Cottrrll. — Vascular System of Siphonaria obliquata. 379 



vessel, and so to the auricle. There is thus always arterial or aerated 

 blood in the heart, and purification of the blood is effected in the mantle, 

 which is everywhere very vascular, as well as in the two respiratory 

 organs connected with it. 



For the purpose of tracing out the blood-vessels I injected from the 

 heart backwards and forwards. From the auricle I injected backwards 

 ' berlin blue " very successfully into the vessels of the gills, lungs, and 

 kidney ; and forwards through the ventricle I tried Parker's " starch 

 injection ' : and " glycerine carmine " : the former gave me the most 

 satisfactory results. 



Art. XL. — Descriptions of New Genera and Species of Coleoptera. 



By Major T. Broun, F.E.S. 



[Bead before the Auckland Institute, 22nd November, 1910.] 



In the following list the names and numbers (3157-3163) of new species 

 of Byrrhidae recorded in Bulletin No. 2 of the New Zealand Institute 

 are prefixed so as to succeed the last number in Bulletin No. 1. This 

 was necessary to make the numbering consecutive, and to prevent these 

 species being overlooked. 



Within the present year (1910) descriptions of seven new genera and 

 189 species of New Zealand beetles have been prepared. To these are 

 added, in their proper places, eight species of Pselaphidae published in 

 the German language by Herr Reitter, of Vienna. 



This unexpectedly large addition, to a great extent, is the result 

 of explorations of different peaks of the Tararua Range by Messrs. 

 A. O'Connor and H. W. Simmonds, of Wellington, and of portions of 

 the Southern Alps by Mr. H. Hamilton, also a resident of that city. 

 Mr. W. L. Wallace, of Timaru, during the unfavourable part of the 

 collecting season managed to secure several new species on the Kaikoura 

 Range. Various localities near the elevated Waimarino Plateau, owing 

 chiefly to the assistance rendered by Mr. W. J. Guinness, yielded about 

 a third of the total number collected during the year. In all cases 

 credit is given, in the descriptive part of this paper, to every individual 

 who helped to produce the general result. 



The foregoing remarks incontestably prove that our knowledge of the 

 insect fauna of the higher altitudes is very imperfect, notwithstanding 

 the fact that 3,360 species of Coleoptera have been found in New Zea- 

 land. It may also be stated that a considerable proportion of these 

 alpine beetles are exponents of distinct genera, and, as a rule, are finer 

 or more interesting than those of corresponding groups procured on the 

 lowlands. 



Of Stewart Island we know scarcely anything entomologically, only 

 one species, so far as I can remember, having been described from that 

 region, which, if carefully searched, will probably yield some forms more 

 or less allied to those obtained by the members of the recent expedition 

 to the subantarctic islands. 



