Revision of the Australian Aphodiides. 179 



species of more or less elongate form which Erichson transferred 

 from Psammodius to Aegialia on account of their having the 

 labrum and mandibles of the latter. Lacordaire does not 

 particularize the species, nor does he mention where Erichson's 

 note is to be found, nor can I find it in any work of Erichson's 

 that I possess. Probably P. cylindricus, Eschsch, from the 

 Aleutian Islands, is one of those referred to. I hardly think it 

 possible, however, that the species described below can be con- 

 generic with them, as it is unimaginable that Erichson would 

 have referred it to Aegialia in spite of its elongate form, and if 

 he had done so he would certainly have been in error. It has 

 the facies of Saprosites, which it resembles in most of its 

 characters. 



S. GRIFFITHI, sp. nov. 



Elongatus; parallelus; minus convexus; fere glaber; sat 

 nitidus; piceus, palpis antennis pedibusque dilutioribus; capita 

 crebre minus subtiliter punctulato; sutura clypeali perspicua; 

 prothorace quam longiori ut 5 ad 4 latiori ab apice retrorsum 

 leviter angustato, supra vix crebre (basin versus fortiter, 

 antrorsum gradatini magis subtiliter) punctulato, postice longitu- 

 dinaliter leviter late impresso, lateribus leviter arcuatis prope 

 basin sat abrupte sinuatis, angulis anticis subprominulis posticis 

 rectis, basi baud marginata; elytris sat fortiter crenulato-striatis, 

 interstitiis convexis vix perspicue punctulatis, dente humerali 

 modico; metasterni disco grosse inaequaliter punctulato. 



Long. 2 1. Lat. y^^ 1. 



The deep median sulcus of the metasternum, which is present 

 in all the species known to me of Saprosites (but which does not 

 seem to vary sexually nor in a Dianner available for specific 

 characters), becomes in this insect an oval excavation very 

 coarsely punctulate at the bottom. I do not find in the 

 specimens before me any characters likely to be sexual. The 

 front tibiae are tridentate externally (as in Saprosites) and the 

 ventral sutures are normal, without denticulation. The pygidium 

 does not differ materially from that of the sex of Saprosites, 

 which I regard as the female. Probably I have not seen the 

 .male of this insect. 



Tasmania (Mr. Griffith). 



12a 



