REVISION OF ELEODITNI BLAISDELL. 85 



tainly strongly developed for that section, and while it will be seen 

 that the spurs are distinctly broadened, they will also be observed to 

 taper more gradually from base to apex, and never so parallel nor 

 so suddenly or apically narrowed as in quadricoUis. Unworn spui's 

 must always he taken as the criteria. 



The var. anthracina described btloAV is duller in surface luster, less 

 convex, not inflated, and in typical specimens have the elytra just 

 noticeably obsoletely subsulcato-striate, characters never observed 

 in the true quadricoUis ; the latter by its quite simple elytral punctua- 

 tion is easily separated from himeralis ; in cuneatleolUs the elytral 

 sculpturing is distinctly muricato-rugulose. Rileyi is more robustly 

 ovate. 



QuadricoUis has been up to the present time confused w^ith ornissa. 

 Reference to the original description of this species as given by 

 Eschscholtz should quickly close all controversy. That author writes 

 that the elytra are punctato-striate {elytris punctato-striatis) and 

 that this species is plentiful in the foothills about San Francisco 

 (" Bei St. Franzisco auf den Anhohen haufig "). These remarks can 

 only be applied to the present species. 



What has previously been said in regard to the variation of the 

 elytral punctuation in the diiferent species must be recalled at this 

 point. 



All those specimens with the elytra punctato-striate are to be re- 

 garded as typical. Fully two-thirds of the large series before me 

 have the " sculpture consisting of punctures sometimes fine, at others 

 rather coarse, rather densely hut ii'regularly placed, and never muri- 

 cate: never arranged in roics " (Horn). 



Doctor Horn undoubtedly included omissa in the above definition, 

 but then a large percentage of the examples of that species exhibit 

 a serial arrangement of the punctures. After all, the characters 

 apply to quadricoUis, for the punctures are sometimes fine, but gen- 

 erally rather coarse; punctato-striate specimens are not common, and 

 never really muricate in the sense as it is applied to humeralis and 

 its races. Q\iadricoUis and omissa as well have a feeble type of sub- 

 muricate punctuation at the elytral sides and apex. 



I have a male quadricoUis at hand, kindly transmitted to me a 

 number of years ago by Colonel Casey. It is not at all inflated, was 

 taken near San Francisco, and is diffusely punctured; bears the label 

 quadricoUis in Casey's handwriting. I consider it a typical specimen, 

 except as regards the punctuation. 



Tarsalis is only an inflated form {forma tarsalis) of quadricoUis, 

 Colonel Casey himself has made this fact known." 



" Coleopterological Notices, ^', i). r>'J7, Annals N. Y. Acad. Sci., Dec, 1893. 



