DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF GOLDEN BEETLE 

 FROM COSTA RICA. 



By Martin L. Linell, 



Aid, Department of Insects. 



Among a small lot of Costa Rican Coleoirtera recently i^reseiited to 

 tbe United States National Museum by Mr. John Keitli, of Ssui Jose, 

 Costa Rica, through Capt. G. P. Scriven, U. S. A., there were three 

 specimens of the magnificent golden and silvery beetles from that 

 locality. One of these I have identified as PlKsiotis rcsplendens of 

 Boucard, a true Plusiotis; the second one as P. chrysargyrea of Salle, 

 a species intermediate between Phisiotis and Felidnota as regards the 

 mandibles, the only structural character separating these two genera. 

 The third specimen, which is described below, strictly belongs to Pelid- 

 nota, since it has the mandibles as distinctly bidentate as in the majority 

 of species of this genus, but it would evidently be wrong to separate 

 it from association with the species of Plusiotis inhabiting the same 

 region, which it resembles so much in form and coloration. Its near- 

 est ally seems to be the above-mentioned Plusiotis chrysargyrea, which 

 it approaches in form, although having a still broader thorax. The 

 species is readily distinguished from any form of the group hitherto 

 described, both in coloration and elytral sculpture. 



PLUSIOTIS KEITHI, new species. 



Oblong, parallel, somewhat convex, above splendidly golden colored. 

 Clypeus, front and a broad side margin of thorax, pinkish brown. A 

 large purple spot at inner margin of eyes, and a line of same color on 

 the thorax, separating the golden color of the disk from that of the 

 side margin. Head rather coarsely punctured, with finer punctures 

 intermixed. Clypeus rugose, almost semicircular, with strongly reliexed 

 margin. Mandibles distinctly bidentate. Thorax at base nearly as 

 broad as the elytra, sparsely and finely punctured at the middle, more 

 densely at the sides. Elytra without stvise ; sparsely covered with large, 

 shallow, somewhat rugose punctures. Apical callus prominent. Sutu- 

 ral striae impressed toward the apex. The finely rugose pygidium, the 



Proceedings of the United States National Museum, Vol. XVIII— No. 1040. 

 [Advance sheets of this paper were published January 12, 1895.] 



