138 REVISION OF THE GENUS HETERONTX, 



front, and the head rather obsoletely punctured ; no species before 

 me seems to agree with either in these respects. Of Burmeister's 

 species H. nigricans and spadicea in all probability come in here ; 

 but the absence of any exact description of the labrum and of any 

 mention of the claws renders it impossible to be quite certain ; 

 they are both from W. Australia, a locality from which I have 

 only seen a single species of Heteronyx of this section ; it agrees 

 fairly well with the description, such as it is, of H. nigricans with 

 which I have consequently considered it identified. H. spadicea^ 

 Burm., (assuming its place in this section) might not improbably 

 resemble H. Augustm, mihi ; but the description is so vague — 

 giving no information for example as to the relative size of the 

 metasternum and hind coxae — that it is scarcely possible to make 

 a guess, unless one happened to have before one a specimen 

 agreeing with the brief description, and taken in W. Australia^ 

 as in the case of the specimen I have regarded as being IT. 

 nigricans. With the exception of Mr. Macleay's species the above 

 are all of those previously described whose recorded characters 

 would not exclude them from this section. Mr. Macleay's descrip- 

 tions of Hetermiyx have unfortunately in general omitted the 

 mention of such characters as the number of joints in the antennae, 

 the structure of the claws, &c., &c. The Hon. gentleman has,, 

 with the utmost courtesy, lent me types of as many of these a& 

 possible ; but there still remain the following, viz., H. concolor, 

 hifuscatiis, ^^a^Zzd^w^'iis, jnibescens, i^nficollis, siihstriatus, par- 

 vulus (all from Queensland), and transversicoUis, sitbglaber, 

 suhvittatus (all from N.W. Australia), which there is no 

 possible course but to disregard altogether until such time 

 as specimens taken in Queensland or N.W. Australia, and 

 agreeing with the descri[)tions, shall furnish some tangible 

 ground for identification. As none of the new species here 

 described as belonsjinoj to this section are from either of these 

 localities, it is, however, improbable that any are identical with 

 any of Mr. Macleay's species. 



The task of characterising the species before me (possessing the 

 combination of characters mentioned above) in such manner that 



