'p'«l 153 



A single example of this remarkable insect was found by my old 

 friend, the distinguished traveller A. E. Pratt, near the Angi lakes, at 

 an elevation of 6000 or 7000 feet in Northern New Guinea. 



The male genital characters, so far as I have examined them, show 

 no peculiarities that may account for the extraordinary secondary cha- 

 racters, and in fact support the conclusion that there may be a real 

 affinity with Hylobiides. The last ventral is divided, the two halves 

 large and strongly chitinised. The spiculum moderate, the rod strongly 

 curved, without dilatation at the free extremity, the fork moderate, a 

 little asymmetrical. Tegmen a complete ring, no strut, but a very short 

 prolongation ; superior appendages remarkably large, but only imper- 

 fectly chitinised. Median lobe in the form of a trough, strongly 

 chitinised, with membranous dorsum, and with a large membranous, 

 diverticular fold basally; tip obtusely pointed, deflexed in a gentle 

 curve ; struts about as long as the body, slender, curved, joining the 

 underside of the body, which projects between them as a large angular 

 piece. The sac not examined, apparently quite internal. Median orifice 

 showing no special structures. 



In addition to Mr. Pratt's example, I have another from a neigh- 

 bouring region — the Arfak Mountains — which may possibly be the 

 female of A. pratti, though it may be an allied genus. It is much 

 smaller, and the rostnim is ordinary, being about 9 mm. long, Avith 

 few hairs beneath, and the antennae not so near to the tip ; the pro- 

 sternum is broadly, but not deeply, emarginate in front ; there are no 

 spines on the front coxae, and the femoral tubercles are minute. On the 

 elytra there are little irregular patches of a few distant pallid scales. 



Although it is rare in Curculionidae for the S to be much larger 

 than the female, yet there are numerous cases in Calandridae and 

 Cholidae where this occurs to a remarkable extent. As no such 

 phenomenon is yet known amongst the forms related to Hylobius, we 

 must wait for further information before attempting to decide the 

 question as to the relation of this Arfak specimen to the male of 

 A. pratti. The character of the gular peduncle is unique amongst 

 Curculionidae; as it is not found in the Arfak specimen, which in 

 many other respects is so closely allied, this increases the difficulty of 

 deciding on the relations of the two forms. 



Brockenhurst. 



June 9th, 1919. 



