294 AMERICAN PACHYBRACHYS (cOLEOPTERA) 



Origin of the genus Pachybrachys 



A glance at the literature of the subject shows that there 

 exists a considerable difference of opinion as to whom the genus 

 Pachybrachys should be accredited. American students, follow- 

 ing without question the lead of Dr. LeConte, seem to have been 

 unanimous in writing Pachybrachys Chevrolat. Jacoby, in the 

 Biologia, gives Suffrian as authority but adds Chevrolat's name 

 in brackets. In the next to the last edition of the European 

 Catalog by Heyden, Reitter and Weise, it is written Pachybrachys 

 Suffrian, while the last edition puts it Pachybrachis Redten- 

 bacher. The facts seem to be as follows: 



1834. The name Pachybrachis Chevr. first appears in Dejean's 

 Catalog. No description of the genus is given, but the 

 species included leave no doubt as to its significance. 



1836. In the reprint of the third edition of the Dejean Catalog, 

 numerous species of Pachybrachis Chevr. are listed, including 

 a number of North American species described by the 

 older authors (Fabricius, Olivier, etc.). 



1837. In the fourth edition of Dejean's Catalog, the species of 

 Pachybrachis Chevr. are given verbatim as in the preceding 

 edition without additions. 



1847. Dr. E. Suffrian, in a Revision of the European species 

 of the genus Cryptocephalus (Linnaea Entom., Vol. II), 

 contends that Chevrolat's division of the genus into five 

 so-called genera, are mere names, but incidentally changes 

 the spelling of Pachybrachis to Pachybrachys for philological 

 reasons. 



1848. Dr. E. Suffrian, in concluding the Revision of the Euro- 

 pean species of Cryptocephalus (Linn. Ent. Vol. Ill), gives 

 on pp. 111-113 a lengthy description of "Pachybrachys 

 Chevrolat, " without any reference to Dejean's Catalog. 



1849. L. Redtenbacher (Fauna Austriaca, 1st Edition, p. 563) 

 describes the genus "Pachybrachys Chevrolat." 



In the 2d edition of Fauna Austriaca, Redtenbacher uses 

 Pachybrachys in the text, and Pachybrachis in the index. 



In the 3d Edition, with fine impartiality, the genus a]ipears 

 as Pachybrachys in the table of species, but Pachybrachis 

 in the table of genera. 



