OCR Text |
Show 232 MR. C. O. WATERHOUSE ON [M Thorax nearly twice as broad as long, moderately convex, with a transverse impression in the middle of the base. In the middle of the disk is a shining (but finely punctured) line, which does not extend much beyond the middle ; all the rest of the surface is strongly punctured; the punctures near the shining line are a little separated from each other, but at the sides and on the fore part they are crowded together and asperate ; the sides are strongly rounded, finely serrate, and fringed with black hair. The elytra are a little narrower than the thorax, very slightly narrowed posteriorly, dull, but with the suture shining; the striae are fine, the interstices flat and finely coriaceous (except the sutural interstices and the scutellar region), with numerous dull shallow punctiform impressions placed very irregularly. Femora and tibiae fringed with black hair. Sternum smooth and shining, with a well-marked broad impression between the intermediate legs. Length 22 millim. This species most nearly resembles the Indian Scarabceus sanctus, Fabr. The sides of the thorax are, however, more regularly rounded, much less sinuate before the posterior angles ; the shining discoidal line is broader, and there are no smooth spots on each side of this line. The elytra have the striae finer and neater, the interstices are flatter, coriaceous, with the punctiform impressions smaller and more separated from each other. ONTHOPHAGUS JOHNSTONI, n. sp. (Plate XV. fig. 2.) Entirely black, except the apex of the antennae, which is rusty-yellow. Head as long as broad, obliquely narrowed in front of the middle, rounded at the apex, closely and coarsely rugose, except near the eyes. There is a slightly raised straight ridge between the eyes, and a second, longer one halfway between this and the front of the clypeus. The thorax is smooth, shining at the sides and in front, slightly dull above; the fore part is perpendicularly truncate; the truncature bounded above by a slightly prominent ridge ; viewed from the front there are three shallow impressions: on each side there is a line of small tubercles bounding the discoidal area; the surface of the disk is moderately closely but extremely delicately punctured, and appears impunctate to the naked eye ; the sides are more distinctly punctured : the base is oblique on each side, and is angularly produced in the middle. The elytra are convex, shining, not quite twice as wide as the length at the suture, rounded at the sides and apex, very delicately striated, the striae delicately punctured ; the interstices flat, sparingly punctured ; near the suture the punctures are extremely delicate but become more distinct towards the sides. The pygidium is rather sparingly but distinctly punctured. The sides of the sterna, the margins of the femora, and the posterior tibiae are fringed with long black hair. Length 21-25 millim. I know of no species which much resembles this. Its most near ally is a species which I have seen named O. noctis, Th., in Mr. |