( 435 ) 



NEW SPHINGIDAE. 

 By the HON'. WALTER ROTHSCHILD, Pii.D. 



1. Polyptychus murinus spec. nov. 



?. Bodj- dark drab-grey r/Z/orc ; a bro^disli mnmm3'-brown mesial stri])<^ from 

 occiput to metanotum ; sides of palpns aud breast drab, middle of breast wa.slied 

 with pink ; underside of abdomen dark drab-grey washed with ferrnginons ; 

 nppcrside of foretibia and -tarsn.s dark drab-grey, the other legs dark drab, mid- 

 aud hindtibia with a rather large white spot at the base. 



Wings, npperside. Forewing like body, a brown-black spot at base of cell 



preceded by a vestigial costal dot ; an antemedian band of throe nndnlate chestnut 

 lines curving costad, the first feeble in middle, ending in a dot behind, the interspace 

 between the second and third washed with chestnut ; a broad discal band of six 

 or seven lines just outside cell, curving costad, the lines chestnut posteriorly with 

 buffish hazel interspaces, the proximal lines to a greater extent than the distal 

 ones, the latter replaced by a drab shade between 11' and M', the band becoming 

 blackish olive in front, where it measures 7 mm. in width ; the drab-grey median 

 interspace is widest at apes of cell (11 mm.) and narrowest at hinder margin 

 (2i mm.) ; a pale ochraceous stigma bordered with dark brown ; a series of minute 

 blackish brown dots on outer half of disc, the series evenly curved, ending with 

 a dark brown shadowy costal blotch, outside which there is another more distinct 

 spot, a blackish olive triangular shade at distal margin, narrowing behind, stopping 

 in front at R' ; fringe blackish olive ; distal margin straight, feebly concave, not at 



all sinuous. Hindwing : Front's brown, grey at extreme base ; a deeper brown 



patch behind cell ; submarginal area also deeijer in tint than disc, a small elongate 

 submarginal spot deep Frout's brown, with a faint second spot outside it. 



Underside. Forewing sepia-brown, costal area washed with ferrnginons 



between cell and apex, a shadowy band from apical to hinder angle broccoli-brown, 

 leaving the edge of the wing deep sepia ; isrosimally of this band two rows of 



minute olive-black dots. Hindwing : cell and disc ferruginous, costal margin 



narrowly and distal and abdominal margins broadly pale sepia colonr ; a faint 

 sepia-brown line straight across wing at npjier angle of cell and jioiut of origin 

 of M-, another very indistinct line at lower angle of cell ; brown distal marginal 

 area limited by a faint zigzag line accentuated by minute vein-dots ; di.stally of this 

 line another faint line ; distal margin slightly washed with ferrnginons. 



A triangular, acnmiuate, somewhat curved, non-dentate process at each side 

 of vaginal cavity. 



Length of forewing : 44 mm. 



Hub. Kassai River, Congo Free State ; 1 ? . 



Closely allied to P. pygarga and affinia, agreeing with the latter in the brown 

 mesial vitta on head and thorax, and with the former in the vaginal cavity being 

 armed at each side with a pointed process, which, however, is non-dentate in the 

 new species. There are no white scales at the abdominal stigmata. 



