268 Mr. J. O. Westvvood's Descriptions 



XXVI. Descriptions of various Species of the Coleopterous 

 Family Pselaphidse, Natives of New South Wales and 

 South America. By J. O, Westwood, Esq., F.L.S., Sfc. 



[Read October 1, 1855.] 



The remarkable habit possessed by many of the species of Psela- 

 phidce, in common with the equally curious family Paussidce, of 

 taking up their residence in ants' nests, has been the means of our 

 becoming acquainted with a considerable number of species of 

 the former family, which woidd probably have long remained un- 

 known had not the desire of obtaining additional species o( Paus- 

 sidce led to the careful examination of the nests of those insects 

 in which both happened to make their abode. This desire was 

 strongly entertained by the late Mr. Melly, who requested his 

 various correspondents, both in New Holland and South America, 

 to inspect the nests of the Foi-micldce, in the hope of capturing 

 Paussidce ; the result of which was, that he succeeded in obtain- 

 ing a number of Psetaphidce from New Holland, together with 

 one very remarkable species from Brazil, all of which were placed 

 in my hands for illustration and description. To these I have 

 added two other very remarkable species, lately captured in 

 Brazil by Mr. Bates, who has also succeeded in finding a consi- 

 derable number of species of different parts of Brazil. 



It is remarkable that the species of this curious little family 

 appear to be distributed over the whole surface of tlie globe. 

 Besides the European species (vvhich have exercised tlie Ento- 

 mological talents of Reichenbach, Leach, Denny, Schmidt, and 

 especially M. Aube, &c.), those of North America have been 

 ascertained to be very niunerous, and have formed the subject of 

 a very excellent treatise by Mr. Leconte, of vvhich an abstract has 

 been published in the Proceedings of our Society. Various addi- 

 tional species, from Algeria, the Cape of Good Hope, Western 

 Asia, Central America, Cayenne, Brazil and Chili, have been 

 also described by M. Aube and other recent writers, whilst a 

 species of Batrisus (B. australis), from New Holland, was de- 

 scribed by Dr. Erichson from Van Diemen's Land, and a species 

 of Articerus, discovered in ants' nests in New Holland, was de- 

 scribed by Mr. Hope in our Transactions (vol. iv., p. 106, pi. 8), 

 under the name of Articerus Fortnumii. I have now the pleasure 



