1865.] 247 



matus, their "absence is complete ; in Cholovocera, they are either 

 entirely wanting, or else so rudimentary as to be barely traceable ; in 

 one species, at least, of Holoparamecus, they are extremely small and 

 imperfect ; and in Metoplithalmus (which approaches closely to Latridius 

 proper), they are composed of merely a few facets, and must be practi- 

 cally almost useless. 



DESCRIPTIONS OP THREE NEW SPECIES OP TRICHOPTEBYX FOUND 

 IN THE CANARY ISLANDS. 



BT THE EEV. A. MATTHEWS, M.A. 



Among the Trichopterygia collected by Mr. Gr. E. Crotch and his 

 brother, during their recent excursion to the Canary Islands, I have 

 found three species which I believe to be at present unknown ; and, at 

 the request of Mr. WoUaston, who will shortly publish a detailed ac- 

 count of the discoveries of the Messrs. Crotch, I will now proceed to 

 describe them. I would, however, first remark that, from previous 

 observations of Mr. Wollaston, confirmed by these later explorers, the 

 distribution of the Trichopterygia in the Canary Islands appears to be 

 somewhat singular ; thus, while the species which I have named Wol- 

 lastoni abounds in the sylvan districts of Grrand Canary, Teneriffe, 

 Gromera, and Hierro, in Palma alone it is unknown, its place in that 

 island being occupied by another and totally distinct species ; among 

 the rest of the family, a similar local distribution holds good, to a 

 greater or less extent. 



T. Wollastoni was originally discovered by my friend, whose name 

 it will hereafter bear, in his first exploration of these islands ; and, on 

 his return to England, some specimens of it were forwarded to me for 

 examination. At that time, however, I Avas not aware of the only safe 

 diagnostic in this most obscure genus — I mean the superficial sculpture 

 of the upper surface, especially on the thorax, — and I returned them 

 to Mr. Wollaston marked as a local variety of T. fascicular is, an insect 

 which has an almost unlimited range ; and under that name they ap- 

 peared in his " Catalogue of Coleopterous Insects of the Canaries in 

 the Collection of the British Museum." Since that time, I have care- 

 fully examined all the specimens taken by Mr. Wollaston, and also an 

 immense series of the same species captured by the Messrs. Crotch, 

 and find the distinctive characters persistent throughout the whole 

 number, although difterent individuals vary considerably in size. I 

 have, therefore, determined to separate it from T.fascicularis, the only 

 species to which it bears any affinity, and have named it Wollastoni, in 

 honour of its original captor. 



