166 AMERICAN COLEOPTERA. 



as a point of departure in the construction of his table. But, un- 

 likely as it may seem at first sight, I believe, from the study of a 

 very large series, that the character is principally sexual, the crater- 

 form punctuation pertaining especially (though not exclusively) to 

 the males. Further reference will be made to this feature in the 

 specific descriptions. 



Some of the species of Tanartliropsis are quite closely allied 

 among themselves. They are occasionally common in the Great 

 Basin, some extending into Arizona and to the sea coast of Califor- 

 nia, but not, so far as known, reaching Mexico. Their habits are 

 quite similar, most of the species frequenting the flats in the imme- 

 diate vicinity of salt or alkaline lakes, hiding under rubbish or 

 caked mud, running and flying, when disturbed, after the manner 

 of Bemhidium. Nearly all have come under my personal observa- 

 tion in the field. Their distribution is correlated in a striking man- 

 ner with that of the Cicindelse of the latesignata, Julgida and echo 

 types — a matter to which I shall revert later on. 



I wish to express my thanks to those who have assisted in the 

 preparation of this little memoir. I have derived much help from 

 the advice of Major Casey, who verified my determinations of some 

 of his species and gave me information concerning the LeConte 

 types which he has examined. Through the kindness of Mr. 

 Schwarz and Dr. Howard I have been enabled to study the National 

 Museum series, and Dr. Holland has favored me with some speci- 

 mens from the Ulke collection (now in the Carnegie Museum) for 

 comparison. Mr. Fall has loaned me a series from his cabinet and 

 has verified certain characters to which I had called his attention. 

 My own collections have provided me with a series running into the 

 hundreds, and I think the material at my disposal far exceeds that 

 in the hands of previous investigators. 



My proposed tabular arrangement of the species of the genus 

 Tanartliropsis is based largely upon color characters, because these 

 are easily seen and fairly constant. The disposition of the pubes- 

 cence upon the elytra has proved a useful feature as a point of 

 departure, and is readily observable with the help of a strong hand 

 lens. I have not felt at liberty to make much use of the extent to 

 which the pygidium is exposed, finding that the abdomen is appar- 

 ently susceptible to a varying degree of contraction in drying. With 

 a fair series at hand, some study and a good microscope, it is proba- 



