S Introduction 



The Cantharif ormia were divided into following series ; defined only 

 by the list of families included. 



Teridilia 



Malacodermata 



Sternoxia 



Macrodactylta 



Brachymera 



Palpicornia 



Clavicornia 



Phy'tophaga 



Heteromera 



Lamellicornia 



Lameere's Carabiformia is equivalent to the Adephagaof other authors 

 and it is noteworthy that he considers the genus Omo-phron, as did Kolbe 

 in 1880, as a sub-family leading from Carabidse to Haliplidae, in which 

 I am glad to follow him. Of the groups he separated in Canthariformia, 

 many, sometimes in a modified form, have met with much approval. 

 Kolbe for instance, adopts Malacodermata, Palpicornia and Sternoxia; 

 Gahan also considers Malacodermata a natural group and he says that 

 Teridilia, composed of Lymexylidte, Lyctidae, Ptinidse, Anobiidse and 

 Bostrichidse would be a fairly natural one. Dr. Gahan's general atti- 

 tude, however, is in his language "finding serious difficulties in accepting 

 the groups proposed either by Lameere or by Kolbe" and pubUshed 

 in 1911'), after much pro and con had been written, fairly reflects the 

 conservative opinion of Lameere's work. 



But if not entirely acceptable, Lameere's work certainly stirred up 

 other authors. The most voluminous was Ludwig Ganglbauer, custos 

 in Hof-Museum in Vienna, and author of the unfinished "Kafer von 

 Mitteleuropa." His system, unfortunately never entirely worked out, 

 appeared in its most complete form in 1903- and classified beetles 

 much as was done by Leconte, but raising the rank of Adephaga, sepa- 

 rating Palpicornia and Staphylinoidea as series, and consolidating Serri- 

 cornia and Clavicornia to form series Diversicornia, also Phytophaga 

 and Rhynchophora, in one series Phytophaga. The result gives: 



Sub-order Adephaga 



" Polyphaga 



Series Palpicornia 



" Staphylinoidea 



" Diversicornia 



" Heteromera 



" Phytophaga 



" Lamellicornia 



' On some recent attempts to classify tiie Coleoptera in accordance with their Phylogeny 

 (The Entomologist, XLIV, 1911, pp. 121-351). 



^Systematisch-Koleopterologische Studien (Miinch. Kol. Zeitschr. I, 1903, pp. 271-319). 



