Royal Physical Society. 73 



II. Monograph of the Genus Catops. By Andrew Murray, Edinburgh. 



Notwithstanding Mr. Spence' s able Monograph of the British 

 species of this genus, and the excellent works of Erichson, Sturm, 

 Kedtenbacher, Kraatz and others, its study is still attended 

 with so much difficulty, that I imagine the following attempt to 

 clear up the synonymy, and to make the species more easily 

 recognizable, will be welcome, particularly to British entomo- 

 logists. 



When I commenced my examination of the genus, with a 

 view to publishing the results, I applied to my entomological 

 friends for their assistance both in the way of information and 

 communication of specimens, an application which was cordially 

 responded to. I have thus had the advantage of carefully ex- 

 amining Mr. Waterhouse's collection, which I believe to be the 

 best representative of the Spencian species extant ; — the deter- 

 mination having been submitted to and approved by Mr. Spence 

 himself, with this qualification, that he (Mr. Spence) had de- 

 scribed some of his species from specimens belonging to others, 

 to whom they had been returned, so that the type specimens 

 were scattered, and the certainty of accuracy derivable from the 

 actual comparison of specimens with the types was in these 

 instances no longer attainable. It is on the faith of Mr. Water- 

 house's collection therefore that I principally depend for the 

 identity of the names with the species described by Spence, 

 where the descriptions themselves have failed me. 



From Mr. Stephens's collection now in the British Museum 

 I have in like manner endeavoured to identify the species de- 

 scribed by him, and as his specimens of Spence' s species in a 

 majority of instances correspond with Mr. Waterhouse's, they so 

 far confirm the authority of that gentleman. I have further 

 had the advantage of examining the species in the Jardin des 

 Plantes ; — those of M. Lucas and of M. Chevrolat (who left the 

 whole of his large collection of Catops for months in my hands), 

 and those of M. Fairmaire, M. Javet, and other French entomolo- 

 gists. To M. Kraatz of Berlin, whose elaborate and admirable 

 revision of the European species of the genus shows the atten- 

 tion he has bestowed upon the subject, I owe especial thanks. 

 Besides favouring me with his opinion upon my ideas, he has 

 furnished me with a nearly complete series of his species, and 

 entrusted those he could not spare to me for examination, so 

 that I have in general the advantage, when speaking of any 

 view entertained by him, of knowing with certainty the iden- 

 tity of the species under discussion. In relation to the North 

 American species I beg particularly to record my obligations to 



