mandibles are usually clenched, but are easily relaxed in water, although, when 

 thin, they are often broken on being forced open. A greater variation in the 

 apparent numbers of tarsal joints occurs in the family than in any other, and 

 owing to the density of their clothing it is frequently difficult to be sure of their 

 numbers. The male usually has one or more segments of the abdomen triangu- 

 larly notched on the under-surface, and its head is often larger than that of the 

 female. 



Macleay^^^ was the first to name any considerable number of Australian 

 species, when dealing with the insects of Gayndah ; many of his types were re- 

 described by Ollifif. 



Fauvel*^-^ was the first to revise the Australian species as a whole, but 

 included with them those of Polynesia. He also had a paper "^^^ dealing with the 

 Staphylinidae of Molucca and New Guinea, in which many of our species were 

 described, although not then known from Australia. Many of his types passed 

 to the British Museum from Sharp's collection. 



Ollifif "^^^ commenced a revision of the family in 1886, and three parts were 

 published; most of his types are in the Australian and Macleay Museums, but 

 a few passed from the Simson collection into the South Australian Museum. 



Blackburn often dealt with species of the family in his papers in the Trans- 

 actions of the Royal Society of South Australia, and the Proceedings of the 

 Linnean Society of New South Wales. Some of his specimens were identified 

 by Sharp. Plis types are mostly in the British Museum, but a few are in the 

 South Australian and National Museums. 



Bernhauer *^^^ dealt with the Staphylinidae taken in Western Australia by 

 Michaelsen and Hartmeyer; and by Mjoberg^^^ in Queensland and other parts of 

 Australia. 



I have also previously dealt with members of the family in the Transactions of 

 the Royal Society of South Australia, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of 

 New South Wales, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, and Records 

 of the South Australian Museum. 



In addition to the works previously quoted I have, amongst others, consulted 

 the following authors, whose works wall be found useful to students of the 

 family : — 



Cameron. New Species of Staphylinidae from Singapore; in Transactions 

 of the Entomological Society of London, 1920. 



Erichson. Genera et Species Staphylinorum. 



Fenyes. Aleocharinae, in Wytsman's Genera Insectorum, fasc. 173. 



Lacordaire. Genera des Coleopteres, ii. 



Leconte and Horn. Classification of the Coleoptera of North America. 



Kraatz. Insecten Deutschlands, ii. 



Sharp. Biologia Centrali Americana, i. (2). 



Although Cameron expressly states that "The characters in the tables do not 

 necessarily apply to the species not found in Singapore," his tables will be found 

 very useful to anyone dealing with species from tropical parts of Australia. 



Some of Macleay's descriptions are certainly poor, but his types are fortun- 

 ately available for examination in the Australian Museum. Fauvel. although he 

 sharply criticised Macleay's work, often published no better descriptions himself, 

 as they are frequently little more than comparisons with ex- Australian species, 



(1^ Macleay, Trans. Ent. Soc. N.S. Wales, ii. 



C^) Fauvel, Ann. Mus. Civ. Gen., 1877 and 1878. 



(3) Fauvel, L.c, 1878. 



(■t) Olliff, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales. 1886 and 1887. 



<-J) Bernhaucr, Die Fauna Sudwest Australiens, Jena, 1908. 



».«) Bernhaucr, Arkiv. For Zoologi, 1916 and 1920. 



