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Show 1905.] OF PHYTOPHAGOUS COLEOPTERA. 457 Head entirely impunctate, _ broad, the eyes small and round; fiontal elevations strongly raised, subquadrate; labrum piceous; antenna? long and slender, the lower four joints pale, the others piceous, third and fourth joints elongate, equal, terminal joints shorter, robust and thickened; thorax about twice as broad as long, the sides broadly flattened, posterior margin perfectly straight, the surface impunctate, testaceous; elytra finely and closely punctured of the spots, two are placed transversely at the base, one on the shoulders, the other near the scutellum, two at the middle, with the outer one lower than the other, and two of exactly similar position near the apex; breast and abdomen, as well as the knees of all the legs and the tarsi, black ; claws strongly swollen. Hab. Buenos Ayres. This is another of the small black-spotted species, of which I received two specimens from Mr. 0. Bruch, of the La Plata Museum ; the position and number of the spots and the colour of the legs separate the species from 0. atropunctata and others. O ed io n y ch is n ig r o p u n c t a t a , sp. n. Black, the sides of the thorax broadly testaceous, the surface impunctate; elytra extremely minutely punctured, testaceous, the sutural margins, three small spots at the base, a spot near the suture at the middle, and another below the latter, of each elytron black. Length 7 millim. Of posteriorly slightly widened shape; the head with a few punctures at the vertex, the latter black; the space in front of the eyes testaceous, these widely separated; frontal elevations indistinct; clypeus triangularly pointed between the antennae ; labrum obscure testaceous; antennae extending just below the base of the elytra, black, the third joint slightly shorter than the fourth, this and the following joints robust and proportionately short, subquadrately cylindrical; thorax twice as broad as long, the lateral margins strongly rounded, the anterior angles produced forwards, the sides broadly sulcate, the disc impunctate, black, in shape of a transverse irregular band, the sides broadly testaceous ; scutellum black ; elytra extremely minutely and closely punctured, testaceous, with three small black spots placed on the basal margin (one at the shoulders and two at the middle) and another larger subsutural spot immediately before, as well as a smaller one below, the middle of each elytron; besides these spots, the disc is stained with irregular fuscous patches, which are specially pronounced near the suture ; under side and legs black. Hab. Bolivia. A rather peculiarly marked species, of which I know only a single specimen. The elytral fuscous patches are probably due to discoloration. 31* |
