, feebly incrassate, but litt'e longer than the head and prothorax, 

 the three basal joints rapidly diminishing in length, the subapical 

 scarcely as long as wide; prothorax about a fifth wider than long, dis- 

 tinctly wider than the head, the sides rounded anteriorly, thence just 

 visibly converging and broadly, feebly sinuate to the base, convex, 

 scarcely perceptibly and narrowly impressed along the median line 

 posteriorly; elytra nearly as long as wide, convex, about a fourth 

 wider and longer than the prothorax, narrowly impressed on the suture 

 behind the scutellum, the humeri very narrowly exposed; legs very 

 slender, the basal joint of the hind tarsi much elongated though 

 scarcely as long as the next two combined ; sixth ventral very broadly 

 and feebly sinuate at tip. Female resembling the male in size, colora- 

 tion, general form, sculpture and vestiture but with the head relatively 

 slightly smaller and the prothoi'ax somewhat shorter and more trans- 

 verse, both finely reticulate in addition to the punctures and conse- 

 qhently slightly duller in lustre, the latter broadly and deeply impressed 

 along the median line, except at apex and more briefly at base, the sixth 

 ventral broadly rounded at tip. Length 2.4 mm. ; width 0.52 mm. Cali- 

 fornia (Yuma) arlda n . sp. 



