THE PIMELIDiE. 



269 



four anterior legs very robust ; and the two posterior 

 incrassated like those of Sagra ; with largely developed 

 ccxfe; and the apex of their tibiae flat and vesicular 

 beneath, like the anterior ones of Pirates among the 

 ReduviincB, in the Hemiptera. This incongruous com- 

 pound of anomalies is of a dark chestnut colour, and is a 

 native of the interior of the Brazils, whence it was first 

 brought by prince Maximilian of Neuwied, and was ori- 

 ginally scarcely believed to be more than the unskilful 

 workmanship of some cozening dealer, — so complete a 

 burlesque did it seem upon Nature's general harmony of 

 structure : but others have since been brought, and the 

 authenticity of the monster is confirmed. We possess 

 an undescribed extraordinary Brazilian Nitidula, in 

 which the anterior tibiae are bent inwards, at right angles, 

 at their middle, — the lower half being considerably dilated, 

 and the tarsi inserted before their termination. It is 

 excessively flat; and being a very distinct genus, we pro- 

 pose for it the name Flax adunca. We have before 

 spoken of the very singular Helota, of which several 

 species are now known. 



(236.) The Pimelidce, which may perhaps fill the place 

 of the Silphidce in this circle of Predatores, form a 

 group of insects of a most extraordinary and repulsive 

 aspect. They are all heteromerous, — that is to say, the 

 posterior pair of tarsi have one joint less than the four 

 anterior ; but this is a peculiarity which extends over a 

 large mass of the Coleoptera, many of which we shall 

 have to consider when we treat of the Malacodermata. 

 For the present, we may state, that an additional cha- 

 racteristic of these insects is, to have the third joint of 

 the antennae the longest ; their elytra soldered together, 

 and frequently hispid with innumerable spines, teeth, or 

 tubercles; and they are, besides, usually of ungainly gib- 

 bous forms. They are pre-eminently the inhabitants of 

 deserts, wastes, and arid sandy tracts, especially Northern 

 and Southern Africa, and Patagonia, where Nature is 

 most inhospitable and cheerless; and they thus partici- 

 pate in the features of the districts they occupy. Their 



