v - 



OTHNIIDAE. 103 



not distinct; coxal cavities small, rounded, confluent, closed 

 behind. 



Mesosternum short, narrow ; side pieces divided by an 

 almost longitudinal suture. 



Metasternum moderate, side pieces narrow. 



Elytra elongate, rounded, at tip, leaving the tip of the 

 abdomen uncovered; scutellum small, triangular. 



Abdomen with, five free ventral segments, slightly dimi- 

 nishing in length. 



Coxae, anterior small, conical, prominent, and contiguous; 

 middle ones rounded, prominent, slightly separated by the 

 mesosternum ; hind ones transverse, not prominent, slightly 

 separated, extending to the sides of the body. 



Legs slender; tibiae linear, with minute terminal spurs; 

 tarsi slender, tolerably long, joints diminishing in length, 

 anterior and middle 5-jointed, hind ones (of the male only ?) 

 4-jointed ; claws simple. 



A small insect (-22 unc. long), of elongate form and brownish- 

 black color, with slight brassy tinge, coarsely punctured, and 

 irregularly clothed with short whitish hairs, presents the above 

 assemblage of characters, irreconcilable with any family known 

 to me. The punctuation and character of pubescence resemble 

 those of certain species of Dasytini from California; and the 

 prominent anterior and middle coxae would seem to give weight 

 to the affinity thus indicated. But the anterior coxal cavities are 

 completely closed behind, and are much smaller than in any of 

 the families of Serricorn Coleoptera allied to Dasytes. The 

 simple structure of the claws, the 4-jointed hind tarsi, and the 

 entire absence of a visible sixth ventral segment, besides many 

 other characters, forbid the association with Dasytes. There is 

 consequently no course left but to place it as a distinct family, in 

 the neighborhood of Cryptophagidae. 



I found under decomposing Opuntia leaves, at San Diego, Cali- 

 fornia, a second species of this genus, of rather broader form, 

 with the elytra yellowish testaceous, variegated with small black 

 spots. The specimen has been lost, and I am therefore unable to 

 describe it more closely. If rediscovered, and recognized by the 

 notes here given, it may be called Othnius guttulatus. 



The species from which the description of the family is taken 

 is found in Nebraska, near the Rocky Mountains. I have named 

 it Othnius umbrosus. The flat head and large front give it 



