368 SEREICOENIA. 



Moderately elongate, rather convex, shining, finely pubescent ; testaceous or rufo-testaceous, the head usually 

 fuscous or piceous, paler in front ; the prothorax with a broad black or piceous median vitta, narrowing 

 behind ; the scutellum piceous ; the elytra with an elongate patch on the disc, a broad sharply angulated 

 fascia towards the apex, and a short sutural stripe at the base (sometimes obsolete), black or piceous ; 

 the antenna? testaceous, the legs flavous, the under surface rufo-testaceous. Head convex, thickly punc- 

 tured, the frontal carina rounded and not prominent ; antennae with joint 3 a little longer than 2, the 

 two together slightly longer than 4. Prothorax about as long as broad, narrowed in front, the sides 

 strongly sinuate behind ; the hind angles narrowly, acutely produced, divergent, carinate above, the carina 

 short and joining the marginal one at the tip ; the surface thickly and rather coarsely punctate. Scutellum 

 with a conically raised prominence in front. Elytra about twice as long as the prothorax, rapidly 

 narrowing from the middle, and rounded at the apex ; deeply punctate-striate, the punctures distinct 

 throughout, the interstices feebly convex and roughly punctured. Fourth tarsal joint slightly excavate 

 above. 



Var. The black markings more extended, the discoidal patch forming a broad stripe on each elvtron. 

 (Fig. 12.) 



Length 5i|-6|, breadth lg-lf millim. 



Hab. Mexico, Cordova {Salle, Hoge), Mexico city, Tlacotalpam and Jalapa in Vera 

 Cruz, San Juan Bautista in Tabasco (Hoge); Beitish Hondueas, Belize (Blancaneaux) ; 

 Nicaragua, Chontales (Belt). — Colombia. 



The specimens from which the above description is taken agree well with an example 

 labelled " Elater circumscriptus, Germ., Am.-bor.," in the Janson collection (from that 

 of Schaum), probably the type. This species is confused in collections with Drasterius 

 dorsalis * (Say), and it is probable that all the southern localities given by Candeze for 

 D. dorsalis refer to jE. circumscriptus. It may be known from I), dorsalis by its narrower 

 shape, the elevated scutellum, the more deeply excavate penultimate joint of the tarsi, 

 and the narrower, more acute, and more divergent hind angles of the thorax, which are 

 also more finely carinate, the carina joining the marginal one at the tip. The insect 

 has been sent in plenty by Herr Hoge from Tabasco ; the variety, from Mexico city, is 

 coloured like the form described by Germar. Dr. Horn has examined one of our 

 Mexican specimens, and he informs me that the insect is unknown to him. J), dorsalis 

 is a common North- American insect, but none of our specimens can be satisfactorily 

 identified with it. We figure an example of JE. circumscriptus from Jalapa. 



18. -Solus trilineatus. (Tab. XVI. fig. 13.) 



JEolus trilineatus, Cand. Monogr. Elat. ii. p. 293 1 . 



Hab. Mexico, Tuxtla, San Nicolas in Vera Cruz (Salle x ) ; Guatemala, Balheu in 

 Vera Paz (Champion). 



I have seen four specimens of this species — two from Mexico and two from Guate- 

 mala ; the two latter have the marginal stripe on the thorax less distinct and the 

 discoidal vitta on the elytra almost interrupted at the middle. The scutellum has a 

 strongly raised conical prominence in the centre, a character not mentioned by Candeze. 



* This name is incorrectly sunk by Leconte (Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. xii. p. 5) as a synonym of ^E. elegans 

 (Fabr.), an Antillean insect. 



