126 Dcscrii^tive Catalogue [1896. 



On the whole the carabidous fauna is an African one, out of 466 

 genera, 55 only are South African, but of these 24 may be said to be 

 very distinct and typical, and 22 of these belong to the western fauna. 

 This seems to lead to the conclusion that the Cape fauna has not 

 been the centre of distribution from which the African species have 

 sprung, 



Lacordaire has divided the family into 39 tribes, and Horn in 38 ; 

 31 of those have representatives in South Africa. 



The Carabides are represented by one genus only — Calosoma. 

 The caraboid form of that genus, met with in Eastern Africa and 

 Abyssinia, has not yet been recorded from the South African region. 



The Hiletides, which include one genus only [Hilctus), have one 

 representative. 



The Promecocjnatliides are represented by Axinidium, a very 

 curious Western South African form, the only congener of which 

 inhabits California. 



The distribution of Carahidm, inhabiting marshy places or damp, 

 herbaceous localities, is difficult to define ; but they are, of course, 

 rarer in the dry plains of the Karoo and Little Namaqualand. 



The Omophronides have 4 representatives, 2 of which seem 

 restricted to the western fauna. 



The Lachno'plioridcs, Galeritides, Bracliinides, Odontocanthides, 

 and Helluonides number 64 genera and 279 species. Their occur- 

 rence in the western part is only occasional, but representatives of 

 these tribes are met with along the seaboard as far as 19° E. Long. 



The Lebiides are widely spread, but 4 genera of the group Cymin- 

 didcB are of a purely western type. The great number of species of 

 the genus Phloeozetits (21) and Labia (26), in the group Lebiidce, is 

 very remarkable ; they appear to be divided between the two faunas ; 

 this is surprising, because wood and underwood is comparatively 

 scarce in the western part ; but it may be that they are more easily 

 distinguished and captured on account of that scarcity of wood.* 

 The Arsinoe and Coptoptera are fairly numerous (8 and 7 respec- 

 tively) and a Pentagonica has also been discovered lately. The group 

 DromiidcB includes 16 genera and 39 species, which cannot be said 

 to have a restricted distribution. 



The typical feature of the South African fauna is the great number 

 of Grapliipterus and Piezia included in the tribe Grapliipteridcs. 

 They abound in all parts of South Africa, but are numerous in the 

 Karoo, and still more so in the Kalahari region. It is worthy of 

 note that the species with dilated and compressed antennae have not 

 been found south of 27° S. Lat., and the genus Piezia, which has 

 similar dilated and compressed antennse, does also not occur south of 



■ * It is well known that the Lebiides are generally captured by beating boughs 

 or branches of trees, or are met with under decayed bark. 



