40 Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera 



collata, the second by A. neapolitaiia, A. cuneata, and A, 

 cistellula ; and it is deserving of notice that, from the study 

 of the interior, Scacchi had, as far back as 1833, perceived 

 the differences vi^hich Argiope presents from Terebratula, 

 and had thus indicated the probable necessity for the 

 creation of a distinct genus for its reception. 



50. Argiope cuneata, Risso. Syn. Anomia pera, Muhlfeldt=2'. 



Soldaniana, Risso. Jlab, Mediterranean. 



51. Argiope neapolitana, Scacchi. Syn. A. Forbesii, Dav. 



52. Argiope cistellula, S.Wood. Hah. Mediterranean and British 



Seas. The surface of this shell is smooth ; and I regret 

 that Sowerby's figure in Mr. Reeve's monograph does not 

 convey a faithful representation of the species. 



Genus Thecidium, Defrance. 



53. Thecidea mediterranea, Risso. Syn. Th. testudinaria, Mi- 



chelotti= 2%. spondylea, Scacchi. 



So that fifty-three so- termed species have been for the present 

 catalogued ; but of these a certain number will in all probability, 

 when better known, have to be cast among the synonyms. In 

 the mean time, we are greatly indebted to Prof. Suess and to 

 Mr. L. Reeve for the additional information they have imparted. 

 I am, Gentlemen, 



Your very obedient Servant, 

 Brighton, May 29, 1861. Thos. Davidson. 



IV. — Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley. 

 Coleoptera : Longicornes. By H. W. Bates, Esq. 



The number of species of Longicorn Coleoptera which I collected 

 at different stations on the banks of the Amazons amounts to 

 about 705. The collection appeared to me to contain so large a 

 number of curious and interesting forms new to science, that I 

 was anxious to make them known to the entomological public as 

 soon as possible, first determining the already known species, 

 and fixing upon a classification of the genera and groups. I 

 then hoped to be able to give a complete view of the Amazonian 

 productions in this department, incorporating a few general re- 

 marks on their natural history, instead of following the usual 

 and much easier practice of giving merely a bare and unfruitful 

 list of diagnoses of the new species. 



It has been a difficult task, however, in the absence of a mo- 

 dern monograph on the family, to characterize the genera, and 

 especially to group them into subtribes or groups subordinate to 

 the four tribes of Latreille, which for a long time constituted 

 the only received classification, but are now manifestly insuffi- 



