174 



INTRODUCTION. 



confluent ; intermediate coxae almost contiguous, posterior coxce some- 

 what distant ; abdomen with five free ventral segments, the first being 

 much longer than the second ; tarsi ivith the penultimate joint bilobed ; 

 claws simple. 



This is rather a large family and contains about 800 species, of 

 which the majority belong to the genus Anihicus ; they are widely 

 distributed throughout the world from 

 Siberia to the Australian region. They 

 are well represented in India by several 

 genera and a considerable number of 

 species. As a rule they live on the 

 ground in damp places, salt-marshes, the 

 margins of ponds, on sand hills, etc. Some 

 are found in manure heaps and hot-beds, 

 and in summer certain species are often 

 swept off herbage. There is nothing re- 

 markable about then), except their ant-like 

 appearance (Formicomus, Anihicus, etc.), 

 which seems to be purely accidental. The 

 life-history does not appear to be known. 

 The species of Notoxus are remarkable for 

 Formicomus mutittarhis. having the anterior portion of the pro- 

 thorax prolonged over the head into a long 

 and robust horn ; and the small insects forming the genus 

 Mecijnotarsus are distinguished by their long and slender tarsi. 



Family 89. TRICTENOTOMID.E. 



Head horizontal, mandibles strong and projecting ; antennas 

 inserted before the eyes, near the base of the mandibles, stout, eleven- 

 jointed, the last three joints serrate internally ; eyes moderate, 

 transverse, sinuate in front ; prothorax with sharp denticulate 

 margins, narrower than elytra ; anterior and posterior coxae strongly 

 transverse, anterior coxed cavities open behind; tarsi subcylindriccd, 

 all the joints, except the last, furnished underneath at apex ivith a 

 small tuft of hairs; abdomen with five visible ventral segments; 

 episterna of metasternum very broad, parallel-sided ; size very large 

 (2 \ -3 inches). 



The position of the large and conspicuous insects which con- 

 stitute this family has been much disputed. In facies they bear a 

 resemblance to the Longicorn Prioninje, and have been placed by 

 several authors of repute among the Longicornia ; others agaiu 

 have classed them with the Lucanidjs, and others with the 

 Oucujidjs. They are, however, distinctly Heteromera, and are 

 now generally regarded as such. They are only found in the 

 Indian and Inclo-Malayan regions, in the forests of the Himalayas, 



