BY TIIOxMAS G. SLOANE. 367 



Very distinct, being by far the smallest species of the genus; 

 I have seen no other species of Notonomus less than 12 mm. in 

 length; it has the facies of a small specimen of Rhytisternus 

 miser Chaud. According to the classification adopted in my 

 " Revision" (1902) its place is next N. incrassatus Chaud. 



Notonomus australis Castelnau. 



Triyonotoma australis Castelnau, Hist.Nat.Ins.i.p.l20(li840). 



I believe that Trigonotoma australis Cast., (which is not 

 indexed in Masters' Catalogue; nor have I found it in Gemminger 

 & Harold's Catalogue) is a species of Notonomus, and that the 

 species afterwards described by Chaudoir as N. ((^neomicans is 

 conspecific with it. The only discrepancy would be that Castelnau 

 described the elytra of T. australis as having three punctures on 

 the third stria, whereas in N. (eneo7nicans there are four or live; 

 but Castelnau had formerly (1834) described N. {Trigonotoma) 

 violaceus as having two punctures on the third interstice, though 

 in reality there are three or four, so that it is evident he did not 

 take care to be thoroughly accurate in this matter. It might be 

 thought that T. australis Cast., was N. colossus SI., but Castelnau's 

 statement under su7'/ace and legs black applies to N. (Eneomicans 

 rather than to N. colossus, the latter having the legs piceous with 

 the tarsi reddish. Though I hold the view that Notonomus 

 australis Cast., will likely ultimately supplant N. oineomicaiis 

 Chaud., yet the species is a variable one with a wide distribution, 

 which will probably be found to include several varieties entitled 

 to names; so that I do not feel certain that the name N. ceneo- 

 micans, which I consider to belong to the form found in South 

 Queensland, may not be capable of retention, at least for a 

 variety. 



Castelnau's " Historie Naturelle des Insectes Coleop." is a 

 work hardly to be seen in Australia; therefore, that other 

 students may be able to weigh the evidence, I reproduce the 

 description : — 



" Trigonotoma australis. Long. 9 lig. Larg. 3 lig. — D'unnoir 

 luisant; tete un peu bronzee, avec deux impiessions entre les 



