1890.] E. T. Mkinson— Catalogue of the Family Silphid®. 171 



Family SILPHXDiE, 



Catalogue of the Insecta of the Oriental Region, No, 8. Order Coleoptera, 

 Family &iwmv>&.—By E. T. Atkinson, B. A. 



The Silphidce have the body depressed, the head more or less depressed 

 and often posteriorly narrowed iuto a neck ; mandibles exserted, strong ; 

 thorax orbicular or nearly so, forming a shield to the head, tarsi 5-jointed. 

 They are known aa scavenger beetles, and live on decomposing animal 

 matter or fungi. They have beeu divided into the following sub-families 

 by Lsconte &. Horn * :~ 



Posterior coxae simple. 



Anterior coxae more or less tranverse at the base and with trochantin. 



Anterior coxal cavities open behind. 



Posterior coxae contiguous. Silphini, 



Posterior coxae distant. 



Anterior coxae prominent : five ventral segments. Lyrosomini. 



Anterior coxae not prominent : six ventral segments. Finodytini. 



Anterior coxal cavities closed behind. Anistomini. 



Anterior coxae cylindro-conical, without trochantin, the cavities closed 

 behind, often widely. Cholevini, 



Posterior coxae laminate. 



Anterior coxae with trochantin, the cavities closed behind. Clambini, 



Dr. Reitter has also given a classification of the family, but it has not 

 been generally received. 8 



The Silphini, Cholevini, and Clambini are alone represented in our 

 Fauna, and but few species have, as yet, been described from the Oriental 

 Region. 



Family SILPHIDJE* 



Leach, Edinb. Encycl., 1815 : Westwood, Mod. Class. Ins., i, 1839, p. 135 : (Silphales) 

 Lacordaire, Gen. Col., ii, 1854, p. 192 : Jacq. Duval, Gen. Col. Eur., i, p. 101 : 

 Mun. Cat, p. 716 : Leconte & Horn, Class. Col,, p. 77 : Matthews, Biol. Centr. 

 Amer., Col., ii (i), 1887, p. 72. 



J Class. Col. N. America, Smithson. Misc. Coll., 1883, p. 78. 



3 Bestimmungs tabellen, in Verh. Ver. Briinn, xxiii, 1885, p. 3 ; id., Wien Enfc. 

 Zeit., v, 1886, p. 313, 347 ; Deutsche Ent. Zeits., xxx, 1886, p, 219 : see 

 Pauvel, and Seidlitz, Deutsche Ent. Zeits., xxxi, 1887, p. 81. 



