a Family of Coleopterous Insects. 667 



Blackheath. The genus, however, remained unnoticed until 

 Donovan described a second species in his Natural History of 

 the Insects of New Holland, and also recorded the existence of 

 a third, which had been consigned by Fichtel to the Imperial 

 Cabinet at Vienna. The generic characters were not detailed 

 by Donovan, with the exception of those drawn from the an- 

 tennae. Latreille in his Genera Crust aceorum, ^c, evidently 

 guided by Donovan's work, and unacquainted with the original 

 description of Swederus, gave the genus with characters drawn 

 merely from the antennae, and with Donovan's species as the 

 type : and it is through this slight description alone that the 

 French entomologists appear to be acquainted with the genus, 

 since in the EncyclopSdie Melhodique the genus Cerapterus was 

 entirely omitted in the Letter C ; and the only notice of it in the 

 later volume of that work, under the article Paussiis, omits all 

 mention of the original species. It is with pleasure that I now 

 give the characters of the genus in detail, which I have drawn 

 from the generic and specific description of Cer. latipes given 

 by Swederus, from the characters exhibited by Donovan's figure 

 of Cer. MacLeaii, and from an examination of the insect con- 

 tained in the cabinet of the East India House subsequently 

 mentioned. This examination, although merely external, has 

 enabled me to state the formation of the terminal joints of the 

 palpi, and thus to exhibit their resemblance in general forma- 

 tion with the Paussi, thereby also proving that the disagreement 

 appearing in the figures of these organs given by Swederus 

 (tab. 6. f. 2, 3 & 4.) is produced by the incorrectness of the 

 delineation of the maxillary palpi in the two former figures. 

 In the latter figure (to which the detailed generic description 

 of these organs alone refers) they are, however, correctly repre- 

 sented, although we find that description, which is as follows, to 

 be incorrect: "Os maxillis palpisque. Palpi ^-j/a/i/orinaequales, 



ultimo 



