OCR Text |
Show 1905.] OF PHYTOPHAGOUS COLEOPTERA. 401 punctate, frontal elevations broacl, feebly raised, clypeus broad and thick ; eyes widely separated, not very prominent; antennae long and slender, black, third and following joints very elongate, nearly equal; thorax about twice as broad as long, the sides widened, the lateral margins strongly rounded, the anterior angles strongly produced and pointed, the surface impunctate, the lateral sulci broad but shallow, testaceous, the middle of the disc black; scutellum black; elytra with strongly reflexed lateral margins, the posterior portion convex and widened, the surface impunctate, testaceous; posterior femora less thickened than usual, the metatarsus very elongate; claw-joint scarcely, if at all, swollen ; prosternum very narrow. Hah. Bogota. This Asphcera differs in more than one respect from the other members of the genus : the slender antennae, widened sides of the thorax, and the but moderately thickened posterior femora are not found in any other species, to my knowledge, and agree rather with the genus A spicela. but the perfectly normal shape of the mesosternum prevents the insect from being included in that genus. I know of only a single specimen. A sphcera h il a r is , sp. n . Entirely pale testaceous ; eyes rather large, antennae pale fulvous or testaceous, thorax with gradually flattened sides, elytra not perceptibly punctured, metatarsus of the posterior legs elongate, claws swollen. Length 7-8 millim. Head impunctate, testaceous, shining ; the eyes proportionately closely approached and rather large; antennae extending to the middle of the elytra, obscure fulvous ; thorax with feebly rounded sides, slightly narrowed anteriorly, the anterior margin concave, anterior angles thickened but only very slightly produced, the sides gradually flattened, the disc impunctate; elytra with a very shallow depression below the base, with broadly reflexed lateral margins, the surface entirely impunctate, shining; under side coloured as the upper surface, legs slightly darker; the metatarsus of the posterior legs nearly as long as the following joints together, claw-joints distinctly swollen. Hab. Espirito Santo, Brazil. An apparently rather common species of unicolorous appearance, which maybe known by the gradually flattened sides of the thorax and the more than usually thickened claws; the elongate metatarsus shows, however, the species to belong to Asphcera. A .pallida Jac. is a much larger and broader species, with a black head. A sphcera a l b if r o n s , sp. n. Testaceous, the antennae black (apical three joints sometimes pale), the breast piceous, the head whitish-testaceous, thorax with the anterior and posterior margins black at the middle, elytra finely punctured. |