202 STUDIES IN AUSTRALIAN ENTOMOLOGY, 



Promecoderus ELEGANS. 



P. elegans, Casteln. I.e. p. 169 ; Putz. Eevis. 1873, p. 327. 



M. Putzeys regards this in his Revision as a distinct species 

 from P. stibdepi-essus ; it must however be very closely allied. I 

 have a single example from Melbourne of which the following is 

 a description. 



(J. — Shining, of a dark copper colour on the elytra, head and 

 prothorax of a bronzy black ; under surface dark bronze with a 

 metallic tinge ; the tibice, tarsi, parts of the mouth, and antenna) 

 piceous brown. The antennae reaching the base of the prothorax. 

 Head rather long ; clypeus with a foveiform punctux'e on each 

 side ; the frontal impressions veiy wide and obsolete ; the clypeal 

 suture faint ; vertex with a strong and wide transverse impression 

 behind the eyes ; eyes prominent ; post-ocular prominences large, 

 about three-fourths the size of the eyes. Prothorax almost as 

 long as wide {about 3| x 3^ mm.), widest before the middle, sub- 

 convex, being a little flattened along the median line, strongly 

 rounded on the sides, very much narrowed behind ; the marginal 

 border decidedly sinuate before the basal angles, extending on 

 each side almost to, but not across, the middle ; the basal angles 

 sharply defined ; the median line lightly impressed and reaching 

 the base. Elytra rather broad, much wider than the prothorax 

 (6^ X 4^ mm), lightly convex, not flattened near the base, the 

 peduncle below the plane of the elyti'a, widest behind the middle, 

 and much narrowed to the shoulders ; the disc with four distinct 

 strife on each side of the suture, the two following also marked, 

 the sides smooth. Three last ventral segments foveate and 

 transversely striate on each side. Legs light ; anterior tarsi 

 with four first joints spongiose, middle with two; last joint of 

 tarsi narrow and club-shaped. 



Length 11, breadth 4|^ mm. 



The specimen before me is evidently P. elegans ; but that two 

 such " close" species as this and P. suhdejyressus can come from the 

 same locality, and yet maintain constantly distinct characters, 

 seems to me very doubtful. According to M. Putzeys, Guerin's 



