1 823 J Doctrine of Affinity and Analogy. 423 



marginatus, antice angustior ; sinu magno ad recipiendum caput 

 excise, postice obsolete trilobus : lobo intermedio rotundato, 

 supra ad latera puncto ordinario impressus. Prosternum inter 

 pedes anticos elevaturxi, compressum, apice dilatatum, oblique 

 truncatura. Mesosternum lineare, inter pedes intermedios lati- 

 tans. Metasterniim basi et apice mucronatum : mucrone postico 

 bitido. Scutellum triangulare. Coleoptra oblonga, striata : 

 striis duplicatis, podicem, excepto summo vertice, obtegentia. 

 Pedes robusti : femoribus posticis incrassatis ; tibiis anticis 

 apice bidentatis: dente exteriori longiori obtuso ; interiori brevi 

 acuto ; calcaribus 1. 2. 2. posticis obtusis; tarsoruni unguiculis 

 simplicibus infiexis. 



Abdomen convexum : segrnentis ventralibus sex ; primo bre- 

 vissimo ; ultimo depresso oi)tuso. 



The insect from which I have taken the characters of this 

 genus I originally met with at a dealer's ; and though it was 

 transfixed with a needle, which seemed to indicate that it was 

 from China ; yet as his insects were almost all of them Brazi- 

 lian, and its general habit and aspect were that of a tropical 

 American type, I concluded that it came from that country, and 

 placed it in my cabinet along with my species of Areoda of 

 Macleay. Afterwards, being shown by a young lady a collec- 

 tion of undoubted Chinese insects, I found amongst them 

 several specimens of Mimela, one of which she kindly gave me. 

 Upon receiving this, on my return to Barham I set about a 

 closer examination ; and upon dissection I found, though many 

 of its external characters seemed borrowed from South American 

 types, yet that in those which were most essential, it came 

 nearest to an Asiatic one, a well known species of which was 

 abundant in China ; and others have since been discovered in 

 Java, and perhaps in Ceylon. I allude to Mr. W. S. Macleay's 

 genus Euchlora, 



The Brazil genus, of which Mimela assumes the external 

 appearance, is Areoda of the same learned author, who has 

 observed with regard to Euchlora, " En genus Asiaticum 

 Areoda^ proximum ! "* But that which I am describing still 

 more nearly resembles it, wearing, as it were, its very habit ; so 

 much so, that at first sight it might almost be mistaken for a 

 small specimen of Areoda Leacliii. The general colour of the 

 animal ; the sculpture of the head, thorax and elytra ; its distinct 

 nasus or clypeus ; its labium, labrum, maxillae and legs, are all 

 very similar. But in Mimela^ as in Euchlora, the mandibulte are 

 concealed under the nasus ; whereas in Areoda they are very 

 visible, nor have they the dorsal process or tooth observable in 

 the liutelidic. In the two folraer, the antennae consist of nine 

 joints, in the latter of ten. In them the posterior lobe of the 

 thorax is more obsolete than in this. In Areoda the last dorsal 



• Horcc Entomolog, 148. 



