Coleopterological Notices. 32 1 



TRIOROPHUS Lee. 



The males of Triorophus are distinguished from the females by 

 a small, abruptly limited, slightl}^ elongate-oval spot in the middle 

 of the basal segment of the abdomen; which is extremely finely, 

 densely punctate and excessively finely, velvety-pubescent. In this 

 connection attention is called to the fact that in a great many species 

 of Blapstinus, the ordinary punctures become slightly more densely 

 aggregated in the same region and probably for a similar reason. 

 The sexual differences in the present genus are otherwise very 

 feeble, the male being but just visibly less robust than the female. 

 The following species, represented by a male and female, belongs to 

 the laevis group : — 



T. lecontei n. sp. — Robust, very convex, elytra strongly inflated, intense 

 black throughout ; integuments strongly shining. Head very slightly nar- 

 rower than the prothorax, finely, sparsely punctate throughout, nearly smooth, 

 the frontal umbo large, very strongly elevated and subangulate when viewed 

 laterally, the median lobe of the epistoma long, angulate at apex ; mandibles 

 extremely densely punctate ; eyes rather small, less prominent than the lateral 

 lobes in front of them, the supra-orbital ridge sti'ong and straight, with one 

 or two very short inner folds near the base only ; antennae very long, the tenth 

 joint triangular, longer than wide, shorter than the eleventh which is elongate- 

 oval. Prothorax nearly one-third wider than long ; apex one-third wider than 

 the base, truncate, the apical angles small l)ut acute, anteriorly prominent 

 and dentiform, bearing a cluster of long slender setae which extend partly 

 over the eye ; base transversely truncate, the basal angles slightly obtuse but 

 not rounded and a little prominent ; sides moderately arcuate, more convergent 

 in basal half; disk very convex, coarsely, very deeply punctate, the punc- 

 tures distinctly separated throughout, finer toward the middle ; base margined 

 with an extremely thick convex bead. Elytra oval, two and one-half times as 

 long as the prothorax and, in the middle, rather more than one-half wider ; 

 base truncate and equal to that of the prothorax ; disk with nine unimpressed 

 series of very coarse deep punctures, the series obsolete at apical fourth ; 

 intervals from four to five times as wide as the serial punctures and excessively 

 minutely, sparsely and feebly punctate. Legs long and slender. Length 

 8.0-8.5 mm. ; width 3.7-4.0 mm. 



Texas (El Paso). Mr. Dunn. 



The vibrissse near the apical thoracic angles are similar to those 

 of many Otiorhynchides ; they appear to be generic and have not 

 been referred to in any published descriptions which I have seen. 



This species differs from laevis in its much more robust and 

 inflated elytra, coarser punctuation, more prominent apical angles 



