332 STAPHYLiNiD^. \_Stemcs. 



b. Base of segments of hiud body without 

 keel; front parts more closely punctured; 

 thorax shorter, with sides more rounded . . S. declabattjs, Er. 



S. asphaltinus, Er. Shinint^ black, front parts very coarsely 

 punctured ; antennae brownish with first two joints black, basal joint of 

 maxillary palpi and sometimes base of second joint testaceous ; thorax 

 longer than broad with sides rounded a little before middle, with a short 

 longitudinal furrow in middle of disc ; elytra scarcely longer than thorax ; 

 hind body elongate, very shining, rather strongly and sparingly punc- 

 tured ; legs black. This species is smaller and less robust than aS'. Juno, 

 and in size and build resembles aS'. afer ; it is, however, more coarsely, 

 punctured, and has the elytra proportionally shorter than either of these 

 two species. L. 4| mm. 



Male with the seventh ventral segment of hind body emarginate at 

 apex, sixth depressed and slightly sinuate. 



Sand and chalk pits ; not found, appai'ently, in damp or marsliy localities ; 

 rare; Charlton, Strood, Erith, Reigate, Cnterham, Cliatham, Shirley, West 

 Wickham, Tonbridge. Mr. Cliappell records it from decayed Sparganium at 

 Bowdon, near Manchester, and Withiugton, Cheshire ; it is found under stones, 

 dead leaves, &c. 



S. Juno, F. (hooiJS, Grav.). Black, not very shining ; head large 

 with eyes very large and prominent, antennae black, maxillary palpi 

 testaceous, with the second joint pitchy at apex, and the third dark, 

 lighter at base ; thorax rather strongly and closely punctured with a 

 short, obsolete, dorsal channel ; elytra longer than thorax and more 

 strongly, thickly, and rugosely punctured, with two or three depressions ; 

 hind body rather finely and thickly punctured^ with a distinct short 

 longitudinal keel at base of each of the front segments ; legs black, 

 hinder femora in male very broad and slightly curved, tibite also slightly 

 curved and terminating in a short spur. L. 5-5| mm. 



Besides the differences in the legs, the male has the metasternum deeply 

 impressed and covered with pale pubescence which takes the form of a 

 thick tuft between the middle coxae ; the seventh ventral segment of hind 

 body is deeply and somewhat angularly excised at apex, the part behind 

 excision being smooth and shining ; the sixth segment is rather deeply 

 sinuate with a smooth depression, flanked on each side by a ridge, with 

 a tubercle at base, and the remaining segments exhiljit a smooth 

 depression (most evident in fifth), each furnished with a fine longi- 

 tudinal keel in centre. 



Marshy places, at roots of grass, &c. ; common and generally distributed through- 

 out the kingdom. 



S. ater, Mann. Smaller and less robust than the preceding, with 

 the legs and tarsi more slender ; antennae black, maxillary palpi black, 

 with the first joint and lower third of second testaceous ; front parts 

 strongly, thickly, and rugosely punctured ; thorax more cylindrical than 



