COLEOPTERA OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 217 



14. Philhydrus conjunctus, sp. nov. 



Elongate-oval, less convex than P. carinatus, piceous black, the sides of 

 the thorax paler. Punctuation as in P. carinatus, but with the lines of 

 coarser punctures on the elytra less well defined. Prosteruum not cari- 

 nate, mesosternal lamina well developed, the lower edge horizontal, the 

 anterior edge a little sinuate and slightly obliqiie, the free angle mucro- 

 nate. Abdominal apex not emarginate. Thighs piceous, tibite and tarsi 

 paler. Claws of anterior tarsus in the male unequally toothed, the tooth 

 of the front or inner claw large, lobe-like, and slightly everted; that of 

 the other claw smaller but strong and subrectangular. Claws of middle 

 and hind tarsi similar, strongly augulate at base. 



Length, 4-4.5 mm. 



Described from two males and one female taken at 

 Lake Tahoe. 



P. conjunctus much resembles P. carinatus, but is 

 smaller and less convex, and by the palpal characters 

 belongs to a different section of the genus. The claws 

 are toothed somewhat after the manner of P. hamilioni, 

 but this latter species and its allies differ in color and 

 in having the claws of the posterior tarsi sinuate in the 

 male. 



No mention seems to have been made of the fact that 

 several species in this genus show a very small emargin- 

 ation at the apex of the last ventral segment, which is, 

 so far as the writer has examined, very constant and 

 entirely independent of sex. This emargination is 

 present in P. carinatus, P. cinctus, P. californicus, P. 

 ochraceus, and P. nebulosus (in the last two, much alike 

 and deeper than in the others), while P. perplexus, 

 P. diffusus, P. hamiltoni and P. refiexipennis do not 

 show a trace of it. Of P. fucatus, P. cuspidatus, and 

 P. consors nothing can be said, as no specimens are at 

 hand. 



The small, pale species, P. ochraceus and P. nebulosus, 

 agree with the larger species of the same color, P. dif- 

 fusus, etc., in the form of the posterior claws in the 



