YII. — Coleopterological Notices. 

 II. 



BY THOMAS L. CASEY, 



Read October 6, 1S90. 



The greater part of the present paper is devoted to the Tenebri- 

 onidge, in an attempt to elucidate the more obscure portions of the 

 family as represented in the United States. The foundation for 

 this somewhat laborious work rests upon a large amount of mate- 

 rial, brought together by the writer during several years' residence 

 in California, supplemented and greatly increased in value by the 

 collections of the National Museum, which were placed in my 

 bands for study and identification through the liberality of Prof. 

 C. V. Riley. 



It gives me pleasure also to acknowledge my indebtedness to many 

 other friends for specimens which have still further augmented the 

 material, and consequently enhanced the utility of the systematic 

 revisions. Prominent among these are Messrs. H. F. Wickham, 

 E. A. Schwarz, and Wilhelm Jiilich. 



New York, August 11, 1890. 



Note. 



As generic and specific words are mere symbols for tlie designation of a 

 species, it seems desirable that they should be withdrawn as far as possible 

 from exceptions to general rules of grammar, and, that in this respect at least, 

 they should be treated in the abstract as mere aggregations of letters. The 

 rules of gender should be made uniform, so that generic symbols ending in a 

 certain manner shall demand a certain definite and invariable gender in the 

 specific symbol. 



Let us take, for instance, the word Adonis. To apply this word to a genus 



of beetles with any idea of its absolute meaning, would of course be absurd, 



and, if tliis be granted, there can be no tenable reason for regarding its gender 



as masculine and consequently exceptional to the general rule for words 



AsNALs N. y. Acad. Sci., V, Nov. 1890.— 21 



