696 Coleopterological Notices, VI. 



and more decumbent. The des('rii)tion of LeConte is mis)eadin<^ 

 in regard especially to the form of the prothorax, which does not 

 differ from his difiicili.^ to any noticeal)le degree. 



8. A. piiisiiescens n. sp. — Rather stout, convex, shining, dark piceous, 

 the under side black; elytra pale brownish-llavate, very feebly and indefinitely 

 clouded with piceous in an oblique spot at the middle of each ; legs and an- 

 tennai pale; pubescence coarse, semi-erect, cinereous, not dense but consi)ic- 

 uous. Head quadrate, as long as wide, feebly convex, coarsely, deeply, 

 moderately closely punctate, with an almost entire median impunctate line; 

 eyes large, prominent, the tempora straight and parallel, with the flanks flat- 

 tened behind the eyes, about two-thirds as long as the latter; base broa<l]y 

 arcuate, not at all impressed, the basal angles very distinct and rather narrowly 

 rounded; antenn;c somewhat slender, feebly incrassate, not quite as long as the 

 head and prothorax, the tenth joint fully as long as wide. Prothorax large, 

 convex, fully as wide as the head, a little wider than long, narrowly rounded 

 at the sides anteriorly, the sides oblique and feebly arcuate thence to luisal 

 fourth or flfth, then parallel to the base; collar broad, strongly developed; 

 l^unctures deep, rather coarse and close; basal margin narrow but distinct. 

 Elytra three-fcmrths longer than wide, twice as wide as the jH-othorax, the sides 

 parallel and feebly arcuate, a little more convergent l)ehin(l the middle, the 

 apex somewhat broadly rounded; humeri widely and transvensely exposed at 

 base; omojjlates very feeble; punctures rather coarse, sej)arated by scarcely 

 more than their own widths. Abdoweri polished, finely Init not densely punc- 

 tate, the legs long and rather stout. Length :].-3 mm. ; width 1.1."> mm. 



California (8an Francisco to Los Angeles). 



The male has the posterior tibiae broadly, feebly swollen witliin 

 in basal two-thirds, the fifth ventral unmodified, rounded behind, 

 the genital segment arcuate at tip in the middle and thence sinuate 

 for a short distance to each lateral angle. The copulatory sheath 

 is parallel-sided, as in the preceding species, but the tip is much 

 more abruptly and briefly ogival, the apex of the ogive pro- 

 duced in a broader, obtusely rounded process, the flattened 

 superior surface at apex only ver^^ slightly and narrowly im- 

 pressed along the obliquely rounding sides of the ogive. Six 

 specimens. 



The four preceding species are mutually closely allied, and evi- 

 dently descended from a common stock in comparatively recent 

 times. Whether they should be termed species or geographical 

 varieties is, at the present time, a matter of opinion ; they all 

 differ by well marked peculiarities of structural detail, and, in the 

 opinion of the writer, can be considered geographical varieties 

 only in the sense that all the species of a genus are geograpliical 



