Clarke. — On Two Netv Globe-fish. 243 



I first made the acquaintance of this insect in the summer 

 of 1873-7-i, at Clyde, in Central Otago, where it was looked 

 upon as a new-comer. Mr. Potts observed it first in Canter- 

 bury in 1880. Since then it has become common, and is 

 often brought to me to name, but always as an insect not seen 

 before. 



I think, therefore, that the species has been unintentionally 

 introduced — into Auckland from Sydney, and into Otago from 

 Tasmania or Victoria — at the time of the commencement of the 

 gold-diggings, when large quantities of hay were brought to 

 Otago from Australia. However, according to Mr. Wood 

 Mason, New Zealand specimens have the reticulation of the 

 tegmina less dense than those from Australia. 



It is remarkable that this insect should have increased so 

 much in numbers while the Phasmas, which used to be com- 

 mon, appear to have been exterminated in the neighbourhood 

 of Christchurch by the introduced birds. 



Tenodera intermedia was described in 1870 from a single 

 female specimen in the Paris Museum, which was said to have 

 come from Auckland ; but no other specimen has been found 

 in New Zealand, and it is hardly possible that so large an 

 insect — more than Sin. long — should have escaped the keen 

 eyes of Mr. Colenso and other collectors. I think, therefore, 

 that we may suspect the correctness of the locality of the 

 type specimen. This species may be easily distinguished from 

 the last by the shape of the pronotum, which is narrow, the 

 sides nearly parallel behind, slightly widening over the legs, 

 and then narrowing towards the anterior end, which is 

 rounded. 



Art. XVI.— 071 Tico Neiv Globe-fish. 



By F. E. Clarke. 



[Read before the Wellington Philosoijhical Society, 26th August, 1S96.] 



Plates XIV., XV. 



Before proceeding with the descriptions of the two globe-fish, 

 it may not be out of place to give a short epitome of the 

 present varieties of the group Tetrodontina so far proved to 

 inhabit the waters surrounding New Zealand, and to wi'ite 

 shortly on the interesting facts evolved concerning the dermo- 

 spinous development of the group generally, and its use 

 in definition and analyses of genera and species and their 

 xinalogies. 



