356 Mr. D. Sluirp'ri Contributions to the 



them only a very few others. Elytra at the sides quite 

 one and a half times as long as the thorax ; they are 

 V)lackish in colour, with a distinct narrow band of straw- 

 colour at the extremity ; they are closely punctured, except 

 at the extremity, the punctures at the base being quite 

 dense. Four basal segments of hind body with imbricate 

 scidpture. Legs rather long, almost white. 



In the female the hind margin of the dorsal plate of the 

 7th segment of the hind body is almost truncate, being 

 straight in the middle, and -only slightly longer at the 

 sides than in the middle ; the hind margin of the ventral 

 plate is also almost truncate, being only slightly emar- 

 inate in the middle. 

 Tapajos ; a single individual. 



Stenj^sthetus. 



This genus was characterized by me a year or two ago, 

 for the purpose of describing an interesting species from 

 ♦lapan, which had no very near knoA\Ti ally. 1 was there- 

 fore much astonished when, on examining the species here 

 described, I found it to be so closely allied to the Japanese 

 insect, that I have not been able to find any characters 

 to distinguish it as a genus therefrom. The Amazonian 

 sjjecies possesses the heteromerous tarsi, with the very 

 elongate basal joint to the hind feet of the Japanese insect; 

 and though I have not dissected the mouth of the New 

 World species, its parts, so far as I can see, are quite 

 similar to those of the S. sunioides. I have not, however, 

 been able to see the base of the maxillary palpi in 5. Hia- 

 tus. In my description of the genus (Trans. Ent. Soc. 

 Lond. 1874, p. 79) 1 neglected to mention the form of the 

 lu])rum: it is large and sinq)ly rounded, without notch or 

 (lc]iticulatioiis, and seems (juite similar in the two species ; 

 in the S. Hiatus the ])araglossa; (or possibly the sides of 

 the ligula) project beyond the labrum, and have much the 

 a]»pearance of two slender denticles, so that it might readily 

 be supposed, on a superficial examination, that the labrum 

 was armed with two slender teeth in the middle. As 

 regards the number of joints in the antennae 1 am still 

 imcertain wlutlier it be ten or eleven ; if the latter number 

 be correct, then there are two stout basal joints, of which 

 the first is shoi-t and concealed by the elevation over the 

 ])oint of insertion. The position of the genus is un- 

 doubtedly between Eucesthetus and Stenus, and the ocein-- 



