434 Annals of the South African Museum. 



the usual four lateral spines, the two discoidal, and the two in the 

 median part of the hind border, the whole surface is roughly coriaceous ; 

 abdomen with the first five segments bearing in the centre of the hind 

 border a conspicuous spine slightly bending backwards at apex ; the 

 first, second, and third segments have, in addition, several very short 

 longitudinal carinae; in one of my examples one of these folds, situated 

 at a moderate distance from the central spine, has developed into a short 

 spine on the three basal segments ; legs long ; fore tibiae with a row 

 of seven spines in the inner and six on the outer side ; groove of the 

 upper side of the intermediate with four inner teeth, often reduced to 

 two, and occasionally to one, and with one, and oftener no outer spine ; 

 inner and outer spines along the groove .of the posterior tibiae very 

 variable. 



This species differs from A. loandae, in which the median border of 

 the abdominal segments is also armed with one spine, by the smaller 

 size, and the presence of longitudinal ridges on the same segments, 

 and the total absence of spines on the underside of the femora. 



Length of body 35-37 mm. ; of pronotum 14-14^ mm. ; of hind 

 femur 20|-22 mm. ; of hind tibiae 22J-24 mm. 



Hob. Cape Colony (Kimberley), J. H. Power ; Orange Free State ; 

 Transvaal (Potchefstroom), T. Ayres. 3 <J <J ; 5 ? ? . 



ACANTHOPLTJS DISCOIDALIS, Walk. 



Catal. Derm. Salt. Br. Mus. ii. 1869, p. 230. 



I sink in synonymy with this species A. desertorum, Kirb. ; 

 germanus, Kirb. ; serratus, Kirb. ; and pallidus, Walk. 



I have come to this conclusion after the examination of twelve 

 examples collected on the same spot and at the same time, in which 

 the number of inner and outer spines along the groove of the upper 

 part of the intermediate tibiae were found to vary in all, and often also 

 were not symmetrical in both limbs ; and as the characters afforded 

 by this number is the main one on which Kirby separated the species, 

 as moreover I have variable examples from the very localities where 

 his were collected, I feel justified in sinking the three in synonymy. 

 Of A. pallidus, Walk., he himself states that it differs from A. 

 discoidalis in "having the third joint of the antennae much longer 

 than the second," but tliis character is not constant. 



The range of this species in South Africa is extensive. Cape 

 Colony (Graham's Town, ? King William's Town, Douglas) ; 

 Bechuanaland, Luderitzburg, Walfish Bay, Windh.uk. 8 J -j 1 : 9 



