SYLVANIDiE CRYPTOPHAGID^. Ill 



DESCRIPTION. 



Body dark piceous, rather glossy, naked, minutely punctured. Prothorax rather orbicular, with a 

 circular deepish impression just above the scutellum ; sides distinctly denticulated : elytra with several 

 rows of punctures. 



The insect here described approaches very near to Corticaria impressa of Mr. Marsham ( Ips 

 impressa Oliv.) 7 but it is sufficiently distinguished not only by its colour but chiefly by the very 

 visibly denticulated sides of its prothorax. 



I may here observe that most authors, probably on the authority of Latreille, have rejected the 

 synonym of Olivier; his figure, however, appears to me clearly to denote Mr. Marsham's insect, 

 which was I believe first described by Herbst, 8 under the name of Latridius gibbosus, and has no 

 relation to Cryptophagus serratus, of which the first mentioned learned author seems to regard it as 

 a variety. 



Family CRYPTOPHAGID^. Cryptophagidans. 



LIX. * Genus ATOMARIA. Kirb. Steph. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Body elliptical. Antenna anteocular with the intermediate joints rather slender ; scape much 

 incrassated, the three terminal joints often gradually increasing in size, subturbinate, except the last 

 which is obturbinate and very acute; these three joints form a short club or knob; head subtrian- 

 gular ; eyes small, round, and convex : prothorax transverse, convex, subquadrangular with curved 

 unarmed sides : scutellum transverse : elytra taken together ovate, very convex : legs short, rather 

 slender ; tibia curved ; tarsi five-jointed ? claw-joint long ; claws simple. 



This genus, consisting of very minute insects, differs from Cryptophagus, in having the legs and 

 the stalk of the antennae much more slender ; the prothorax and elytra viewed separately are more 

 convex, and the former has a transverse basilar impression not observable in the latter, and its sides 

 are always unarmed. The extreme minuteness of all the species has prevented me from obtaining 

 any clear idea of the parts of the mouth, so that I can only give the above as the distinctive charac- 

 ters of the genus. 



Both Latreille and Gyllenhal consider Cryptophagus as a pentamerous genus, but it appears from 

 Mr. Curtis's figure and description of C. Populi that one sex is heteromerous. 9 Whether this is 

 the case with Atomaria I have not been able to ascertain ; all those individuals, however, that I 

 have examined appear to have pentamerous posterior tarsi. 



7 Marsh. Ent. Brit, i, 110, 11. Oliv. Ent. ii, 18, 14, 21, t. iii, /. 24. 

 s Herbst. Ins. v, 5, t. xliv. / 2. 9 Brit. Ent. iv, t. 160, /. 51. 



