FRANK E. BLAISDELL, SR. 325 



Longulus is only an individual variation, or a group of indi- 

 viduals selected for certain characters which become evanescent 

 in the aggregate. 



Distribuiion. — Specimens have been examined from different 

 places along the coast from Monterey County to Humboldt Bay. 



A series of twenty-one specimens collected at Carmel, Monterey 

 County, California, April 10th, 1919, and kindly contributed by 

 Mr. L. S. Slevin, present several characters wherein they differ 

 from typical ciliatus and from the forms described by Col. Casey. 

 They represent a new variety which may be defined as 

 follows : 



Coelus ciliatus var. sparsus new variety 



Peculiar on account of the polished surface and shining luster, 

 feeble elytral sculpturing and very sparsely punctate pronotum. 

 Throughout the pronotal surface the punctures are about uniform 

 in size, fine, as sparse at base as toward the apex and but slightly 

 denser close to the lateral margin, otherwise as in typical 

 ciliatus. The form is elliptical and rather elongate. Some males 

 are a little broader and more distinctly oblong. The elliptical 

 form is similar to a smaller number of specimens in the debilis 

 series taken at Tomales Bay. In these latter the males are not 

 only elliptical but ma}- be oblong to oblong-oval, and the females 

 may be either elliptical or oblong-oval as in typical ciliatus. 



In debilis the surface luster is dull, the pronotal punctuation 

 stronger but equally as sparse as in sparsus. In a series the 

 sculpture becomes as feeble as in pacificus. 



It must be remembered that no two individuals of a species are 

 exactly alike. Therefore the specific units taken in the same 

 locality and existing under the same environmental conditions 

 present variations in body form, degree of sculpturing and color. 

 Species inhabit certain geographical areas in which the environ- 

 ment differs in the localities within those areas; as a result some 

 phase of body form, sculpturing or color predominates in each 

 region. At the same time will be found other variational forms 

 which are connected with the predominating form by all inter- 

 mediate gradations. In another region of the area one of the lat- 

 ter variations will predominate. 



When the individuals of any recognized specific aggregate from 

 a geographical area are arranged according to some particular 



TRANS. AM. EXT. SOC, XLV. 



