4t 



REVISION OF TENEBRIONID SUBFAMILY CONIONTIX^ I4I 



the angles right and narrowly rounded, the base broadly bisinuate, 

 with the angles but slightly produced; surface minutely, sparsely 

 punctate, becoming but slightly more strongly or less sparsely so 

 laterally, the bead extremely fine; scutellum rather small, but 

 slightly transverse, sharply triangular; elytra equal in width to 

 the prothorax, rather more than one-half longer than wide, the 

 sides parallel and straight, gradually strongly rounded in about 

 apical two-fifths to the somewhat sharply ogival tip ; surface 

 smooth throughout, alutaceous posteriorly, very finely, evenly and 

 not densely punctate ; prosternum extremely minutely punctulate, 

 the process unmargined, moderately constricted, long, rounded at 

 tip ; femora and abdomen minutely, sparsely, inconspicuously punc- 

 tate; tarsi long and very slender. Length 6.7 mm.; width 2.9 

 mm. (cj*). California, — the exact locality unrecorded, — J. J. 

 Rivers tenuis n. sp. 



Subgenus Brachyontis nov. 



Form extremely short and stout, ver}^ convex, feebly shining, black, 

 the legs rufous, the antennje piceous ; upper surface clothed rather 

 thinly with coarse decumbent fulvous hairs ; head moderate, rufes- 

 cent anteriorly, rather finely, loosely punctate, the sinus moderate, 

 broadly rounded, the lobes obtuse, not very broadly rounded, ^the 

 anterior canthus rounded, less prominent than the posterior ; an- 

 tennae rather short, thick; prothorax fully four-fifths wider than 

 long, the sides almost evenly rounded, more converging anteriorly, 

 becoming parallel near the base, the apex strongly sinuate, two- 

 thirds as wide as the base, the angles much deflexed, obtuse but 

 not broadly rounded, the base transverse, straight, feebly curved 

 posteriorly toward the sides, the hind angles rounded ; surface 

 finely, closely punctate, more strongly and still more closely so 

 toward the sides, the bead fine, curving inwardly at base ; scutellum 

 moderate, polished, obtuse ; elytra not longer than wide, very 

 strongly declivous behind, at the middle a little wider than the pro- 

 thorax, the sides parallel and broadly arcuate, the apex very 

 broadly obtuse; surface smooth even posteriorly, minutely, rather 

 sparsely punctate ; prosternum finely, closely punctate, the process 

 short, moderately constricted, rounded and convex apically, not 

 margined except feebly at the sides basally ; abdomen almost im- 

 punctate. Length 6,4-6.5 mm. ; width 3.7-4.22 mm. California 

 (Tahichipi Pass) ^ globulina Csy 



It should be borne in mind that the groups into which the 

 genus Coniontis is divided above, are, in considerable measure, 

 arbitrary and intended more to facilitate identification than any- 

 thing else ; the abdominalis, ojyaca and subptihesccns groups are 

 perhaps the least natural aggregates, while the viatica,, sctosa, 

 eschscholtzt diud ovalis groups are more in the nature of quasi- 

 subgeneric geographic sections of the genus, more sharpl}'^ cir- 

 cumscribed in general habitus and are more homogeneous. 



