470 



PATJSSIDiE. 



extremely variable forms. Its members may be known super- 

 ficially from almost all the rest by the two-jointed antennae,, 

 the second joint of which is expanded into a very variable club, 

 coupled with the fact that the pronotum is always divided into^ 

 two lobes by a more or less distinct transverse furrow, which, in 

 most instances, is very deep, and is often furnished with tufts of 

 yellow secretory hairs at the sides. The only other genera which 

 resemble it in these respects are : Hylotorus, which, however, has 

 very minute antennae and quite a different facies ; Lebioderus, 

 which has the club of the antennae practically composed of five 

 joints soldered together; and Ettplatyrhopahis, in which the traus- 

 verse furrow of the pronotum is only slightly marked. The only 

 fixed characters which serve definitely to distinguish the genus are 

 as follows : — Maxillary palpi always composed of four joints, 

 with the second always considerably larger than the adjacent, 

 variable, sometimes (e. g., P. cultraius) normal and scarcely as 

 long as the two apical joints, often very long and strongly dilated, 

 followed by two minute apical joints ; labial palpi three-jointed, 

 with the first two always small and the third very long, variable in 

 shape and size, and more or less acuminate at the apex. 



The forms assumed by the club of the antennas are most extra- 

 ordinary and bizarre. In the Indian species it is mostly either long 

 or lens-shaped, without excavation, or boat- or cornucopia-shaped, 

 with a strong exterior excavation, which has the lower margin at 

 least denticulate or scalloped, and Avith or without setae. One or 

 two forms occur with a long cylindrical club (e. g., P. jousselini), 

 but there is nothing like the extraordinary Madagascar species,. 

 P. elepJias and P. damn, or the Abyssinian P. cre/iaticornis. 



The species with the ciub excavate might well be placed in a 

 separate genus, but intermediate forms occur. There can be no 

 question that the genus requires subdivision, as it is very unwieldy 

 at present ; but this must be undertaken by a monographer of 

 the whole of the species. The number described at present is- 

 about 180, and this probably represents a comparatively small 

 proportion, as they are, in most instances, very scarce, and many 

 of the regions in which they occur have been very little worked 

 for the smaller Coleoptera ; the Paussid^, moreover, from their 

 peculiar habits, require special methods of working. 



The species are widely distributed throughout Africa (so far as 

 at present known) and the warmer parts of Asia ; two, P. favieri 

 and P. titrcicus, occur in Europe, the former being fairly common 

 locally in Spain and on the opposite African coast, and the latter 

 being found in Greece, Turkey, and Asia Minor ; one or two- 

 have been described from Australia, but the genus Arthropterus 

 apparently takes the place of Paussus in that country. No species 

 has yet been recorded from North or South America. 



