﻿Coleoptera 
  of 
  Japan. 
  ^97 
  

  

  width 
  of 
  the 
  head 
  and 
  eyes, 
  piceoiis, 
  the 
  slender 
  ch;b 
  more 
  dihite 
  

   in 
  colour 
  ; 
  eyes 
  convex, 
  but 
  little 
  separated 
  in 
  the 
  middle. 
  Thorax 
  

   elongate, 
  conical, 
  greatly 
  narrowed 
  in 
  front, 
  not 
  punctate, 
  but 
  

   bearing 
  rather 
  scanty, 
  depressed, 
  white 
  hairs. 
  Elytra 
  subglobose, 
  

   broadly 
  and 
  deeply 
  sulcate, 
  clothed 
  like 
  the 
  thorax, 
  and 
  with 
  a 
  

   large 
  common 
  oblong 
  red 
  patch 
  extending 
  on 
  each 
  side 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  

   the 
  fourth 
  groove. 
  Legs 
  clear 
  yellow. 
  Middle 
  coxse 
  widely 
  

   separated. 
  

  

  A 
  single 
  example 
  of 
  this 
  remarkable 
  species 
  was 
  found 
  

   by 
  Mr. 
  Lewis 
  many 
  years 
  ago. 
  It 
  is 
  not 
  at 
  all 
  like 
  any 
  

   other 
  Japanese 
  species, 
  nor 
  any 
  European 
  species, 
  that 
  I 
  

   know 
  of, 
  but 
  comes 
  much 
  nearer 
  to 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  Central- 
  

   American 
  species. 
  

  

  ANTHEIBID^. 
  

  

  In 
  Anthribidce, 
  Mr. 
  Lewis 
  was 
  remarkably 
  successful, 
  

   as 
  he 
  has 
  discovered 
  about 
  sixty 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  family. 
  

   Geographical 
  Europe 
  only 
  possesses 
  about 
  thirty 
  species, 
  

   so 
  that 
  the 
  proportions 
  to 
  the 
  whole 
  coleopterous 
  fauna 
  

   are 
  very 
  different 
  in 
  the 
  two 
  regions. 
  Whether 
  the 
  

   Japanese 
  Anthrihidce 
  are 
  more 
  allied 
  to 
  those 
  of 
  Asia 
  

   than 
  to 
  those 
  of 
  Europe 
  must 
  remain 
  at 
  present 
  an 
  open 
  

   question, 
  as 
  nothing 
  is 
  known 
  of 
  this 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Chinese 
  

   coleopterous 
  fauna. 
  

  

  In 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  way 
  I 
  have 
  treated 
  this 
  family, 
  it 
  

   is 
  necessary 
  to 
  remark 
  that 
  the 
  classification 
  of 
  the 
  

   Anthrihidce 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  touched 
  since 
  Lacordaire, 
  and 
  

   that 
  as 
  left 
  by 
  him 
  it 
  is 
  amongst 
  the 
  most 
  unsatisfactory 
  

   of 
  the 
  order. 
  This 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  several 
  circumstances, 
  the 
  

   first 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  the 
  natural 
  difficulty 
  arising 
  from 
  the 
  

   fact 
  that 
  the 
  generic 
  characters 
  vary 
  from 
  species 
  to 
  

   species, 
  so 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  difficult 
  to 
  decide 
  where 
  the 
  

   lines 
  of 
  separation 
  of 
  genera 
  should 
  be 
  drawn 
  ; 
  indeed, 
  

   as 
  we 
  at 
  present 
  are 
  acquainted 
  with 
  but 
  a 
  small 
  pro- 
  

   portion 
  of 
  the 
  species, 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  to 
  be 
  expected 
  that 
  

   genera 
  can 
  be 
  naturally 
  defined 
  by 
  us. 
  It 
  must 
  be 
  

   admitted, 
  too, 
  that 
  the 
  choice 
  of 
  the 
  leading 
  characters 
  

   for 
  his 
  divisions 
  made 
  by 
  Lacordaire 
  was 
  no 
  means 
  a 
  

   happy 
  one, 
  and 
  he 
  made 
  it 
  worse 
  by 
  not 
  strictly 
  defining 
  

   the 
  sense 
  in 
  which 
  some 
  of 
  his 
  terms 
  were 
  to 
  be 
  under- 
  

   stood, 
  and 
  by 
  himself 
  in 
  several 
  cases 
  misunderstanding 
  

   them. 
  Hence 
  it 
  is, 
  perhaps, 
  not 
  surprising 
  that 
  I 
  can 
  

   find 
  no 
  satisfactory 
  means 
  of 
  distinguishing 
  Tropideres 
  

  

  