DIC^LUS. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Mandibles destitute of an articulated nail at 

 tip ; palpi six, terminal joint, obconic, truncated ; 

 anterior tibiae emarginate; two anterior tarsi 

 dilated in the male, and furnished beneath, with 

 dense, granuliform papillae; antennae filiform; 

 labrum emarginated, and with a longitudinal 

 indented line ; posterior thoracic angles, covering 

 the humeral angles. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



As respects number of species, this is a limited 

 group of insects. Their aspect is, however, 

 striking and peculiar, the body being large, 

 dilated, and depressed, with profoundly indented 

 striae on their elytra; the posterior angles of the 

 thorax extend far backward, covering the base of 

 the elytra, so as to present no interval between 

 the thorax and abdomen. Our great master, 

 Linne, would have placed these insects in his 

 comprehensive genus Carabus, which in the 



PLATE XXIV 



