junei 9 oo.] Casey: On North American Coleoptera. 79 



2 — Antennal club 3- jointed, narrower and more loosely connected, the ninth joint sen- 

 sibly smaller than the tenth, the eighth small and similar to the seventh, the last 

 subtransversely oval and generally somewhat narrower than the tenth. \Marginus 

 Lee] Diploccelus 



Antennal club 2-jointed, the eighth and ninth joints small and perfectly similar to the 

 seventh, the tenth abruptly large, rectilinearly obconic in form and somewhat 

 wider and longer than the eleventh, which is transversely suboval and obtusely 

 pointed *BiphyIlus 



In this tribe the joints of the antennal shaft are equal among them- 

 selves, showing little if any of the alternating inequality so prevalent 

 elsewhere in the family.* 



Anchorius, gen. nov. 



In this genus the body is oblong-oval, rather depressed, the upper 

 surface feebly and evenly convex. The legs are very much stouter 

 than in Diploccelus, the femora broadly oval and the antennae still 

 shorter. The minute dense punctulation of the under surface is devoid 

 of larger punctures, which is not the case in either Diploccelus or Bi- 

 phyllus. There is but one species before me at present, which may be 

 described, as follows : — 



Uniform dark brown throughout the upper surface, densely dull and devoid of lustre, 

 extremely minutely and densely punctulate and minutely, densely pubescent ; an- 

 tennae as long as the width of the head, the eyes large, convex and very coarsely 

 faceted ; prothorax twice as wide as long, with the sides moderately convergent 

 from base to apex, evenly and distinctly arcuate, the apex broadly sinuate, with 

 the angles bluntly rounded ; basal angles obtuse but not obviously rounded ; sur- 

 face with ten fine and entire subelevated longitudinal lines, those toward the sides 

 rather more widely spaced and somewhat more strongly elevated, the intervals 

 feebly concave and with scattered coarser punctures ; elytra one-half longer than 

 wide, three times as long as the prothorax but not at all wider, the sides feebly 

 arcuate, not continuous in curvature with those ot the pronotum, evenly, rather 

 strongly rounded behind ; strife composed of unimpressed series of fine punctures, 

 the intervals feebly elevated along the middle, the crest having a single series of 

 short coarse and somewhat paler hairs, similar to those along the crests of the 



- I follow DuVal in writing and adopting Biphyllus Stephens, instead of the emen- 

 dation Diphyllus Redt. Lacordaire writes Diphyllus, with the statement that 

 Biphyllus is inconsistent with the laws of etymology. This would be perfectly 

 correct if generic words were subject to the laws of etymology — but they are not. 

 They are simply pronounceable, and, first of all, constant, combinations of letters 

 having latiniform endings. They cannot, when once established, be changed under 

 any circumstances. They are not supposed to have a meaning — that is as an essential 

 quality. Specific names, on the contrary, always have a meaning, and are therefore 

 subject to the rules of etymology. 



