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sutural region triangularly infuscate, antennae and legs reddish yellow. The length is 2.3 mm.

Tarphiota Casey. Two species are at present recognized in this genus. They are confined to the Pacific coast of North America where they are very common in decaying seaweed. T. geniculata Mäklin is the most abundant staphylinid in decaying seaweed. It is entirely black and about 2.5 mm long. T. pallidipes Casey is 3 mm long and has testaceous legs. The genus is separated from Atheta by the completely unmargined middle coxal cavities which can be observed only by lifting the coxae. Although T. geniculata can be found in almost every clump of decaying seaweed, its developmental stages and ecology remain a complete

mystery.

Tribe Oxypodini

The combination of 5-segmented tarsi and 4-segmented maxillary palpi characterizes this tribe. Members of this tribe are not characteristic of the marine habitat but two species belonging to separate genera have beep reported: Chilodera with parallel abdomen, very finely sparsely pubescent body and Oxypoda with abdomen tapered to apex and very densely pubescent.

Chilodera Cameron. This genus was described in 1944 to accommodate the single species C. faulklandica Cameron from the Falkland Islands found in seaweed. The head and abdomen are black with the pronotum and elytra dark reddish brown. It is narrow, parallel sided, 3 mm long.

Oxypoda Mannerheim. This is a large genus with several hundred described species. The species are usually teardrop shaped with the pronotum widest at base and the body very densely covered with short pubescence. The species are often closely allied and difficult to separate. One species, O. tarda Sharp has been recorded from a salt marsh in England.

Tribe Aleocharini

This tribe differs from Oxypodini largely in that the maxillary palpi are 5-segmented and the labial palpi 4-segmented. In each case the penultimate segment is subulate and the terminal segment is a minute appendage of it.

Aleochara Gravenhorst. Larvae of this large genus are ectoparasites on the pupae of flies within the fly puparium. It is a large genus of general distribution. Five species have been reported from seaweed in Great Britain by Fowler (1888), one, A. maritima Casey, from the east coast of North America and two from the Pacific coast of North America. A. sulcicollis Mannerheim is one of the most common staphylinids in seaweed in California. It is black with coarse sculpturing. A. arenaria Casey is less common. The elytra are pale and finely sculptured. Both species are to be found in carrion on the beach as well as seaweed. Host species of flies are not recorded for them.