Genera Bledius, Heterocerus, and Dyschirius. 31 
but they are closely connected by their habits, living together 
as they do on the shores of fresh and salt waters, where they 
excavate tunnels and galleries, which betray their presence on 
the surface by small heaps of earth, like diminutive mole-hills. 
Besides, Dyschirii and their larve are specially equipped for 
hunting the others. | 
The species of Bledius and Heterocerus are generally not seen 
about in the daytime, but leave their habitations on warm sum- 
mer evenings, after sunset, flying in numbers near the surface. 
Those few which are observed in the daytime are only such as 
have been pressed out of the soft ground by footsteps, and 
hurry away for safety. They may, in fact, be collected in this 
manner; but very many are thus squeezed to death, and it is 
better to dig them out. The small heaps indicating their 
dwelling-places are easily observed, because, consisting as they 
do of loose particles of earth, they dry soon and distinguish 
themselves by a lighter colour from the moist ground. The 
different species of Dyschirius, on the contrary, are constantly 
in motion, both in their galleries and out of them, hunting their 
prey, love to bask in the sun, and exhibit upon the whole the 
same wild, restless, insatiably rapacious nature as the shrew- 
mouse and the mole, which they may be said to represent 
amongst Carabide. 
I. 
“ Oxytelini genuini,” Er. (Gen. et Spec. Staphylinorum, 30) 
forms a well-defined small group of Oxytelini, easily distin- 
guished by triarticulate tarsi; but the views hitherto enter- 
tained of the mutual relationships of the genera belonging to 
this group can scarcely bear a thorough sifting. Thus the 
existence of two rows of fossorial spines on the anterior tibiz of 
Bledius is erroneously regarded as the most characteristic pecu- 
larity of that genus (which is more specially than any other 
constructed for digging) ; for Oxytelus and Platystethus, when 
carefully inspected, exhibit the same structure. On the other 
_ hand, it seems to have been overlooked that Bledius possesses 
another character distinctive of its peculiar fossorial type—viz. 
that the basal joint of the antennz can be received into a groove 
situated close in front of the eyes, which therefore in Bledius 
are flatter than in the other genera. Nor is Bledius properly 
placed near Ozytelus and Platystethus; for that genus really 
represents the type of the Carpalimi modified for tunnelling-pur- 
poses. A close inspection will show that the entire group of 
Oxytelini genuini, Er., naturally divides itself into two sub- 
groups principally distinguished by the structure of the eyes 
