Casey — Observations on the Staphylinidae. 351 



announce that brevicolliH will constitute one group, seminitens 

 and opaca another, americana Bern., a third, and the species 

 described below two more. The species selected for descrip- 

 tion at the present time are the following: — 



Form rather slender, parallel, convex, the anterior parts feebly reticulate, 

 the head and pronotura not very floely but closely and feebly punctate 

 and dull, the elytra closely, more deeply and asperately punctured and 

 more shining, the abdomen devoid of minute ground sculpture except 

 a feeble reticulation at the extreme apex, not very finely, closely punc- 

 tured and somewhat shining; color dark and uniform piceous-brown, 

 the abdomen pale rufo-teataceous, VFith a black cloud involving the 

 fourth tergite and basal half of the fifth; legs pale, the antennae black, 

 pale at apex and toward base; pubescence pale, subdecurabent; head 

 wider than long, narrowed behind the moderate and prominent eyes, the 

 antennae almost attaining the middle of the elytra, stout, gradually in- 

 crassate, the second and third joints much elongated and subequal, the 

 subapical joints transverse ; prothorax almost a third wider than the head 

 and fully two -fifths wider than long, widest at apical two-fifths, where 

 the sides are rather prominently rounded, thence converging and feebly 

 sinuate to the base, the basal angles rather prominent, not evidently 

 blunt, the surface not obviously impressed; elytra only just visibly 

 wider than the prothorax and barely two-fifths longer, parallel, the 

 humeri somewhat exposed at base; abdomen long, parallel, evidently 

 narrower than the elytra, the first three tergites strongly and equally 

 impressed at base. Length 2.4-3.2 mm.; width 0.6-0.65 mm. Iowa 

 (Iowa City") and Ohio (Cincinnati) tricolor n. sp. 



Form, coloration and lustre nearly as in tricolor, the apical joint of the an- 

 tennae not so completely pale; punctures of the anterior parts rather 

 large and very close -set, those of the head very shallow and variolate, 

 of the pronotum deeper and somewhat asperulate, of the elytra still 

 stronger and asperate, of the abdomen fine but strong, close but no- 

 tably less so than in tricolor and becoming rather sparse toward tip; 

 head nearly as in tricolor but more shining, the antennae shorter and 

 notably less strongly incrassate distally, attaining about basal third o£ 

 the elytra, the second and third joints subequal, the subapical trans- 

 verse; prothorax distinctly wider than the head, about two-fifths wider 

 than long, nearly as in tricolor but with the basal angles rather more 

 obtuse and less prominent though very distinct, the surface with the 

 merest trace of transverse impression before the scutellum; elytra rela- 

 tively much larger, fully a fourth wider than the prothorax and nearly 

 one-half longer, the humeri well exposed; abdomen narrower, ranch 

 narrower than the elytra, parallel, similarly impressed. Mcde with a 

 very short and feeble carinule behind the centre of the fifth and sixth 

 tergites, the latter broadly sinuato-truncate and minutely, closely ser- 

 rulate at tip. Length 2.4 mm. ; width 0.63 mm. Mississippi (Vicks- 

 burg) canonica n. sp. 



Form more slender, parallel, convex, alutaceous, the abdomen more shin- 



