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BY E. W. FERGUSON. 233 



onlj^ species known were Cnrculio inirabilis Kirby, alreiuly referred 

 to Psalidura hy Fischer von Waldheim, ('. Inneplialns Olivier, ('. 

 bubalus Olivier, and Ilipporhinns nigrosplnosiii^ JJoii., niend^ersof 

 the li'enera TaUdiriiins and Sclerurriiinas. No member of the pre- 

 sent genns was described until 1827, wiien W. S. Macleay (King's 

 Survey, ii., App., p. 244) ]»ul)lislied the description oi' Phalidiua 

 draco. \\\ the early auihoi-s, the naiue Ami/clenis was used in a 

 sense wide enough to embrace the whole subfamily, though Acioi- 

 lltulopliun was early separated but not described. In its usual 

 restricted sense, the name was first employed by Lacordaire, wjio 

 gives no reason for allocating it to this special and numerically 

 small group. Macleay merely followed Lacordaire in his use of the 

 name, which, by usage, has come to be universally adopted for these 

 species. 



Quite recently, however, Mr.K.G. Bhiii-, of the British Mnseum, 

 has kindly looked up the original descriptions, and, from the infor- 

 mation supplied by him, I am able to make the following notes. 

 Fischer's ligure and descri[)tion of PJudidura inirahilis Macleay, 

 represent the gular-horned species, for many years known as P,s«//- 

 dura mirabilis Kirby; but his species is evidently not the same as 

 the Curcidio mirahUis of Kirby. Schonherr was apparently un- 

 aware of Fischer's paper, and, in describing his genus Amjicterux, 

 he (|uotes Cure, mirahdis Kirby as the tyi>e. Though not the same, 

 the two species are undoubtly congeneric, and the name Auuidcnis 

 nmst, tlierefore, fall as a synonym of Phalidura. Accordingly, 1 

 now pi'opose the name Mavramiieterus for this genus. 



Since the above was written, I have had an o|)p(>rtunity of see- 

 ing Schdnherr's original description. As he ([Uotes Cunulio mira- 

 hdis Kirby. as the type of his genus. Amfivterus (1820) becomes an 

 absolute synonym of Psalidura Fischer de Waldiieim (182."i). 



The second species, ^1. Boisduvali Boisd., was described in 18.')5 

 (\'oy. de TAstrolabe, ii., p. 301})*. and a third species, A. Schiin 

 herri lloj^e, was added in 183(5 (Hope Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., i.. 

 p. 08, t. 8, f. 2). ]\Iacleay (180.')) revised the i)re\ions sj^ecies, and 

 added a fourth, A. Leichhardti. 



