Proceedings of the Washington Academy of Sciences Volume 10

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1908 Excerpt: ... PROCEEDINGS OF THE WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Vol. X, Pp. 51-166. April 25, 1908. A REVISION OF THE TENEBRIONID SUBFAMILY CONIONTIISLE. By Thos. L. Casey. Such genera as Eusattus, Com'ontis, Caelus, Branchus and Praocis possess a peculiar and consistent habitus distinguishing them as a special group in a somewhat heterogeneous assemblage, brought together under the subfamily name Asidinae by LeConte and Horn. The only characters considered to be of subfamily weight by the latter authors are those relating to the coriaceous posterior margin of the penultimate abdominal segments and the presence or absence of a trochantin, but there are assuredly some other important characters, the utilization of which would serve to segregate the multitude of genera forming the first subdivision of the family into more homogeneous groups, that, in several cases, might be regarded as subfamilies without doing any great violence to precedent in other parts of the Coleopterous series. I have in mind more especially the size of the mentum and certain characters relating to the hind coxae. In regard to subfamily division among those Tenebrionids which have no coriaceous hind margins of the abdominal segments, the following scheme might be proposed: --Mentum large, covering both the maxillae and Hgula; hind coxae variable, generally transverse, feebly oblique in some Eurymetoponids and strongly oblique in the Zophosini; trochantin invisible throughout.. Tentyriinve Mentum smaller, never concealing both the maxillae and ligula1 2 1 The genera Astrotus and Ologlyptus constitute a remarkable exception to this rule, the entire buccal opening being closely filled by the mentum; but in all other characters, including facies, these genera are purely Asidid, showing how difficult it ...