November, 1888.] ^21 



CATRORMIOCERUS SOCIUS AND MARITIMUS.—A'N ENTOMOLO- 

 GICAL COMEDY OF ERRORS. 



BY O. C. CHAMPION, F.E.S., AND D. SHAEP, M.B., F.L.S. 



In 1843, Boheman described (Schonherr, Curculionidae, vii, I, p. 

 121) a new species of Catlwrmiocerus from a specimen sent to him by 

 Walton, giving as its country, " Anglia, Mus. Doin. Walton." 



In 1S47, Walton stated (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., xix, p. 317) 

 that this specimen was the only one (of the species) ho had seen, 

 adding, " I think it came into my possession with the collection of the 

 late Mr. Millard, of Bristol ; of its history and locality I am equally 

 ignorant. * * * " 



In 1848, Walton's paper was translated into German in the Stett. 

 Zeit. (ix, p. 346), but this paragraph was not happily rendered, 

 making it appear that Walton was doubtful whether the example was 

 a British one. 



Crotch and* Rye omitted the species from their Catalogues of 

 British Coleoptera, published between the years 1860 and 1868. 



In 1868, Seidlitz obtained the loan from the Stockholm Museum 

 of Schonherr' s typical example, and on examining it found that it 

 agreed exactly with examples found by von Kiesenwetter, near the 

 snow, at a great elevation, in the Sierra Nevada, in the south of Spain, 

 and referring to the version of Walton's statement about its origin, 

 given in the Stett. Zeit., concluded (Die Otiorhynchiden s. str., p. 

 134) that this type was not a British example at all, and insisted that 

 Spain was the only locality known for the species : at the same time 

 he distinguished the sexes of the species as very different, on account 

 of the scape of the antennae being differently formed in them. 



In 1868, Bye recorded (Ent. Mo. Mag., v, p. 68) the occurrence 

 in the Isle of Wight of an example of C. socius, Sch. and Seid., and 

 stated that the late Mr. Waterhouse also obtained an example of the 

 species from Walton's collection. 



In 1869, Bye repeated his record (Entom. Ann., 1869, p. 43, pi. 

 f. 6), with some alterations and additions, and a figure of the species 

 was given. 



In 1870, Rye again alluded (Ent. Mo. Mag., vii, p. 149) to this 

 insect, and announced the existence of a second British species of the 

 genus, detected by Moncreaff, at Portsea. 



In 1874, having communicated this insect to Seidlitz, and obtained 

 his opinion that it was new, Rye described (Ent. Mo. Mag., x, p. 176) 

 this second British species under the name of G. maritimus, and these 



L 



