Mr. A. H. Haliday on Blaps Mortisaga. 101 
shields. The head is rounded in front and square behind, finely 
villous at the sides ; the epicranium, clypeus, and labrum are 
transverse ; the sides of the clypeus converging in front ; the 
anterior angles of the labrum rounded, and its border ciliated. The 
antennae, half as long as the head, consist of two nearly cylindric 
joints, (the first of which is thicker and shorter than the second,) 
of a scape nearly immersed in the socket, and of an exceedingly 
minute terminal joint, crowned by a hair; this in dried specimens 
is withdrawn into the extremity of the preceding joint. The 
mandibles are horny, broad, rounded at the back, incurved at the 
tip, the inner edge unequally toothed, the left mandible having a 
stronger tooth within the tip. The maxillae and labium are seated 
in a large semicircular sinus of the under-face. The maxilla is 
compressed, with the scape ( scapus ) apparently biarticulate ; the 
shaft ( stipes ) straight, somewhat hairy ; the blade ( lacinia ) inarti- 
culate, simple, armed on the inner edge with spines closely set. 
The palpus is scarcely longer than the blade, tapering, 3-jointed, 
the second joint longer, the third small, conic. The scape of the 
labium is large ; the stem oblong, almost rectangular, with a few 
lateral hairs ; the palpiger transverse, broader before, with the 
margin entire ; the ligula produced in a point bearing a bristle ; 
the palpus half as long as the maxillary, of two joints, the second 
minute. 
The segments from the second ( prothorax ) to the twelfth in- 
clusive are nearly equal, (only the mesothorax and metathorax 
are a little shorter than the others) ; smooth, glabrous. The 
thirteenth is nearly semicircular above, but produced to a point 
which is curved upwards, and armed with a small spine above ; 
there is a row of smaller spines down each side from the middle 
to the tip : beneath, a fleshy protuberance is interposed between 
the twelfth segment and the horny shield of the thirteenth ; this 
performs the office of a foot, and is furnished with a contiguous 
pair of minute, ovoid, attenuate appendages. The legs are short 
and compressed ; the fore-pair largest, with the coxa square, 
finely villous ; the trochanter has a small convex ridge on the 
under-side near the tip, armed with a few short spines ; the thigh 
also has a few spines beneath near the base ; is broad, nearly 
triangular, finely villous ; the shank has a row of bristles on the 
inner side. The foot is a simple slightly curved claw, with a 
thickened root, which bears a bristle on the inner side. 
The length is about an inch, the breadth a line and two-thirds. 
Colour a dirty ivory white, the incisures ochreous, the mandibles 
and claws chesnut brown. 
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