COLEOPTERA. 103 



latter very slightly the thicker, eighth distinctly elongated, oval, joints of 

 cluh increasing slightly in length, the last two of nearly equal thickness; 

 maxillary palpi rather long and robust, piceous-hlack, first joint piceo-testa- 

 eeous. Prothorax arcuately, evenly, and gradually widening to the middle, 

 where it is four-fifths as wide as the head and one-sixth narrower than long ; 

 sides thence very moderately convergent and feebly sinuate ; anterior and 

 posterior margins equal in length, the former the more arcuate ; surface very 

 feebly and minutely tuberculate at the basal angles, otherwise very evenly 

 convex, rather finely, very sparsely, unevenly, and feebly punctate ; punc- 

 tures impressed and varying greatly in size ; interspaces flat, obscurely and 

 minutely reticulated, highly polished. Elytra at. base very slightly narrower 

 than the head ; sides moderately divergent posteriorly, distinctly longer than 

 the width at base, moderately arcuate ; together broadly and very feebly 

 emarginate behind ; suture nearly one-sixth as long again as the pronotum ; 

 surface feebly impressed along the suture, almost equally so throughout ; 

 rather feebly, somewhat distantly, and very irregularly punctured and chan- 

 neled, interspaces nearly fiat, highly polished. Abdominal segments decreas- 

 ing almost uniformly and rather rapidly in width, first nearly as wide as the 

 contiguous elytra ; surface highly polished, rather strongly convex, feebly, 

 minutely, and very sparsely punctulate ; transverse carinae apparently not 

 cusped. Legs moderate, piceous- black, tarsi paler; first joint of posterior 

 tarsi two-thirds as long again as the second, second slightly longer than the 

 third. 



Male. — Posterior edge of the fifth ventral segment just perceptibly emargi- 

 nate in its middle third, emargination evenly rounded and scarcely measur- 

 able ; sixth very broadly sinuate at apex, sinus occupying nearly the entire 

 segmental apex, evenly rounded throughout, about twelve times as wide as 

 deep. 



Female. — Sixth ventral segment evenly rounded behind. 



Length 2.9 mm. 



Oak Grove, California, 1 ; Los Angeles, California, 4. 

 The very sparse and peculiar punctuation of the head and prothorax 

 separates this species from several closely allied forms. 



Subdivision J. 



The species of this subdivision are nearly always easily recogni- 

 zable ; they are generally small, highly polished, except in the first 

 group, and more or less pubescent. 



There are two groups indicated : — 



Punctures rather deep, closely crowded, but usually not coalescent ; inter- 

 spaces not shining or very feebly so ; pubescence very coarse, more or less 

 fulvous, abundant I. 



Punctures more or less deeply impressed, rather more distant ; interspaces 

 highly polished ; pubescence usually fine and somewhat dense, though 

 sometimes very sparse, varying in color from cinereous to piceous, very 

 seldom flavate II. 



