SHOET-WINGED SCAVENGER-BEETLES. 60 



A . Aiitciuiii' inserted wiilo apart, at the extremities of the epistoma. 

 B. I'alpi not eiihajjcil at tip. 

 C. Size larf;e, from half an incli to an inch or more in length. Surface pubescent, (except 

 ocypus ) 

 D. Uead of males large, wider than thorax ; middle cox.e wide apart. 



E. Autennie aub-davate ; abdoiiicn a.s wiilc a.s elytra CuEOrTlvi.l'S. 



E K. Anteniiu) filiform; alxloiiicn narrower than elytra LeistotiioI'IIUS. 



D D. Head of males not enlarged ; middle coxa- approximate. 



F. Form slightly tapering; brown or dull black Stai'iiymnts. 



F F. Form i'longi|te, parallel ; .shining black 0<vi'rs. 



C C. Size small, u.siially less than half an inch in length ; shining black, sometimes tinted with 



red PiiiLOM II Ls. 



J 5 15. Labial palpi tcrniiuated with a lar^^e .semilunar joint ; head of males enlarged; middle coxiB 



very wide apart. Size below medium ; glabrous OXYl'Oltl's. 



A A. Antenna'- approximate, inserted on the middle of the epistonm ; head oblong, sub-ijuadrato. 

 Length usually a<iuartcrof an inch or less, elytra often reddi.sli Xamiioi-INL's. 



Cirophilus, Stephens, contains two X. A. species, one of which, the 

 C. riUosus, Grav., is not nncommon. It is a robust species, about seven- 

 tenths of an inch lon^, bhick, with a bioatl ash-coloivd band a<;ross the 

 elytra, and another across the abdomen, composed of short hairs. The 

 specific name viUosus — hairy, is expressive of this character. The gen- 

 eric name means a lover of flesh. Lei,stotro2>hus, Perty, a name expres- 

 sive of the ferocious character of the species, contains but one X. A. 

 species, L. ciiigulatus, Grav. It is of about the same size as the prece- 

 dinji", of a grayish-brown coh)r, indistinctly spotted with black. The 

 end of the abdomen has a golden luster. Twenty-one species of St<t2)hij- 

 linus proper are enumerated in Dr. LeConte's catalogue of 18G3. One 

 of the largest and most common species is the *S'. iH((eHlo.su.s, Grav., eight 

 or nine-tenths of an inch long, of a dark cinnamon-brown color, with a 

 black scutellum, and a row of obscur6 square blackish spots along the 

 middle of the abdomen. A somewhat similar but rarer and more ele- 

 gant species is the /S'. vidpinus or fox-colored Staphylinus of J^ordman. 

 In this the colors are brighter, and the abdomen is black, tipped with 

 fulvous, with golden incissions, and two cinereous pubescent spots at 

 the base of each segment. The JS. cinnamoptcrns, Grav., is also cinna- 

 mon-colored, with the abdomen nearly black ; but it is a smaller species, 

 being but half an inch, or a little more, in length. S. fomenfosus, Grav., 

 is six-tenths of an inch long, and of a deep, dull black color. IS. viola- 

 ceous is of about the same size, also black, but with the thorax and 

 elytra of a rich violet hue. The abdomen is varied along the margin 

 with a silken ash-colored pubescence. 



Ocypits, Kirby, meaning swift-footed, contains but one species, the 

 0. liter, Erichs., seven-tenths of an inch long. Fhilonfhus, Curtis, mean- 

 ing a lover of dutuj, contains many species, a few of which exceed half 

 an inch in length ; but most of them range from two to three-tenths of 

 an inch. A considerable number of our species are arranged under the 

 genus (Jxediiis, of Stephens, which is closely allied to Philonthus, but 

 diliers in having the thorax with a sharp simple margin, and a fe 



