ate behind; front angles prominent, subacute; hind angles obtuse, not rounded; side-margin narrow, reflexed, base truncate; transverse impressions deep, longitudinal line strongly impressed, basal impressions deep, not punctured. Elytra a little wider than the prothorax, sides nearly parallel, humeri broadly rounded; striæ fine, feebly punctured, outer ones nearly effaced; three or four dorsal punctures on the 3d stria. Last ventral segment rufo-piceous (from the immaturity of the specimen). Length 11mm (0.43 inch).

Green River City, Wyo., (6,000-7,000 feet); Mr. Bowditch. This species closely resembles N. Eschscholzii from Alaska, Vancouver, and British Columbia, and has equally long legs and antennæ. It differs, however, by the sides of the prothorax not sinuate towards the base, with the hind angles obtuse; and by the elytra being less convex, more oblong, with the sides more nearly parallel, and not wider behind.

The geographical distribution of these groups may be recapitulated as follows:

GROUP I.-Two species from high mountains of the Sierra Nevada, and one from lower levels, near the Pacific coast.

GROUP II.-Two species from high mountains of Colorado; one from Sierra Nevada, nearly allied to them; a smaller one (N. carbonaria), less similar, from the Alaskan Islands and Kamtschatka, but somewhat resembling N. suturalis of Group IV.

GROUP III. Two Alaskan species, extending to Vancouver and British Columbia.

GROUP IV. Of this group, five are Alaskan, one of which, N. Gebleri, extends to Vancouver; one, N. Sahlbergii, extends over the whole hyperborean region of North America, from Alaska to Canada, southwards to Vancouver on the western coast, and has left a post-Glacial colony on the White Mountains in New Hampshire; two others, N. suturalis and hudsonica, are hyperborean; they do not extend to Alaska, but the former has left a colony on the White Mountains, and the latter occurs from the Saskatchewan to Newfoundland; another, N. nivalis, a Northern European species, is found in Iceland and Greenland, but as yet has. not occurred on the mainland of this continent; it is very closely allied to N. hudsonica, differing chiefly by the more prominent hind angles of the prothorax and by the red legs. The remaining three are from the mountains of Colorado, and one of them seems near to N. suturalis, while the other two, N. obliqua and obtusa, are rather isolated, and perhaps only color varieties of one species.

GROUP V.-Contains a very peculiar isolated species from the coast region of California and Vancouver Island.

GROUP VI.-Contains an equally isolated species from the Atlantic slope of the continent, from Canada to Georgia and Minnesota to Nova Scotia.

If we disregard the color of the antennæ, palpi, and legs as having no specific value, a certain reduction in the number of species may be

made; and this would be fully justified by the observations published in regard to European species. We would then have

N. Eschscholzii Mann. as a color variety or race of N., Mannerheimii Esch.;

N. obtusa Lec. as a color variety of N. obliqua Lec.

Of the species thus reduced, the only ones which exhibit a close relationship to Palearctic forms are the hyperborean Groups III and IV. Of the latter, I am disposed to believe that N. obtusa and obliqua are pre-Glacial Rocky Mountain species, while all the others are dispersions from the later Tertiary circumpolar land, from which came many of the forms identical, or representative, now found in the northern parts of both continents.

Groups I and V must be considered as peculiarly belonging to the Pacific region, and not derived from Glacial migration.

Group VI is similarly related to the Atlantic region. Of Group II, the Californian and the two Rocky Mountain species cannot be connected with Glacial migration, and were, therefore, probably pre-existing species in situ during part of the Tertiary age; N. carbonaria, from its resemblance to some species of Group IV, belongs to the circumpolar dispersion.

Collections made along the edge of retreating snow-fields in the higher parts of the Coast Range, Sierra Nevada, and Rocky Mountains will probably show the existence of other species of the groups peculiar to those regions; but as yet the materials from high mountain elevations are very scanty.

ART. XXI.-ON THE ORTHOPTERA COLLECTED BY DR. ELLIOTT COUES, U. S. A., IN DAKOTA AND MONTANA, DURING

1873-74.*

BY PROF. CYRUS THOMAS.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

CARBONDALE, ILL., October 18, 1875.

SIR: I transmit herewith a report on the collection of Orthoptera submitted to me for examination.

Although the collections are small, they are of considerable interest, as adding to our knowledge of the distribution of species, some of which find their northern limit in the region where your collections were made. The more we study the habits of Caloptenus spretus, which is well represented in your collections, the more important does a thorough knowledge of the western limit of your line of operatio ns become. Although the entire Rocky Mountain region may be said to constitute the native home of this locust, yet the region about the headwaters of the Missouri appears to form a fertile source of the swarms which sweep east and southeast upon the border States and the plains of Manitoba. As this is a subject of great importance, and one in regard to which our national government is no doubt anxious to gain all possible information, I have added a somewhat lengthy note in regard to its operation.

The list is comparatively small; but it should be remembered that Orthoptera rapidly decrease in species as we penetrate into these northern sections. Mr. Henry W. Elliot informed me that although he made a careful examination he was unable to find a single specimen in the section of Alaska in which he was stationed. Kirby's list, as you will see by examining the "Fauna Boreali-Americana", is quite meagre. I find no new species, at least none that I feel warranted in considering new, although varying considerably from the types of the species to which I have referred them. It is possible that the Gryllus which I have referred to abbreviatus is new; but before this can be determined, the

[* These insects form part of the collections made by me as Surgeon and Naturalist of the United States Northern Boundary Commission, Archibald Campbell, Esq., United States Commissioner, Maj. William J. Twining, United States Engineers, Chief Astronomer. They were all taken on or near the parallel of 49° N., along the northern border of Dakota and Montana.

The same remark applies to the two next succeeding articles, by Mr. Uhler and Mr. Edwards.-ED.]

species of that genus will have to be more carefully studied, which will require a comparison of a large number of specimens.

In giving the names of species in my Synopsis, I adopted the plan which appears to prevail in this country of attaching the name of the author of the combination (generic and specific) used. I am convinced that this is objectionable, and that the name of the original describer of the species should be given, and hence have followed this method in this paper, and propose so doing hereafter.

As will be seen, some reference is made to Stâl's "Recensio Orthopterorum"; but the changes in that work have not in all cases been adopted. Respectfully yours,

Dr. ELLIOTT COUES, U. S. A.,

Washington, D. C.

ACRIDIDE.

1. Stenobothrus curtipennis Harr.

CYRUS THOMAS.

The specimens in the collection belong to the long-winged variety (St. longipennis Scudd.).

Stål restores the name Gomphocerus of Thunberg, and in his "Conspectus Generum" makes it equivalent to Stetheophyma Fisch., Arcyptera Serv., Chrysochraon Fisch., and Gomphocerus Thunb., yet in the body of his work he gives Stetheophyma Fisch. as a distinct genus. In a former paper, "Freg. Eug. Resa. Ins. Orth. 1860", he seemed disposed to include in this genus the greater portion of the Tryxaloid Edipodæ. For example, we find him including under this, as subgenera or otherwise, the following genera of his present work:-Sinipta, part of Tryxalis, Phlaoba, Pnorissa, Gomphocerus Thunb., Epacromia Fisch., Scyllina. Of course, the subgenera then named foreshadowed his intention to subdivide the genus, yet his use of the latter shows that he was following too closely Thunberg, notwithstanding the great advance made by Charpentier, Burmeister, Serville, Fischer, and others. It is true the characters of Stenobothrus as given by Fischer fail to include all the species which evidently belong to the group. But the difference between the Stetheophyma and typical Stenobothri of Fischer, it appears to me, is too clear in its character to associate them in one restricted genus when other genera have been separated from the group on such slight char

acters.

2. Tomonotus tenebrosus Scudd.

Specimens of the typical form and that I described as pseudo nietanus are in the collection; the latter, as a general rule, is smaller than the former, and is very distinctly marked with the pale stripes along the sides of the pronotum. The locality at which these specimens were obtained forms, so far as known, the northern limit of the range of this species, which extends south to New Mexico, east to Illinois and Saint Paul, Minn., and west a short distance beyond the range of the Rocky

Mountains in Wyoming, according to the specimens I have examined; but if I am correct in regard to a species Stål has described, it is found as far west as Vancouver's Island. This writer has described as new, under the name of Arphia sanguinaria, a species from this island which is undoubtedly Scudder's tenebrosa.

Why this author has replaced Saussure's Tomonotus with Arphia, when it includes the same species, it is difficult to say.

3. Hippiscus phoenicoptera Germ.

The number of specimens in this collection indicates that this is quite common in the regions where the collections were made.

While traveling through Southern Dakota in 1873, I noticed that, as I advanced toward the north west, Edipoda (Hippiscus) rugosa approached nearer and nearer in its characters to H. phoenicoptera, especially in the color of the wings and the spots on the elytra.

4. Edipoda kiowa Thos.

5. Edipoda gracilis Thos.

Specimens of both these little species are found in the collections; this gives the northern limit of their range, so far as known.

It is probable both species will have to be removed from Edipoda as that genus is now restricted, but at present I am unable to state whether either will fall into any existing genus. The former will, in all probability, fall into the same limited group as E. longipes Charp.

6. Edipoda neglecta Thos.

Dr. Coues's discovery of this species along the northern boundary and my discovery of it in Illinois show that it has a much wider range than I at first supposed.

7. Caloptenus spretus Thos.

See note in regard to this destructive locust at the end of this paper. It will be observed that I have placed my own name after this species, indicating thereby, according to what I have previously stated, that I claim to be the author. This I believe I have the right to do, as no regular description is to be found anywhere previous to that I have given, which distinguishes it from C. femur-rubrum. Mr. Uhler did not describe it, and does not claim to be the author. The name was first given in my paper published in the Illinois State Agricultural Report. According to Stål's arrangement, there are no species of Calopteni in the United States; this and femur-rubrum belonging to Pezottetix, subgenus Melanophus.

There is no doubt that the Calopteni and Pezottetigi of North America need revision, but I have strong doubts as to the correctness of Dr. Stål's conclusions, which lead him to restore Calliptamus of Serville, corrected into Calliptenus, drop Caloptenus of Burmeister entirely, and transfer femur rubrum and other long-winged Calopteni to Pezottetix; and I have given my reasons for these doubts in another place.