D(iscillid<e.~\ SBRIUCORN i A . 117 



are chiefly distinguished from the latter genus by having the antennae 

 sir ugly branched and tlie tarsi differently clothed beneath ; as at pi 

 constituted the Dascillidje contain about thirty or forty genera anil 

 upwards of three hundred species ; the genus Dascilliis might perhaps 

 be made the type of a distinct family apart from the Cyphonidn?, but it 

 is perhaps better to follow the usual arrangement and regard them as 

 tribes. The following are the chief characteristics of the family : 

 Antennae distant, inserted immediately in front of the eyes, 11-jointed, 

 filiform or slightly serrate ; mentum corneous ; ligula large, membranous, 

 often divided into lobes or laciniae ; labmm distinct ; anterior coxa* 

 distant at base, conical, anterior coxal cavities open" behind; meso- 

 strrnum small ; metasternum moderate ; posterior coxae transverse, 

 nearly contiguous, immoveable, and receiving the femora ; legs short or 

 moderate ; tibiae slender, tarsi evidently 5-jointed, shorter than the tibiae, 

 frequently with membranous lobes beneath ; claws simple or pectinate. 



I. Mandibles prominent ; antennae with the third joint longer than 



the fourth ; anterior coxa- with distinct trochantin DA>U I.I.IN A. 



II. Mandibles not prominent ; antenna; with the third joint 



shorter than the fourth ; anterior coiaj without trochantin . . . CYPHOXINI. 



DASCILLINA. 



This tribe contains some fifteen or sixteen genera, which are very 

 widely distributed from Kamtschatka to the Straits of Magellan ; two 

 only, Dascillus and Pseudodactylus, are found in Europe, represented by 

 four species ; of these one genus and one species are found in Britain. 



DASCILLUS, Latreille. (Atopa, Paykull.) 



About a dozen species are comprised in this genus, which are found 

 in widely separated regions of the world, representatives occurring in 

 Europe, North America, Java, India, China, and the southern part of 

 Soxith America ; they are distinguished by the peculiar formation of the 

 maxillae and labium ; the outer lobe of the former is divided into two 

 elongate laciniae, which extend considerably beyond the inner lobe, and 

 the labium is also laciuiate, the laciniae, as is the case with the maxillae, 

 being membranous and hairy and considerably projecting ; in fact the 

 trophi of this genus are among the most remarkable of any of the 

 Coleoptera ; three species occur in Europe, of which one is found in 

 Britain ; it is a comparatively large, robust, and convex insect, of oblong- 

 oval form, with the second to the fourth tarsal joints furnished with 

 membranous plates beneath ; the larva is described by Erichson (Archiv. 

 do "NViegm., 1841, i. p. 88); it is very short and contracted, and clothed 

 with regular rows of scanty bristly hairs ; it bears a strong analogy to 

 the larvae of the Lamellicorns, but its head is much larger and the body 

 is not curved ; the antennae are 4 -join ted, and there are no ocelli ; the 

 legs are rather long ; the abdominal segments are very short with the 

 exception of the last, which is as long as the two preceding together, 



