Casey — Observations on the Staphylinidae. 253 



toward the scutellum, becomes finely granuliform and very 

 close-set, giving an alutaceous lustre in that vicinity. The 

 scutellum is flat and rather strongly, closely granulose, the 

 granules never parted along the middle so far as observed. 

 Lissagria seems to be confined to the fauna of middle and 

 southern California, west of the Sierras, and those forms 

 worthy of distinctive names, whether true species or local 

 variants, may be indicated as follows: — 



Pronotal sulcus very deeply and conspicuously impressed, the surface 

 along its sides very convex 2 



Pronotal sulcus fine, though distinct, more abruptly formed, the adjoining 

 surface feebly convex 5 



2 — Head and prothorax equal in width or very nearly so 3 



Head relatively larger, very much wider than the prothorax 4 



3 — Form stout, rather convex, dark rufo-piceous with a very feeble sub- 



aeneous lustre, the head and elytra somewhat darker, the legs and 

 antennae pale, testaceous, the latter feebly infuscate toward tip; ves- 

 titure anteriorly very short and indistinct, longer and coarser on the 

 abdomen but very sparse; head orbicular, rounded at base, very 

 minutely, sparsely punctulate, the front with a very feeble impressed 

 transverse line between the antennae; eyes rather small, prominent; 

 antennae long but not extending quite to the end of the elytra, moder- 

 ately Incrassate and compact distally; prothorax very slightly longer 

 than wide, the sides rather broadly but prominently rounded anteriorly, 

 thence moderately converging to the transversely truncate base, which 

 is fully three-fourths as wide as the disk, the punctures fine but 

 rather distinct, sparse posteriorly, closer anteriorly; transverse im- 

 pression before the base rather fine, arcuate; elytra fully four-fifths 

 wider and two-fifths longer than the prothorax, the coarse sutural 

 beading slightly depressed behind the scutellum, the surface not im- 

 pressed, the sides very feebly diverging from the well-marked humeri 

 to the apex ; abdomen parallel, feebly narrowed at tip, fully as wide as 

 the elytra, finely, very sparsely punctulate, less sparsely toward apex, 

 the three impressions subequal, narrow, rather deep, the first two with 

 very few widely and unevenly spaced, coarse but feeble punctures, the 

 third impunctate. Length 2.8 mm.; width 0.78 mm. California (Coast 

 region to the south of San Francisco). [= Falagria laev. Lee.]. 



laevinsenla Lee. 

 Form and coloration nearly similar to the preceding; head and antennae 

 nearly similar, the latter rather stouter distally, the transverse frontal 

 groove broadly impressed ; prothorax narrower, more distinctly elon- 

 gate, the sides more broadly and less prominently rounded anteriorly, 

 much less converging and straight to the base, which is broadly arcu- 

 ate and four-fifths as wide as the disk, the punctures extremely 

 fine and sparse throughout, much less distinct; elytra similar but 

 more elongate, about twice as wide as the prothorax ; abdomen parallel 

 with slightly arcuate sides, similarly narrowed at tip, the sculpture 



