Mr. A. Murray on Coleoptera from Old Calabar. 317 



cate ; punctate-striate, the punctures on the strise small and 

 feeble; interstices impunctate, but appearing somewhat silky 

 from excessively fine transverse strigations, which are only vi- 

 sible under a powerful lens; the strise are eight in number, 

 besides the short scutellar stria and the marginal stria ; the ' 

 latter is irregularly interspersed with deep, large punctures ; 

 there are two large punctures in the interstice between the 

 second and third strise, the one about a third from the base, and 

 the other almost at the very apex. A large testaceous patch 

 occurs at the base of each elytron, stretching obliquely from the 

 shoulder towards the suture, not quite reaching the first stria ; 

 a third testaceous patch near the apex common to both elytra, 

 reaching to the fourth stria. The upper side of the last ab- 

 dominal segment has a number of distinct punctures on it. 

 Under side same colour as upper, centre rather paler. Legs 

 slight, moderate in length ; the tarsi slender, fourth joint 

 simple (not bilobed) ; claws not pectinate. 



Nycteis, Casteln. 



Under this and the following genus {Belonognatha, Chaud.) 

 I include all those insects which have the characters of Cop- 

 toderttj excepting that the mentum has not a middle tooth. 

 Castelnau and Chaudoir have added other characters to the 

 diagnosis of their respective genera, which would exclude from 

 them the species which I am going to describe under each; but 

 as these characters are not of essential value, I consider I do 

 rightly in retrenching them, and thus opening the genera for 

 the reception of species which agree with them in all essential 

 points. For instance, the only particulars in which the species 

 which follow^s [N^ Championi) differs from the diagnosis of Cas- 

 telnau is — 1. that in his genus the last joint of the palpi is said 

 to be " obtuse at the end," while mine is " subacuminate," a dif- 

 ference which may perhaps principally lie in the mode of ex- 

 pression ; and 2. that in his the external and sutural angles at 

 the apex of the elytra are more or less spined, while mine, 

 although toothed at the external angle, are not spined. 



The distinctions between this genus and Belonognathay as the 

 characters are now adjusted by me, are the greater projection of 

 the mandibles and greater convexity of the body in the latter, 

 which has also the external angles of the apex of the elytra 

 rounded instead of toothed ; but this is a character which I do 

 not think of generic value. Indeed, I am by no means satisfied 

 that it would not be better to unite the two genera, and only use 

 the above distinctive characters for sectional subdivision. If we 

 were to adopt this course, and treat characters of similar value 



