34 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 8» 



dense and fine scalelike sculpture. Mesosternum strongly shagreened, 

 with dense vestiture of short hairs. Metasternum at middle polished, 

 distinctly punctured, with a deep narrow median groove which ends 

 abruptly both anteriorly and posteriorly, the area adjacent to the 

 middle coxae shagreened and hairy, posteriorly and adjacent to hind 

 coxae, very sparsely punctured and with a scalelike ground sculpture. 

 Abdominal sternites coarsely and sparsely punctured, each with a 

 transverse row of coarse contiguous pits in basal portion. Anterior 

 femur beneath with deep perimarginal groove, anterior tibia with three 

 subequal acute teeth. Posterior femur without groove on hind mar- 

 gin ; posterior tibia with accessory spine. Length : 4 mm. 



Type and paratypes. — U.S.N.M. No. 53326. 



Type locality. — Black River, Jamaica. 



Material examined. — Twenty-five specimens from Jamaica as fol- 

 lows: 17 specimens from type locality, February 24, 1937 (Chapin 

 and Blackwelder station 377) ; one specimen from Spanish Town, 

 February 2, 1937 (Chapin and Blackwelder station 420) ; three speci- 

 mens from near Gutters, February 25, 1937 (Chapin and Blackwelder 

 station 422) ; four specimens from near May Pen, February 26. 1937 

 (Chapin and Blackwelder station 425). 



This species and Ataenius nigrolineatus Hinton from Panama are, 

 so far as the writer knows, the only described species of the genus 

 in which the elytra are distinctly vittate. A. nigrolineatus is a much 

 more robust species and, further, is separated from A. jamaicensis by 

 the uniform dense punctation of the pronotum and hj the very smooth 

 front of the head. 



22. ATAENIUS ACICULUS Hinton 



Ataenius aciculus Hinton, 1937, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 10, vol. 20, p. 187. 



Light piceous, head, flanks of pronotum, and elytra and legs red- 

 dish brown, antennae and trophi paler. Anterior margin of head 

 subangulate each side of the rather deep and broad median emargina- 

 tion, genal lobes angulate and prominent. Front very finely punc- 

 tured on upper part, finely and transversely rugulose below, vertex 

 coarsely and not densely punctured. Pronotum with marginal setae 

 rather long and conspicuous, marginal groove fine across base, be- 

 coming feeble toward anterior angles. Surface feebly shining, disk 

 with a few coarse punctures interspereed among the very fine punc- 

 tures, laterally the coarse punctures become dense and subconfluent. 

 Elytral striae fine and deep, strial punctures moderately coarse, inter- 

 vals evenly convex, strongly alutaceous, sparsely, irregularly and 

 rather finely punctured. Lateral margin blunt, epipleura opaque, ir- 

 regularly sculptured. Apical declivity and flanks sparsely set with 

 moderately long setae. Pygidial carina with a strong median cusp. 



