148 Tram. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



Oreochara n. gen. 



The obviously conical fourth papal joint isolates this genus 

 and constitutes a very remarkable exception, not only in the 

 present group but in the subfamily itself, where the constancy 

 of this joint in general form is a notable peculiarity. The 

 body is broad and heavy, nearly as in some of the stouter 

 forms of Aleochara, such as fuscipes^ but is more finely and 

 closely sculptured, especially on the abdomen, and the pro- 

 thorax is shorter and transversely subquadrilateral. Other 

 structural features separating it from any form of Aleochara 

 are the deeply and subequally impressed first three tergites and 

 the narrowly separated middle coxae, with the process of the 

 mesosternum not quite attaining their apices and having the 

 smooth coxal grooves, so well developed in that genus, nar- 

 rower and deeper and meeting at the tip behind the finely 

 acuminate and finely punctate median part, which does not 

 quite attain the truncate apex of the process. The level of 

 the process at apex is considerably below the angulate meta- 

 sternal process, the latter being overlapped slightly. The 

 single known species may be described as follows ; — 



Stout, parallel, moderately convex, shining, finely, closely fulvo-pubescenfc, 

 the vestiture decumbent, piceous-black, the elytra and legs throughout 

 rather pale rufo-teotactous, the antennae dusky rufous; head rather 

 large, nearly three -fifths as wide as the prothorax, wider than long, but 

 little narrowed behind the eyes which are rather convex and at some- 

 what more than their own length from the base, the punctures fine atd 

 moderately close -set; antennae stout, not quite as long as the head and 

 prothorax, gradually thickened from the fourth to sixth I'oints and thence 

 parallel to the apex, the subapical joints not quite twice as wide as long; 

 prothorax two-thirds wider than long, truncate at apex, broadly arcuate 

 at base, the sides very moderately converging from base to apex an(J 

 broadly, evenly arcuate ; basal and apical angles obtuse but only slightly 

 rounded, the punctures fine, rather close-set and even throughout; 

 elytra rather more than two-thirds wider than long, broadly, arcuately 

 impressed at base, the sides much longer than the sides of the pro- 

 thorax, the suture shorter than the median line, together broadly sinuato- 

 truncate at tip, the punctures fine but strong, very close-set; abdo- 

 men about as wide as the elytra, parallel, finely, rather closely punctate, 

 gradually less closely toward tip, the lateral border strong; legs finely 

 pubescent. Length 6.0 mm.; width 1.65 mm. Wyoming (Laramie), — 

 H. F. Wickham laramiensisn. sp. 



