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Show 1906.J COLEOPTERA OF THE GENUS SCIOBIUS. 275 and without impressions, densely covered with greenish-grey and with a white lateral stripe. Elytra ovate in 2 > much narrower in c?, subtruncate at base, sides slightly rounded, broadest about middle; upper surface convex, with fine stria? containing close punctuation which is continued to apex; the intervals of about equal width, almost plane, quite smooth and shining; colour black, with dense even scaling, wThich is greyish or brownish with a dull golden-green reflection, the suture and extreme margins being whitish. Legs moderately stout, ferruginous or testaceous, with fine grey scaling, the anterior tibia? straight externally in 2 > distinctly curved towards apex in the <5 . TYPE 6 2 in the Stockholm Museum. CAPE COLONY : Grahamstown (Miss Dalyk Miss Sole). An aberrant species with no near allies. The depressed and approximated eyes in conjunction with the comparatively narrow and elongate rostrum will at once distinguish it; but these characters scarcely justify the creation of yet another monotypic genus. Boheman states that the rostrum of the o* is not carinate, but this is incorrect, for the carina? are present in a specimen captured by Drege which I have examined, although less distinct than in the $ . Doubtful Species. 41. SCIOBIUS PAIVANUS Woll. S.paivanus Woll. Ann. Nat. Hist. (3) ix. 1862, p. 22. " S. ovatus, nigro-fuscus sed squamulis parvis demissis albidis parce nebulosus, rostro utrinque carinato; prothorace brevi, subconico ; elytris profunde punctato-striatis setisque rigidis obsitis, obscure albido-tessellatis; antenuis, tarsisque fusco-ferrugineis. " Long. corp. lin. 2J. ''Habitat 'ad varias leguminas spinosas regionis littoralis.'- Dom Welwitsch." I have been quite unable to identify this species, nor do I know where the type is to be found. Mr. Arrow has kindly searched through the Wollaston types in the British Museum, and informs me that S.paivanus is certainly not among them. It is impossible to say for certain from the description only whether the species really does, or does not, belong to the genus Sciobius. The absence of the central rostral carina and the presence of erect, stiff bristles on the elytra are both aberrant characters. But it is the locality (Angola) which makes the point specially doubtful, seeing that all the other species of the genus are confined to extra-tropical S.E. Africa. Moreover, Wollaston was probably not quite clear as to the distinctive characters of Sciobius, as the other species described by him proves to be a Phlyctinus. It appears likely, therefore, that paivanus, when rediscovered, will be found to belong to Systates or some other allied genus. PROC. ZOOL. Soc-1906, YOL. I No XIX. 19 |