Mr. J. Nietner on new Ceylon Coleoptera. 275 



the margin. The size of the individuals is no criterion as to 

 their sex, sometimes the female and sometimes the male being 

 the largest. 



Regarding the habits of these insects, one would feel inclined 

 to suspect them to be of a semi-aquatic nature, that is, that the 

 insects frequent the banks of rivers or other damp places; how- 

 ever, the direct contrary is the ease : they live in the driest, 

 hottest, and sandiest places that can he found, where they burrow 

 in the sand exactly in the manner of the well-known yenus Amara. 

 In the course of six years I took but two of these interesting 

 insects, both in the neighbourhood of Negombo, the one in the 

 Cinnamon Gardens there, the other Hying on my table at night. 

 Of late, however, 1 have been more fortunate, taking consider- 

 able numbers of them in the Cinnamon Gardens of Colombo in 

 holes, made by the rooting- up of weeds, into which they had 

 run and could not escape, the loose sand giving way under them 

 whenever they attempted to do so. AMien wishing to find them, 

 I had to search the corners of these holes, where some leaves 

 had usually collected, when I have sometimes dug up eight at a 

 time, frequently rather deep in the sand. They are quick of 

 motion, and being thus pursued, immediately bury themselves 

 in the sand. 



On reconsidering the peculiarities which so effectually distin- 

 guish this species from the three others known, and which I have 

 thought it not superfluous to set forth at such length, I am 

 doubtful whether there is not ample reason for forming it into 

 a new genus, unless, indeed, the other species were very imper- 

 fectly known and described, which latter I almost suspect with 

 regard to the foot-brushes of the male. If, however, otherwise, 

 the diagnosis as given by Lacordaire requires at all events to be 

 entirely recast, and the genus to be removed from the tribe 

 Cratoceridfe (one of the characteristics of which is the want of 

 foot-brushes in the male), in which he has placed it; and, this 

 being agreed to, I would, taking all its peculiarities into consi- 

 deration, propose to carry out Lacordaire's idea, and to form it 

 into a new tribe, " Cyclosomidse," to which it appears as much 

 entitled as the genus Omophrom. 



Tribe BEMBiDiiDiE. 



Ochthephilus, n. g., N. 



Corpus oblongum, subparallelum, vakle depressum. Caput mag- 

 num, antice trigonum ; oculis magnis, ovatis, prominulis ; coUo forti. 

 Mentum subquadvate emarginatum, lobis extus fortiter rotundatis, 

 apice abrupte acuininatis, dente parvo acuminate. Ligula parva, 

 apice quadrate truncata, liljera, paraglossis setiformibus margineui 



18* 



