STAPH YLINID.E. — TASGIUS — ASTUAP.EUS. 213 



Genus DVII. — Tasgius, Leach. 



Antennoe rather short, filiform, the basal joint elongate, very slender at the 

 base, second and third rather shorter, of equal length, subclavate, four fol- 

 lowing rather shorter, subcylindric-truncate, the remainder still shorter, 

 obconic, the last being abruptly acuminated. Palpi dissimilar ; maxillary 

 with the terminal joint short, truncate ; labial with the same joint securi- 

 form : mandibles slightly notched within : head rather small, rounded : 

 thorax subovate, thickly punctured: elytra short, obliquely truncate within: 

 abdomen slightly convex above, with an elevated margin, more convex 

 beneath, the apex with short styles : legs short ; iibice setose ; tarsi, ante- 

 rior, considerably dilated. 



By the securiform labial palpi and dissimilarly dentate mandibles, 

 the Tasgii may be known from the other insects of this family, 

 excepting i^strapseus; from which the truncate maxillary palpi, and 

 thickly and coarsely punctured thorax, readily distinguish them. 

 The species, moreover, appear to differ in habit from the Astrapasi, 

 being found beneath stones, &c. 



Sp. 1. rufipes. Ater, capite thoraceque subceneis nitidissimis, elytris obscurius- 

 culis, pedibusfulvis. (Long. corp. 6 — 8 lin.) 



Ast. rufipes. Latreille? — Ta. rufipes. Steph. Catal. 276. No. 2916. 



Black ; head nearly as wide as the thorax, of a faint brassy hue, very glossy, 

 thickly and deeply punctured, with two larger impressions on each side be- 

 hind the eyes : thorax also very glossy, coarsely punctured, with a very 

 narrow smooth longitudinal line : elytra with a very obsolete bluish tinge, 

 rather obscure : abdomen broad, convex : legs rufo-fulvous, with obscure 

 coxae : antennae brown, with the base rufous, and the apex fulvous. 



Apparently rare : the only specimens I have seen are those in the 

 British Museum, and my own cabinet ; the former were taken in 

 Devonshire, and the latter by myself near London, many years 

 since. 



Genus DVIII. — Astrap^us, Gravenkorst. 



Antennas subfiliform, rather longer than the head, the articulations for the 

 most part subglobose-conic. Palpi with the terminal joint thickened, of 

 the labial subtrigonal, or somewhat securiform : labrum with a slight notch: 

 head suborbiculate, narrower than the thorax, which is subquadrate, with 

 the sides atid anterior margins straight, the posterior rounded: abdomen 

 witli its exposed portion nearly as long as the rest of the body : legs rather 

 slender ; libiw setose ; tarsi, aulerior, dilated. 



