OCR Text |
Show 1906.] COLEOPTERA OF THE GENUS SCIOBIUS. 269 posteriorly, with deep striae containing rows of strong punctures the intervals of equal width, moderately broad, slightly convex, quite smooth and very finely alutaceous; colour black, rather shiny and entirely bare. Legs ferruginous, with the femora black; anterior tibia? straight externally, but distinctly sinuate internally near apex. TYPE 2 m the Albany Museum, Grahamstown. C A P E C O L O N Y : Steynsburg. Very similar to S. nanus in general appearance, but the scape much longer and more slender, the prothorax lacks the lateral impressions, and the elytra are distinctly acuminate apically. Whether the absence of scales is normal is not altogether certain, but there is not even a trace of them on the elytra in the type specimen. 33. SCIOBIUS VIRIDIS, sp. nov. (Plate XIX. fig. 7.) Long. 5-64, lat. 2f-3-f m m. Colour black or piceous, densely and uniformly covered above and below with bright green scaling, which varies to yellowish green or dull golden green. Head transverse, slightly convex, with close shallow punctuation; forehead scarcely impressed; eyes not prominent. Rostrum scarcely longer than broad, arcuate at base, sides gradually convergent from base to beyond middle; gena? bluntly angulate, moderately produced in $ , a little more so in o* ; upper surface shallowly impressed, tricarinate, only the central carina bare of scaling, the outer carina? straight and gradually diverging anteriorly. Antennce moderately long and slender, piceous, with fine grey scaling ; scape not compressed, subcylindrical, regularly curved and gradually clavate; funicle with the first joint rather longer than third, the subterminal joints subcorneal and not very long. Prothorax strongly transverse, base faintly bisinuate, apex a little narrower and truncate, sides scarcely rounded and with a shallow constriction at apex; upper surface convex, finely and evenly coriaceous, without any lateral impressions. Elytra ovate, broader and rather more blunt apically in the 2 ? slightly sinuate at base, sides strongly rounded, broadest about middle ; upper surface very convex, with fine stria? containing small shallow punctures ; the intervals rather broad, subequal in width, almost plane, smooth and impunctate. Legs moderate, ferruginous, with greenish or golden scaling, anterior tibia? straight externally, thicker and with the internal angle more strongly produced in the 6. T Y P E , 2 in the British Museum, tf in the Oxford Museum. T R A N S V A A L. Described from six specimens. One in the British Museum, two in the South African Museum, and the remaining three kindly given m e by Dr. Walther Horn. Its dense green scaling in conjunction with its dilated gena? and perfectly smooth elytra will sufficiently distinguish this species. |