COLEOPTERA. 529 



mandibles are always horny, often very much pon-ected, largest, and verj' diversified in form in the 

 males. The maxilla; are commonly terminated by a long, narrow, hairy lobe, but in some they are 

 entirely horny, and toothed : the tonguelet consists of two small hairy seta; extending beyond the large 

 horny mentum ; the fore-legs are often elongated, with the tibiae externally denticulated ; the tarsi are 

 terminated by two equal and simple claws, v.'ith a small appendage between them, terminated by two 

 bristles ; the elytra entirely cover the body. 



We divide them into two sections, the first of which has the antennae strongly elbowed, naked ; 

 labrum very small, united to the clypeus ; maxillae terminated by a membranous or coriaceous lobe, very 

 hairy like a pencil, without teeth, or with only one ; the tonguelet either entirely concealed, or incorpo- 

 rated with the mentum, or divided into two narrow, long, hairy lobes : this section forms the genus 



LUCANUS. 



Those which have only three or four joints in the club of the antennae form a first division. 

 Sinodendron, Fab., has a strong: resemblance to Oryctes: the body nearly cylindrical, the mandibles hidden, 

 without teeth, and alike in both sexes ; the head of the males has an erect horn. Scurabcciis ci/lindriciis, Linn., 

 a common British insect. Those with the body conve.ic, ovoid, and the mandibles elevated vertically, and shorter 

 than the head, form two subgenera, — 



Msalus, Fab. (havin^f the body short and convex, the mandibles terminated above in a horn, and the maxillae 

 covered by the mentum, composed of a single European species, ^s. scarahaoides, Fabr.), and 



Lamprima, Latr. [composed of splendid metallic Australian insects, Lethrus <f)ieus, Fabr., &c.], with the body 

 more elongated, the mandibles much longer than the head in the males, and very much toothed and hairy within. 

 Those with the body flatter, especially in the females, the mesosternum prolonged and advanced, and head nar- 

 rower than the thorax, are 



Ryssonotiis, Mac Leay, having the mandibles of the males formed as in Lamprima, comprising a single Aus- 

 tralian species, Lucanus nebulosus, Kirby, and 



Pholidotus, Mac Leay (Chalcimon, Dalm.), with the mandibles of the males greatly elongated, narrow, curved, 

 and serrated on the inner edge. Lamprima IJiimbold'n, Schonh., and a few other beautiful species from South 

 America. 



[The magnificent genus Chiasognathus, Steph., is closely allied to the last. It is composed of a large and splendid 

 species found in the Island of Chiloe, on the west coast of South America. Another species has been recently dis- 

 covered on the Continent of America.] 

 In the following, the mesosternum is not pointed, and the head is as wide as, or wider than the thorax. 

 Lucanus proper, having the eyes not divided by the sides of their head, the body depressed, and the maxillae 

 terminated by a very long lobe. 



Lucanus cervus, Linn., the common Stag-beetle, is one of our largest insects, the males being two inches long, 

 or even longer, with the mandibles very large, curved, and toothed (like stag-horns) ; the females have the head 

 narrower and the jaws smaller; the size of this species and of its horns varies considerably. This insect files about 

 in the evening in the middle of the summer, [especially round the oaks], upon the wood of which the larva feeds, 

 remaining in that state for several years before undergoing its final transformation. It is supposed that this larva 

 was the Cossus of the Romans, a worm-like animal, which they esteemed as a delicious treat. 



I unite the Ceruchus and Platycerus of Mac Leay, to Lucanus. 

 Platycerus, Latr. {Dorcus, Mac Leay], has the eyes entirely divided transversely 

 by the margins of the head; the maxilla; are terminated by a shorter and broader 

 lobe. Lucanus paralleUpipedus, Fab. [the small Stag-beetle, commonly found 

 in England]. I also reunite to Platycerus the Nigidius, Mgus, and Figulus of Mac 

 Leay. 



Syndesus, Mac Leay, difliering from all the preceding in having the club of the 

 antenna: composed of the last seven joints. S. cornutus. Fab. [New Holland]. 



[Hexaphyllum, Gray, is a Brazilian genus, closely allied to Syndesus in the an- 

 tennae.] 



The Lucanides of our second section have the antennas but slightly 



elbowed and villose ; the labrum always exposed, horny, and transverse ; 



the mandibles robust, and very much toothed ; without remarkable sexual 



Fig. 72.-Dorcu8 paraiieiipipedus. disproportions ; maxillfe entirely horny, with at least two strong teeth ; 



the tonguelet also horny, and situated in a notch of the mentum, and terminated by three points. 



The abdomen is attached by a peduncle, which has the scutellum on its upper part. Tlicse insects 



compose the genus 



Passalus,— 

 Which Mac Leay restricts to the species with the club of the antenna; 3-jointcd, the maxillae anned with three 

 teeth at the tip, and two on the inside. The species with a 5-jointed club to the antenna;, and with only two teeth 

 to the maxilla;, compose his genus Paxillus. He also places in this same family the genus Chn-on, which we have 

 placed amongst the coprophagous Lamellicornes. lliese inso. ts arc strangers to Europe and also Africa, being 



