252 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



ON THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE EUROPEAN SUB- 

 GENERA OF COKIXA, Geoffr. (RHYNCHOTA.) 



By G. W. Kirkaldy. 



Subgeneka, although anathematised by entomologists — who, 

 however, almost invariably employ them — are convenient in 

 large genera (for example, Corixa, which contains probably not 

 far short of three hundred species, of which more than fifty are 

 European). This is more especially the case when, as in Corixa, 

 the subgenera have been erected upon structural grounds, which, 

 were it not that the genus is really, as a whole, homogeneous, 

 would form good excuse for its description. 



Flor had, in 1860, separated coleoptrata, &c, to form a new 

 genus Cymatia, but the first attempt at the establishment of 

 "sections" was made by Thomson (1869, Opusc. Ent. i. p. 27), 

 when Macrocorisa (geoffroyi, &c), Glcenocorisa (cavifrons) , Cymatia 

 (coleoptrata, &c), and an unnamed section {striata, &c), which 

 Thomson presumably intended to be the typical subgenus, were 

 erected. Unfortunately the learned Swedish author did not take 

 into account the fact that the typical subgenus (i. e. that to 

 which the generic name itself is imparted) obviously must be 

 that which contains the type of the genus. The genotype of 

 Corixa is striata of Geofiroy (=geofroyi, auctt.) and not striata 

 of Linnaeus, and therefore the subgeneric name " Corixa " must 

 be conserved for the section containing geoffroyi, a new name 

 being rendered necessary for the subgenus Corixa, auctt.* 



In 1873 (Ent. Mo. Mag. x. pp. 62, 63) F. B. White erected 

 two new subgenera, Callicorixa for prceusta and its allies, and 

 Oreinocorixa, synonymous with Glcenocorisa. Puton (Syn. Hem. 

 France, 1880, p. 234) incorrectly included carinata and germari 

 in Thomson's Glcenocorisa, with the diagnosis of which they 

 do not conform ; in fact, they belong, in every character, to 

 Basileocorixa, the central longitudinal percurrent carina on the 

 pronotum, which is also a conspicuous feature in Glcenocorisa, 

 being merely a superficial character, although apparently 

 constant, and of some importance for specific differentiation. 

 Saunders (1892, Hem. Heter. Brit., pp. 340, 341) revived White's 

 lapsed Oreinocorixa for cavifrons, incorrectly reserving Glceno- 

 corisa for carinata. Lastly, Wallengren (Ent. Tidskr., 1894, 

 pp. 159-161) recognised the identity of Glcenocorisa with Oreino- 

 corixa, correctly placing therein cavifrons, but erected an un- 

 necessary (as shown above) new subgenus Arctocorisa for variegata 

 (germari) and carinata. 



The European subgenera appear to me to be as follows : — 



1. Cymatia, Flor, 1860, et auctt.; type, coleoptrata (Fabr.). 



* I have proposed "Basileocorixa" (i.e. "dominant. Gorixa"), type, itriata 

 (Linn.). 



