288 Mr. G. Lewis on 



XLIX. — On some Japanese Scapliidiidse. 

 By G. Lewis, F.L.S. 



The following notices record the larger species only of the 

 Scaphidiidse I found in Japan. To complete the list nume- 

 rous species of ScapMsoma have yet to be examined, and at 

 present only three species have been described by Reitter; 

 the names of these are given in the list below. There are 

 doubtless more species to be found in Japan by resident 

 collectors; but the species are easily found, for they can 

 scarcely be said to habitually secrete themselves, and I think 

 it unlikely the number will be greatly increased. Numeri- 

 cally in all countries the Scaphidiidaj are always far below 

 the other families which infest fungi, such as the Staphylinid^, 

 Erotylida3, and Endomychida^. Some of the maculate species 

 of Scaphidium resemble in colour and general markings certain 

 Carabida3 [Lioptera) and Erotylidaj (^Episcapha) , which also 

 congregate in arboreal fungi ; these species in Japan are 

 limited to five. I have placed all the species possessing a 

 hairy sternum in the male in the genus Scaphidium, but I 

 have excluded all the others, as I find their structure, espe- 

 cially that of their sternal plates, necessitates separation. 



List of described Species. 



Ascaphium sulcipenne. Scapliidium femorale. 



tibiale. Reitteri, Leiois. 



apicale. rufopygum. 



Scaphium optabile. iucisum. 



Episcapbium semirufum. Cyparium sibiricum, Solshy. 



ruticolle, var. ? Toxidium japonicum, Reitter. 



Scaphidium emarginatum, Scapbisoma bfemorrboidale, Reit. 



lonfripes. rubrum, Reitter. 



japonicum, Reitter. castaneipenne, Reitter. 



Ascaphium, gen. nov. 



Body narrowly oval or elliptical, rather convex ; the head, 

 neck, and anterior part of the thorax somewhat narrow ; an- 

 tennae and palpi slender, each joint of the first cylindrical and 

 setose, the last five joints of nearly equal length. The thorax 

 has the usual transverse line of punctures ; the scutellum is 

 semicircular posteriorly ; the elytra punctate-striate. Tlie 

 mesosternum is anteriorly rounded off in a vertical direction 

 on each side, leaving a prominent median keel on the same 

 plane as the metasternum ; the metasteruum is margined 



