IH Mr. A. Murray's Monot/raph of the yenus Catops. 



(accoviliiif; to Villa) ; in Italy ^according to Sturm) ; in Sardinia 

 (Gene, Berlin Mus.) ; in Sicily (Uerlin Mus.)."* 



A consideration of tbe ditterenccs hero given as characterizing 

 these three species will not, 1 think, warrant us in looking upon 

 them as more than varieties. 



The dillVrences consist in the form and colour of the thorax, 

 the punctuation of the thorax and elytra, the form and colour of 

 the body, the colour of the antenna-, the proportions of the 

 joints of the antennae, and the form of the posterior trochanters. 



Of these, the difference most readily recognizable is that in the 

 form and colour of the thorax ; the form of the thorax in the 

 tt/pical specimens of ('. aisiiinciis, St\irm, being that shown in 

 tig. 1, while ('. auyudatus, Fab., is that shown in lig. 2, and 

 C. intermei/iits, Kr., somewhat between them, but nearest to 

 tig. 2. M. Kraatz's descrijjtion might lead us to suppose that 

 fig. 3 would best represent C. anymlatus, F., but having had 

 under my eyes typical examples of all three, sent to me by 

 M. Kraatz, 1 lind that none of them have the thorax widened 

 more in front than tig. 2, which, indeed, fairly represents the 

 thorax of M. Kraatz's specimens of C. anyustntus, F. But I 

 know that there are examples which have their thorax widened 

 as much in front as fig. 3. I possess one myself, and Sturm 

 gives that form in his figure of his C. anyustatus. We must 

 therefore either make a fourth species to receive fig. 3, or else 

 admit that this subgroup is variable in the form of its thorax ; 

 and there need be no hesitation in adopting the latter course, as, 

 although I have uot met with any specimen exactly filling up the 

 gap between fig. 2 and fig. 3, I have seen all grades of transition 

 between fig. 1 and fig. 2. Another point of difference, where we 

 constantly see a gradual passage between the one and the other, is 

 the colour of the thorax. In the tyj)ical C. casianeus, St., it is dark 

 pitchy black throughoiit, and the margins are not paler than the 

 centre, nor semitransj)arent. In both C. anyustatus, F., and C in- 

 teriiK'dius, Kr., the margins are paler, or semitransparent ; but I 

 have seen transition specimens where it is almost impossible to 

 say whether the margins are ])aler or not, in one view looking 

 paler, and in another quite dark and opake. Again, specimens 

 occur very slightly paler on the margins, and so on. The punc- 

 tuation and depressions, and the spreading out and raising up 

 of the margins of the thorax also vary. I admit that I have 

 never seen the normal or perfect examples of C casfaneus, St., 

 with tbe spread-out and slightly bent-up edges of the C. anyus- 

 tatus, F., or intermedius, Kr. ; but if, as I imagine, the latter are 

 less mature individuals, and casianeus, St., the more mature fully- 



* Kraat/. in loc. cit. 



