38 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 66 



TAPHROCERUS PARVUS, new species 



Elongate, broadly rounded in front, more strongly attenuate 

 posteriorly, subcylindrical and moderately shining ; above uniformly 

 dark brown, with a strong aeneo-cupreous tinge, and clothed with 

 a few short cinereous hairs, which form more or less obsolete spots 

 on the apical half of the elytra ; beneath piceous. 



Head much narrower than pronotum at base, feebly convex, and 

 narrowly flattened behind the epistoma, causing two round feeble 

 gibbosities on the front, with a broad longitudinal groove extending 

 from the occiput to epistoma, the groove obsolete on the occiput, 

 deeply impressed on the front and more broadly expanded at the 

 epistoma; surface finely, densely granulose, with a few obsolete 

 punctures intermixed, and clothed with a few scattered cinereous 

 hairs along the eyes. Pronotum moderately convex, two times as wide 

 as long, slightly narrower in front than behind, widest at basal 

 third; sides when viewed from above feebly arcuately rounded from 

 base to apical third, then obliquely attenuate to the anterior angles : 

 posterior angles nearly rectangular; anterior margin truncate; base 

 transversely truncate to middle of elytron, then turning obliquely 

 backward to the scutellum, in front of which it is narrowly, arcuately 

 emarginate; surface w4th a narrow transverse depression along 

 anterior margin, a broad one on each side along lateral margins, 

 extending obliquely from the anterior angles to scutellum, in front of 

 which it is broadly, but not deeply concave, these depressions caus- 

 ing the antero-median part to be regularly convex, and with a round 

 elevation on each side near the posterior angles, finely, densely, and 

 obsoletely granulose, with a few indistinct ocellate punctui-^s inter- 

 mixed, and sparsely clothed with cinereous hairs similar to those on 

 head. Scutellum small, triangular, obsoletely granulose, and rounded 

 in front. Elytra rather strongly convex, and as wide as pronotum 

 at base ; humeral angles obtusely angulated ; sides parallel to middle 

 (strongly arcuately constricted at basal third), then strongly ob- 

 liquely attenuate to the tips, which are separately narrowly rounded, 

 and obsoletely serrate; humeri moderately developed; each elytron 

 with a deep, rather broad, transverse basal depression, and with a more 

 or less obsolete lateral carina extending from humerus to apex, the 

 carina strongly sinuate and following the outline of the lateral mar- 

 gin; surface with rows of coarse very shallow, obsolete punctures, 

 the punctures more distinct on basal area, but becoming obsolete 

 posteriorly, the intervals obsoletely granulose. Abdomen beneath 

 sparsely and obsoletely punctate, the punctures very shallow, obso- 

 letely impressed, oblong, and open on the one side, and clothed with 

 a few short obsolete hairs; intervals finely and densely reticulate; 

 last segment broadly rounded at apex, with the apical groove deep 



