| OCR Text |
Show 640 MR. G. C. CHAMPION ON COLEOPTERA [Nov. 18, STERCES, gen. nov. Mentum strongly transverse, flat; labial and maxillary palpi with their last joint ovate, obliquely truncate at the apex (that of the maxillary pair subtriangular in S. violaceipennis) ; ligula largely developed, triangularly raised in the middle between the point of insertion of the labial palpi, deeply emarginate in the centre at the apex; mandibles feebly emarginate at the tip; head short, feebly emarginate in front, not deeply sunk into the prothorax, distinctly narrowed behind the eyes, the antennary orbits not prominent, the epistorna short, limited behind by a faintly impressed groove ; the eyes rather convex, coarsely granulated, moderately large ; antennae short, not or scarcely reaching the base of the prothorax, the six outer joints broadly dilated and punctured, 6-10 transverse, 11 much longer than 10, the five basal joints almost smooth ; prothorax as long as broad, subquadrate, somewhat cylindrical, very acutely margined at the sides, the base bisinuate and distinctly margined ; scutellum subtriangular ; elytra about one half broader than and fully four times as long as the prothorax, parallel towards the base, a little dilated at the middle, and obliquely converging behind, very sharply margined at the sides (the margin deeply grooved within) from the base nearly to the apex, the epipleurae reaching as far as the apex of the fourth ventral segment and strongly sinuous posteriorly; prosternum abruptly declivous behind the anterior coxae and extending as far as the base of the prothorax, a little raised at the apex ; mesosternum triangularly excavate in front, Y-shaped ; intercoxal process of the abdomen subtriangular ; legs short; tbe femora not clavate ; the tarsal joints (the apical one excepted) broad and compressed and clothed beneath with a dense brush of spongy hairs (this clothing being extended on to the apex of each of the tibiae), the penultimate joint deeply excavate above, as broad as the preceding joint, and slightly emarginate at the apex, the first joint of the posterior pair about one third longer than the following joint ; tibial spurs obsolete ; claws furnished with a long sharp tooth at the middle within; body elongate and somewhat cylindrical, metallic, glabrous. This new genus is proposed for an interesting species belonging to the group Cnodalonides ; a closely allied form, from Lagos1, also 1 STERCES VIOLACEIPENNIS. Less elongate than S. resplendens; the head not depressed in the middle between the eyes; the antenna; shorter, joints 6-10 shorter and much more strongly transverse; the prothorax more parallel at the sides behind, the hind angles more rectangular, the transverse basal depression deeper, the disc not canaliculate in front, the punctuation a little coarser (similar to that of the head); the elytra relatively shorter, bright violaceous, coppery in certain lights, a little more deeply punctate-striate ; the legs shorter; the femora and tibise, except at the base and apex, reddish-testaceous, this colour occupying more of the basal portion of the femora than in S. resplendens ; the rest as in S. resplendens. Length 14, breadth 4\ millim. Hab. Lagos (coll. F. Bates). One example, apparently a male. |
