41 



In the male the fifth and sixth segments beneath are slightly- 

 depressed in the middle, the latter having a wide shallow notch. 



Bungay, Boston, Brighton, Wicken Fen, &c. London district ; 

 formerly common at Hammersmith Marshes. 



Melauo^us, Marsham (1802) ; Waterhouse and Janson. 



nitidus, (Boisd. et Lac. 1835) Erichson (nee Stephens). 



1^ lin. Deep black, very shining ; palpi black, with the basal joint 

 testaceous. Head with two well-defined grooves meeting in front ; the 

 enclosed space elevated and shining. Thorax very slightly longer than 

 broad, strongly rounded in front and contracted behind ; strongly but 

 not closely punctured, the interstices being flat, and with a deep, well- 

 defined, dorsal channel not reaching much beyond the middle. Elytra 

 a little longer than the thorax, strongly but rather remotely punctured, 

 the interstices flat, and with a slight elevation between the suture and 

 shoulders. Abdomen with the keels in the grooves at the base of the 

 segments not so distinct as in incrassatus. In the male the sixth seg- 

 ment beneath is slightly and widely notched. Common at Falkirk, 

 Newcastle, Weston, and Gravesend ; also in the Cambridge and Norfolk 

 Fens, and London district, and generally distributed all over England. 

 This species runs quickly over wet muddy banks, and in the winter may 

 be often found in hay-stack rubbish. 



JSmolus, Ericlison. 



? nitens, {Kirhif) Stephens. 



Usually about two lines long, but sometimes considerably smaller. 

 Slender; shining black ; easily separated from canaliculatus by its more 

 elongate form and shining appearance. Antennse and palpi black and 

 slender, the latter with the basal joint, and base of the second, testa- 

 ceous. Head broad and depressed, thick and strongly punctured, with 

 a thin elevated shining middle longitudinal line. Thorax elongate, 

 slightly rounded in front and gently narrowed behind ; thickly and 

 strongly punctured, with a thin well-defined dorsal channel for its entire 

 length. Elytra scarcely longer than the thorax, very strongly punc- 

 tured, the interstices flat. Abdomen shining, less deeply punctured, 

 the four little keels very conspicuous in the basal groove of the first 

 segment. Legs slender. In the male the sixth segment beneath is 

 slightly but widely cmarginate, and the fifth is also very slightly sinuate, 

 the surface of the segment being depressed. The meta-sternum is 

 coarsely and rather closely punctured. 



AVicken and Horuina: Fens. ' , 



