170 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



verting the order of Dr. Sharp's list. As the book never came into 

 popular use, it may be passed over without further comment. 



The year 1883 brought into notice two new catalogues, one by the 

 Rev. A. Matthews and Rev. W. W. Fowler ; the other being a second 

 edition of Dr. Sharp's catalogue. A catalogue of British coleoptera 

 was then greatly needed, as the former edition of Dr. Sharp's was 

 exhausted, and copies for either reference or labelling were not to be 

 obtained. 



The first of these catalogues — that of Matthews and Fowler — was 

 a very neat production indeed : printed in good clear type, the 

 the generic names in capitals, the specific names in small capitals, the 

 genera numbered from Cicindela (1) to Platypus (735), the species 

 again numbered, showing how many belonged to each genus, the 

 authors' names being placed after both genera and species, and an 

 index appended to the whole, leaving nothing further to be desired in 

 its completeness of detail. The system of the catalogue was based 

 chiefly on that of Dr. Leconte and Dr. Horn, but throughout the 

 whole catalogue the specific nomenclature of Dr. Sharp's list is used, 

 the authors stating that they did " not feel either qualified to dispute 

 these names, or at all inclined to alter names so familiar to British 

 entomologists." 



Dr. Sharp's second edition differed in style from the former one by 

 having the generic names printed in antique capitals, but in other 

 respects the style of the first edition was still adhered to, although 

 authors' names were not appended to the genera. The estimation 

 in which Dr. Sharp is held by coleopterists of this country will be 

 quite sufficient guarantee for the success of the list. The number of 

 species included therein make a total of 3251. There is a considerable 

 difference in the arrangement of the families, several new divisions of 

 genera, and a readjustment of the synonymy. There are several 

 differences of spelling in the two catalogues, and also in the retention 

 and rejection of doubtful or reputed British species. In some cases 

 Dr. Sharp retains species, such for instance as Lina tremulce, and 

 Messrs. Matthews and Fowler erase it, holding the opinion doubtless, 

 which is referred to in the Annual, of the synonymy of longicollis with 

 tremulcz. Dr. Sharp probably has his own reasons for retaining this 

 name. The genus Coccinella undergoes considerable alteration, and 

 although it formerly contained 18 species, but six obtain a place under 

 this genus now, mutabilis (changed to variegata) being relegated to 

 Hippodamia ; ig-punctata forms the genus Anisosticta by itself; obliterate 

 and bipunctata come under Adalia ; oblongo- guttata is now Mysia ; and 



