288 SEREICOENIA. f 



The genus ranges from the Mexican State of Vera Cruz to Chili; its headquarters 

 would appear to be in the forest-regions of Colombia and Ecuador. As in Chalcole- 

 pidius, the males of many of the species are of extreme rarity. The females have in 

 some cases two large, deep, oval or rounded, piliferous fovea? on the fifth ventral 

 segment, these in certain species becoming confluent so as to form a cordate impression. 

 In S. insignis, S. dohrni, and S. chontalenus this segment is unimpressed in both sexes. 

 The apex of the fifth ventral segment is also usually subtruncate, or even slightly emar- 

 ginate, in the females. In Janson's MSS. notes on Semiotus, and also in his collection, 

 the sexes are reversed. These insects, like Chalcolepidius, are found about fallen trees 

 in fresh clearings in the forest ; they readily take to wing in the hot sun. 



Head unidentate in front ; elytra bimucronate at the apex ; size very large. 



Elytra not distinctly striate throughout; prothorax with the black median 



vitta uninterrupted cuspidatus. 



Elytra distinctly striate throughout; prothorax with the black median vitta 



divided down the centre by a rufous stripe splendidus. ^ 



Head strongly and acutely bidentate in front. 



Elytra unimucronate at the apex ; size large or moderate. 



Form very elongate; prothorax with five black spots, the outer two on 

 either side sometimes coalescent ; elytra with the suture and margins at 



most narrowly black beyond the middle insignis. 



Form moderately elongate. 



Prothorax with two black vittse, sometimes interrupted ; elytra with the 



suture and margins broadly black beyond the middle lafertei. 



Prothorax with a median black vitta, sometimes divided along the middle by 

 a rufous stripe. 

 Elytra bivittate on the disc, the sutural interstice also partly or en- 

 tirely, and the margins partly, infuscate or black dohrni. 



Elytra quadrivittate, the suture and margins at most very narrowly 



infuscate superbus. v 



Elytra bimucronate at the apex ; head, a median vitta on the prothorax, the 



scutellum, and the apical half of the elytra black ; size small chontalenus. 



Head bilobed in front ligneus. 



1. Semiotus CUSpidatuS. (Tab. XII. figg. 21 ; 21 a, fifth ventral segment, $ .) 

 Eucamptus cuspidatus, Chevr. Col. Mex. Cent. i. fasc. 1, no. 35 (Jan. 1833) \ 

 Semiotus cuspidatus, Cand. Monogr. Elat. i. p. 299 2 ; Eevis. Elat. p. 173 3 . 

 Pericallus dorsalis, Latr. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. hi. p. 140, nota 4 . 



Hah. Mexico 234 , Orizaba {coll. Janson), Santecomapan (Salle), Cordova (Salle, 

 Hoge), Coatepec (Edge), Zongolica in Vera Cruz 1 ; Guatemala, Purula, Sabo, and 

 Sinanja in Vera Paz, Zapote, Cerro Zunil (Champion), Capetillo (Rodriguez), El Rincon 

 in San Marcos (Richardson). 



