Leconte.] RHINOMACEKID^. 



Family I. EHINOMACERIDJE. 



Mentum transverse, small, emarginate in front, supported on a very 

 broad gular peduncle ; ligula and palpi small . 



Maxillae exposed, lobes short, ciliate at tip, inner one very short ; palpi 

 4-jointed, cylindrical, well developed. Mandibles flat, curved, acute, 

 toothed on the inner side . 



Antenna3 inserted at the side of the beak near the end, 11-jointed, straight, 

 first joint a little stouter than the second, but not longer, joints 2 6 nearly 

 equal, 7 and 8 a little shorter and broader, 9 11 forming an elongate loose 

 club, the last joint oval, pointed, divided transversely near the tip. All 

 the joints are sparsely pilose, and those of the club are covered with sensi- 

 tive surface . 



Head prominent notdeflexed, eyes convex, prominent, rounded, not very 

 finely granulated ; beak as long as the prothorax, rather flat, narrowest 

 about the middle, wider at base and tip ; without antennal grooves. La- 

 bruni distinct. 



Prothorax truncate before and behind, sides convex, prosternal sutures 

 distinct, widely separated, parallel in front, then curving inwards, and at- 

 taining the coxal cavity about the middle of its outer margin ; coxal cavi- 

 ties rounded, confluent. 



Mesosternum flat, pointed behind at the middle, coxal cavities rounded, 

 confluent ; trochantin large ; epimera transverse, oblique, attaining the 

 trochantin . 



Metasternum rather long, side pieces narrow, slightly dilated externally 

 in front. 



Elytra covering the pygidium, rounded at tip, without epipleura?, and 

 without fold on the inner surface near the side. 



Abdomen with five free ventral segments nearly equal in length, 

 separated by straight sutures, intercoxal process acute ; dorsal segments 

 coriaceous, nearly equal in length, the last more corneous, articulating with 

 the last ventral ; anal segment of J^ convex, not very prominent ; side mar- 

 gin of abdomen acute, but not fitting into an elytral groove. 



Anterior coxa3 prominent, contiguous ; middle coxae rounded, contiguous ; 

 hind coxse transverse, slightly separated by the acute intercoxal process, 

 and extending to the side of the abdomen. 



Legs slender, not elongated, tibiae truncate at tip, middle and hind pair 

 with small terminal spurs ; tarsi brush-like beneath, 4-jointed, third joint 

 broad deeply bilobed, claws divergent, simple or slightly broader at base 

 (in our species). 



This family contains a few species inhabiting the northern temperate 

 zone, and depredating on the male flowers of coniferous trees ; in which 

 the eggs are deposited. As I have observed on a former occasion, this 

 family is a synthetic or undifferentiated type in which the Rhynchophora 

 make the nearest approach to the lower Heteromera ; it is therefore inter- 



PROC. AMER. PHILOS. SOC. XV. 96. A 



