THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



siderable part of the spinal column attached and parts of two 

 bones of the leg. It may be found in Case 8 on the north side of 

 the hall. A restoration of the head of the animal has been made 

 in water colors by Mr. Charles R. Knight and is exhibited in con- 

 nection with the specimen. 



HYPOCEPHALUS ARMATUS DESMAREST. 



SPECIMEN of the remarkable Beetle, Hypocephalus 

 annatus Desmarest, has been purchased recently 

 by the IMuseum and has been placed on exhibition 

 in the gallery of the East Wing (Hall No. 302). 

 The creature is a native of Brazil, where it lives 

 in the roots of one of the plants of the tropical forest, probably 

 confining itself to one kind of plant. The species has given rise 

 to considerable controversy among scientists, and there have 

 been more divergent opinions expressed regarding its systematic 

 position and relationships than those of any other form of beetles 

 known. In form and structure it is very different from any other 

 member of the order Coleoptera, though its general external ap- 

 pearance is somewhat like that of the mole-cricket (Gryllotalpa) . 

 Without going deeply into anatomical details, the principal fea- 

 tures which characterize this creature are the large prothorax, 

 which equals in length and bulk the hinder portion of the body ; 

 the five-jointed tarsi; the enormously developed hind femora; 

 the form of the mandibles; the manner in which the head is 



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