﻿70 BRITISH BEETLES. 



margin of the last segment but one, which notch is in 

 some families much increased, and armed with lateral 

 teeth, etc., on the ante-penultimate segment ; the greater 

 part of the lower surface of the abdomen being some- 

 times affected by somewhat similar alterations of struc- 

 ture, and in a few cases adorned with curls of hairs. 



In some of the smaller species the penultimate seg- 

 ment of the male exhibits a notch, or one or more 

 tubercles or ridges (or both) on its upper side. 



The tarsi of the BracKelytra are for the most part five- 

 jointed, though there are many of them in which the 

 Heteromerous character is reproduced and reversed, the 

 posterior and intermediate tarsi having five joints, and 

 the anterior only four; some also are entirely /o^<r-, and 

 a few /Aree-jointed. 



The coxse, especially of the anterior legs, are much 

 increased in size, and capable of extension from the 

 body ; thus allov.ing considerable freedom of action to 

 those limbs. 



Their antennae are nearly always composed of eleven 

 joints, and filiform, sometimes a little thickened towards 

 the tip, or even slightly clavate ; and in one genus, 

 Micropepfus (a very aberrant form, which has been 

 placed by some authors among the Clavicornes) , deci- 

 dedly abruptly knobbed. The basal joint is occasionally 

 elongate, the antennae then somewhat resembling those 

 of the Rhynchophoi'ci. 



The remark before made, as to the development of 

 the eyes in such species of Geodephaga as frequent very 

 wet places, applies also to Brachelytra of similar habits ; 

 and in the OmaJidce, besides the ordinary compound la- 

 teral eyes, there are two small simple eyes, or ocelli, on 

 the back of the head (as in the Hymenoptera) ; but it is 



