AMERICAN COLEOPTERA. 139 



terspaces are feebly bi-carinulute, often interrupted, and between these, 

 in the centre of the interspace, is a row of Uirge distant punctures. 

 The elytra are but slightly broader at base than the base of the thorax, 

 the general form of the insect being thus more nearly a regular oval 

 than any of our species. The prosternum is coarsely punctured, the 

 mesosternum still more coarsely. 



A single specimen collected by myself at Fort Tejon, Cal. 



SAPRINUS, Leacli. 

 S. estriatns. Lee. Pacif. R. R. Surv. App. I, p. .36. 



Fine large specimens of this species collected by myself in Owen's 

 Valley, California, enable me give a full description of it. Its position 

 in the genus is, according to the arrangement of Leconte, in Group 8, 

 in Marseul, Group YI, a. The head is distinctly margined in front, 

 the prosternum is bi-striate, the striae approximate and rather strongly 

 divergent behind. The front has two distinct chevrons bounded by 

 feebly impressed lines and apt to be indistinct. The species is robust 

 recalling that of sulci/rons, but more oval. Head sparsely punctured 

 moderately convex and subopaque. Thorax strongly convex, sides gra- 

 dually and feebly rounded from base to apex ; disc densely punctured, 

 more coarsely toward the sides and with two rows, each of four badly 

 limited smoother patches arranged in a transverse arc with the con- 

 vexity forward. Elytra densely punctured, each with three moder- 

 ately well defined round, smooth, patches arranged in an oblique row, 

 the outer at the humerus, the middle smaller within and slightly be- 

 hind the first, the inner larger than the last near the suture and in 

 front of middle ; a narrow apical margin is also smooth. Toward the 

 sides are two obsolete stria), the inner one at the inner edge of the 

 humeral space extending nearly to the apex, the outer stria interrupted 

 by the humeral space and shorter than the first. The body beneath is 

 much less densely punctured than the u])por surface. The anterior 

 tibiae five or six dentate, posterior tibia; biseriately strongly spinulose. 

 The color of the body is nearly black, opaque and with a ver}' faint 

 bronzed tinge. Antennas piceous, club rufous. Pygidium densely 

 punctured at the sides, median space and apex smooth. Length .18 — 

 .24 inch; 4.5 — 6 mm. 



The smaller specimen is in the cabinet of Dr. Ijcconte, and is re- 

 ported from Oregon, three others of the large size arc from Owen's 

 Valley, Cul., and were collected by myself. In the Oregon specimen 

 the lateral striaj are scarcely perceptible, in one of the larger they are 

 quite distinct, the other two intermediate, forming a gradual series. 



