16 CMa ES von HAW Bik 
Fleutiaux (1931 : 74) recognized it as a member of the Elateridae and at that 
time regarded it as congeneric with Agrvaeus. Ten years later (1941c) he re-erected 
the genus using the length of the lateral carina of the prothorax, which attains the 
anterior margin, as the characteristic separating it from his interpretation of 
Agraeus. The length of the lateral carina is one of the characteristics displaying 
too great a range of variation to be of value at the generic level. The type-species, 
monstrosus Pic, is the female of constrictus Ritsema, a species displaying a very 
marked degree of sexual dimorphism. 
Prolacon was erected for a single species, alluaudi Fleutiaux, which the author 
described as having antennal grooves open anteriorly and widely excavate 
posteriorly and metathoracic episterna which are parallel-sided and very narrow. 
Examination of the type-material (see p. 32 under fleutiauxt) has shown that the 
antennal grooves do not differ from those found in other species assigned to A delocera; 
the prosternopleural suture is deeply grooved anteriorly and closed posteriorly. It 
would appear that Fleutiaux misinterpreted the paired carinae on, and the steeply 
declivous sides of, the posterior portion of the prosternum as forming the posterior 
part of the antennal groove. The metathoracic episterna are visible only as very 
small triangular sclerites lying beside the anterior angles of the metasternum. It 
seems probable that Fleutiaux was misled by the carina which runs parallel and 
close to the inner margin of the epipleurae. The size of the metathoracic episterna 
does not appear to be of importance at the generic level. Fleutiaux also regarded 
the tubercles on the prothorax and elytra and the humeral carinae as diagnostic. 
Tubercles are discussed above. Humeral carinae are known to occur in other 
Adelocera species, including trifasciatus microcephalus Motschulsky. 
Aganolacon was erected as a subgenus of Brachylacon for those species in which 
the tarsal grooves of the propleura are not distinctly margined. This is one of the 
very variable characteristics discussed on p. 14. 
THE TYPE-MATERIAL OF Elater ovalis GERMAR. Germar described Elater ovalis 
from Persia on two occasions. On the first (1824: 49) he used the name Elater 
ovalis Knochii [sic] but on the second (1840: 261) he omitted the reference to 
Knoch. On neither occasion did he record the number of specimens he had before 
him or the collection to which they belonged. 
Fleutiaux (194Ic : 46) records that the type of Elater ovalis Germar is in the 
ZMHU, Berlin. Dr F. Hieke, curator of Coleoptera in that institution has searched 
the collections on my behalf without success. There are no specimens which are 
named as, or which could be, ovalis Germar in the ZMHU, Berlin collection, which 
contains part of the Germar and also all the known extant part of the Knoch 
collection (see p. 276). Fleutiaux was in the habit of recording the fact that he 
had seen the type of a species in some other collection by placing a note to this 
effect in his own collection. The fact that there is no note on ovalis in his collection 
suggests that he did not see the type-material but based his statement on the 
assumption that the ovalis material was preserved in Germar’s own collection. 
Germar’s collection was broken up (see p. 275) and in addition to the part in the 
ZMHU, Berlin, there are portions in the DEI, Eberswalde, the ZIMLU, Halle- 
