﻿THE NECROPHAGA, OR CLAVICORNES. 107 



have the antennse of nine joints, of which the three last 

 form a club ; the prosternum membraneous ; the front 

 and middle legs close to each other ; the anterior coxae 

 projecting and approximated, the intermediate oval, and 

 the posterior transverse, the two latter pairs being 

 widely separated between themselves; and the tarsi 

 slender and four-jointed. 



Georyssus pygmceus is found in wet places, especially 

 on the seacoast; it often burrows in the ground, and nearly 

 always bears a little heap of dry mud or caked sand upon 

 its back. When cleaned, the elytra exhibit very coarse 

 punctuation for so small an insect. 



In the Hydrophilid^ (often called Philhydrida) , 

 — which, with the next family^ constitute the Palpi- 

 comes of the French entomologists, — the palpi are as 

 long as, or longer than, the antennae, which have from 

 six to nine joints, the basal one being elongate and the 

 apical (usually three) forming a club; the mentum is 

 large and unnotched, the maxillae terminate in two un- 

 toothed lobes, and the mandibles are very short. The tarsi 

 are always five-jointed, and the hinder legs formed for 

 swimming in some species : in short, the members of 

 this family, which are all found either in or about water, 

 and are not carnivorous in the perfect state, are the 

 aquatic representatives of the Lamellicornes , and pro- 

 bably of other families. They are fully described by 

 Mulsant, Hist. Nat. des Col. de France; Palpicornes : 

 Paris, 1844. 



In Spercheus emarginatus, the inner lobe of the 

 maxillae is coriaceous, and the outer horny, slender, and 

 ending in a pencil of hairs ; the antennae are six-jointed ; 

 the thorax is narrower than the elytra, and the hind 

 lesrs arc not natatorial. The female makes a small bajr 



