i E. T. Atkiuson — Catalogue of the Carabidse. [Supplt, 
de docker, c’est-k-dlre que les premiers auteurs s’etaient mis eu route 
avec l’insou tenable prfijuge que uotre petite Europe allait nous offrir 
l’abregd exact de la nature du globe, et la possibility de formuler par 
elle seule le systeme de cette nature.’ The arrangement, however, has 
been adopted in Leconte and Horn’s edition* of Leconte’s work on the 
classification of American Coleoptera already noticed, and in most of the 
later European catalogues. There still remains the task of amalgamat- 
ing the groups of all countries in one list. 
Another attempt at the classification of the Carabidce has been made 
by M. des Gozis.f This is based principally on the presence or absence 
of setigerous pores in the pronotum. He distributes the genera into six 
sectious, but this arrangement appears to bring together genera incon- 
gruous in other respects, Oodmi, Omophronini, Dryptini and Zabrini in 
the first group; Bracliynini and Harpalini in the second group ; whilst the 
fifth group contains an agglomeration of apparently widely distinct 
genera, 
Mr. Sharp, in a paper]; on the Carahidce, quotes Leconte’s remarks 
already noticed, and adds : — ‘ The learned and energetic American expert 
had himself contributed greatly, probably as much or more than any 
other of the authors ho mentions, to the rational system of classification 
he describes, and had no doubt done so at the expense of great labour 
and time, but the lapse of time has not altogether justified his expression 
of reliance as to the permanency of the results then reached. Duval, 
Chaudoir, C. J. Thomson and others have worked, since Leconte, at the 
classification of these insects, and each has contributed more or less 
to our knowledge, and has thus induced change. The genera of a large 
number of groups have been entirely remodelled by Chaudoir ; while of 
the larger groups it may be truly said that at present but little accord 
exists as to their limits and arrangement, except in the case of certain 
comparatively small aud isolated groups.’ 
Mr. Sharp further remarks : — ‘ Indeed I am, myself, of opinion that 
classification of the groups superior iu complexness to genera is at pre- 
sent ( 1883 ) so extremely far from approximation to the actual facts, and 
that these groups will thus probably in future assume a totally different 
form, that we should do well to refrain from giving them names at all, 
* « Classification of the Coleoptera of North America,’ by J.L. Leconte and G. H. 
Horn, in Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1883 j and separate, 1888, Bibli- 
ography of the American Carabidm, ib., p. 536. 
+ ‘ Memoire sur les pores setigeres prothoraciqnes dans la tribu des Carnivores, in 
MT Schwe. Ent. Ges. vi, 1882, p. 285. 
| Trans. Ent. 8. Lond., 1883, p. 01. ‘ On the classification of the Adephaga, or 
carnivorous series of the Coleoptera.’ 
