(Page 460) 

 filiform, their first joint most robust and longest, the third often 

 shorter than the second; labrum four-toothed, the two middle teeth lon- 

 ger and more robust than the side teeth; mandibles robust, sickle-sha- 

 ped with three or four teeth; the third joint of maxillary palpi thick, 

 the fourth especially small and fine, scarcely visible. Pronotum ob- 

 long, broadest before the middle, from there narrowing anteriorly, and 

 also somewhat posteriorly, the sides not marginated, the middle-line 

 occasionally grooved; elytral sides rather parallel; abdomen elongate, 

 toward the tip most often slightly broadened, its first four free dor- 

 sal joints depressed at base. Legs robust, anterior femora thickened 

 and with an obtuse tooth on ventral margin; first four joints of fore- 

 tarsi short and broad; the middle- and hindmost tibiae at tip rounded 

 off, or obliquely truncated (Fig. 135), first joint of hind tarsi longer 

 than any of the middle ones, shorter than the claw-joint. 



Fig. 135. Middle leg (a) and hind leg (b) of Scopaeus cognatus 

 Muls. 



(Page 461) 



In Middle Europe about a half score species are distributed; they 



live under stones, in gravel pits, on half-damp slopes, also in plant 



mould at hothouse boxes. In Denmark and partly in the other northern 



countries 4 species are found, all rare, and can, to some extent, only 



'71 



be correctly determined by the sex-characteristics of the O . 



Key to Subgenera and Species. 

 1. Temples of the head with parallel sides. Pronotum without groove 



•37- 



