4 E, T. Atkinson — Catalogue of the Carabidf©. [Supplfci 



de clocher, c'est-a-dire que les premiers auteurs s'etaient uais en route 

 avec l'insou tenable prejuge que notre petite Europe allait nous offrir 

 l'abrege" exact de la nature du globe, et la possibility de formuler par 

 elle seule le systeme de cette nature.' The arrangement, however, has 

 been adopted in Leconte and Horn's edition* of Leconte's work on the 

 classification of American Coleoptera already noticed, and in most of the 

 later European catalogues. There still remains the task of amalgamat- 

 ing the groups of all countries in one list. 



Another attempt at the classification of the Carabidce has been made 

 by M des Gozis.f This is based principally on the presence or absence 

 of setigerous pores in the pronotum. He distributes the genera into six 

 sections, but this arrangement appears to bring together genera incon- 

 gruous in other respects, Oodini, Omophronini, Dryptlni and Zabrini in 

 the first group ; Brachynini and Harpalini in the second group ; whilst the 

 fifth group contains an agglomeration of apparently widely distinct 

 genera. 



Mr. Sharp, in a paperj on the Carahidos, quotes Leconte's remarks 

 already noticed, and adds : — 'The learned and energetic American expert 

 had himself contributed greatly, probably as much or more than any 

 other of the authors he mentions, to the rational system of classification 

 he describes, and had no doubt doue so at the expense of great labour 

 and time, but the lapse of time has not altogether justified his expression 

 of reliance as to the permanency of the results then reached. Duval, 

 Ohaudoir, C. J. Thomson and others have worked, since Leconte, at the 

 classification of these insects, and each has contributed more or less 

 to our knowledge, and has thus induced change. The genera of a large 

 number of groups have been entirely remodelled by Chaudoir ; while of 

 the larger groups it may be truly said that at present but little accord 

 exists as to their limits and arrangement, except iu the case of certain 

 comparatively small and isolated groups.' 



Mr. Sharp further remarks : — ' Indeed I am, myself, of opinion thafe 

 classification of the groups superior in complexness to genera is at pre- 

 sent (1883) so extremely far from approximation to the actual facts, and 

 that these groups will thus probably in future assume a totally different 

 form, that we should do well to refrain from giving them names at all, 



* ' Classification of the Coleoptera of North America,' by J.L. Leconte and Gr. H. 

 Horn, in Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1883 ; and separate, 1888. Bibli- 

 ography of the American Carabidce, ib., p. 536. 



t ' Memoire sur les pores setigeres prothoraciques dans la tribu des Carnivores,' in 

 MT Sehwe. Ent. Ges. vi, 1882, p. 285. 



X Trans. Ent. S. Lond., 1883, p. CI, ' On the classification of the Adephaga, OF 

 carnivorous series of the Coleoptera.' 



