174 * [January, 



synonymous with O. rotundicollis, Fairra, (ohscurus, Sturm, nee Tab.). 

 As there has been considerable confusion in our lists with regard to 

 this species, I wrote to Herr Eeitter for a specimen, and he kindly 

 sent me one from his collection ; this differs from rotundicollis in 

 having the thorax more strongly punctured and slightly less rounded 

 at the sides, and with the posterior angles in a very small degree more 

 strongly rounded ; the differences, however, are so very slight (especi- 

 ally as a. rotundicollis is somewhat variable as regards punctuation 

 of thorax), that there seems hardly any doubt but that the species are 

 synonymous, or, at the most, that one is a variety or race of the other. 

 Eye (Ent. Ann., 1872, p. 134) says, that " JEf. dijinis stands in the 

 same relation to H. rotundicollis, Fairm., as griseus to rujicornis ;" 

 but in this he is wrong, as the difference in the posterior angles of 

 thorax in the first two species is hardly perceptible, whereas H. griseus 

 has the posterior angles very blunt, almost rounded, while in H. ruji- 

 cornis they are very acute and projecting. 



I have lately been carefully working through the Ophonus group, 

 and I may add, in conclusion, that although I believe H. cordatus, 

 Duft., and H. rupicola, Sturm, to be distinct species, yet, after a 

 careful examination of a large number of species, I have come to the 

 conclusion that the connecting links between ^. ^:»w;ic/icc//^s, Payk., 

 S. rujiharlis, F. (crihellum, Steph.), and S. pnrallelus, Dej., are so 

 strong, that it is extremely doubtful whether they do not all belong to 

 one species ; of course, the extreme forms are very easy to separate, 

 but some of the intermediate forms cannot be assigned to either one 

 or the other. H. cordatus is distinct by its strongly convex and cordate 

 thorax, which never repeats itself in the other forms (although speci- 

 mens occur that somewhat resemble it in shape, yet they are always 

 distinct), and H. rupicola is easily distinguished by the much stronger 

 and coarser punctuation of the interstices of the elytra. M. Bedel 

 (I. c. p. 70) se'pnTSites puncticollis and rufiharlis on the ground that 

 the latter has no trace of a basal border, whereas, the base of the 

 former is always finely bordered, but M. des Gozis (Eevue d'Entomo- 

 logie, iv, p. 116) proves that this character is not constant, and of no 

 service in settling the difiiculty ; he says that in September, 1883, he 

 took Ophonus puncticollis by hundreds, and that quite half presented 

 no trace of a basal border. As far as my experience goes, specimens 

 from the same locality or spot do not vary much. I once took upwards 

 of two hundred specimens of rujiharlis at Eepton from a spot a foot 

 square, and they were very constant in the shape of the thorax. 



Lincoln : 2iovetnber 12th, 1885. 



