448 Coleopterological Notices, IV. 



tate ; beak feebly arcuate, not quite as long as the prothorax, smooth, shining 

 and finely, sparsely punctate except in less than basal half, where it is punc- 

 tate and squamose. Prothorax slightly wider than long, wider at the middle 

 than at base, the sides in basal half nearly straight, strongly convergent and 

 deeply sinuate anteriorly, the constriction very large, deep, extending entirely 

 across the dorsal surface ; disk coarsely perforato-cribrate, the punctures sepa- 

 rated by much less than their own diameters, the interspaces flat and polished, 

 without modified median line. Elytra scarcely wider than the prothorax, two- 

 thirds longer, narrowed and broadly constricted behind, the apex narrowly 

 obtuse ; disk with very fine sparse punctures, not striate, the punctures how- 

 ever becoming coarse and seriate very near the base. Abdomen finely, sparsely 

 punctate, smooth and polished toward base. Length 3.3 mm. ; width 1.(3 mm. 



JNIissouri (St. Louis). 



The single specimen was discovered by Mr. Moritz Schuster of 

 St. Louis, to whom it gives me pleasure to dedicate a most interest- 

 ing addition to our Cryptorhynchiui. 



TYLODERMA Say. 



This genus is widely differentiated from Cryptorhvnchus l)y the 

 short thick beak, consequently received in a much more shallow 

 emargination of the tumid mesosternum, by the small eyes, almost 

 completely concealed in repose by the ocular lobes, and by the six- 

 jointed antennal funicle ; in addition, it should be stated that the 

 femora are unarmed and are only moderately stout. The third 

 tarsal joint is dilated and bilobed, and the tarsal claws are small 

 slender free and simple. The species usually vary greatly in the 

 size of the body and in intensity and coarseness of sculpture, espe- 

 cially that of the elytra. 



In a perfectly natural succession of the North American forms 

 we can readily recognize four typical groups, represented respec- 

 tively hy foveolata,^ fragaiHse, variegata and eerea, the species in 

 each group being rather closely allied among themselves. The 



1 It is desirable to make the rules of nomenclature as uniform as possible, 

 and independent of linguistic exceptions. This can be accomplished in one 

 direction by adopting a constant gender for each particular ending of the 

 generic symbol, taking as a guide the general Latin rule in each case. In this 

 instance, it is the general rule that words ending in " a" are feminine, conse- 

 quently all generic symbols ending in "a," of whatever derivation, should 

 require a feminine termination in the specific word. It would be a decided 

 advance if a table of genders could be drawn up and agreed to, for every pos- 

 sible ending of the generic symbol. 



