Aiitliribidae of New Zealand. 423 



by no strongly marked peculiarities, and in many cases the 

 generic characters vary from species to species ot" the same 

 genus in a very marked manner, as may be readily seen by 

 any one who will make a slight examination of four or five 

 of our European species of Tropideres (such as T. cinctus, 

 T. sepicola, T. niveirostris, and T. aJhirostris). 



I am acquainted with seventeen species of the family from 

 New Zealand ; and on examining these with a view to giving 

 names to the new ones and indicating their affinities, I found 

 myself, as I have said, to have undertaken a task which I 

 could not readily execute with satisfaction. For I found these 

 seventeen species to display such a wide range of difference in 

 their structural characters, that it was clear that, iTi conformity 

 with the recognized systematic arrangement of the species 

 composing the family, they would have to be ascribed to a 

 considerable number of distinct genera ; and on a further 

 examination the fact was also revealed that only a very few 

 of the species could be placed satisfactorily in already esta- 

 blished genera. And, again, on attempting to arrange these 

 New-Zealand species with a view to grouping them into 

 genera, I found that, even omitting all consideration as to 

 their relations with insects found outside New Zealand, the task 

 was no easy one, owing to the fact I have above alluded to, 

 viz. the variation of generic characters from species to species. 

 This point was rendered very evident to me by my examina- 

 tion ; and when I considered it in connexion with the addi- 

 tional fact that it is certain that a good many more species of 

 the family than are yet known to me exist in New Zealand, it 

 became quite clear to me that I could not deal with the generic 

 questions in any thing like a satisfactory manner, and that, if 

 I attempted to meddle with these at all, I should very probably 

 only encumber the nomenclature of entomology with a number 

 of indefinite names. 



I have therefore adopted a course which I hope will facili- 

 tate the study and advance our knowledge of these insects, 

 and yet will cause no difficulty to the students and syste- 

 matists who are to follow me. I have drawn up descriptions 

 of the new species, and given what I hope will prove to be a 

 useful and permanent name to each of them, by using the 

 term ^^Anthribus^^ as the first part of the permanent appella- 

 tion of each species ; while as regards the few akeady de- 

 scribed species, I have left their names intact as originally 

 given to each by its describer ; and in my descriptions of new 

 species I have, where it appeared important to do so, given 

 also its most important structural characters. To complete 



