﻿182 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM VOL. 102 



dius but without the apical fringe of spinules, the apical margin 

 ventrally with two well-separated triangular teeth, each tooth with 

 a very fine hairlike seta basally on each side, the outer apical angle 

 spinelike as in Ataenius. Mouthparts as in Ataenius. 



Genotype. — Ataenius carolinus Van 'Dy'ke=Aphotaeniiis carolimis 

 (Van Dyke). 



Apkotaenius, though having distinct oblique carinae on the middle 

 and hind tibiae as in Aphodius, should be placed in the tribe Eupariina, 

 since the head, genae, pygidium, and other parts are much closer to 

 Ataenius and allied genera than to Aphodius. The middle and hind 

 tibiae are unique. 



APHOTAENIUS CAROLINUS (Van Dyke) 



Ataenius carolinus Van I>yke, Pan-Pacific Ent., vol. 14, p. 157, 1928. 

 Aphodius carolinus Hinton, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 10, vol. 20, p. 196, 1937. 



Piceous black, shining, head anteriorly and legs reddish, antennae 

 and palpi testaceous. Head three-fourths as wide as pronotum, 

 strongly convex, basally with a band of coarse punctures, front finely 

 punctate, anterior smootli, impunctate; clypeus with finely reflexed 

 margin, bidentate, teeth strongly developed, acutely pointed and 

 widely separated, slightly emarginate between teeth, margin flattened 

 and dorsally angulately widened, this appearing as an angulate carina 

 from directly above, the extreme ventral margin, invisible from above, 

 with a small median angulation directed in the opposite direction. 

 Pronotum convex, margined basally and laterally, surface with mixed 

 coarse and very fine punctures, coarse punctures uniformly distrib- 

 uted, separated by less than one to two diameters. Elytra convex, 

 coarsely striate, striae strongly crenate punctate, intervals moderately 

 convex, minutely punctate. Covered basal portion of pygidium 

 deeply grooved under tips of elytra, exposed portion with depressed 

 eroded area divided by a longitudinal carina. Posterior prosternal 

 spine strongly developed, laterally compressed. Mesosternum closely 

 moderately punctate. Metasternum quite closely coarsely punctate, 

 median longitudinal line deep. Second abdominal segment closely 

 shallowly setigerously punctate along anterior margin, carinate be- 

 tween the coxae ; remaining segments smooth, coarsely deeply crenate 

 in front. Posterior femoral line obsolete, only faintly indicated, mid- 

 dle femoral line and anterior ventral line of profemur wide, deep, and 

 noticeably alutaceous. Anterior tibiae tridentate externally. Middle 

 and posterior tibiae with oblique carinae as in Aphodius., without 

 fringe of spicules apically but with two well-separated triangular 

 teeth, each tooth with a fine hairlike seta basally on each side, the 

 outer apical angles prolonged, spinelike as in Ataenius .^ long spur, 

 first tarsal joint, and three following tarsal joints combined equal in 



