T. D. A. Cockerell.
Fossil Beetle Elytra.
Psyche 37:176, 1930.

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176 Psyche
FOSSIL BEETLE ELYTRA
BY T. D, A. COCKERELL
Boulder, Colorado
Mr. Darlington's remarks in the September Psyche sug- gest that it may be useful to make a further statement as follows :
(1.) Beetle elytra are of value for stratigraphy, be- cause they are present in many different rocks, and often in considerable numbers. The faunae are recognizable if well figured, and the species are not too few. (2.) Fossil elytra are also of value as showing the amount of diversification of these structures in different periods, and especially the antiquity of various characters or structures.
These two reasons seem to me to justify the description and naming of fossil elytra.
(3.) On the other hand, in the majority of cases it is impossible to refer the elytra to definite genera, or in some instances to definite families. Thus a species may be recog- nizable though its generic position is unknown. In all such cases it seems best to use "blanket-genera," such as Cara- bites, rather than to refer the species to numerous sup- posedly extinct genera, which cannot be accurately defined. (4.)
It is however probable that when students inten- sively investigate the elytral structures of modern beetles, many more good generic characters will be found than are now known to exist. If so, it may be possible to return to the fossils, and feel some assurance of their correct position.
PARATENETUS CRINITUS FALL
Sherborn, Mass., has furnished another surprise, or rather several of them, in five or six specimens of what ap- pears to be the above species which was described from New Mexico. At least three of the specimens were taken by sifting. The dates of capture are :-May 11, 1913 ; May 2,



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19301 Distribution of &'oleoptera 177
1915; April 4, 1916; April 9, 1925; November 7, 1926. A specimen was seen in a lot of beetles submitted for de- termination by Mr. A. P. Morse of Wellesley ; this was also taken in Sherborn.
This species is easily distinguished by
its darker color and the long hairs of the elytra; all my examples are smaller than the general run of specimens of the other species. A specimen was sent to Mr. Fall who states that it appears to be the same as the N. M. type, in spite of the locality.
C. A. FROST, Frarningham, Mass.
NOTE
ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF TWO SPECIES
OF COLEOPTERA1
It seems worth while to place on record the following data concerning two species of Coleoptera. I am indebted
to Mr. C. A. Frost for kindly identifying the specimens. Chrysobothris verdigripeimis Frost (Buprestidse) This species was described from Maine, and only the original locality is cited in Leng's Catalogue. Mr. Frost
has no previous record of its having been found west of Ontario. I captured a female specimen at Buffalo, Wyom- ing, on July 24, 1929, at an altitude of about 7500 feet. Uloma p~nct~u1at.a Leconte (Tenebrionidse) This species is recorded in Smith's list of New Jersey insects (1910), but the most eastern locality given in Leng's Catalogue is Indiana. On March 26, 1929, I found one individual under the bark of a pine log at Lakehurst, New Jersey, thus confirming Smith's record. Wontributions from the Department of Zoology, Smith College, No. 162.




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