1910.] 138 



1. Claws eqiial 2. 



Claws unequal ; the inner one on the front tarsi, and the outer one on the 



middle and hind tarsi, the smaller coecus, Eeich. 



2. Length of the elytra visually twice as great as their width at the base. 



Thorax without any appearance of tuberculation... 



jungermanniae, Eeich. 



Length of the elytra visvially one and a half times as great as their width 



at the base. Thorax apparently tuberculate rcichi, Gyll. 



The characters employed above are designedly independent of the 

 scaling of the upper sui-face, because it appears that abraded speci- 

 mens are much more frequent in collections than well-clothed ones. 

 The first point to be observed in essaying the deteruunation of Smi- 

 cronyx is the condition of the claws ; with specimens set in our English 

 fasliion there is no difficulty about this, and the omission to do so has 

 led to confusion in more than one collection of repute. The sculpture 

 of the thorax merits attention, but its real character cannot readily be 

 observed except in abraded specimens. In the interspaces of the large 

 punctures it consists of a shallow confluent punctulation (the " cross 

 reticulation " of Fowler), which in S. ccecus is so little evident that 

 for practical purposes it may be regarded as absent ; in S.jungermamiise 

 it is more easily seen, and in S. reicM it is sufficiently evident to 

 impart to the surface a characteristic dull appearance. The large 

 punctures are similar in S. coecus and S . jtingertnannise, i. e., the cavity 

 is shallow and has a flat bottom which bears behind the middle a 

 minute pit, from which a hair-scale arises. In 8. reichi, however, the 

 greatest depth of the punctm-e, which is considerable, lies at its hinder 

 edge ; and the floor, although plane, rises gradually from back to front, 

 so that in the customary cephalad aspect, when the sui-face is lighted 

 from front to back, the front edge of the puncture is invisible ; from 

 this circumstance arises an appearance of tuberculation (the " ponc- 

 tuation rape use " of Bedel), but when the sm-face is lighted at a right 

 angle to the long axis of the body the complete circular boimdary of 

 the orifice of the puuctixre is easily seen ; indeed, if regarded under 

 that lighting alone, the thorax might be described as deeply punctured. 

 These particulars may easily be verified with a magnification of fifty 

 diameters or less. 



8. coecus, Eeich.— This species may be recognised in any condition 

 by its unequal claws. I have seen no specimen in which the scaling of 

 the elytra was complete, but several had more or less extensive patches 

 of undisturbed scales, from which it is evident that the normal con- 

 dition is for each interstice to have a row of distant fine hair- scales 

 down the middle, and an irregular double series of elongate-oval white 



