316 REVISION OF THE CICINDELID^E OF AUSTRALIA, 



once lost are extremely unlikely to be re-acquired in such a highly 

 specialised order as the Coleoptera. 



It has been impossible for me to formulate any theories on the 

 phylogeny of our Megacephalini, therefore only the tribe Cicin- 

 delini is here dealt with. Taking the genera, I believe the order 

 to be Rhysopleura, Distypsidera, Nickerlea, Cicindela. In his 

 " Index " (p.39) Dr. Horn gives his views on the phylogeny of 

 the species of the genus Cicindela which are found in the Aus- 

 tralian region as a whole. These he divides into four branches, 

 all of which occur in Australia. (1) With two Australian groups 

 (viz., the tetragramma- and the ypsilon-gvoxxps) descended from 

 the " longipes-biramosa-limosa "-stem. (2) The scetigera-gronp of 

 Antarctic origin. (3) The mastersi- and semicincta-groups, 

 forming part of the great Papuan " funemta-group," and (4)The 

 " nigrina-iosceles" -group descended from a Eui yoda-stem. It is 

 evident that Dr. Horn considered the C. nigrina and C. iosceles 

 types as our most ancient forms. But C. sloanei Lea, C. tenui- 

 collis Macl., and C. oblongicollis Macl., were unknown to him in 

 nature, so that they are placed by him without exact knowledge; 

 therefore their positions in bis system of groups must be some- 

 what in the nature of a guess. 



For me C. sloanei* is our oldest Cicindela, followed in order 

 by the crassicornis-iosceles-, doddi-, and tenuicollis-groups, which 

 seem to me more inter-related amongst themselves than any of 

 them is to the next succeeding group, viz., the nigrina-group. I 

 am not prepared to offer any views on the lines of descent or 

 relationships between the tetragramma-, ypsilon-, igneicollis-, and 

 semicincta-groups, beyond indicating that in my opinion C.frenchi 

 is, perhaps, not very closely allied to the other species of the 

 ypsilon-group, and that C. rafflesia is probably the oldest Austra- 

 lian species of this group. 



* I have referred G. sloanei Lea, to the genus Nickerlea on account of its 

 glabrous undersurface and the form of the mentum and labial palps, but I 

 do not think it can be at all closely allied to N. distypsideroides Horn, the 

 type species of that genus. 



