244 NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Body dark blue, glossy, minutely punctured, rather hairy. Punctures on the head and prothorax 

 nearly confluent and larger than those of the underside of the body ; antenna? black, last joint sub- 

 quadrangular : sides of the prothorax obtusangular : scutellum black : longer punctures of the anterior 

 half of the elytra arranged in rows with the interstices minutely punctured, the rows then disappear, 

 and the whole of the apex is indiscriminately and minutely punctured : legs black with a tint of 

 brown. 



On the continent this insect has been universally confounded with the Clerus violaceus of Mr. 

 Marsham, which Mr. Stephens considers as a distinct genus and as synonymous with Corynetes 

 violaceus of Paykull : but as the latter has evidently in his description of the palpi had in view 

 those of Necrobia, and assigns the habitat of that genus to his Corynetes, it seems clear that it is 

 synonymous with Olivier's genus. The latter author has evidently confounded the two as well as 

 Latreille. Thinking those found in carrion synonymous with those creeping about the windows of 

 our houses early in the year, he took his figure from one of the latter, as is evident from his sketch 

 of the palpi and antennas which are not those of Necrobia, but belong to Corynetes. Linne him- 

 self appears to have confounded these two insects ; for his short description belongs rather to 

 Corynetes violaceus than to Necrobia violacea; the character, thorax villosus, belonging more 

 to the former than to the latter, the prothorax of which is much less hairy ; but the terms in which 

 he describes its habitat in the Systema Natura, cadaveribus inhians, indicates the latter. I 

 believe I was the first who pointed out the difference between the two to the late Mr. Marsham, 

 and the trivial name he adopted, Clerus Quadra, was suggested by me. 



There seems to be some tendency in this genus to Cryptophagus, &c. 



CXXXV1I. Genus THANASIMUS. Lat. 



(333) 1. * Thanasimus abdominalis. Abdominal Thanasimus. 



T. (abdominalis) niger, pubescens : abdomine testaceo ; anlennis pedibusque rufis ,• elytris fasciis duabus undulato-angulatis 



piloso-albis. 

 Abdominal Thanasimus, black, downy ; abdomen testaceous ; antenna? and legs rufous ; elytra with two undulato-angu- 



lated hairy white bands. 



PLATE II, FIG. 5. 



Length of the body 4^ lines. 



Several specimens taken in Lat. 65°. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Body black, hairy, with longish white and some black hairs. Head punctured with two poste- 

 riorly converging impressed lines between the eyes; palpi and antennae dull rufous, last joint of the 

 labial palpi, which are more than twice the length of the maxillary, very large and semicordate ; last 

 joint of the antennae, which are shorter than the prothorax, ovate and subacuminate ; eyes kidney- 



