358 BULLETIN 03, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Salient type-eh aracters. — Antennae fiilif orm. Thorax rounded, base 

 narrowed, punctate. Eh'tral dorsum with Lirger and slightl}' im- 

 pressed j)iinctures, sides granulate (Esciischokz). 



Diagnostic characters. — Eschscholtz saj^s that the thorax is a little 

 broader than long, the greatest width being in front of the middle, 

 sides strongly rounded and smaller behind; the apex is faintly 

 emarginate; the humeri are prominent and the sharj) epipleural mar- 

 gin can be seen from above. The sides of the elytra are rugosely 

 granulate. 



I have examjik's before me wdiich have been identified by Casey, 

 Fall, and Blanchard. 



A female compared by Mr. Blanchard with the specimen received 

 by LeConte wnth others from Euroj^e " as typical parvicoUis Esch- 

 scholtz, is pronounced by him as " an exact copy '' of LeConte's 

 typical specimen. Professor Fall's and Colonel Casey's specimens, 

 while a little larger, present no notable differences. 



My typical sj^ecimen does resemble a large female scahrosa^ but it 

 is without the hairs upon the sides of the prothorax. It is well 

 to note that m}^ series of typical parvicollis was taken from ledges 

 upon the hills about San Francisco, and not about the sand dunes 

 where seahrosa abounds. 



I do not agree with Doctor Horn in considering the large aggregate 

 of specimens referable to parvicollis as one species without the recog- 

 nition of well-marked races ; in so doing I consider tliat it w'oulcl be 

 a retardation to our knowledge of these forms, and I shall in this 

 l^aper consider planata., producta^ and constricta as valid races. 



I have studied an immense series and feel warranted in so doing. 

 My disposal of seahrosa will probabl}'' be a surprise to many, but it 

 appears out of place wdien associated with parvicollis. 



In parvicollis the pronotum is rather less convex and the base more 

 strongly constricted than in consohrina^ where the sides of the elytra 

 are more coarsely and tubercidately sculptured. 



Prochicta is oblong, flattened on the elytral disc, sides parallel with 

 prominent humeri, which are strongly margined by the superior 

 epipleuj'al uiargiu. 



Planata has the elytra less flattened, humeri less prouiiuent, with 

 the elytral sides evenly arcuate and more gradually narrowed behind. 



Parvicollis is shorter and more ovate. 



Prochicta inhabits the mountain regions chiefly and planata the 

 valleys and foothills Avhere there are oak groves and where smaller 

 examples of prodncta are also found. Constricta occurs chiefly in tlie 

 middle altitudes of the Sierra Xevadas as far north at least as Mount 

 Shasta. These races overlap in their distributional areas: so do other 

 races and species. 



" Hoi'u's Kev. Ten., p. 317. 



