408 rkvisional notes on Australian carabid^e, iv., 



together. In the opacicollis-group, there are four setiferous pores 

 in the female, but the two on each side are nearer together than 

 usual (the outer one not so far out). The constancy of this 

 apparently trifling character throughout the important eques- and 

 opacicollis-groups, indicates considerable taxonomic importance 

 for these seta? of the female. 



Colon?'. — It may be assumed that black or brown is the 

 primitive colour of the Carabidse, as it is of the Cicindelid?e; but, 

 although there are now many black species of Notonomus, it does 

 not, on that account, seem necessary to suppose that colour had 

 not begun to manifest itself in the division of the tribe Trigono- 

 tomini, from which Notonomus is derived, before the first 

 Notonomus appeared. The evidence, as far as I can weigh it, 

 suggests the belief, that the stem from which Notonomus is 

 descended, probably had the upper surface at least partially 

 virescent ; and that some forms may have reverted to the 

 primitive carabideous blackness, while others became more and 

 more metallic. If this be so, colour will not be of much use in 

 helping us to determine which of the present-day species most 

 nearly represents the ancient type of the genus. 



Groups. — The differences between the cupricolor-, eques-, 

 satrajms-, sphodroides-, opacicollis-, kingi-, lateralis-, mediosulcalus- 

 and lesueuri-groups are so decided, that all these groups must be 

 taken to be of ancient origin; of these, the cupricollis-, eques-, 

 satrapus-, lateralis-, and Zeswewri-groups seem the oldest. The 

 question occurs, are all the present-day forms descended from 

 one typel To this question, I can give no answer, for I find it 

 impossible even to guess at how much divergence from a central 

 type into many groups, the relationships between which became 

 more and more attenuated, may have occurred; nor, to what 

 extent convergence from different points along these lines of 

 divergence, and tending in various directions, may have taken 

 place, and helped to jumble the species into the present agglomer- 

 ation of forms, which now make up the genus Notonomus. 



To sum up, I suppose that Noto7iomus is not a very primitive 

 type of the tribe Trigonotomini, and that the following characters, 

 none of which probably originated in the genus Notonomus (nor 



