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Show 248 MR. G. A. K. MARSHALL ON THE [Mar. 20, broad but faint chevron-shaped marking behind middle, the intervals with rows of minute depressed white seta? which are more noticeable posteriorly. Legs short and stout, piceous and uniformly covered with greyish scaling; the anterior tibia? are slightly more curved at the apex in the cS , but otherwise the legs are similar in the two sexes. N A T A L : Umvoti (//. Fry), Estcourt and Drakensberg (G. A. K. M.). T Y P E , 2 *n the British Museum, S in the Oxford Museum. Closely allied to dealbatus Fahr., which it evidently replaces in the upland districts of Natal. From that species it may be distinguished by the broader scape, the rounded gena?, the narrower elytral intervals, the more deeply punctured stria?, and the less oblique shoulders. 7. SCIOBIUS OPALINUS, sp. nov. (Plate XVIII. fig. 4.) Long. 5|-6, lat. 2i-3i m m. Head strongly transverse, coriaceous and covered with dense opalescent white scaling; forehead with three shallow impressions and a slightly raised fold above the eyes, which are prominent. Rostrum subquadrate, a little longer than broad, gena? moderately and roundly dilated in both sexes ; upper surface almost plane, tricarinate, with punctuation and scaling as on the head, the central carina only bare and smooth, the outer carina? straight and parallel. Antennce comparatively short and thick, black with fine pale scaling; the scape curved and compressed, strigoso-punctate, first joint of the funicle broader than the rest, a little longer than the third. Prothorax nearly twice as broad as long, base slightly bisinuate, apex a little narrower and truncate, sides moderately rounded, broadest about middle ; upper surface convex, dispersely granulate, and with a rounded impression on each side near the base, a few of the granules with their apices bare, the interstices filled with dense opalescent white scaling. Elytra ovate, slightly sinuate at the base, shoulders very oblique, sides moderately rounded, broadest about middle, the shape similar in the two sexes ; upper surface convex, with faint stria? containing very shallow punctures. W h e n the scaling is removed these punctures are seen to be uneven and irregular and entirely disappear behind middle ; in unabraded examples the punctures appear to be small and regular and the intervals broad and smooth, with a few very scattered low rounded tubercles and with widely separated minute white seta?, but without the scaling the intervals appear narrower and less regular and a few more tubercles are observable, but these are variable in number and disposition. Legs black or piceous, with uniform pale scaling, moderately short and stout and similar in the two sexes. N A T A L : Malvern (C. JST. Barker), Howick (Dr. F. D. Brown). TYPE, 2 in the British Museum, S in the Oxford Museum. Allied to dealbatus Fahr. and cognatus Mshl., from both of which it differs in its smaller size and very different coloration. |