360 Coleopterological Notices, IV. 



several of our western Tertiary horizons seem to show that the 

 relative importance of the Barini in America dates from some- 

 what remote geological epochs. 



New York, May 9, 1892. 



CURCULIONIDJE. 



Erirhinint. 



DORITOMIS Steph. 



The separation of this genus from Erirhinus is largely a matter 

 of convenience, as the femoral teeth, constituting the principal dis- 

 tinguishing feature, are subject to great specific variations in devel- 

 opment, sometimes being barely distinguishable even on the anterior 

 femora, where they are generally most distinct. The genus presents 

 also considerable diversity of structure, and a very noticeable lack 

 of uniformity in the degree of sexual disparity, the three species of 

 the first group having extremely marked sexual differences pervad- 

 ing the entire anterior portion of the body. In the second group, 

 also consisting at present of three species, the sexual divergence is 

 still strong, although much less marked and affecting only the beak 

 and antennae, while in the third and by far the largest section the 

 sexual differences become very feeble. 



In Dorytomus the body is oblong or oblong-oval, generally some- 

 what stout, more or less flattened above and frequently subinflated 

 behind, strongly punctured, especially in the elytral striae, and with 

 pubescence which is composed usually of short robust decumbent 

 hairs condensed in feebly defined spots, or, rarely, of scales similarly 

 uneven in distribution, generally without, but occasionally with, 

 erect bristling setae in addition. The colors are usually rufo-testa- 

 ceous in different degrees of intensity, rarely becoming piceous or 

 black and more frequently paler ochreous or flavate. The tarsal 

 claws are slender, divaricate, very strongly arcuate, swollen inter- 

 nally near the base but never distinctly toothed. Other structural 

 characters will be referred to in the table given below. 



The species are rather numerous, generally well characterized 

 structurally but variable in coloration. They belong especially to 

 the arctic fauna, extending southward in North America as far as 



