Coleopterological Notices, IV. 4T5 



Beak longer. 



Base of the prothorax distinctly less than three times as wide as the 



head ; minute species, with very fine elytral strise...42 scintillailS 



Base of the prothorax three times as wide as the head or nearly so ; 



much larger species, the elytral striiB coarse. 



Prothorax short and. transverse, snbequal in width to the elytra, the 



sides subparallel and strongly arcuate 43 aeiieoillicailS 



Prothorax longer, the sides convergent and nearly straight from the 

 base. 

 Pronotal punctures moderately coarse, separated by about their 

 own diameters ; body black throughout, but with strong aeneous 



lustre 44 Iiyperioii 



Pronotal punctures much coarser and separated by about twice 



their own diameters ; elytra rufo-piceous 45 vitl'eola. 



Lustre highly polislied but not seneous. 



Legs black ; body elongate-oval, black, with a feeble bluish metallic 



lustre 4G ancilla 



Legs piceous or rufo-piceous. 



Larger species, the interstitial punctures of elytra exceedingly minute. 



47 splendeiis 

 Very small species, the interstitial punctures small but deep and dis- 

 tinct ; apex of the prothorax rounded almost evenly and continu- 

 ously with the sides 48 exiglia 



The sculpture in Baris varies to an extreme degree, and 1 have 

 before me specimens of transversa with the interstitial punctures 

 varying between wide limits, confused on all the intervals or form- 

 ing even series. I have been forced, however, to refer extensively 

 to sculpture in separating and describing the species, since this is 

 one of those enormously difficult genera containing a large number 

 of undoubtedly distinct species — as shown by extended series, — 

 which can only be distinguished by bodily facies, and which are 

 devoid of prominent structural differences, but the language em- 

 ployed should not be interpreted too rigidly, as it applies in general 

 only to the typical forms of a species. For example, the pronotal 

 punctuation m futilis and inconspicua is said in the table to be 

 dense, but there are specimens of both these species before me, in 

 which the punctures become separated by fully their own width, or 

 what might be termed sparse. In the case of isolated specimens, 

 therefore, a search for the proper identification in the table must be 

 more or less tentative, and it is quite possible that the table itself 

 may be misleading in those cases where I have had to take the 

 characters from single specimens. It has been \\\y constant care to 

 avoid synonymical repetitions, and, except in obvious cases, I have 

 Annals N. Y. Acad. Sci., VI, Sept. 1892.— 32 



