CRYPTOCEPHALUS. 55 



Head flat, impunctate ; antennae as long as half the body, slender, the first four joints fulvous, the rest black ; 

 thorax nearly three times as broad as long, the sides evenly rounded, the posterior angles not produced 

 but acute, posterior margin slightly sinuate and but little produced towards the middle, surface perfectly 

 impunctate and shining, the interrupted lateral margin broadly, the others narrowly flavous, and the base 

 ■with two widely apart yellow oblique spots ; scutellum fulvous, margined with black ; elytra cylindrical 

 and parallel, with ten rows of brown punctures, placed as follows — the first one ending much behind the 

 middle, the third and fourth united at some distance from the apex, the fifth and sixth rows also united, 

 but much shorter than the preceding ones, the seventh and eighth of the same length as the first pair, and 

 interrupted below the shoulder by two short oblique transverse rows of punctures which enclose between 

 them a smooth space, the ninth and tenth rows complete and ending near the apex, the interior of the 

 punctures dark brown, forming irregular longitudinal lines which surround, when seen without a glass, 

 five or six large round flavous spots, as represented on our Plate. Underside also flavous, legs more fulvous. 



Hah. Guatemala, Capetillo {Champion). 



In the markings of the elytra this species, of which I have seen a single female only, 

 somewhat resembles that of C. l^pustulatus, and in some respects also C. rimosus; but 

 the totally different punctuation will not allow it to be confounded with either of them, 

 as all the striee are present here and only interrupted by a short transverse space. 



39. Cryptocephalus laevipennis. (Tab. III. fig. 18.) 



Elongate, parallel ; below flavous or black and flavous ; antennae black, the basal joints fulvous ; above black, 

 margins and two spots of the thorax yellow ; elytra almost impunctate, two or three longitudinal narrow 

 streaks at the base, two spots behind the middle, and the apex yellow. 



Length 1-1 1 line. 



<5 . Head impunctate, bright yellow, with a short central brown impressed line ; eyes nearly contiguous ; 

 antenna as long as half the body, rather robust, the first four joints fulvous, the rest black; thorax trans- 

 verse, of nearly equal width, but a little narrowed anteriorly, sides slightly rounded, posterior margin deeply 

 sinuate at each side, surface impunctate, smooth and opaque, black, the lateral margins broadly, the others 

 narrowly (as well as two narrow oblique spots at the base) yellow ; scutellum black ; elytra cylindrical and 

 parallel, with very faint indications of punctured striae, sometimes even these absent, and, if visible, only 

 confined to the two outer rows, of the same subopaque black colour as the thorax, a streak from the base 

 of the shoulder to the middle of the elytra, another of equal length near the sutural margin, and between 

 these a very short streak (which is sometimes absent) yeUow, two spots near the apex and the latter 

 itself of the same colour : all these marks are rather variable in shape ; and the elongate ones are generally 

 widened at their ends. Underside and legs fulvous or flavous, the former more or less mixed with black, 

 especially at the abdominal segments ; posterior thighs as long as the abdomen. 

 2 Larger; eyes more distant; thighs shorter, the last abdominal segment with a deep triangular fovea 

 Var. Black, with the exception of the narrow anterior margin of the thorax and two apical spots of the elytra, 

 which are bright yellow ; legs fulvous. 



Hob. Mexico, Juquila (SalU); Guatemala, near the city (Salvin), Zapote 

 (Champion). 



This curious species, which was found by Mr. Salvin at an elevation of 5000 feet, is 

 the only instance, so far as I know, of a Cryptocephalus from the New World having 

 almost entirely smooth or impunctate elytra, whereby it constitutes a special group, 

 the peculiar elongate shape of the insect adding to its distinctive characters. Eight 

 specimens are before me, of which two are males. The figure is drawn from a specimen 

 from Mexico. 



