ABUNDÂNCIA E DISTRIBUIÇÃO VERTICAL DE COLEÓPTEROS DO SOLO EM CAPOEIRA DE TERRA FIRME NA REGIÃO DE MANAUS - AM, BRASILAbundance and vertical distribution of soil Coleoptera in "terra firme" second-growth. Amazonian soil Coleoptera are poorly known. This study was done to determine their abundance and vertical distribution in the soil. At monthly intervale, soil samples were collected from a "terra firme" second-growth area in the Tarumã-mirim Reserve, 20 km north of Manaus, during 13 months. 156 randomly distributed samples were taken from an area of 1320 m2, each sample measured 21 cm in diameter by 7 cm in depth and was divided into 2 equal samples of o - 3,5 cm and 3,5 - 7 cm in depth. The modified Kempson method was used to extract Coleoptera in the laboratory. Of the 2,828 individual Coleoptera captured (525 ind/m2), 81% were from the surface layer. The most abundant families were Scydmaenidae (22%), Ptiliidae (22%) and Vselaphidae (21%). Fifty-two percent were captured in the dry season and the major families were correlated with local climatic factors. The larvae (1,138 individuals) were not identified.