640 REVISION OF THE GENUS PAROPSIS, 



The following species beltjnging to this group I feel confident 

 'that I have not seen : — 



coiivexicoUis, Clip. perparvula, Chp. 



litigiosa, Chp. pardalis, Chp. 



incurva, Clk. in/uscata, Chp. 



cancellata, Chp. /usconotata, Chp. 



Concerning the following species, I feel considerable doubt. 

 They are all more or less insufficiently described and do not 

 appear (judged by the descriptions) to have any very salient 

 characteristics; in fact they might be almost any of a considerable 

 number of species before me, and it is quite possible that I ha^•e 

 redescribed some of them ; 



rugulosa, Boisd. cor rt( gala, Chp. 



coriaria, Chp rufo-nigra, Chp. 



spilota, Chp. 

 P. papulenta, Chp., (pa^nilosa, Stal, nom. prteocc), I believe to 

 be founded on the same insect as rugnsa, Chp., but Stiil's des- 

 cription is insufficient to furnish ground for much more than a 

 guess. 



P. atoinaria, Oliv., is possibly a member of this group of 

 Paropsis but cannot be identified by the description; moreover, it 

 is not certain that it was taken in Avistralia, as Olivier's locality 

 is "Islands of the South Seas." 



P. aspera, Chp., attributed by its author to this group, is an 

 extremely anomalous species of which I have a specimen from the 

 Chapuis collection. I have, however, removed it from this group 

 on account of the front angles of its prothorax being mucronate. 

 Owing to the variability and close alliance inter se of the 

 Paropses of this group I have found it necessary to rely for 

 specific distinctions almost entirely on structural character's. Some 

 preliminary remarks on the nature of these characters and on the 

 nomenclature I have employed in recording them seems indispens- 

 able. After long and careful study I have little doubt that the 

 most important and constant character consists in the fonn of the 

 species. This is a character particulai'ly difficult to utilise 

 intelligibly in describing, l)ut I think nevertheless that I have hit 



