Australian Cisteiidae. 53 



lamella on the penultimate joinl of the ] >« > s t tarsi. Our genera may 

 be readily arranged into two groups 



Group I. — Mandibles simple, acutely pointed, head produced into 

 a muzzle. 



Group II.— Mandibles bifid at apex, head little produced. 



The genera belonging to Group I. may be tabulated as follows : — 



Group I. Mandibles simple, acutely pointed. Head produced into a beak. 



1 8 Prothorax oblong or eylindric 

 *2 6 Antennae with joint 11 nearly or quite as long as 10, body navi- 

 cular 



3 Prothorax eylindric, intercoxal process truncate or rounded 



aethyssins, Pasc 



atr actus, Lac 



neoatractus, Porch 



4 6 Prothorax move depressed, intercoxal process sharply triangular 



5 Elytra brilliantly metallic, rf with post tibiae excised and flattened 



alemtonis, Bates 

 <i Elytra not brilliantly metallic, cf with post tibiae (and sometimes 



femora) widened ohromomoea, Pasc.; Licymnius, Kates 



7 Antennae with joint 11 much shorter than 10, body oblong 



anaxo, Bates 

 H Antennae with joint 11 nearly three times longer than 10, body 



obovate synutraclus, Mac! 



V) Prothorax transverse with evenly rounded sides hemicistelu, Blackb 



10 16 Prothorax much wider at base than at apex 



11 15 Antennae short 



12 Eyes large and approximate, tibiae generally curved apellatus, Pasc 



13 1.5 Eyes smaller and distant, tibiae straight 



14- Elytra not wider than base of prothorax, procoxae separated by 



lamina wiocistela, Borch 



(now praeocc.) pseudocistela, Blackb 



15 Elytra wider than base of prothoi-ax, procoxae contiguous 



atoichus, n. gen. 



16 Antennae long tanychilus, Newm 



In some of the genera, especially of Group I. (e.g., Aethyssius 

 and Chromomoea), the species exhibit great colour variations. This 

 is more notable in the legs, which are sometimes bicoloured, some- 

 times monocoloured, with either of the two colours prevailing. The 

 abdomen and sometimes the elytra undergoes change of colour. In 

 such cases it is difficult to say how far — if at all — colouration may 

 alone constitute specific differentiation. The combined information 

 of the field and cabinet naturalist is necessary to state if certain 

 variations are constant geographical characters, or merely indivi- 



■ Except in C. fo re i colli s, Bates, in which the apical antennal joint is shorter than 10, though 

 not so markedly as stated by Bates. 



