220 RHYNCHOPHORA. 
| HYLOCURUS. 
Hylocurus, Eichhoff, Berl. ent. Zeitschr. 1871, p. 183; Rat. Tom. p. 298. 
The species of Hylocurus are readily recognized by the structure of the antenne and 
legs, and the general facies. The antenne have a rather short curved clubbed scape, 
a six-jointed funiculus, the joints of which are somewhat moniliform, the third to the 
sixth transverse and increasing moderately in thickness; the club is short-oval, 
compact, and shining, crossed by two curved fringed sutures. The tibie are narrow, 
slightly wider apically, the anterior pair unarmed, except for two short spines at the 
upper apical angle, the posterior pairs have an indistinct dilated lobe at the apex with 
traces of teeth; their outer face may be slightly scabrous and pubescent. 
The body is cylindric; the prothorax as long or longer than broad, rounded at the 
apex, with an indistinct discal elevation, behind which it is usually subdepressed ; its 
basal half is subopaque, reticulate, and more or less strongly granulate or punctate. 
The elytra are more or less strongly punctate-striate, the punctures often much dilated 
aud cribriform posteriorly; at the apex they are produced into a common mucro, as in 
Micracis. The sexual differences in their structure are important and were not 
recognized by Hichhoff. In the male the interstices become subcarinate as they 
approach the declivity, round which they form a marginal series of short teeth, carine, 
or, in one species, acute spines, and they may be elevated above the genera] surface so 
that the sides of the elytra appear to diverge behind; the declivity itself may be 
convex, or retuse and nearly vertical, elevated near the suture alone, and it may be 
sculptured differently from the horizontal portion. In the female the elytra are 
regularly and strongly declivous behind, the declivity being convex, with no marginal 
tubercles round its upper border. 
Some of the species are much alike in appearance and chiefly separable by the 
structure of the elytral apex. Hichhoff has described three, from Mexico, Venezuela, 
and Cuba. I add three others from Central America, and complete my account of 
these closely-allied and singular forms by a synopsis of all the species known to me :— 
1. Elytral interstices elevated to form a marginal ring of spines, teeth, or 
tubercles round the declivity. (Males.) soe ee 2. 
Elytral interstices gradually declivous at the apex. (Females.) . 6. 
2. The interstices uniformly toothed round the declivity . 3. 
The 3rd, 7th, and 9th intestices terminating in long acute spines . . . spinifex, sp. n. 
3. Elytra dilated apically 2. 2. 1. ew we ee ee A 
Elytra not dilated apically . . rs F 
4, Declivity oblique, convex, shortly pubescent, with four tubercles in the 
line of the third interstice . . . . . cancellatus, sp. n. 
Declivity subvertical, glabrous, with three tubercles i in the line of the 
third interstice . . 6. 1 6 ee ee we ee ee ee. retusipennis, sp. n. 
