126 [June, 



I have very great pleasure in uamiiig this insect in liononr of 

 Commander J. J. Walker, M.A., to whom I, in common with many 

 other entomologists, am indebted for much land assistance, extending 

 over a long period of years. 



Brockenhvirst : 



April ^Oth, 1913. 



TRACHYPHL(EUS DIGITALIS, Gyll., AN ADDITION TO THE 

 BRITISH LIST OF COLEOPTERA. 



BY E. A. NEWBERY. 



Some time ago I sent a specimen of a Trachyphlcetis to Capt. Deville 

 which I was imable to reconcile with any known British species. He 

 was inclined to think that it was T. digitalis, Gyll., hut this insect 

 having hitherto been foiuid only in Sweden, Kussia and Sardinia, he 

 desired to see other specimens before giving a more decided opinion. 

 Owing to the kindness of Commander Walker and Mr. J. H. Keys, I 

 was fortunately able to send him half a dozen more examples, and he 

 has now no doubt of the correctness of his former determination. 



T. digitalis comes in the group with special spines at apex of 

 anterior tibia.-, or produced and digitate at apex. This group includes 

 five British species all easily sejjarable f rom T. digitalis exce\)t T. spini- 

 mamis. Seidlitz (Fauna Transs., 1891, p. 653) gives the following 

 characters to separate these two species : — 



Outer teeth of the front tibiae placed higher than the inner ; thorax less con- 

 tracted at base than at apex ; elytra distinctly longer than broad, obsoletely 

 striate, scantily furnished with scarcely clubbed bristles. Length 2.-2.5 mm. 



...T. spinimanus. Germ. 

 Outer tooth of the front tibiae not placed higher than the inner ; tliorax almost 

 as strongly contracted at base as at apex ; elytra very little longer than 

 broad, distinctly striate, set with strongly clubbed scale-formed bristles. 

 Length 2 — 2.5 mm T. digitalis, Gyll. 



These two species are very difficult to separate and are probably 

 mixed in British collections. Herr Formanek (Bestim. Tab., LXI, 

 133, 1907) omits the character of the position of the tibial teeth given 

 by Seidlitz, nor does it appear to be of any value. He agrees in the 

 main with Seidlitz, and further states that " T. digitalis has the elytra 

 very bluntly rounded at apex, and viewed from above appear almost 

 quadrate." In tlie nine or ten specimens I liave seen, the In-istles are 

 very scanty and extremely short, and the elytral stria? and granulations 

 of thorax are very seldom obscured by the crust which is almost always 



