126 !Mr. D. Sharp's Contributions to the 



heterogeneons species, and -will not improbably imdergo 

 other changes. The species known to Erichson were 

 described bv him in part as belonging to the genus Sta~ 

 jihl/linus, and in part to the genus Pliilonthus. About 

 sixteen species are described, all from South America. 

 I here refer eleven Amazonian species to the genus, of 

 ■which I consider seven new. The s])ecies, however, pre- 

 sent great difficulties, and 1 have no doubt some time niust 

 elapse, and considerable discussion and comparison take 

 place, before their limits and characters are fully ascer- 

 tained. 



1. Staphi/Wius sappJiiriiins, Er. 



This appears to be a common species in the Amazon 

 Valley ; a fine series before me indicate it as being found 

 at Obydos, Tapajos, Ega and Pebas. I think I am correct 

 in the name I have assigned to these specimens, for they 

 agree well with Erichson's description (Gen. et Spec. 

 p. 364), except that the male has the hind margin of the 

 6th segment beneath rather deeply emarginate, while no 

 allusion is made to this in the description a])ove mentioned. 

 Erichson records the species from Columbia and from the 

 Pani in the north of Brazil, but it does not occur, I 

 believe, so far south as Rio de Janeiro. 



2. Xanthopijgus Sohhi/i, n. sp. Niger, nitidus, ab- 

 dominis scgmentis duobus ultimis rufis ; elytris cvaneis, 

 antennis testaceis ; abdomine apicem versus crebre punc- 

 tate. Long. Corp. 7 lin. 



Antennai yellow, H lin. in length; 4th joint much 

 longer than broad, 10th al)out as long as broad; palpi 

 yellow ; labriun pitch}- yellow. Head very nearly as broad 

 as the thorax, black, with a rather large impunctate space 

 on the middle, elsewhere punctured ; the punctui'cs not 

 coarse nor close. Thorax shining black, just about as 

 long as broad, the sides rather sparingly and not coarsely 

 punctured, with a rather broad impunctate space along 

 the middle, and also in front of the base at the sides. 

 Scutellum punctured. Elytra rather longer than the 

 thorax, of a dark ])lue colour, moderately closelv and 

 coarsely ])unctured. llind body rather slender, black, 

 with the two basal segments entirely reddish- yellow; the 

 segments rather coarsely but not altogether densely punc- 

 tured ; the punctuation much denser on the basal than on 



