490 FAMILY XIII. — scapiiidiid.t:. 



VT. Ptixella Mots. 1845. (Diiuiuutivc of I'liiius.) 



Very siiinll. cloii^atc or ol)lon<i' foi'iiis liaviiiii' the head hirg'e and 

 prominent; eyes often wanting in male; antenna^ long and slender, 

 each joint ornamented witli long hairs; thora.x small, usually more 

 or less eonstrieted at base; elytra sliorl. Ii'uiieate. leaving five or six 

 joints of the long abdomen exposed; hind coxa' widely separated. 

 One of the three species listed has been taken in the State. 



!)41 (l".i70). riiXKi.LA (;i KHci s Iah".. Now Sp. X. Am. ("nl.. T. ISC,;',. C.:!. 



Modcr.-itt'l.v ('lirii.i,Mtc. iiiUTow. Male pale yclldw. rcinalc iialc clicslmil 

 brown; si)ai>cl.y clothed with yellowish hairs. Eyes of female rather larj;c. 

 those of male wanting. Thorax more than twice as wide as Ions, widest 

 before the middle, constricted near base, hind angles acute, surface alu- 

 taceous. Elytra shorter and rather narrower than head and thorax to- 

 gether, widest toward the aiiex ; surface remotely asperate or roughly 

 granulate. Length .5-.0 mm. 



One specimen taken by Dnry while sifting dead leaves near New 

 Albany. Floyd County. ^lay 25. A southern form, described 

 from Geoi'gia. 



Family XIIT. SCAPlillJllD.E. 



The Shining Fungus Beetles. 



Sii:all, oval, convex, very shining l)eetles which live in fungi, in 

 retten wood, dead leaves, or l)eneath the bark of logs. But little is 

 known regarding their life history, althongh some of them are very 

 common in every piece of woodland. When exposed by removing 

 their cover of bark or other material, they either remain quiescent 

 or move ra})idly with an. tmeven, skipping gait. The name of the 

 family is based upon that of the genus Scaphidium, a name meaning 

 "a little skiff or boat." on account of the fancied resemblance in 

 form of the lieetles to that of a i)oa1. being thickest and arched in 

 1h;' middle and nan-owed toward each end. the head small and the 

 alxlomen more or less conical and pointed. 



'I'hey have Ihc iiiciilinii hn-gc, (|uadrale; palpi short. I'our- 

 jointed. the last joiiil conical; front oT he;id contracted and pro- 

 longed into a short beak; antenna' citliei- liair-like or slightly cla- 

 vate. inserted at the margin of the front ; thorax closely applied to 

 the after body; j)rosteriinin not inolonged, the coxal cavities widely 

 open behind; elytra i)roadly truncate, not covering the tip of the 

 conical al)domen, which has six or seven visible ventral segments. 

 The fi'ont coxa' are rather laro-e. conical and contignous; middle 



