Staphylinidce of the Amazon Vallei/. 45 



EriPEDA. 



Tills genus has recently been established and named by 

 Rey, to express the Aleochara jAana, Gyll., and Ilomalotz 

 arcana, Er. The first of these species (the second I do 

 not know) certainly cannot be associated with the Homa- 

 lotcB, on account of the 4-jointed intermediate tarsi; and 

 it appears to me probable that Key is correct in placing 

 Epipeda near Placusa. The two species of the genus 

 here described, depart somcAvhat in their structure from the 

 Aleochara plana, and apparently approximate to Dlestota. 

 Indeed the relationship of Diestota with Epipeda seems to 

 me to be probably (for I do not know the D. Mayeti) much 

 closer than is suggested by Rey, who places the two 

 genera in different " rameaux," on account of the separation 

 of the middle cox^ in the one {Diestota) and their conti- 

 guity in the other {Epipeda) ; it is precisely in this cha- 

 racter that the two species, here described as Epipeda, 

 depart from the European species of the genus, and appear 

 to exhibit the connecting links with Diestota. I may add 

 that Dr. Trail also brought back an insect which I can 

 scarcely class with either of the two genera, for the middle 

 cox£e are widely separated, Avhile the gena3 are very 

 strongly margined. I have unfortunately not been able 

 to describe this interesting species, as the only exponent 

 of it I have received has lost its elytra. 



1. Epipeda cava, n. sp. Linearis, subdepressa, opaca, 

 nigro-fusca, antennarum articulo primo pedibusque testa- 

 ceis; prothorace subquadrato, medio late, profimdeque 

 impresso ; abdomine segmentis 2 — 4 crebre subtiliter 

 punctatis, 5 et 6 fere impunctatis. Long. 1 lin. 



Allied to Homolata plana, but smaller, and with much 

 longer antennae. These are longer than head and thorax, 

 pitchy in colour, with the base paler; they are moderately 

 stout, and scarcely thickened tow\ards the apex ; 3rd joint 

 more slender than the 2nd, and scarcely so long ; 4 — 10 

 differing but little from one another; 4th longer than 

 broad, lOtli scarcely so long as it is broad ; last joint elon- 

 gate, quite twice as long as the two preceding together. 

 Head a little narrower than the thorax, formed as in 

 //. plana, the front a little depressed ; it is of a dark 

 colour, quite dull, punctuation quite indistinct. Thorax 

 about a third broader than long, shaped much as in H. 

 plana, dull, its punctuation very dense and indistinct, of a 



