460 CASEY 



Horn states that this species is not rare, but I only succeeded 

 in obtaining a single specimen and am inclined to regard it as a 

 species seldom taken. 



Tribe Zopherini. 



With this remarkably isolated tribe there begins a series of 

 genera, differing altogether from those which precede in the 

 general habitus of the body and in many structural characters, 

 such as the small or moderate mentum and the occurrence of 

 foss£e for the shelter of the antennae. I have, however, followed 

 LeConte and Horn in associating them with the preceding gen- 

 era having a large mentum, to form the subfamily Tentyriinae, 

 because of the closure of the middle acetabula by the sterna 

 alone, with entire absence of trochantin. It is questionable, 

 however, if we are not giving too great prominence to the latter 

 character, and it would perhaps be more natural to include in 

 the subfamily Tentyriin^e only those genera having a large 

 mentum, and to delimit another subfamil}'-, beginning here and 

 including also what LeConte and Horn called the Asidinae, 

 holding the presence or absence of a trochantin to be of sub- 

 sidiary importance. This arrangement would at least bring 

 together generic types having a strong bond of similarity in 

 general facies of the body, for it is verj?^ evident that the Zopher- 

 ini, Stenosini and other tribes without trochantin, resemble 

 JVyctoports and the Asidini much more closely than they do any 

 of the preceding tribes with large mentum. It is true that cer- 

 tain genera with large mentum, such as Hyper ops, recall 

 strongly some of these forms with smaller mentum, such as the 

 Stenosini, but this resemblance is undoubtedly accidental and 

 betokens no real relationship, any more than the very striking 

 superficial likeness of Salax to Opatrum evinces any real 

 affinity. 



As intimated above the Zopherini are without any close rela- 

 tives, except the Nosodermini and Usechini, with which they 

 share a good many peculiar characters, such as the deep apical 

 fossa of the abdomen and absence of epipleurai. Besides the 

 invisible labial palpi and presence of antennal foss£E, perhaps 

 their most aberrant characters are the very minutely faceted 



