216 CLAVICORJHA. . " [Acritus. 



In manure-heaps, vegetable refuse, &c. ; common and generally distributed from 

 Yorkshire southwards ; rarer further north ; somewhat doubtful as Scottish ; the 

 Abreeus nigricornis of Murray's catalogue, recorded from Raehills, is probably this 

 species. 



A. nigricornis, Hoff. Smaller than the preceding species, from 

 which it may he known by its finer punctuation, and the more distinctly 

 impressed line before scutellum, but more especially by the subquadrate or 

 pentagonal form of the mesosternum, which has the marginal stria divid- 

 ing at each anterior angle, and by the more elongate prosternum, which 

 is slightly emarginate behind ; the anterior tibice also are slightly dilated 

 at apex ; the club of the antenna? is variable in colour, and often scarcely 

 differs from that of the preceding species, so that the character often 

 assigned to this species of having dark antennae, from which, in fact, it 

 takes its name, is quite an untrustworthy one ; both species also often 

 present traces of fine stria? on elytra, which some authors affirm to be only 

 present in A. nigricornis. L. f mm. 



In manure-heaps, &c. ; Crystal Palace on the windows (Waterhouse) ; Spridling- 

 ton, Lincolnshire (Wollaston); Repton, in fungi, very scarce (Garneys) ; the species 

 iippear to be generally confused and mixed in our collections, and it must be admitted 

 that the various published descriptions are in many cases unsatisfactory and even 

 contradictory. 



GNTHOPHZLUS, Leach. 



The total number of species that have been described in this genus is 

 ninteen ; four of these are found in Europe, and the remainder are 

 recorded from North America, India, Zanzibar, South Africa, &c. ; they 

 are very remarkable for their peculiar sulcate sculpture and dull appear- 

 ance ; the only other known member of the Histeridse that presents the 

 same sculpture and appearance is Hister costatus from Mexico, which has 

 been already alluded to. Mr. George Lewis says with regard to this 

 genus, " The genus Onthophilus is a very interesting one, as the chitin of 

 the exoskeleton is exceedingly opaque, and evidently less pure than in 

 the other genera of the Histeridae ; and although some of the species, 

 such as sulcatus, are beautifully engraved above, the substructure is, as 

 it were, roughly hewn, and the meso- and metasternal plates, as well as 

 the abdominal segments, are coarsely wrought at the sutures " (Annals 

 and Mag. of Nat. Hist., Sept. 1885): the upper siirface is raised in strong 

 keels, and the legs are long and slender ; the lobe of the prosteruum is 

 present, but is very short, so that the genus can hardly be classed with 

 either the Hister or the Saprinus group. Our two British species may 

 be separated as follows : 



I. Thorax with five raised keels, the central one double and 

 interrupted, the spaces between them being coarsely 



punctured ; size larger O. GLOBTJLOSUS, 01. 



(sulcatus, F.) 

 II. Thorax with six raised keel?, the spaces between them 



being longitudinally rugose ; size smaller O. STKIATUS, F. 



