1884.] 55 



ilmost always unilobed ; occasionally bilobed {Brachyjiterus, Cercm) ; maxillary 

 Dalpi usually short and thick ; sometimes longer and more slender {Pria, Cryiptarchd) . 

 IJabial palpi short and thick, usually truncate at apex ; paraglossae marked in some 

 ipecies. Mandibles variable : usually bluntly pointed at apex, and toothed imme- 

 liately behind apex ; sometimes quite bifid {Amphotis) ; sometimes simple {Cychra- 

 nus, CercHs) ; occasionally with a large sharp tip {Cryptarcha, Micruria). 



Antennae inserted under margin of front, ll-jointed, ending in a three-jointed, 

 •arely two-jointed, club. (In Rhizophagus the club is two-jointed, and the 11th 

 oint is wholly or partially enclosed within the 10th.) The club is strong, round, 

 md compact (XitiduJa, JEpurcea, Meligethes), rather loose {Ips), or rather elongate 

 ■ind feebly capitate {Cercus, Brachypterus) ; the antennae are received into furrows 

 !n the head and thorax, which vary much in width, depth, and direction. 



Thorax usually widely margined at sides {Epurcea), sometimes very narrowly 

 nargined {Mellgethes) , fitting closely to the elytra {Ips, Epurcea), or overlapping 

 -he base of the elytra {Cychramus, Cryptarcha). Prosternum usually not pro- 

 duced, but occasionally considerably produced {Pria, Thalycra, Meligethes). An- 

 terior coxae transverse ; anterior coxal cavities nearly always closed (open in 

 [ps). Mesosternum separating the middle coxae more or less widely : bifurcate 

 , [Soronia), or emarginate in a wide curve {Cryptarcha) , ov broadly truncate {Omosita), 

 ; it base ; epimera reaching to the coxae. Metasternum with cpisterna very narrow ; 

 ;pimera invisible. Elytra entire, covering abdomen {Meligethes, Soronia, &c.) ; 

 lometimes truncate, and leaving more or less of the abdomen exposed {Ips, Bra- 

 ' fhypterus, Carpophilus). 



Il Abdomen with five free ventral segments ; males occasionally with a sixth dorsal 

 rtegment {Epurcea, Brachypterus, Carpophilus). Legs short, usually rather stout, 

 learly always retractile, in some cases {Meligethes, Omosita) strongly so ; tarsi five- 

 pointed in both sexes, except in one or two foreign families, and in the Mhizophagina, 

 \n which they are heteromerous in the male ; the 4th joint is very small, and the 

 first three are usually broad, and clothed on the under-side with fine silky hairs. 



Erom the above characters it will be seen that the Nitidulidm 

 form rather a heterogeneous family ; their clubbed antennae, however, 

 separate them from a large number of families, and from the other 

 families that also have clubbed antennae they maybe distinguished by 

 the cylindrical anterior coxae, the free segments of the abdomen, and 

 in most cases by the minute fourth joint of the tarsi. 



The following table will be found serviceable for separating the 

 family into tribes ; for the greater portion of it, and for other informa- 

 tion, I am much indebted to the kindness of Dr. Horn ; I have, 

 however, dissected specimens of all the genera, and in some cases of 

 several species in each genus, and representatives of the neighbouring 

 families, and have altered and added to several points in order to suit 

 our fauna; Dr. Horn's system in the main agrees with that of 

 Erichson, except that the latter adds the Feltides as a separate group 

 'Of his Nitidularice, distinguished by having the first tarsal joint small 

 instead of the fourth, and containing Nemosoma, TemnocUla, Trogosita, 

 ■■■ iPeltis, and Thymalus. 



