350 STAPH YLiNiD^ [Sfenus. 



raised interval which is smooth and shining behind ; antennae pitchy red 

 with the chib, and sometimes first joint, dark, palpi testaceous, with the 

 apical joint pitchy; thorax oblong, rather strongly rounded at sides, 

 rather strongly and thickly punctured, with a distinct central furrow ; 

 elytra about as long as thorax, and slightly more coarsely punctured ; 

 hind body very little narrowed behind, rather finely and thickly punc- 

 tured, more finely towards apex, lateral border fine ; legs dark reddish 

 brown, Avith the basal half of the femora testaceous. L. 3 mm. 



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



nate at apex. 



The c'-eneral form and the somewhat cylindrical and narrowly bordered 

 hind body will at once separate this species from its near allies. 



Marshy places, especially in fen districts; in moss, &c. ; local, but common in places 

 where it occurs ; Bearsted, Kent (Gorham) ; abundant in Wicken Fen, Cambridge ; 

 Horning Fen, Norfolk ; it probably occurs in all the feu districts of the east of Eng- 

 land. 



S. impressus, Germ, (aceris, Lac. 7iec Steph., carinifrons, Mots. 

 nee Fairm.). Shining black with a leaden reflection ; head as broad as 

 elytra with broad and rather deep frontal furrows, the interval being 

 smooth and shining ; antenme testaceous with club slightly darker, palpi 

 testaceous ; thorax at widest about as broad as long, strongly but not 

 very closely punctured, with a more or less distinct central furrow and a 

 strong oblique depression on each side behind middle ; elytra as long as 

 thorax, scarcely widened behind, strongly and not coarsely punctured, with 

 the surface impressed and uneven ; hind body rather long, narrowed 

 behind, rather finely and thickly punctured^ a little more strongly so at 

 base • leo-s entirely testaceous, with the knees, at all events the posterior 

 ones,' often a little dusky. L. 3^-3| mm. 



Male with the seventh ventral segment of hind body angularly emar- 

 ginate at apex, sixth slightly sinuate in middle of apical margin, with an 

 obsolete longitudinal furrow which is thickly pubescent. 



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

 kingdom. 



S. serosus, Er. {annulatus, Crotch, aceris, Steph. ?). Yery like 

 the preceding ; it may, however, be easily distinguished by having the 

 elytra considerably longer in proportion to the thorax, and by the knees, 

 especially the posterior ones, being evidently ringed with black or fus- 

 cous ; Crotch (Proc. Ent. Soc, Nov. 19, 1886) suggests that it may be 

 a winged form of S. impressus, in which case the longer elytra would be 

 analogous to those in the winged forms of LcdhruUum {ante, p 297), but 

 apart Ifrom the differences above mentioned, the punctuation is distinctly 

 closer, so that it must evidently be regarded as a distinct species ; more- 

 over the first joint of the antennae is often dark and the apical joint of 

 the palpi is more or less fuscous, and the sexual characters are slightly 

 different. L. 3|-4 mm. 



In moss, dead leaves, &c. ; local, but not uncommon where it occurs ; Weybridgo, 



