74 



COLEOPTERA. 



It is half as large again as S. unidentatus, and more elongate 

 and duller than that species; having, also, the anterior angles 

 of the thorax much more distinctly and sharply spined, and 

 a short — but decided — spine on each side of the head, behind 

 the eyes. The thorax, moreover, is larger, and has two 

 shallow longitudinal grooves ; the joints of the antennas are 

 longer; and the tibiae are not dilated externally and obliquely 

 truncated, as in S. unidentatus. 



45. Cryptophagus fuscicornis, Sturm, Deutschl. Ins. 

 xvi, 95, 18; Er., Ins. Deutschl. iii, 358, 10; E. C. 

 Rye, Ent. Mo. Mag. vol. iii, p. 102. 



I have brought forward this species with some little doubt, 

 on the authority of a specimen belonging to Mr. D. Sharp, 

 and taken by him in the London district. This insect agrees 

 with Erichson's description in the majority of its characters ; 

 being rather smaller than any C. dentatus, of a more cylin- 

 drical shape, with much more strongly and widely punctured 

 elytra, and with the anterior angles of the thorax strongly 

 prominent and terminating behind in a sharp tooth, and the 

 lateral tooth situated at the middle of the sides, which are 

 more narrowed behind it and less strongly crenulated. Erich- 

 son's description of the pubescence does not, however, exactly 

 accord with that of Mr. Sharp's insect, which is very long. 

 The specimen above mentioned somew^hat closely resembles 

 C. quercinus, Ktz., according to the exponents of that species 

 in the Biitish Museum Coll.; but differs from them in its 

 smaller size, the more evident contraction of its thorax behind, 

 and the stronger punctuation of its elytra. 



C. fuscicornis was introduced as British by Mr. G. R. 

 Crotch in his Catalogue ; but that gentleman has recently 

 withdrawn it (Entom., No. 32, p. 122), as his exponent 

 (apparently named by a continental Entomologist) proves to 

 be an extreme variety of C. dentatus. 



