1018 COLEOPTERA 



which is close and rather coarse. The pubescent punctuation of the 

 under-surface is very dense and fine. The tarsal claws are rather 

 more feeble than in the other species. 



Mr. Wakefield gave me a specimen found on the West Coast by 

 Mr. Slack ; and Mr. Helms has recently met with three examples at 

 Bealey, on the road between Greymouth and Christchurch. 



Obs. — B. oralis is extremely like No. 1346. 



B. modestus has the front margin of the head medially effaced and 

 incurved. 



B. puncticeps has the front margin of the head distinctly elevated 

 throughout, and almost quite truncate. 



B. cyaneus has the hind angles of the thorax more rounded than 

 is the case in B. modestus, its sides more explauate, and the surface 

 more closely punctured. The elytra are much less striate, the 

 interstices flatter, scarcely at all raised near the base, and more 

 closely and distinctly punctate. 



B. opimus is the largest species. Dr. Sharp describes a B. ungui- 

 cularis, but I do not give the description here for the simple reason 

 that the insect is really B. opimus. — T, B. 



Philydrus. 



1824. P, abditus, n.s. {Sharp ; Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., 1884, 

 p. 473.) Oblougo-ovalis, parum convexus, niger, supra fusco-niger, 

 lateribus pallidioribus, tibiis, tarsis, antennarura basi, palpisque tes- 

 taceis, his apice summo fuscescente, capite utrinque macula parum 

 distincta testacea ; corpore supra nitido, crebre sat fortiter punctato ; 

 mesosterni lamina parva. 



Long., 4mm. 



The colour above is of a dilute black, getting paler at the 

 margins, with the head quite black ; I cannot detect any serial 

 punctuation amongst the diffuse punctuation of the wing-cases, but 

 very vague indications of an obsolete striation can be seen here and 

 there. The maxillary palpi are comparatively short. 



This species may be readily distinguished from tae other two by 

 the small stature and the dirainished mesosternal lamina, which is 

 hardly one-fourth the size of what it is in the larger species. 



Tairua. Captain Broun ; a single individual. 



The three New Zealand species of this genus may thus be dis- 

 tinguished : — 



Mesosterual lamina large .. .. .. .. ..1. 



Mesosternal lamina small . . . . . . . . . . P. abditus. 



[Pitchy; head with obscure yellow spot on each side in front P. tritus. 

 1 - Sordid-testaceous ; the black head with large yellow spot on 



( each side in front . . . . . . . . . . P. variolorum. 



Tormus. 



Nov. gen. 

 {Sharp; Trans. Ent. Soc. Land., 1884, p. 474.) 

 Corpus superne valde convexum. Lahruiu transversum liaud 



