Epagrius

Epicæri proxime affinis; differt scrobibus latioribus, tibiarum posticarum corbellis subcavernosis.

The species placed in this genus have the scrobes broader than in Epicærus, and usually their terminal portion is less definite, the upper border more especially being less sharply defined.
 
This is the genus which Lacordaire referred to¹, and—speaking of one of its species —said that it must be separated from Epicærus on account of the posterior corbels being open. The posterior corbels I consider, however, to be feebly cavernous, and I think this difference alone would not be sufficient to substantiate the generic separation proposed. I find, however, that the scrobes also are considerably broader in Epagrius than they are in Epicærus, and the two characters taken together separate the genera fairly well. There is, however, considerable variety in the genus as to each of the characters—Epagrius albosquamosus, for instance, having the cavernous corbels as distinctly developed as they are in some Epicæri,—so that the location of some of the species in the genus is not quite satisfactory.
 
As regards the synonymy it should be remarked that Lacordaire considered Graphorhinus to consist of G. operculatus and G. vadosus, Say; the latter species was, however, unknown to him and he drew his characters from the former. Horn has since pointed out that these characters do not agree with those of the latter species— viz. G. vadosus, Say; and as this is the type of Graphorhinus, Say, another name must be found for the Graphorhinus as known to Lacordaire. Epagrius having been founded by Schönherr on a species—as I believe—of the present genus, the name appears to be available, although it was treated by Lacordaire as merely a synonym of Graphorhinus. Unfortunately I have not been able to see an example of E. nubilosus, on which Schönherr founded Epagrius, so that my application of the name may possibly prove to be erroneous.

This change in the synonymy has already been alluded to under Epagriopsis, anteà, p. 328. Epagrius comes very near the N.-American genus Graphorhinus, Schönh. (type G. vadosus), but the latter has much broader elytra, with prominent humeri, longer tarsi, &c.; it will include B. brevirostris, Sharp, and the three forms noted below.