On the Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 21 



Falcons from Sardinia which can hardly be any thing biit a 

 new species; for they differ fi-om every other Peregrine which 

 I have ever seen from Europe, and more closely approach 

 the southern forms F. melanogenys and F. nifjriceps. The 

 Sardinian birds, however, differ from these as well as the 

 common Peregrine in the very strongly marked oval or tear- 

 shaped spots on the chest, and the very broad and closely 

 marked bars on the breast. They approach F. melunogenys 

 in having a greater extent of black on the ear-coverts, which 

 nearly meets the cheek-stripe along the whole of its length. 

 Both specimens are fully adult females, and agree entirely ; 

 they were shot by Mr. Brooke in April 1869 and April 1871 

 respectively. I have no doubt that the characters alxjve men- 

 tioned will be found to be constant, and therefore propose to 

 describe the Sardinian bird as 



Falco Brookei^ sp. n. 



F. similis F. peregrino, sed statura paullo minora, facie lateral! tota 

 nigricante, et pectore latissime nigro transfasciato distingucndus. 



Hab. Sardinia {A. B. Brooke). 



Mr. Brooke has very kindly presented one of the typical 

 specimens to the national collection ; so that the species can 

 be examined by any one visiting the British Museum. The 

 measm-ements of F. Brookei (in skin) as compared with F. 

 peregrinus are as follows : — 



Long. tot. culm. alse. caudje. tarsi. 



F. peregrinus, 2 ^^ 19'0 1"45 13-8 7-6 2-15 



F. Brookei, 2 ^^ 17-0 1-35 13-5 7-0 2-00 



V. — Notes on the Longicorn Coleoptera of Tropical America. 

 By H. W. Bates, Esq., F.L.S. 



Subfamily Rhinotbaoin^. 



The '■'■groupes^'' corresponding to our subfamilies, under 

 which Lacordaire classed the genera of Longicorns, and of 

 which he established about eighty in the family Cerambycida^ 

 alone, are seldom distinguished by deiinite group-characters. 

 The rule seems to be that in each "groupe" modifications of 

 form appear Avhicli do not occm- in the same conjunction in 

 any otlier ; but every single modification is liable to disappear 

 in some members of the "groupe." Thus there is a looseness 

 and imcertainty of definition in the classification of this family 

 Avhich cannot be agreeable to rigid systematists ; but they are 



