Further Notes on Australian Coleoptera, ^viTH Descriptions of New Genera and Species. By the Rev, T. Blackburn, B.A. [Read April 8, 1895.] XVII. CARABID.^. An important and very able memoir by Mr. T. G. Sloane on Australian Cara6i(ire appears in the recently published Part (III., 1895) of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. Some of Mr. Sloane's proposal? — e.g.^ the merging of the Morionides and Trigonotomides in the Feroniides, and of Notonomus and Sarticus in Fterostichus,* while Loxcmdrus Prosoi^ogmus, &c., are treated as genera — certainly appears to me on first thoughts open to much objection; neither can I acquiesce in Mr. Sloane's apparent reluctance to regard sexual characters as of classiticatory value (illustrated by his uniting N~urus and Homalosoma on the ground that they do not seem to differ except in respect of sexual tarsal characters). As however the memoir was published in Sydney only a week ago, I have not had time to do more than hastily run my eyes over it and am not justified in seriously criticising it on the strength of so slight an acquaint-ance with its contents, nor should I have discussed it on this occasion if it had not been that Mr. Sloane refers here and there to what I have myself written concerning some Australian Carabidce and in at least one instance seems to invite further information from me which this seems a good opportunity to furnish. In dealing with Lei^toj^odus, Chaud., Mr. Sloane refers to my having expressed the opinion that it is scarcely distinct from Simodontus on the strength of its having been formed for the reception of Pterosticlms holomelanus, Germ., but thinks that (although he agrees P. holomelanns is a Simodontus, yet) inas-much as M. Chaudoir attributed also other species to Leptopodus some of which stood in need of a new name holomelanus ought to be relegated to Simodontus and Leptopodus retained for other species. I think Mr, Sloane is right in this view of the matter. * I observe that in a footnote Mr. Sloane himself hesitates considerably on this point.
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