108 HETEROMERA. 
LANTHANUS. 
Last joint of the maxillary palpi subcylindrical, that of the labial palpi narrowly ovate; inner lobe of the 
maxille longer and not narrower than the outer lobe ; mandibles bifid and with a short tooth before the 
apex beneath, obsoletely denticulate within ; mentum strongly transverse, about twice as broad as long, 
the apical angles broadly rounded, the hind angles rectangular ; ligula membranous and comparatively 
small ; head wide, flattened and produced in front into a short broad beak, the labrum prominent; eyes 
small, convex, very prominent; antennz reaching to a little beyond the base of the prothorax, inserted in 
a cavity in the sides of the front, 11-jointed—1 small and very short (scarcely visible from above or 
beneath), 2 large and ovate, more than twice as long as and very much stouter than 1, 3 as long as but much 
more slender than 2, obovate, 4-8 decreasing in length and slightly increasing in width, 9 about three times 
as wide and more than twice as long as 8, 9-11 forming a very large loosely-articulated three-jointed club, 
11 broad ovate, a little longer than 10; prothorax transversely convex, broader than long, about as wide at 
the base as at the apex, the sides very finely denticulate and somewhat rounded, the base and apex truncate, 
the base narrowly grooved within on each side (the groove not always distinct), the disc (in one species) 
with a deep oblique fovea on each side behind, the surface punctured; scutellum transversely triangular ; 
elytra short and broad, convex, ovate, wider than the prothorax at the base, bluntly rounded at the apex, 
smooth; anterior cox contiguous; intermediate coxe moderately separated; posterior coxe widely 
separated; first ventral segment long, the intercoxal process broad, rounded in front; fifth segment short ; 
legs slender, rather short, the tibie with distinct spurs, the penultimate joint of all the tarsi small; body 
winged, very shining, clothed with a few scattered erect hairs; form oblong-ovate or obovate, convex. 
Two small species from Central America are referred to this genus. One of these is 
contained in the Sallé collection ; and it is labelled with the MS. name of Lanthanus 
variegatus, Reiche, and placed in the Lathridiide. Lanthanus, however, has 5-, 5-, 4- 
jointed tarsi, and is undoubtedly allied to Lvssodema, from which its more strongly 
clubbed antenne, widely separated hind coxe, and other characters abundantly distin- 
guish it. The antenne at first sight appear to be 10-jointed, the small basal joint being 
partly hidden in a cavity in the sides of the front (and not easily seen unless the entire 
organ is detached), and the second joint very large. The elytra are smooth and almost 
destitute of sculpture (exceedingly minute scattered punctures only being visible under 
a very strong lens). The thorax is thickly punctured ; and in one species has a very 
deep fovea on each side of the disc behind, this being only feebly indicated in the other. 
L. variegatus was found in abundance by myself in Guatemala, beneath the thin scaly 
bark of old posts and in company with various subcortical Carabide and Histeride. 
1. Lanthanus variegatus. (Tab. V. figg. 12; 12a, labium; 126, maxilla 
aud maxillary palpus; 12 c, antenna.) 
Lanthanus variegatus, Reiche, in coll. Sallé. 
Oblong ovate, eneous or blackish-zneous, the front of the head of a more testaceous tint, the elytra each with 
a transverse spot before and another behind the middle, not reaching the suture, pallid testaceous; very 
shining, and clothed (especially on the prothorax) with fine scattered erect hairs. Head finely and somewhat 
thickly punctured ; antennz with the basal joints testaceous, the rest piceous or black, in some examples 
the club only black; prothorax strongly transverse, rather more coarsely punctured than the head, 
and with a very deep oblique fovea on each side of the disc behind; scutellum with a few punctures ; 
elytra smooth ; beneath varying in colour from piceous to piceo-testaceous, the metasternum, metasternal 
side-pieces, and venter almost smooth, the rest thickly and rather coarsely punctured; legs testaceous, the 
femora and tibie often more or less piceous. 
Var. The entire upper surface of a brilliant eneous or golden-bronze tint; the elytra without spots. 
Length 13-2 millim. 
