WEST INDIAN MELOIDAE — SELANDER AND BOUSEMAN 221 



form than in related species ; basal impressed line deep ; disk impressed 

 before middle, convex behind; surface smooth, shiny, coarsely punc- 

 tate, the punctures moderately dense before middle and sparse 

 behind, or sparse throughout; pubescense as on head. Scutellum 

 subtruncate at apex, weakly impressed on midline. Elj'-tra coarsely, 

 very densely punctate, becoming scabropunctate at apical fifth; 

 pubescence rather short, subrecumbent. Under surface of abdomen 

 finely, moderately densely punctate, of thorax more coarsely punctate. 

 Hind tibial spurs greatly thickened, spoon-shaped, concave beliind. 



Male having fifth abdominal sternum shallowly emarginate, im- 

 pressed and subglabrous medialy in apical half. Sixth sternum cleft, 

 broadly impressed medianly. Genitalia as in figure 12. 



Female having fifth abdominal sternum not modified. Sixth 

 sternum feebly emarginate. 



Type locality: Cuba. 



Geographic distribution: Apparently endemic to Cuba. We 

 have records from three definite localities on the island, all at eleva- 

 tions below 1,000 ft. 



Seasonal distribution: July 14 to September 22. 



Records: cuba: near Guantdnamo, C. E. Baker, USNM, four; 

 San Germdn, July 14, 1933, S. C. Bruner, USNM, one; Santiago de 

 las Vegas, September 22, 1931, A. O. Otero, USNM, two. 



Remarks: This species is a member of the subgenus Pronemognatha 

 Enns. It does not seem to be particularly close in its relationships to 

 any one of the four species included in this subgenus by Enns (1956). 

 Interestingly, in the characters of the male genitalia it is more similar 

 to the three species that occur in the southwestern United States than 

 to the geographically more approximate N. zonitoides Duges from 

 Mexico and Central America. In Enn's key N. occupata runs to 

 A^. sparsa LeConte, from which it is easUy distinguished by its more 

 densely punctate, metalhc elytra, subhexagonal pronotum, and dark 

 galeae and by several other characters, including the distinctive 

 male genitalia. 



In the two specimens from Santiago de las Vegas the elytra are 

 rather widelj^ margined with yellow; in the specimen from San German 

 they are finely margined; and in two of the Guant^namo specimens 

 the very edge of the suture and lateral margin of each tend to be pale. 



Although the present location of the type oiN. occupata (=atripennis) 

 is unknown to us, Sturm's descriptions and figure leave no doubt as 

 to the identity of the species. It is worth noting that A'', occupata whs 

 not included in Gundlach's (1891) work on Cuban insects, in Leng and 

 Mutchler's lists (1914, 1917) of West Indian Coleoptera, or in Denier 's 

 (1935) catalogue. 



Habits: Unknown. 



