MONOGRAPH OF WEST INDIAN STAPITi'LINIDAE 33 



genitalia. And so little has been done on this phase of the study of 

 the Staphylinidae that there is not a proper foundation on which to 

 start such a study. This is not to be construed as a declaration that 

 these structures may not in many cases prove to be of great value 

 in classification. The sexual characters of the seventh, eiglith, and 

 ninth segments have been recorded wherever possible. They are fre- 

 quently of high value in specific distinctions, and they generally 

 enable one to distinguish the sexes. 



The type or original locality of a species is frequently of interest 

 in cases in which two closely related species are confused and in 

 other situations. It has been found, however, that there are several 

 conceptions of the meaning of the term "type locality." As used 

 herein the type locality is the actual place at which the holotype was 

 taken, whether this exact spot is now known or not. However, spe- 

 cific type localities have seldom been given for West Indian species, 

 and it has been necessary to content oneself in many cases with 

 merely the name of the island. In every case, however, the locality 

 is given with as much exactness as possible. In certain species it 

 has been found that the published locality does not agree with that 

 on the type specimen. These cases are individually discussed in the 

 text. 



The present location of type specimens and material from the 

 type series is of considerable interest to persons desiring to make 

 an intensive study of a species or genus. Our accepted procedure 

 nowadays demands the recording of the type depository, but in the 

 past such record was more often omitted than not. It has there- 

 fore been thought advisable to record the disposition of types wher- 

 ever possible. In the case of all new species the types have been 

 carefully designated and labeled, and catalog numbers have been 

 assigned to those in the United States National Museum. The types 

 in the British Museum (principally of Sharp's and Cameron's spe- 

 cies) are in part holotypes and in part undesignated lectotypes 

 (syn types), but they have all been treated uniformly as holotypes. 

 The same is true of the types in Dr. Cameron's collection. Many 

 of the species, however, were described long ago by Erichson, Fauvel, 

 or others without designation of or record of disposition of types. 

 In these cases I have indicated the probable location of the type, 

 based on the location of the collection as recorded by W. Horn in 

 his Avork "Uber entomologische Sammlungen" (Berlin-l)ahlem, 

 1935-37). 



In order to give a complete outline of the distribution of each 

 species, I have listed all the records I have been able to find, whether 



