268 staphtlinidj:. [Pidlonthiis. 



In haystack refuse, manure heaps, dead leaves, &e.; somewhat local, but not uncom- 

 mon ; London district, generally distributed ; Hastings ; Devonshire and south coast 

 generally ; Midlands, common ; Liverpool, Manchester, and Northumberland districts ; 

 Scotland, rather common, and found as far north as the Shetlands, 



P. nigriventris, Thorns. This species is of the build and size of 

 P. sordidus, from which it is at once distinguished by the close punctua- 

 tion of the elytra ; it is also closely allied to P. cejjJialotes, but is smaller 

 and blacker, with darker legs ; the elytra are more closely and deeply 

 punctured than in the latter species, and the hind body is entirely black 

 underneath instead of having the apex of the ventral segments more or 

 less distinctly reddish. L, 6 mm. 



In dead birds and animals, cut grass, &c. ; rare ; Chat Moss (Chappell) ; North- 

 umberland district, banks of Irthing (Bold) ; Scotland, very local, Sol way, Tay, and 

 Dee districts (Dumfries (Sharp), Balmuto, Fifeshire (Power), &c.). 



P. fimetarius, Grav. This species may be easily distinguished from 

 its allies by its smaller and longer head, which is furnished on the fore- 

 head with a broad and distinct but shallow impression ; antennae black, 

 with the extreme base of the first joints often pitchy red, penultimate 

 joints hardly or not transverse ; thorax distinctly narrower than elytra ; 

 elytra plainly longer than thorax, shining bronze, sometimes greenish, 

 distinctly and moderately strongly punctured, but less so than in P. 

 sordidus ; hind body finely and rather thickly punctured, less thickly 

 behind ; legs pitchy testaceous, with the coxas, especially the posterior 

 ones, darker, anterior tarsi simple in both sexes. L. 6 mm. 

 -- Male with the seventh ventral segment of hind body slightly sinuate, 

 the sinuation being often filled with membrane. 



In dung-heaps, haystack refuse, &c. ; common and generally distributed through- 

 out the kingdom. 



P. sordidus, Grav. Shining black with the elytra more or less 

 obscurely bronze, the antennse black with the insertion of the first joints 

 sometimes reddish, and the legs blackish or pitch-brown with tlie tarsi, 

 and sometimes the tibiae, lighter ; it may be distinguished from all its 

 allies by the very coarse and deep punctuation of the elytra, the punctures 

 on which are often entirely separate, and never run so much into each 

 other as in the other species ; it may also be distinguished from P. 

 fimetarius by its broader and more parallel form, larger and more sub- 

 quadrate head, and the absence, as a rule, of the central impression on the 

 forehead ; when present, it is much smaller and indistinct ; the anterior 

 tarsi are simple in both sexes. L. 6 mm. 



Male with the seventh ventral segment of hind body plainly emargi- 

 nate, the emargination bordered behind with a narrow membrane, sixth 

 segment slightly emarginate. 



In dung, haystack refuse, &c. ; common and generally distributed throughout the 

 kingdom ; it is, like P. ceneus, found in very various and widely separated regions cf 

 the world. 



