12 COLEOPTERA. 



marine habitat, its flatter build, less brilliant colour, darker 

 legs and antennce, more transverse thorax, of which the 

 sides are less rounded behind and the posterior emaj-gina- 

 tions more evident, its unspotted elytra, which are more 

 delicately striated, its dull alutaceous head, &c. Diffierence 

 of habitat alone, even of a much less pronounced description 

 than that between D. csrieum and 13. higuttatum (for in- 

 stance, the nice distinction drawn in the case o^ Scydmanus 

 hirticollis and fanetarius, where rotten vegetable matter in 

 hot-beds and dead leaves in woods are opposed to each 

 other), is usually considered a strong test of specific value 

 by Thomson ; who, moreover, has no hesitation in sepa- 

 rating B. Mannerheimii from B. guttula as a thoroughly 

 good species, though these two are assuredly more closely 

 allied than ceneum and hujuttatum. Curiously enough, he 

 states Mannerheimii to be ceneous in colour, and not 

 " caeruleo-micans." All the specimens of it that I have 

 observed are almost purple-black. 



3. Pterostichus cupreus. Linn. 

 Mr. Crotch, 1. c, draws attention to Thomson's division 

 of this (supposed) well known species into two, both of 

 which occur in England. The larger of these, P. (Feron'ia) 

 puncticepSf Thorns., Skand. Col., ix, p. 35, represents the 

 cupreus of our Catalogues, and the smaller, P. (Feronia) 

 'pauci.seta, Thorns., loc. cit., 36, is certainly (as Mr. Crotch 

 suggests) the versicolor of Wat. Cat. It is satisfactory to 

 find that our " rule of thumb " separation of these two 

 insects is (unknowingly) endorsed and substantiated by 

 the acute Swede; for no characters have, as far as I know, 

 been published for the old versicolor^ Stephens' species of 

 that name, professedly Sturm's, having nothing but its 

 smaller size to substantiate it j Dawson merely stating that 



