44 Mr. D. Sharp's Contributions to the 



describe does not accord very closely in all its characters 

 ■with our I'iUropean species, as "will be seen on coinjiaring 

 tlie observutiuns I have made at the conclusion of the 

 description of P. conjiiiis "with the genei'ic characters of 

 Plactisa, as indicated by Key (llist. Nat. Col. Brcv. 

 Al. Bol. p. 10;5). I have not ascertained >vhether the 

 labial pal[)i of this minnte insect arc tAvo- or three-jointed. 



1. Placnsa conjinis, n. sp. Angustula, subopaca, 

 nigricans, antennarum articido primo, pedibus elytriscpie 

 sordide testaceis, his basi lateribusque fuscis ; supra crebre 

 subtiliterqiie punctata. Long. corp. | lin. 



Antennas short, rather slender, blackish, Avith the base 

 indistinctly ])aler ; 3rd joint small, much shorter than 

 2nd; 4th and 5th smaller than those following; 6 — 10 

 differing but little from one another, transverse ; lltli small. 

 Head small, a good deal narrower than the thorax, 

 blackish, finely and not densely punctured. Thorax 

 small, rather strongly transverse, the base rounded, and 

 not perceptibly sinuate, the hind angles very indistinct, the 

 sides distinctly narrowed towards the front; it is blackish 

 in colour, finely and not densely punctured, so as to be a 

 little shining. Elytra short but a little longer than the 

 thorax, blackish at the base and sides, shading into yellow 

 towards the extremity, ratlier finely and closely punctured. 

 Hind body narrow, ])ointed, all tlie segments finely and 

 closelv ])unctured, but still slightly shining. Legs yellow. 



In the male the hind margin of the dorsal plate of the 

 7th segment of the hind body projects a little on each side of 

 the middle, so as to form two very short, obtuse, distant 

 projections, which are not long enough to be called 

 teeth. 



A pair of this species, i and 2, were found at Lagos, 

 on the 5th .lanuary, 1875, by Dr. Trail. 



Ohs. — This species, though it has quite the facics of 

 our Eurojjeau Pldcnscc, is narrower than any one of them 

 I am acquainted with. The middle cox;« arc quite conti- 

 guous, and the middle ])ortion of the front of the metaster- 

 nnm is less acuminate than in the I'hu-opean sjieeies ; the 

 ])asal joint of the 4-jointed middle tarsi is distinct ly longer 

 than the 2nd, ])ut not nearly so long as the 2nd and 3rd 

 together ; and the basal joint of the hind tarsus, though 

 more elongate than that of the; middle ones, is not so long 

 as the 2nd and 3rd together. 



