A NEW GENUS OF THE SUB-FAMILY LAMPRIMIDES 

 OF LACORDAIEE. 



By William Macleay, F.L.S., &c. 



In a Paper read before this Society at the April meeting of this 

 yeai', entitled " Revision of the Genus Lamprima of Lati-eille," I 

 described under the name of Lamprima Muelleri a A^ery beautiful 

 and distinct female insect of the group, mentioning at the time that I 

 thought it likely that the discovery of the male would probably prove 

 it to be generically distinct from Lamprima. My surmise turned out 

 to be correct. Mr. C. French of the Botanical Museum of Melbourne, 

 from whom I received the specimen originally described, has now 

 sent me for inspection a male specimen of what I feel convinced is 

 the same species. It is I think the most beautiful insect I have 

 ever seen, not surpassed in brilliancy of metallic lustre and size by 

 the most gorgeous of the Buprestidse. Though closely allied to 

 Lamprima, it cannot be placed with it, if Dr. Gestro's genus 

 Neolamprima be admitted as a genus, for that is undoubtedly 

 much nearer the typical Lamprima, than the present insect. Dr. 

 Gestro gives as the only distinctive character of his genus Neolam- 

 prima the long and many-toothed mandibles. One of these characters 

 only applies to the present insect for which I propose the name of 

 PlialacrognatJms from its glabrous mandibles. 



This genus may be briefly characterised as follows, in the 

 absence of other species, for I have often found the inconvenience 

 of too narrowly defining the boundaries of genera in a country 

 where fresh species are constantly turning up. 



" Mandibles very long, porrect, curving upwards, smooth, 

 glabrous, and unarmed on the lower and inner edges. Basal 

 joint of antennse scarcely clavate, and as long as the other joints 

 combined. Fore tibiae of the male without the foliate spur. 



