species of Elateridce described by Mr. Curtis. 223 



fasciculus, plate IG, of his " Deutschlands Insecten," and de- 

 scribed under the name of Cratonychus niger by the late 

 Dr. Erichson in his usual masterly style, in his monograph 

 of the genus in Germar's Zeitschrift, iii. p. 90, No. 1 (1841). 

 I will add that it is congeneric with the Melanotus fulvipes of 

 British cabinets, having the claws toothed internally after the 

 fashion of a comb, a circumstance not noticed in Mr. Curtis's 

 Memoir, although stated on the wrapper of the subsequently 

 published part of the Transactions. This insect occurs abun- 

 dantly throughout central and southern Europe. I have ex- 

 amples from Germany, France and the Ionian Islands ; I 

 likewise possess one of the original specimens, described by 

 Mr. Pelerin in the Zoological Journal, captured by him near 

 Twickenham, as mentioned by Mr. Curtis, and which has 

 been kindly ceded to me by Mr. Thomas Desvignes, to whom 

 I am likewise indebted for an opportunity of examining one 

 of the examples captured by Mr. Marshall near Deal. To 

 Mr. Pascoe I have also to tender my thanks for a remark- 

 ably fine male specimen taken by him last spring in the same 

 locality, and to the liberality of Mr. S. Stevens I owe the 

 possession of a specimen found by him at Southend. Mr. 

 Westwood has three individuals, which, I believe, are females 

 of the present species, but I will not positively affirm that 

 they are so, not having had an opportunity of bestowing upon 

 them sufficient examination ; they were picked up by him 

 dead on Barnes Common. 



4. Elater nigrinus, Payk., Curtis. This is the insect described by 

 Germar, Zeitschrift, v. p. 175, No. 35, as Ampcdns nigr'mus, 

 and universally known on the continent under that name ; a 

 specimen received from Mr. Curtis agrees perfectly with 

 foreign individuals in my collection sent me from France and 

 Germany so named ; it is readily recognized by the trans- 

 verse wrinkles on the interstices of the elytra. 



I may mention, that Elater riijitarsis, Desvignes, Entomo- 

 logist, p. 326 (1842), captured by that gentleman in Windsor 

 Forest, is synonymous with the species now under conside- 

 ration, and which appears to have a wide range in Britain, 

 individuals having been taken by Messrs. Weaver and Fox- 

 croft, at Rannoch, Perthshire. 



