502 Coleopterological Notices, IV. 



as long as the next three. Prothorax one-third wider than long ; sides feebly 

 convergent and nearly straight to apical fourth, then i^trongly rounded, thence 

 convergent and nearly straight to the apex ; base three times as wide as the 

 head, on each side straight and feebly oblique,' the median lobe small and 

 very feeble ; disk with a narrow, more or less imperfect median iiiipunctate 

 line which is sometimes obsolete ; punctures rather coarse, about two-thirds 

 as wide as the scntellum, deep, dense, generally separated by much less than 

 one-half their widths, often almost contiguous. Scutellum rather small, 

 longitudinally, narrowly impressed in the middle, but slightly wider than 

 long, subquadrate. Jilytra nearly one-half longer than wide, twice as long 

 as the prothorax, and, at the moderately tumid humeri but slightly wider 

 than the latter; sides parallel ; apex semi-circularly, not abruptly rounded ; 

 disk with fine but deep, abruptly limited grooves, which are finely and dis- 

 tantly crenulate along their edges ; intervals flat, three times as wide as the 

 striae, each with a single series of very small feeble rather distant punctures ; 

 setffi extremely small, scarcely observable. Abdomen rather strongly but not 

 very densely punctate. Legs feebly, sparsely punctate ; tibise straight exter- 

 nally; tarsal claws moderate. Length 4.2-5.0 mm. ; width 1.8-2.2 mm. 



California (near San Francisco). 



Among the six specimens before me a considerable amount of 

 variation is observable, especially in a rather large male which is 

 relatively stou.ter, with the prothorax as wide as any part of the 

 elytra, and having the sides parallel in basal three-fourths. The 

 peculiarity of the other discrepant form, which is an unusually large 

 female, lies in the fact that the elytral intervals are slightl}^ convex, 

 the pronotal punctures being densely crowded and contiguous, and 

 without vestige of impunctate median line. I have but little doubt, 

 however, that they belong to this species. 



The description is taken from a male, the abdominal impression 

 being unusually wide and extending only slightly upon the second 

 segment. The sexual differences in the beak are hardly noticeable. 



39 Baris niacra Lee— Pac. R. R. Exp'l and Surv., Ins., p, 58 (Bari- 

 dius); Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci., Phila., 18G8, p. 3(i2 ; Proc. Am. Phil. Soc, XV, 

 p. 294. 



The form of this small and distinct species is unusually narrow, 

 rather more so in fact than any other true Baris which I have seen. 

 The beak in the male is moderately stout, deeply, closely punctate 

 at the sides, distinctly arcuate and about three-fourths as long as 

 the prothorax, the latter scarcely over one-fourth wider than long, 

 with the sides feebly convergent and slightly arcuate from base to 

 apex ; the apex is fully two-thirds as wide as the base and broadly, 



