This first part of a descriptive catalogue of the South-African Coleopterff 

 is intended to facilitate the identification of the insects belonofinr to 

 that order. 



A local fauna can only give an approximate idea of that of a con- 

 tinent, or of a well-defined area of distribution ; it has, however, an 

 advantage, inasmuch as the identification of a limited number of species 

 is made easier for the beginner. 



I have taken as a limit to the South-African fauna a line running 

 roughly from Mozambique in the East to Mossamedes in the West, or 

 about 16^ of latitude South. 



This limit is, of course, an arbitrary one, as all such limits must per- 

 force be, but I have adopted it because the difference, generic as well 

 as specific, seems to me to be more marked four degrees north of that 

 line (10° S.L.) than four degrees south of it (20° S.L.) 



On the Eastern side this difference is not so striking a-s in the West, 

 and there exists a great affinity with the fauna of the Zanzibar mainland, 

 Mombassa, Somaliland and Abyssinia. 



All along the sea-coast extends a narrow tropical belt, which seems to 

 end in the neighbourhood of D'Urban, Natal, and where many of the 

 most nortfiern types occur, and I believe that if the sea-board extending 

 from D'Urban to St. Lucia Bay was carefully searched, nearly all the 

 species found on the 14° of lat. would also be met with there. 



Tn the west the difference in the fauna from that of the East is very 

 sensible and the 22° longitude may be regarded as a good dividing line, 

 and it is in the Cape Colony that this change is especially striking, the 

 coleoptera of Little Namaqualand differ widely from those of Natal. 



The fauna of Damaraland and Ovampoland is also greatly differen- 

 tiated from that of Central Angola. 



I have adopted the use of Genera and Sub-Genera, of Species and 

 Varieties. It is so difficult now-a-days to agree oh the respective value 

 of some generic and specific characters that I prefer to leave to the 

 student to decide if the small difference of colouring, size or sculpture, 

 of what I consider a variety, should be regarded as constituting a 

 species. 



