ON A NEW SPECIES OF CERAPTERUS. 



73 



Chevrolat, and other genera, such as Cryptophagus, of the groupe which I have called Necro- 

 phaga. Mr. Westwood seems to have been the first to suspect the affinity of Cryptophagus to the 

 JPaussida;, hnt he has not expressed himself very clearly on the subject. With respect to the 

 true affinities of Hylotorus, having never seen the insect except as figured by Schonnherr in 

 his appendix, I am unwilling to offer an opinion ; although, if Dalman's name has been given to 

 the genus on account of its habits, I suspect that good reasons may hereafter be found for 

 this last entomologist's assertion, that it bears some kind of relation to Platypus. One thing, 

 however, is sure, namely, that the Paussidce have a strong relation of analogy to the Pselaphidcc ; 

 so strong indeed, that I at one time suspected immediate affinity. But I shall return to this 

 subject anon. 



I have taken care that figures of the greatest accuracy, and made under my own superin- 

 tendence, should be executed by Mr. C. Curtis, an artist whose skill in such subjects is only 

 rivalled by that of his brother. I wished also to render the following observations still 

 more complete, by presenting entomologists with the anatomy of the mouth ; but as I hope 

 soon to have several specimens at my disposal for dissection, I am unwilling to sacrifice 

 valuable insects, which are, so far as I know, at present unique in my cabinet. 



Those persons who may wish to possess some notion of the actual state of our knowledge 

 with respect to Cerapterus, will do well to cast their eye over a paper on Paussidce^ published 

 in the 16th volume of the Linnean Transactions. It would be unjust to a clever entomologist, 

 Mr. Westwood, did I not praise the industry with which he has there brought together 

 almost every word that has been written on these rare insects. I trust he will now confer a 

 further favour on the entomological world, by condensing the materials he has so laboriously 

 compile^, and by arranging his own valuable observations in a lucid order. His reasoning, 

 however, ought all to be unsparingly expunged ; for Mr. Westwood, when he draws an infer- 

 ence, is even more awful than when he names his Paussi.* 



In the Cerapterus of authors I can clearly discern two very distinct sub-genera. But I shall 

 first state the external characters common to both. They are as follow : — 



pubescentes capitis fronti insertee, lO-articulatee articulo primo augustiore com- 

 presso apice emarginato reliquis sub-pei'pendiculari, articulo ultimo apice semicircu- 

 lar! antennae totius partem fere quartam plerumque constituente articulorumque inter- 

 mediorum latitudine gaudente, his sequalibus brevibus compressis latissimis sub- 

 parallelis. Caput subtriangulare collo cylindrico instructum. Oculi globosi valde 

 prominuli. Thorax planiusculus immarginatus. Scutellum triangulare. Elytra 

 oblongo-quadrata. Pedes valde compressi, lati. Tarsi tetrameri, filiformes articulo 

 ultimo longiore simplice. Ungues simplices. 



Such insects are peculiar to the tropics of the Old World and to New Holland, and I 

 distribute them as follows : — 



Suh-genus. Cerapterus, Swederus. 



Caput thorace angustius, collo brevi, oculis mediocribus. Thorax latior quam longus 

 lateribus dilatatis rotundatis. Scutellum mediocre. Elytra abdomine vix breviora 



* For instance, he has attempted to prove, although I know not how, that the Paussi presented to Latreille by my father, 

 were given to the latter out of the Linnean Collection by its purchaser, Sir J. E. Smith. Mr. Westwood accord- 

 ingly vents a great deal of virtuous indignation, which however is all wasted, as my father never received an insect in his 

 life from Sir James Smith ; and I must say it is rather hard that the late President of the Linnean Society should be so 

 unjustly attacked in the Transactions of an Institution which he founded. 



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