Wickham — Fossil Beetles froin the Sangamon Peat. 141 



cited. Elytra moderately deeply striate anteriorly,* about as in 

 P. sejptentrionis^ the strige distinctly but not strongly punctate, 

 both striae and punctures becoming finer posteriorly, scutellar 

 stria short and very oblique, interspaces convex near elytral 

 base, flatter on the disk, finely wrinkled and minutely sparsely 

 punctulate, these characters of intimate sculpture being possi- 

 bly due to accidents of preservation. Length of elytral fragment, 

 5-00'"'". Width (entire), 2-25'"™. 



Probably this species is most nearly allied to the recent P. 

 septentrionis which it approaches in size and general sculpture, 

 differing in the points brought out in the preceding diagnosis. 

 It is not referable to any of the three species described by 

 Scudder from the Scarbrough clays, being larger than P. deces- 

 sus and with short scutellar stria ; having a different prothoracic 

 median line and basal fovese from P. gelatus\ and with unspot- 

 ted elytra in place of the profusion of pallid dots seen in P. 

 frigidus. 



I take pleasure in naming this insect after Samuel Henshaw, 

 Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, 

 in recognition of his numerous and varied services to recent 

 and fossil entomology. 



Pla^tynus pleistocenicus new species. 



Represented by a single practically complete elytron of shin- 

 ing black color without metallic luster. Strise fairly deep and 

 strong but not punctured, all attaining the raised basal elytral 

 margin, the scutellar slightly interfering with the course of 

 the first discal, throwing its base over towards the origin of 

 the second. The scutellar and first discal are practically con- 

 fluent at the apex of the former. The ocellate punctures of 

 the outer edge are indicated towards the apical third but are 

 not strong. None of the dorsal serial punctures can be made 

 out with certainty, probably on account of the peculiar trans- 

 verse, fine, apparently adventitious, wrinkling of the integu- 

 ment which gives the interstitial spaces the appearance of 

 minute corrugation and, in places, of punctulation. The fifth 

 and sixth striae unite much farther from the elytral tip than in 

 P. subgelidits. Length of elytron, 5*60™'". 



N"one of Scudder's descriptions and figures agree with this 

 insect, but it would probably go nearest his P. interitus by 

 the form of the scutellar and adjacent striae, which, however, 

 do not reach the elytral base in that species. The color is also 

 different and the present insect is somewhat larger. Compared 

 with recent ]>}orth American species, the arrangement of the 

 striae in the neighborhood of the scutellum is very similar to 

 that seen in some Colorado specimens standing in my collection 



