SCARAB BEETLE GENUS PSAMMODIUS CARTWRIGHT 447 



base laterally crenate-fimbriate; surface with moderately coarse, 

 close, deep punctures arranged in a postapical groove, in a second 

 groove near the middle of the declivity extending upward nearly to 

 the middle of the disc, sometimes in a single line between these two, 

 and in the basally impressed median line, otherwise with scattered 

 coarse and minute punctures. Elytra very convex, almost globular, 

 width 1.75 mm., length 2.2 mm., base margined, humeri dentate, 

 sides fimbriate with long fine hairs; striae deep and quite coarsely 

 punctate, the punctures scarcely crenating the feebly convex intervals; 

 intervals smooth with a median longitudinal row of close, minute 

 punctures. Inner wings absent. Metasternum smooth, somewhat 

 depressed at middle, the midline finely impressed, not as long as tne 

 width of the posterior femiu", anterior postcoxal line deep, coarse, 

 merging midway to the side with the similar, anteriorly arcuate line 

 just in front of the posterior coxal plate. Abdominal segments smooth 

 or minutely alutaceous, finely crenate in front, and with an anterior, 

 medianly interrupted row of moderate setigerous punctures, the hairs 

 long and fine. Pygidium basally eroded, alutaceous, apically smooth 

 and shilling, fiinged with long fine hairs. Anterior femur not margined 

 in front. Posterior femur slightly less than twice as long as wide, 

 nearly twice as wide as middle femur, smooth except for scattered, 

 moderate hair-bearing punctures near anterior margin and a row of 

 the same near the posterior edge. Middle and posterior tibiae with 

 sharply carinate, oblique ridges, the posterior tibia about three times 

 as long as wide apically. Posterior spurs narrow and relatively short, 

 the longer subequal in length to the first two tarsal joints. Tarsal 

 joints triangular, the first elongate, about equal in length to the 

 following three combined. Length 2.8 to 3.6 mm., width 1.6 to 

 1.9 mm. 



Type: Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass. 



Type locality: San Francisco, Calif. 



Specimens examined: 333. 



Distribution: Canada: British Columbia : Queen Charlotte Islands. 

 United States: California: San Francisco, San Bruno Hills (San 

 Mateo), Caspar, Antioch, Alameda, Carmel, Santa Cruz, Felton. 

 Oregon: Bandon, Newport, Taft, Hauser. 



Season: September to May 20. 



Remarks: Psammodius caelatus (LeConte), the second species of 

 the genus described from America, is closely allied to two other species 

 occupying overlapping stretches of the Pacific coastline. All three 

 are small, globular species having a transverse ridge or anteapical 

 carina at posterior third, paralleling the apical edge of the middle and 

 posterior tibiae. Psammodius oregonensis differs by not having fim- 

 briate elytral margins. P. caelatus may be separated from P. mcclayi 

 by the strong, anterior postcoxal line of the metasternum, a fine 

 not found in mcclayi. 



