1892.] oj the GoUoptera of South Africa, 7 



genus ; be criticised several of the species already described, added two 

 new ones, but althougfh figuring the four species, which, according to 

 him, form the genus, he cannot be said to have made clear the specific 

 characters ; moreover, he makes egregious mistakes. 



De Castelnau again, in 1863,^ revised the genu*, accepting, as well 

 established all but one of the species of Thomson, and their 

 synonyms, and added three more species, making the total ten. 



De Chaudoir, in the Catalogue of the Cicindelidse in his Collection 



i 



(1865), adopts another synonymy for some of the species, although he 

 had, doubtless, access to Thomson's and to Mniszech's collections. 



G-emminger and Harold, in their Catalogus Ooleopterorum (1868) 

 have partly followed Castelnau's revision of the genus. 



Few collections possess a good series of Jlantwhora, and the exact 

 habitat of several species is not recorded accurately : it must not be 

 furgotten that even at the time of De Castelnau's stay in South Africa, 

 the country beyond the Orange River was almost an unknown land, 

 crossed only by a few hucters and naturalists. 



"Wingless insects are also, owing to the limited area over which they 

 can roam, more prone to making races than winged ones ; thus there 

 are very slight differences in shape, granulation and size produced in 

 different localities, owing to abundance or scarcity of food caused by 

 droughts.^ If to this we add that some so-called species have been 

 described from one or two examples, we can easily understand the 

 difiiculty experienced in identifying them anew, even after examination 

 of the types. 



According to Klug there are According to Thomson there 



5 species. are 4 species. 



1. M. tuberculata, De G-eer. Caffraria. 1. M. tuberculata, De G-eer, Cape 



(Port Eliaabeth). 

 gigantea. 'ihunb. do. maxillosa. Fabric. 



•Kevue Zoologique. 



^In places, other than the Karoo, where abaormal atmospheric conditions 

 occur but seldom, the size of Mantichora varies but little j whereas Karoo 

 examples vary enormously in size. 



