552 INSECTA MADERENSIA. 



they are most easily identified, both being remarkably constant. The JS. Philon- 

 tlwides may be recognized 1iy its universally larger size and somewhat longer 

 limbs, by its smaller scutellum, and by its more pubescent and less shining sur- 

 face. Its head and prothorax, also, are sculptiu'cd in a rather peculiar manner, — 

 being most closely and delicately granulated, T^dthout any appearance of punctvires 

 intermixed : and the latter is less quach-ate than that of the H. ciirrens, being very 

 perceptibly narrowed ])ehLnd. The habits moreover of the S. Fhilonthoides are 

 essentially stercoraceous, whereas the H. ciirrens is foimd almost exclusively 

 beneath stones and the bark of trees in elevated grassy spots within the sylvan 

 districts. My specimens of the former were captm'cd in the dung of cattle, and 

 principally during my encampment at the Cruzinhas in Jidy 1850. 



421. Homalota currens, Wull. 



H. angusto-linearis nigra subtilissime punctulata nitida depressa, prothorace subquadrato, elytris 



fuscescentibus, antennis pedibusque breviusculis, illis basi vix dilutioribus, his pallido-testaceis. 

 Long. Corp. lin. 1-1}. 



Habitat in graminosis cditioribus Maderae, prjesertim per partem sylvaticam, aestate vulgaris : ad 

 Lombo dos Pecegueiros abundat, quS, mense Julio a.d. 1850 copiosissime deprehensi. 



H. smaller than the H. Philonthoides, narrow, and rather more linear, black (sometimes with a 

 brownish tinge), head, prothorax and elytra finely punctulated; shining, and depressed. Pro- 

 thorax subquadrate (being of nearly equal breadth before and behind) ; and usually altogether 

 unchannelcd. Scutellum very large, punctured, and scutiform. Elytra more or less distinctly 

 fuscescent, especially towards the suture (where it is sometimes slightly testaceous). AntenncB 

 and legs shorter than in the last species; the former robust, scarcely diluted in colouring at their 

 base ; the latter pale testaceous. 



As already stated, the present insect bears a certain prima facie resemblance to 

 the last one ; nevertheless its smaller bulk, less pubescent and more shining siu"- 

 face, in conjunction with its shorter limbs, browner el\i;ra, more quadi-ate pro- 

 thorax, and its large shield-shaped scutellu^m, will usually at once distinguish it 

 from that species. Its sculptui'c also, when viewed beneath the microscope, is of 

 a very different nature, the head and prothorax being finely punctulated, — whereas 

 those of the H. Fhilonthoides have no indications of pimctui"es intermixed with 

 the granules (which are there, moreover, comparatively coarse). Its normal range 

 is, apparently, within the sylvan districts ; and, so far as I have hitherto observed, 

 it is never foixnd in dung, liut beneath bark and stones in grassy 'nooded spots of 

 lofty elevations, — being especially active in the dusk of the evening and after 

 showers, when it is oftentimes exceedingly abimdant. During my encampment at 

 the Lombo dos Pecegueiros, in July of 1850, 1 captured it in the utmost profusion, 

 — running rapidly up the outer canvass of my tent after simset ; and I have like- 

 wise taken it at Santa Anna and the Ribcii-o Frio. 



