190 Dr. Sharp on 
reader’s chance of identifying it), but will remark, that 
its nearest ally in this country is the O. ewoleta of our 
collections. 
It is not common, but I have taken it near London, 
and in the Fens. 
O. nicrina, Wat. It has been attempted by M. 
Fauvel to identify this species with the sericea of Heer, 
but, according to Kraatz, sericea, Heer, is probably the 
umbrata of Grav. At any rate, Mr. Waterhouse has 
supplied us with a good name for the species, which we 
need not abandon till it is satisfactorily identified with 
some prior species. 
O. nxicvua. M. Fauvel has also stated, that a British 
specimen sent under this name is rather O. investigatorum, 
of Kraatz; but Mr. Rye subsequently sent the specimen 
so identified to Kraatz, who states that it is not his in- 
vestigatorum. It seems to me not improbable that it is 
the true O. ewiqua of Er. At any rate, it had better 
stand under that name at present. 
O. rEconpiTa, Kr. The species, designated as O. lucens, 
Muls., in Mr. Waterhouse’s catalogue, has been identi- 
fied with O. recondita, Kr., by Mr. Crotch. It agrees, 
at any rate, better with the latter description than with 
that of Mulsant. 
O. Warernouset, Rye, = O. nigrofusca, Wat. This 
species also has not yet been reconciled with a continen- 
tal one. The name under which Mr. Waterhouse de- 
scribed it has been changed, because of a prior species 
of the name by Stephens. Stephens was so extremely 
careless, as to describe in his ‘Illustrations’ only a few 
pages from one another, two insects under the name of 
Aleochara nigro-fusca ; the first (Vol. V. p. 129) is quite 
worthless, and not an Oxypoda (probably not, at least); 
the second (Vol. V. p. 150) might, possibly, be a de- 
scription ofa small immature O. longiuscula ; in Stephens’ 
‘Manual,’ this latter A. nigrofusca has been referred to 
the genus Oxypoda, the description being abbreviated, 
and rendered worthless, O. longiuscula, moreover, being 
described but a few lines further on. I cannot but regret 
that Mr. Waterhouse’s name has been changed on account 
of such a confusion of rubbish. 
