100 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



A NEW GENUS AND SPECIES OF N. A. SCAKAB^ID^. 



BY J. J. RIVERS. 



The insect about to be noticed, would in general appear- 

 ance remind any one of Pentodon, but an examination of 

 the mouth parts would at once dispel the idea, the strongly- 

 toothed outer margin in Pentodon, together with the highly 

 developed teeth of its maxillary galea, would seem to re- 

 move those insects to different associates The one I 

 now mention has a history; it adorns sevoral collections- 

 either without a name or else labeled Aphowns dunalis Lee. 

 A reference made to LeConte's description of A. dunalis, 

 Proceed. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., Vol. 8, p. 23, 1856, and at 

 the end of the description the following phrase ' 'maxillarum 

 galea hidentata," is sufficient to show that LeConte did 

 not refer to the present insect, for its maxillary is entirely 

 unarmed. 



There appears to be no desciiption of this insect any- 

 where in the literature of N. A. Coleoptera; and thinking that 

 as this species was from El Paso, Texas, Mr. W. Bates, of 

 England, who is working upon the Mexican Scarabaeidfe, 

 had perhaps received and already incorporated it in his mon- 

 ograph, I wrote to him concerning it. lie replied : ' ' Pro- 

 ceed and describe it; send me a copy of the publication 

 containing the description, and I wall adopt your naming 

 if I find the species among those occurring across the line." 



This insect was in a large capture of Scarabreid^ taken 

 last year at El Paso, Texas, by G. W. Dunn, after whom the 

 specific name is formed; the generic name is derived 

 from the unarmed condition of its galea or inaxillary. The 

 group it belongs to is very puzzling, as it appears to possess 

 diverse characteristics; the tarsal form and lack of stridulat- 

 ing organs throw it with Aphonus; the style of sculpture of 

 the elytrsB is of the common oblique pattern, while the shape 



2d Ser. Vol. I. Issued June 5, 1888. 



