Mr. J. Nietner on new Ceylon Coleoptera^ 369 



Carabidse I have hitherto met with in this island. The head is 

 plump, transversely orbicular, immersed up to the eyes in the 

 thorax. The clypeus is narrow, transverse, rather deeply emargin-. 

 ated in the form of a crescent ; anterior angles acuminated. The 

 labrum is of thin, translucent texture, deeply angularly emar- 

 ginated in front ; the anterior angles rounded, setose, ^ides angu- 

 lar, rounded. Mandibles short and thick, curved from the middle 

 to the tip, edentate. Maxillae simple. Antennse short, thick, 

 reaching a little beyond the middle of the thorax ; joints 3-11 

 pubescent, 5--11 shghtly compressed, 1-3 narrowed at the base, 

 4-11 oval, 1 and 11, 2-10 of about equal length respectively. 

 Mentum with a straight, deep emargination ; lobes rounded ex- 

 ternally, rather obtuse at the apex; tooth very small, obtuse, 

 Ligula very small, narrow, slightly dilated towards and rounded 

 at the apex; paraglossse very large, connate, enveloping the 

 ligula on all sides, the whole slightly truncated at the anterior 

 angles, and slightly, but sharply and pretty deeply emarginated 

 or notched at the centre of the anterior margin. Palpi, both 

 maxillary and labial, with the terminal joint oval, rather ab- 

 ruptly narrowed and slightly truncated at the apex; these 

 characteristics are more distinctly expressed in the labial palpi. 

 All the lower part of the mouth is situated in or forms a cavity. 

 Thorax a little broader than the head, nearly twice as broad as 

 it is long, quadrate at the base, slightly narrowed towards the 

 apex, anterior angles slightly produced; the anterior margin 

 can hardly be called emarginated ; two slight sinuosities at the 

 base, firmly applied to the elytra, and as broad as these. Scu- 

 tellum broad, triangular. The elytra rather abruptly cut away 

 at the apex ; internal angles rather obtuse, slightly dehiscent. 

 Legs stout and strongly armed, very much in the manner of my 

 Cyclosomus dyticoides, of which the insect under consideration 

 in various respects reminds me most forcibly. The spines of 

 the tibiae are inserted on ridges, the anterior ones being dilated. 

 The tarsi are all concave on the inner side. I have been unable 

 to discover anything in them by which to distinguish the sexes, 

 not even additional spines or bristles ; however, the sexes appear 

 well marked by the difference in size. The anterior tarsi are 

 dilated, the intermediate and posterior ones more and more 

 elongated, and the joints subcylindric ; joint 1 of the latter is 

 longer than the three following together; all four have the 

 edges of their concave inner side serrated — an extraordinary 

 circumstance. The highly-developed prosternum reminds me 

 again of Cyclosomus, 



The habits of these insects are those of the Amaras: they 

 live in dry, sandy places under grass and leaves ; at certain times 

 they take freely to their wings, and O. arenaria may then be 



Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist Ser. 2. Vol xx. 24 



