120 Mfnufirs of l/if Imlian Stmirum. (Vol.. VII, 



ntitiitioiinl iwortU toiituim^l in the pronont pnper : nnd in the rase of other genera no 

 rniiipilation is poHnible without a nuirh more detnilecl revision of synonvniv than I nm at 

 ]»re.M'nt uMe tn nrhieve. Hut tlio pi'm-ral <li'*trilmtion of the family reijuires some further 

 eonsitleratioii in the light of certain faits set forth in the jjresent paper. 



It will Im' convenient to deal with the Indo- Australian area first. 



This urea is inhabited by three subfamilies of Pas.salidae, namely the AulaccKvrlinae, 

 Maerolininae and Le|)taula(-inae. 



The AuhMiKVilinae. though not a very large .subfamily, ajjpeiirs to be a .somewhat 

 highly spei'ializwl one. In none of its species are there frontal and ])arietal ridges or inner 

 and «iuter tul>enles. .such as are foun«l in the more primitive species of all other subfamilies : 

 and in the three largest genera, Comanipfs, Tiintun-erH.s and Aulurttci/rhis the basal piece 

 and lateral lobes of the male genital tube form <ine piece, either by consolidation or by the 

 suppre.ssiim t»f the ba.sal-piece, in.stead of being separate as in other subfamilies (see Sharp 

 and -Muir, it)i2, p. 580; al.so above, p. 5), while the middle lower tooth on each mandible 

 is imnuivable. In all other I'a.s-snlidae, even in such primitive forms as Oileoiden 

 gttbrecticonus, this tiM)th is jointed, .lointing does not occur, so far as I kn«»w, in any 

 beetles other than Pa.ssalids, and is clearly an indication of .specialization : but its ab.sence 

 in Cowani/tes. Taeitiocerux anil A iilacocijcl tis is jirobably .secondary and not primitive, 

 e>pe<;ially as it is correlated with specialization «»f the male genital tube. In the two 

 remaining genera, CeracufH's and Cyliiidrocoultis, the sfnn-ture, both of the tooth in question 

 and of the male genital tube, re.send)Ie those found in other .subfamilies. 



The largest genus, AuUirttcijrlnii, is centred in tlie Australian Kegif»n. but extends into 

 the Sunda Islands and Indian Peninsula. This discontinuous distribution suggests that 

 ground is being lost in the Oriental Region, where the smaller genera ComarujH's an«l 

 TitenioctTiis ])redoniinate. Tlie.se genera are confined to the Oriental Region. e.\ce]»t for a 

 single .species of Coviacupes (C. foveicollis) which has established itself in Celebes. Only 

 one .species, Tarniocerus bicuxpis, is found north of the Malay Peninsula ; this extend-s 

 northwartU to the Hinuilayas. 



The genera ('i-rnciijtrs and ('i/lni<ir(K-(iulu.s, in which the male genital tube and middle 

 lower tooth re.semble tho.se of other subfamilies, only occur towards and beyond the 

 northern confines of the Oriental Region. With these presumably primitive characters 

 tlii'V combine cephalic excre.scences which give them a most unusual appearance. Such 

 exirescences freijuently indicate the .senility of a group, and it .seems probable that 

 Crracupeg and CylindrocauUts are senile survivors of a tran.sitional group through which 

 the more tj-pical Atdacocyclinae of the present time have been derived. Ccraniftest is les.s 

 abnormal than Ci/lindrnmuliis and occurs in Burma, the Hinuilayas, Tonkin and Formo.sa. 

 The latter only occurs .still further north, namely in China and .lapan. Its ,species are the 

 only Aulac«K-yclinae known to have fu.sed elytra. 



The Maerolininae fall into two .series of genera, whose distribution mu.st be con.sidere<l 

 .s«-pnn»tely. The first of these compri.ses the gencr.i Mnrntiinus and Ph'urnrius, whose 

 (i.nibined range covers the Oriental Regi<»n and Celebes, but does not extend into the 

 Papuan Sub-Region. Ceylon is occupied by species of Macrolintis which are closely allied 

 to one another but differ in certain characters, common to all of then), from the remaining 



