NO. 3568 MELANOTUS — QUATE AND THOMPSON 33 



Alabama: Mobile; July. Florida: Highlands, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, 

 Palm Beach, Pinellas, Suwannee, Volusia; May, July. Mississippi: George, 

 Jackson, Pearl River; June. New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, 

 Ocean; June, August. North Carolina: Columbus, Johnston, Moore; June, 

 July. South Carolina: Charleston; May. Texas: Bexar; July, 



M. clandestinus is one of the few, small species with the elytra less 

 than 7 mm. It is easily recognized by the dense pronotal punctures, 

 small third antennal segment, lack of parantennal fovea and mandibu- 

 lar pit, in addition to the small size. 



15. Melanotus ignobilis Melsheimer 



Figures 5g, 10a 



Melanotus ignobilis Melsheimer, 1846, p. 152. — Candeze, 1860, p. 371. — Blatchley, 

 1910, p. 746. — Thomas, 1941, p. 258. — Dietrich, 1945, p. 55.— Jewett, 1946, 

 p. 9.— Severin, 1949, p. 16. 



Cratonychus ignobilis. — LeConte, 1853, p. 474. 



Craionychus secretus LeConte, 1853, p. 474. [New synonymy.] 



Melanotus secretus. — Candeze, 1860, p. 344. — Thomas, 1941, p. 258. — Dcen 

 and Cuthbert, 1955, p. 193.— Fattig, 1951, p. 20. 



Male. — Body color dark reddish brown, but some specimens 

 lighter, covered with yellowish vestiture evenly distributed over body. 



Head: Front with shallow anterior transverse depression, margin 

 very narrow, not strongly protuberant above clypeus, evenly rounded 

 or anteriorly flattened when viewed from above; parantennal fovea 

 small and shallow, nasale flattened, width usually twice height. 

 Mandible without pit. Antenna exceeds tip of hind angle by 1-2 

 segments, largely testaceous with reddish-brown streak on either 

 side, lighter in color than rest of body; segments 2 and 3 subequal, 

 ratio of 2:3:4=2:3:6, flagellar segments nearly quadrangular; 

 segment 4 about twice as long as maximum width; erect male hairs 

 short but dense. 



Pronotum usually wider than long, ratio of width/length =1.0-1.2; 

 punctures at center usually separated by distance equal to less than 

 own diameter, subequal to those on front, denser on margins; sides of 

 pronotum rounded with slight concavity at base of hind angles, hind 

 angles subparallel with one strong carina extending well cephalad 

 of base. Genitalia as figured; paramere without apical blade. 



Elytron: 7.2 mm (5.2-9.3). 13 spec. 



Female. — Antenna short of pronotal base by about 1 segment; 

 segment 3 about IK times 2, but about K times 4; internal genitalia 

 as figured, bursa with 3 groups of dense, setiform spines near apex; 

 accessory gland short and clavate, spermathecal duct very short, 

 diverticulum arising near center of duct. 



Elytron: 7.6 mm (5.2-10.0). 24 spec. 



221-532—67 3 



