MICRATOPUS CASEY IN THE UNITED STATES 
(COLEOPTERA: CARABIDAE : BEMBIDIINAE) 
By Thomas C. Barr, Jr. 
University of Kentucky, Lexington 
The late Rene Jeannel (e.g., 1946, p. 331) divided the bem- 
bidiine carabids, which he regarded as a subfamily Bembidiitae, 
into four tribes: Anillini, Limnastini, Tachyini, and Bembidiini. 
He included Micratopus Casey (1914, p. 42) and Limnastis Mots- 
chulsky in the Limnastini, although the former genus had previously 
formed the type of Casey’s tribe Micratopini. Ball (i960) retained 
Micratopini as a tribe of the Carabidae, but his “Bembidiini” is 
equivalent to the “Anillini”, “Tachyini”, and “Bembidiini” of 
Jeannel. Ball’s classificatory scheme thus implies that Limnastis and 
Micratopus are phylogenetically so remote that they merit a hier- 
archical status equivalent to that of all other bembidiines. 
Prior to his death Dr. Jeannel {in litt . ) indicated to me that 
he had used the name Limnastini rather than Casey’s older name 
Micratopini because he had not examined sufficient material of 
Micratopus and preferred the name of the tribe to be based on a 
well-known genus. After comparison of several species of Micratopus 
with several Old World species of Limnastis sent to me by Jeannel 
I see no reason not to apply the law of priority and accept Casey’s 
tribal name Micratopini, with Limnastini a synonym. However, 
Micratopini would become at best a subtribe in Bembidiini s. lat. 
in the classification of Ball (i960). 
Parenthetically it should be noted that Horologion speokoites 
Valentine (1932), an eyeless carabid known only from the unique 
holotype male taken in a West Virginia cave, has many features 
in common with the more primitive bembidiines (cf. Barr, 1969, 
p. 87). In my opinion it should be included within the subfamily 
Bembidiinae (or tribe Bembidiini s. lat.) close to and perhaps hier- 
archically coequal with the Anillini, rather than be relegated to the 
Psydrini, as was suggested by Valentine (1932) and actually done 
by Ball (i960). 
Micratopus Casey 
Casey, 1914, p. 42. Type species, M. fusciceps Casey, by original designa- 
tion. 
There appears to be a single species of Micratopus in the south- 
eastern United States, M. aenescens (LeConte). The species of the 
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