BUPRESTIDAE. 197 



acute at tip; the mesosternum is consequently narrowly divided; 

 the suture separating it from the metusternum is distinct; the 

 anteunal pores are placed in fovea; at the extremity of the inferior 

 margin of the joints; the front is not lobed before the auiennie. 

 Two genera, both diffused over our whole territory, and a tiiird 

 peculiar to the Atlantic region are found iu our fauna: — 



Meiitura coriaceous in front ; prothorax sinuate at base. Melanophila. 

 Mentum entirely corneous. 



Prothorax truncate at base ; front not margined at sides ; antennse ser- 

 rate in both sexes. Anthaxia. 

 Prothorax sinuate at base; front slightly margined over the insertion 

 of the antennae which are flabellate "^ , serrate 9 . Xenorhipis. 



The sculpture of Anthaxia is peculiar, consisting on the head 

 and thorax of shallow punctures, with the intervening lines form- 

 ing a fine network. Xenorhipis is remarkable from the structure 

 of the male antennas, which is probably unique iu the family. 



Grouj) IV. — Chrysobothres. 



This is the first of the groups in which the antennaj are inserted 

 at the inner extremity of two short oblique grooves, by which the 

 front is narrowed; before these grooves it again is widened, and 

 the anterior margin is eniarginate in an angular form, so as to 

 produce a bilobed appearance. The mentum is corneous at base, 

 membranous at apex; the prosternum is acutely angulated on the 

 sides behind the coxas, and is also acute at tip; the mesosternum 

 is larger than usual, and oidy narrowly divided ; the scutelluni, 

 small in all the preceding groups, is here large and acuminate; 

 each elytron is rounded or subangulated at base, and enters the 

 base of the thorax, which thus becomes lobed. The anterior 

 femora in our species are strongly toothed ; the membranous lobes 

 of the first and second joints of the tarsi are obsolete. 



The species arc of a rather broad and usually flattened form, 

 with the elytra impressed in the form of bands or spots, sometimes 

 of a brilliant metallic color; the sexual differences are in the form 

 of the anterior or middle tibiae, and in the tip of the abdomen. 

 The species of Chrysobothris are numerous, found in our entire 

 territory, and many of them closely allied ; Actenodes is found 

 on the Atlantic slope, from New York to Texas. We have now 

 but three species in our fauna; but as the genus is well repre- 



