102 j\Ir. D. Sharp's Contributions to the 



Amazonian specimens, I have never seen another indl- 

 vidnal of" the genus from the New World. 



These new species a])pear to exhibit the pecnhar charac- 

 teristics of the genus very hiohly developed. The struc- 

 ture of the front of the head and the insertion of the 

 antennse approaches in tliese species even more to what 

 exists in the Xantholini than it does in the Old World 

 Plntijproso-pi ; the antennre are even more a]:)proximate in 

 their insertion than in the Old AVorld species, and more- 

 over the part of the head to which they are attached is 

 more prominent, and is a little emarglnate on each side of 

 the middle, so that the front of the head and the attach- 

 ment of the labrum have very much the appearance pre- 

 sented by the same parts in the Xcmtliolini. 



The genus is one of the most interesting of the Staplnj- 

 linidce ; it is located hy Erichson and Kraatz as a jicculiar 

 member of the Xantholini, but I cannot consider that this 

 is a correct mode of treating it. The points of structure 

 I have ah-eady alluded to, viz., the antennal insertion and 

 the attachment of the labrum, are almost the only points 

 the genus has in common with the Xantholini, while it 

 wants some of the most important points of structure of that 

 group, and in certain respects approaches to the Quediini 

 and even to the Pino})hilini. As the group Xantliolini 

 appears to me one of the most specialized ]iortions of the 

 Staphi/linidcB, and as Plati/prosopiis is pretty clearly of a 

 spithetic or little specialized character, it seems to me 

 that it will be very much more suggestive of the truth if 

 the genus be considered to form of itself a group, to be 

 located in the neighbourhood of the Quediini ; for I can- 

 not but think that the ])ur])Oses of inquiry are very nuich 

 better served by the establishment of a considerable num- 

 ber of provisional grou]is, thnn l\y slum]iing together (if 

 I may use such a term) under one nanio a number of hete- 

 rogeneous forms, having probably very different genetic 

 histories. 



1. Platijprosopus major, u. sp. Parallelus, nigro- 

 piceus, capite subopaco, dense punctato, medio spatio 

 angusto l;evi, nitido ; thorace ]iarce ])unctato, nitido, mar- 

 ginil)us lateralibus dense fortiter ])unctatis ; elytris ab- 

 domineque dense suljlilitcr pinictatis, o])acis, fusco-])ubes- 

 centibus; })edibus fuscis. Long. corp. extens. 10 — 12 liii. 



Antennae pitcliy, stout, aboiil ns joug as the liead and 

 lialfthe thorax; 3rd joint longer than 2nd; 4 — 10 differ- 



