390 Coleopterological Notices. 



densely punctate, the pnnctui-es finer, elongate and tending to coalesce longi- 

 tudinally, finer, much sparser and more rounded near the middle ; side-margin 

 very fine and acute, not distinctly reflexed. Elijtra nearly as in ohesns but 

 more finely punctate, each puncture bearing a very minute seta. Abdomen 

 finely and sparsely punctate. Length 5.8-G.8 mm. ; width 2.9-3.4 mm, 



Montana (Helena). Mr. Wickham. 



The elytral setjB in this species are exceecJingly minute, robust 

 and pointed, subrecumbent, and do not project much beyond the 

 external edge of the puncture. It resembles obesus very much, but 

 may be distinguished not only by the character of the vestiture, but 

 by the different punctuation. 



Tenebrionin^. 



The fundamental characters upon which the various tribes of this 

 great subfamily are at present based, seem to be unsatisfactory to 

 a considerable degree, and yet the difBculties involved in striving to 

 present a series of genera in linear form, which can no more lend 

 themselves to such treatment than the stars disseminated through 

 the firmament, is of course insurmountable. If, however, our 

 own genera are difficult of taxonomical arrangement, the European 

 genera are still more so, and are in a condition of decidedly unstable 

 equilibrium. 



It is evident that one source of' confusion may be the tenacious 

 retention, as a tribal character, of the sexual modification of the 

 anterior tarsus. Our own genera of Blapstini prove conclusively 

 that this is of no value whatever, either in the separation of tribes 

 or of genera, as it is subject to complete extinction even in Blap- 

 stinus itself, as will be shown under that genus. Relegating this 

 very alluring but misleading character to the background therefore, 

 I believe it is possible, by giving greater prominence to other well 

 known but insufficiently appreciated characters, to bring about a 

 more harmonious grouping of the genera. 



In examining the table on page 372 of the recent classification of 

 LeConte and Horn, which is essentially a repetition of that given 

 by LeConte in the first edition, we discover several inconsistencies, 

 as follows : — 



1 The character relating to the dilatation of the head, in separat- 

 ing tribes Y and VI from I-IV, is evidently of no importance, as 

 in tribe Y the head in Opatrinus is not as prominent at the sides as 

 in Argoporis, and many other exceptions might be cited. 



