dmsification of the, Adcphnga. 63 



and 80 totally different in tins reHpect from any other 

 Carabid, that it HtandH unique to the eye ; and when 

 to thiH extraordinary facieH in added the important fact 

 that it dejiarts from all other (Janihidf/i by the primary 

 point of Ktructure already mentioned, and a^'rees th(;rein 

 with the iJijiinci coinqilicati, to which, howev(;r, it has no 

 other point of resemhlance, it is evident that we have 

 in Moriiiolyre an extremely isolated organism. ])r. Horn 

 {op. cit., p. 150) points out the want of agreement that 

 has prevailed as to its position even before his discovery 

 of its extraordinary cotyloid pcjculiarity. Under these 

 circumstances it appears to me very strange that the 

 talented American has not had the courage of his con- 

 victions, or rather of his discovery, and isolated Mormo- 

 lyce. in his classification, as it is in nature. He has not, 

 however, done so, but has adopted the illogical course of 

 disregarding his own discovery, and placing Moriiiolyca 

 in the JIarpaliiu/;, although tlie one character by which 

 Harpalince are distinguished from Carahirue is that "the 

 middle coxal cavities are entirely closed by the sterna, 

 the epimeron not attaining the coxa," and although in 

 Mormolyce the middle coxal cavities are not entirely 

 closed by the sterna, and the epimeron (and meta- 

 thoracic episternum also) does attain the coxa. To put 

 it more briefly, the Ilarpaliiue are separated from the 

 Carahince by a difference in the cotyloid structure ; 

 Mormolyce departs from the 1 laryalincfi in this respect a 

 good deal more strongly than do the Carahin6e, and yet 

 is classed with the Jfarjjalince. This course appears to 

 me a very erroneous one ; indeed 1 fail to see how classi- 

 fication can ever be of scientific value while subject to 

 such treatment. It is true that if Mornudyce were con- 

 nected with the Harjjalinte by a series of intermediate 

 forms, there might then be some reason for connecting it 

 with them, in spite of the cotyloid structure ; but, as is 

 abundantly clear from Dr. Horn's careful study of 

 its characters, this is not the case, and I think Mormo- 

 lyce should therefore not be connected with the Ilar- 

 jHtlina;. 



I quite agree with JJr. Horn in his separation of the 

 PseudomorpJdrue from the other members of the llarpa- 

 lince ; in this he has done well, for the group is a natural 

 one in the sense that all its members are clearly allied 

 together, while it is, I believe, perfectly distinct by well- 

 marked characters, and by the absence of intermediate 



