CORTICARIA.—MELANOPHTHALMA. 635 
the antenna. Head short, finely punctate; eyes close to the thorax. Thorax strongly 
transverse, a little narrower than the elytra, finely and closely punctured, with a rather 
indistinct and not broad impression behind the middle, the hind angles minutely 
spinose. Elytra very finely punctate; near the suture at the base three or four series 
of punctures may be distinguished, but elsewhere the punctuation is not seriate; the 
pubescence is very fine and short; there is a sutural depression. The legs are short, 
the hind pair rather thick, all the tarsi short. 
We have only one mutilated example of this insect, and it appears to be a male. 
There is no fovea on the last abdominal segment. The species may be placed in 
Group 6 of Belon’s revision (Revue d’Entomologie, 1897, p. 143). 
MELANOPHTHALMA. 
Melanophthalma, Motschulsky, Bull. Soc. Mose. iii. p. 269 (1866). 
This very widely distributed genus includes nearly 100 species. Though the 
characters by which it is distinguished from Corticaria are, as pointed out by 
Ganglbauer, far from satisfactory, it is at present convenient to adopt it. Cortilena, 
treated by Fall as distinct, I have adopted as a subgenus. 
 § 1. Club of antenna 3-jointed ; first segment of abdomen with two raised lines 
behind the coxe. (Subgen. CorTIcaRINA.) 
1. Melanophthalma centralis, sp.n. (Tab. XIX. fig. 8.) 
Ovalis, testacea ; oculis magnis, prothorace angusto, ante basin sulca transversa integra profunda, fortiter 
dense punctato ; elytris subtiliter seriatim punctatis, breviter setosis. 
Long. 13-14 millim. 
Hab. Mexico, Cordova (Sallé), Jalapa (Hoge), Atoyac, Teapa (H. H. Sinith), Orizaba 
(H. H. Smith & Flohr), Mexico city, Motzorongo (flohr); Guatemata, near the city, 
Aceituno, Capetillo (Champion); Panama, Volcan de Chiriqui 4000 to 6000 feet, Petia 
Blanca, Tolé, Bugaba (Champion). 
This insect is extremely similar to the well-known J. gibbosa, but belongs to a 
different subgenus (Melanophthalma i. sp.), the first abdominal segment possessing 
well-marked, raised, coxal lines. Superficially, it may always be distinguished from 
M. gibbosa by the larger and more coarsely facetted eyes, which are less widely 
separated, and by the deeper depression on the thorax, though this latter character 
varies a good deal in both species. The antennz are slender, the club 3-jointed, 
slender, and not very abrupt, the ninth joint a little longer than broad, the tenth about 
as long as broad. The thorax is much narrower than the elytra, but is rather broader 
than long. The punctures of the elytra are very regularly placed, but each one is 
ill-defined ; the serial hairs are quite short. The legs are yellow. 
4M*2 
