288 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, 



The uniform dark blue colour of the under side and legs (which 

 seems constant) and the distinct gibbosity (like a round swelling) 

 on each elytron a little behind the base render this species easy 

 to distinguish. It is a very solid-looking convex insect. The 

 apical ventral segment in all the examples T have seen is deeply 

 emarginate and bispinose. 



S. Australia. 



ELATERID^. 



Lacon mansuetus, sp.nov. 



Opacus ; niger, epipleuris antice Isete testaceis, antennis pedi- 



busque (et nonnullis exempli s parte circa scutellum corporisque 



subtus parte mediana) rufis ; obscure squamosus ; capite 



prothoraceque crebresat fortiter punctulatis; illo subdepresso; 



hoc obscure inasquali baud distincte canaliculate, longitudine 



latitudini sequali, basi quam margo anticus duplo latiori, 



lateribus subtiliter crenulatis leviter arcuatis postice vix 



sinuatis, angulis posticis subacutis retrorsum directis ; elytris 



basi singulatim sat fortiter arcuatis, quam prothorax vix 



latioribus minus quam duplo longioribus, modice convexis, 



punctulato-striatis, sutura et interstitiis alternis elevatis, 



angulis humeralibus acute rectis ; sulcis tarsorum in prosterno 



sat distincte (fere ut L. hrightensis, Blackb.), in metasterno 



obsolete, impressis. [Long. 2|, lat. 1 line. 



A small ordinary-looking Lacon. In Dr. Candeze's tabulation 



of the genus [Mem. Liege (2) iv.] it would stand in company 



with carinulatus, Cand., and sculptus, Cand., from both of which 



its small size distinguishes it ; it differs from the former also inter 



alia by its 5th elytral interstice not more costiform than the 3rd, 



and by the non-carinate hind angles of its prothorax. It should 



be noted that strictly speaking this insect would not fit into 



Dr. Candeze's tabulation at all, as he makes no group in which 



the tarsal furrows of the metathorax are " feebly defined," but I 



have no doubt Dr. Cand^ze would place it in the group devoid of 



metathoracic farrows ; in this and several included in that group 



the furrows are just barely traceable. 



