734 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA, 



In 1873 de Chaudoir described 6 new species of Simodontus, 

 but in a manner quite useless to Australian students. Without 

 plainly saying so he seems to assume that the doubt he previously 

 expressed as to the specific distinctness of his S. ceneii^ennis and 

 Dejean's F. australis was unfounded. Of these 6 species conwajws 

 is merely compared in brief terms with australis, orthomoides 

 with 0. berytensis (a Syrian insect), transfiiga with orthomoides^ 

 <fec., &c. The Baron subsequently (Ann. Mus. Gen. 1874) 

 expressed the opinion that three of them (he did not specify 

 which) were identical with Sir W. Macleay's three species of 

 Argutor from Gayndah. 



Finally, in 1888 Sir William Macleay described S. occidentalis 

 from King's Sound 



I hardly see any satisfactory way out of this labyrinth, but I 

 think any way is better than remaining in it, until some one is 

 able to examine the types and report on them, which will pro- 

 bably be at the Greek Kalends. E-ather than acquiesce in the 

 theory that Australians are to consider themselves barred from 

 giving names to the fauna of their country by the bad descrip- 

 tions of foreign students, I offer to the Linnean Society, at the 

 risk of eventually proving to have increased the synonymy of 

 some species, descriptions of three Simodonti known to me, 

 attributing to existing names two which appear to me likely to 

 be entitled to them, and giving a new name to one which there 

 is not evidence for considering as already satisfactorily named. 

 The species with which I have to deal are all from Southern 

 Australia — one from Mulwala in the south of N.S.W. being the 

 most northern in its habitat ; I shall therefore assume that I 

 have none of Sir W. Macleay's species before me, which are all 

 from the north, but unfortunately insufficiently described — the im- 

 portant character of the width of the prothorax at the front as 

 compared with its width at the base (for example) not being 

 alluded to, except in the case of one of them. 



SiMODONTUS (Harpalus) FoRTNUiii, Cast. 

 Latus ; sat brevis ; nitidus ; supra piceus ; subtus cum palpis, 

 antennis, pedibusque rufescens vel rufo-testaceus ; prothorace quam 



