NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXI. 1914. 263 



ERNST HARTERT'S EXPEDITION TO THE CENTRAL 

 WESTERN SAHARA.* 



XIX. 



RHYWCHOTA. 



ON A REMARKABLE COCCID, WITH BRANCHED ANTENNAE, 

 FROM THE SAHARA. 



By E. ERNEST GREEN. 



(Plate IX). 



I HAVE received, from the Hon. Walter Rothschild, a few examples of a remarkable 

 male Coccid, the unique characters of which necessitate the erection of a new genus. 

 In such a family as the Coccidae it is admittedly dangerous to name and 

 describe a new species (and more particularly a new genus) from the male insect 

 only. But in this case I am confident (from their remarkable structure and from 

 the locality in which they were found) that these males cannot be associated with 

 any known female Coccid. Very few Coccidae have been recorded from the region 

 in which these specimens were caught, and amongst these there are none (to the 

 best of my belief) belonging to the subfamily Margarodinae, to which this insect 

 is evidently allied. In view of the possible discovery of other congeneric species, I 

 purposely avoid a rigid definition of the characters of the proposed new genus, but 

 rely almost entirely upon the unique structure of the antennae. 



Neomargarodes gen. nov. 



Allied to Margarodes, but differing in the possession of branched antennae in 

 the adult male. Tibia, tarsus and claw of front limb (of male) fused together. 

 Other characters as in Margarodes. 



Female at present unknown. 



Neomargarodes erythrocephala sp. nov. 



Adult male (fig. 1) robust : uniformly pale fulvous (in dried examples), with 

 the exception of the large bright red compound eyes, which cover, nearly completely, 

 the area of the head. These eyes meet on the undersurface, but leave a small median 

 interspace on the vertex of the head (figs. 3 and 4). The component facets are 

 isolated, comparatively large, snbcircular, somewhat irregular botli in size and form. 

 There are about thirty-four facets in each eye. I have been unable to detect any 

 ocelli. 



Antenna (fig. 3) with seven joints : first and second approximately equal in 

 size, stout, length not exceeding breadth ; fourth, fifth, and sixth cylindrical, 

 approximately twice as long as broad, each joint with a long flattened branch (fully 

 two and a half times as long as the joint itself) projecting from the side ; seventh 

 longest, similar in size and form to the lateral branches of the preceding joints ; all 

 the joints with numerous short fine hairs, in addition to which there are — on the 

 first three joints — irregular whorls of long stouter hairs, and a few similar long 



* See anUii, vol. xx.'pp. 1-1G3, 444-4G9, 592-615, and vol. xxi. pp. 204-206. 



