A NEW GENUS AND SPECIES OF ANTHICIDAE 
FROM WESTERN UNITED STATES 
By Floyd G. Werner 
University of Arizona, Tucson 
The first specimen of the interesting beetle described 
here was taken by Dr. W. L. Nutting and the author under 
dried flakes of mud on an alkali flat in Nevada in 1950. 
A diligent search in this rigorous habitat resulted in our 
obtaining one specimen alive, another dead and broken 
up, a living and a dead specimen of Tanarthrus salinus 
Lee. and one or two living spiders. There was evidence of 
other insects, present mostly as fragments. Most of these 
seemed to belong to groups that would have blown in from 
surrounding areas. A second living specimen was taken 
by H. B. Leech in sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells, in 
Death Valley. The two collections indicate a rather ex- 
tensive range for the species in the West, possibly con- 
fined to extreme desert areas. 
Despite the shortened elytra, this insect is quite obviously 
an Anthicid. On first appearance it might be linked with 
such an insect as Tanarthrus brevipennis Csy., a species 
which also has abbreviated elytra. There are several strik- 
ing points of difference. The present insect is much more 
slender than any known species of Tanarthrus. It has the 
last segment of the antennae entire and normal, without 
the groove that gives the illusion of dividing the last 
segment into two in Tanarthrus. There are major dif- 
ferences in the internal sac of the male genitalia. All the 
species of Tanarthrus except T. salinus have been examined 
and they have heavy spines on the internal sac and lack 
any specialized armature around the gonopore. The pre- 
sent insect lacks spines on the internal sac and has a 
peculiar structure associated with the gonopore, com- 
pletely unlike any found elsewhere in the family, at least 
as it is represented in North America. The general shape 
of the genitalia is similar in the two genera. It seems 
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