38 ANNULOSA JAVANICA. 
In his Genera Insectorum et Crustaceorum, vol. ii. p. 2 and 8, Latreille has proved the affinity 
of the Silphide to the Nitidulide, thus adopting another opinion not only of Linnzus, but of 
Degeer and Olivier. 
In the same Histoire Générale, and Genera Insectorum et Crustaceorum, Latreille thinks the 
affinity of the Nitidulide and Engide so close, that he makes only one family of them, thus 
adopting an opinion of Geoffroy and Fabricius. 
Finally, in the Histoire Générale, vol. x. p. 16, M. Latreille acknowledges that the Engide 
have, “ beaucoup de rapport avec les Dermestes,”’ thus adopting an opinion of Linnzus, Scopoli, 
Geoffroy, Fabricius, and Olivier. 
Now these various affinities have never yet been supposed to lead to any general consequence, 
and nevertheless if connected, which, as was before said, they never yet have been, they pro- 
duce the following symmetrical table of the stirps: 
NECROPHAGA. 
l. Aberrant groupe ? 5. Dermestide. 
Antennarum clava brevis articulis solummodo duobus , 
a . Engide. 
vel tribus ? 
DenmesTEs Lin. 3. Nitidulide, (leading by Micropeplus to the Brachelytra.) 
2. Normal groupe? C 
Antennarum clava elongata valde perfoliata qiiatube ) 2. Silphide. 
yel quinque articulis. ( 
1. Scaphidide. 
SizpHa Lin. 
The Necrophaga thus comprize almost all those insects which Linnzeus called either Der- 
mestes or Silphe. So close indeed is the affinity of these two Linnean genera, that of the 
modern genus Nitidula we find one species assigned by the Swedish naturalist to his genus 
Silpha, and another to his genus Dermestes. 
The Nitidulide lead, by means of Cercus and Micropeplus, to the Brachelytra. That Micro- 
peplus is an insect which leaves the typical Necrophaga, is clear from its different antenna, and 
from its having been described as a Staphylinus by so many authors. 
Many, if not the greatest part, of Latreille’s Taxicornes belong to this stirps, which, however, 
has too few Javanese species in it to induce me at present to investigate it accurately. I shall 
therefore now content myself with saying, that Latreille’s groupe of Clavicornes, as given in 
the Dictionnaire d’ Hist. Naturelle, is altogether artificial. It is a heterogeneous collection, that 
is not only inferior to all his former groupings of this family, but is even inferior to what M. 
Dumeril had already done in characterizing his Helocera. 
Fam. 1. SCAPHIDID. 
The first thing which strikes us in the appearance of this family is the remarkable relation of 
analogy which it bears to the Mordellide, the place of which, in their own circle of affinity, is 
thus pointed out. Mr. Spence has, among other pertinent remarks on the genus Choleva, in 
the 11th volume of the Linnean Transactions, justly observed, that the resemblance between 
Mordella and Choleva is merely superficial. So also is the relation between Scaphidium and 
Ripiphorus, 
