HORN EXPRDITION — SUMMARY. If)" 



were .'il)iiiulaiit, although at ordinary times tliere were very few to lie met with. 

 Mr. Zietz sent to Adelaide very large numhers of specimens, and, T t]iinl<, nmre 

 numerous species than have l)een taken by any other ccjllector in Centi'.il 

 Australia. 



Probably, whenever certain conditions are fulfilled, specimens usually in 

 hiding come forth and arc seen in plenty, and probal)ly the conditions necessary 

 are conditions unfavouralile to casual collectors being on the al(>rt, so that many 

 such persons have been once or twice accidentally in contact with such plenty, but 

 might nevei' be again. 



Having thus fiualified the value of opinions relating to the Coleoptei-a of 

 Central Australia, I may, with less fear of misleading, venture to report on some 

 of the general characteristics of that group of insects so far as they are at jiresent 

 known. The prevalent type is certainly, T think. South Australian, but with a 

 tendency to extreme specialisation, and with a certain admixture of tropical forms. 

 As might he expected from the scarcity of vegetation, ground beetles are much 

 more numerous than Phytophagous species, but in group after group of both 

 classes the species are very distinct from those found in other parts of Austialia, 

 not so much in general appearaTice as l)y structural peculiarity and the numbei- of 

 isolated genera is comparatively lai-ge. Considering the dryness of the country it 

 is surprising to find that the Hydrop]iilid(V are comparatively numerous. Carabidd-, 

 ToH'brionidcT (especially Helceides) and Citrculionida (('specially A})tyctcridcs) are 

 the prominent gi-oups of the Coleopterous fauna ; and there are a somewhat large 

 number, usually highly specialised, of Lauiellicontcs. Lai'ge size and bright 

 cok)uring are rare among the Colef>ptera of Central Australia. I lia\e observed a 

 prevalence distinctly greater than in other Austialian fauna to extremely pallid 

 colouring. The few Biiprestides, even, that have been found in Central Australia 

 are (with scarcely an exception) among the less attractively coloured species of 

 their genera." 



Araneidcc. — In the Araneidiie the 150 specimens collected are referable to fifty- 

 .seven species belonging to thirty-six genera. Eighteen species are described as new, 

 one being the representative of a new genus. Out of the series at present known 

 from Central Austi-alia, thirty-one are recorded from the eastern colonies, the gi-e;it 

 majority of which are known from (Queensland and New South Wales, two i^Epcira 

 extitbcrata and Afigas paradox are known from New Zealand only, one {Idioctis 

 helva) is recorded only fi'om Fiji, one only (^Ilabroucstcs scin/il/aiis) is common with 

 West Australia, whilst Latrodfctes scelio extends f«om the centre through Queens- 



