122 HETEROMERA. 
In the males of some of the Central-American species the anterior, or the anterior 
and intermediate, tibiee are furnished with a smooth triangular projection at their inner 
apical angles, and the intermediate or the four hinder tibie are dilated within; in one 
of these species all the femora are also much thickened. 
* Upper surface entirely opaque. 
1. Femora thickened, the anterior tibie with a smooth angular projection at their inner 
apical angle, and the four hinder tibie dilated towards the apex, in the male. 
1. Diplectrus nigripes. (Tab. VI. figg. 1,3; la, cedeagus.) 
Elongate, parallel, opaque, densely and finely pubescent, yellowish-ochraceous ; the head and legs black or 
piceous; the prothorax sometimes of an orange tint, and in rare individuals stained with piceous on 
each side (in one example the piceous colour is much extended, and the base, apex, and a line down 
the middle alone remain of the ground-colour); the elytra with the extreme base and the apical half or 
less black (sometimes with the black portion less extended, and in the form of a very large oblong patch), 
or entirely yellowish-ochraceous. Head densely and finely punctured, the eyes prominent and rather large ; 
antenne black or piceous, sometimes with the outer joints ferruginous (joints 3-5 pale at the base in one 
example), very long and slender, tapering outwardly, joint 2 one-third of the length of 3, 3 longer than 4; 
prothorax convex, about as long as or rather longer than broad, strongly rounded at the sides in front and 
much narrowed behind, the base with distinct margin, the hind angles prominent, the disc feebly trans- 
versely depressed in the middle before the base, the surface punctured like that of the head; elytra long 
and parallel, about one and a half times the width of the prothorax, a little flattened on the disc, finely and 
densely punctured, sometimes with traces of one or two very faint coste on the disc, the apices separately 
rounded; beneath very densely punctured, thickly clothed with long ashy pubescence, more or less piceous, 
the prothorax and venter ochraceous; legs densely punctured and pubescent, the four hinder tibie a little 
curved. 
3. Femora very stout; anterior tibie slightly constricted on the inner side immediately before the apex, and 
smooth and shining at this part, the inner angles strongly and triangularly produced ; intermediate tibie 
dilated within on the inner side towards the apex ; hind tibie sinuously curved and strongly and abruptly 
dilated within towards the apex ; fifth ventral segment slightly emarginate in the centre; sixth ventral 
segment divided down the middle; the central sheath with an accompanying, separate, spoon-shaped piece 
on each side, the latter fringed with long hairs at the apex. 
Length 143-184 millim. (¢ 2.) 
Hab. Nicaraceva (Sallé), Chontales (Belt, Janson). 
This remarkable insect is not uncommon at Chontales, and is contained in many 
collections. The amount of black on the apical portion of the elytra varies very much 
in the numerous examples before me, and in about one-third of them it is altogether 
obsolete; the head and legs, however, and the antenne in great part, are constantly 
black or piceous. The male may be readily distinguished from the allied forms by the 
thickened femora, dilated hinder tibiz, and peculiar form of the inner apical angles of 
the anterior tibie. D. nigripes has very much the facies of certain Central-American 
species of the Malacoderm-genus Chauliognathus. 
