449 



REVISION OF THE AUSTRALIAN CURCULIONID^ 



BELONGING TO THE SUBFAMILY 



CRYPTORHYNCEIDES. 



By Arthur M. Lea. 



Part I, 



Australia possesses a multitude of weevils. In Masters' Cata- 

 logue of Australian Coleoptera over 1200 species are enumerated; 

 and since the date of the Catalogue about 300 species have been 

 added, principally by the Rev. T. Blackburn. That these numbers 

 are far from completing the list may be readily judged by anyone 

 possessing a fair collection. I believe that the number at present 

 known will be more than doubled. It is much the same in other 

 families in which the majority of species are of small size or 

 obscure colour. The Catalogue records one species of Phalacridce, 

 thirty-four are noted in the Supplement, and I myself possess at 

 least sixty species. Only two species of Corylophvloi are noted 

 in the Catalogue, and there must be at least one hundred. Of 

 the CurcuUonidce, five species of Ajnon have been described, 

 and I possess twenty-three; of Auletes there are six, and I have 

 thirteen; of Magdcdis only one species is recorded, and I have 

 over twenty. In the Macleay Museum, containing undoubtedly 

 the best collection of Australian insects, there must be on a low 

 estimate at least 15,000 species of Australian Coleoptera. It 

 is only a few years since one of the largest and jDerhaps the 

 handsomest beetle in Australia ( I'halacrognathus Muelleri) was 

 described. Of the Cryptorhyyichides scarcely two hundred species 

 have been described (mostly by Mr. Pascoe), and I possess or 

 have under examination considerably over three hundred. It is 



