OCR Text |
Show 254 MR. M. JACOBY ON THE [Feb. 2, Head strongly rugosely punctured, black, sparingly pubescent; the anterior portion of the clypeus flavous ; antennas extending to the middle of the elytra, slender, black, the basal joint flavous below, the third joint slightly shorter than the fourth ; thorax with the sides almost straight, much narrowed anteriorly, the surface strongly and closely punctured, especially at the sides, flavous, the middle of the disc with a broad transverse black band, the posterior margin of which is produced at each end and at the middle into a point; scutellum broadly triangular, its surface flattened; elytra with strong and regular rows of punctures, the interstices finely transversely wrinkled, flavous, all the margins very narrowly black, the shoulders wdth a black spot, which is more or less connected with another one near the scutellum, forming a short semi-interrupted band, another spot placed below the middle occupies about five rows of punctures in a transverse sense ; the underside, pygi-dium, the femora, and the tarsi (partly) black ; the anterior femora more or less flavous below. Hab. Mashonaland (67. Marshall). In the collection of the British Museum and that of m y own. This species differs from most of its African congeners in the strongly and closely punctured thorax in connection wdth the transverse band of the latter ; in respect to the latter, there are not many species which are similarly marked ; the sculpturing of the elytra also differs from most African Cryptocephallnce, so that the species will not be very difficult to recognize. In the varieties, the black colour of the thorax predominates to such an extent as to leave the margins only of the flavous ground-colour, this latter being always wider, however, at the sides in all the forms ; the elytral spots are likewise often reduced to one only, and are probably entirely absent occasionally; there are, however, only these three varieties before me, amongst the six specimens obtained by Mr. Marshall. CRYPTOCEPHALUS DECEMNOTATUS, Suffr. Of this very variable species, an interesting variety was obtained by Mr. Marshall in Mashonaland amongst the typical form with three elytral black spots. In this variety the spots are more or less enlarged, so as to form elongate short stripes, which in one specimen form a sutural and a transverse black band below the middle; this latter band has its upper margin deeply concave between each row of punctures. This variety has not been mentioned by Suffrian. The other characters peculiar to the species, viz. the four thoracic black spots and the punctured interstices of the elytra, are all present in this variety, thus proving its identity w ith the type. CRYPTOCEPHALUS NIGROSUTURALIS, n. sp. Black; the anterior margin and sides of the thorax flavous, the disc very finely rugose ; elytra strongly punctate-striate and finely wrinkled, flavous, a spot on the shoulder and a broad sutural band, narrowed behind, black. |