COLPOPT ERA: 
By Dr. Kart JORDAN. 
THE collection of Coleoptera consists of one thousand and forty- 
three specimens belonging to three hundred and fifty odd species. 
With few exceptions the specimens are in an erce/lent state of 
preservation. As every individual is most carefully dated, the col- 
lection gives us many important hints as to the faunistic differences 
of the districts traversed by Dr. Donaldson Smith, especially the 
peculiarities in the fauna of the high and cold country round Sheikh 
Husein and Sheikh Mohammed. The number of species is resark- 
ably high, and that gives the collection a special scientific value; 
of many species there are only from one to three examples ; two 
small coprophagous beetles (Psammobius) are, however, repre- 
sented by more than one hundred and fifty individuals. A very 
great percentage of the species belong to the TENEBRIONID#, 
among which I find the curiously shaped and sculptured Sepzdzum 
crassicauda Gestro, and some other not less interesting forms 
which seem to be unknown to science. 
It was our intention to have the entire collection worked out, 
and the manuscript delivered in time for the printing of the pres- 
ent volume. But as there is no entomologist in Europe who has 
time enough to work out carefully all the families represented in 
the collection, the greater portion of the specimens had to be sub- 
mitted to specialists. Owing to several circumstances, especially 
to the rapid succession of articles dealing with the coleopterous 
fauna of East Africa, appearing both in Europe and the United 
States of America, it was not possible to finish all the manuscripts 
at the appointed time; and I am, therefore, to my regret, com- 
pelled to restrict the account on the Coleoptera to the descrip- 
tions of some of the striking novelties, hoping that the other new 
species can soon be published in another place. 
