572 CANARIAN COLEOPTEKA, 



oribiis, sensim seneo- vel viridiajneo-tinctis ac profuiidius parciusque 

 pimctatis, paulo minus dense sed subgrossiiis pubescentihus ; capita 

 vix majoi'e, rotundatiore ; anteunis paiilo brevioribus subrobusti- 

 oribus (articulis intermediis sensim brevioribus, magis transversis, 

 ajiicali \'ix crassiore, subquadrato apice oblique acuminate); pedibus 

 piceis (coxis concoloribus). 



Staphylinus politus?, Bridle fnec Grav.X in Webb et Berth. (Col.) 60 

 (1838). 



Habitat insulas omnes Canarienses, sub quisquiliis (pra)sertim sub 

 foliis Opuiitke Tinue putridis) vulgaris, — ab era maritima usque ad 

 9000' s. m. ascendens. 



This PhUonthus is universal throughout the archipelago, in the 

 whole seven islands of which I have myself captured it. It occurs 

 beneath vegetable detritus generally, and is very partial to the rotten, 

 putrid leaves of the fleshy Opuntia Tuna (or " Prickly Pear ")— in 

 places where they have been thrown away as refuse, and allowed to 

 rot ; under which circumstances I have taken it around Haria in the 

 north of Lanzaroto, near S*'' Cruz of Teneriffe, in the Banda of Palma, 

 and elsewhere. It seems to be independent of elevation ; for in Tene- 

 riffe I have met with it from almost the sea-level (near S'^ Cruz and 

 the Puerto Orotava), through the sylvan and subsylvan districts (above 

 Taganana, at La Esperanza, Souzal, and the Agvia Mansa), to an alti- 

 tude of at least 9000 feet (on the Cumbre overlooking the Caiiadas). 

 In Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Teneriff'e, and Hierro it was found like- 

 wise by Mr. Gray, in Teneriffe and Gomera by Dr. Crotch, and in 

 Teneriffe by M. Hartung*. As so abundant an insect could scarcely 

 have escaped the observations of even MM. Webb and Berthelot, and 

 since so large a proportion of the very few species which they collected 

 were afterwards wrongly identified by M. BruUe, I have little doubt 

 that the " StaphijVinus politus, Grav." of his list was inserted from a 

 large example (or examples) of this PJiilontlms. Nevertheless from 

 the true P. politiis it is altogether distinct — not merely in the five 

 punctures of its prothoracic series, but likewise in colour, bulk, sculj)- 

 ture, and entire contour. 



Prom its dark hue and general size, the P. marcklus might at first 

 sight be mistaken for the scyhalarius ; bnt when closely inspected it 

 Avill be seen to be a little more shining, particularly on the elytra — 

 which have a slightly brassy or greenish-brassy tinge, and are some- 

 what more convex and less densely (though very coarsely) pubescent, 



* I have received some Teneriffan specimens of M. Hartung's, from Dr. Heer, 

 ■under the name of "P. varians, Payk." — from wliich species, however, it is totally 

 distinct. 



