new genera and species of Cleridas, 161 



Cohjphus limhatus, n. sp. 



Niger, nitidus, capite antice, palpis, protliorace subtus, 

 coxis et femoribus pallide flavis ; elytris nigro-cyaneis, 

 crebre punctatis, piibe brevi micante vestitis albo-margl- 

 natis ; pronoto Isevi, oblongo-quadrato, antice transversim 

 impresso, margine antico utrinque albo-notato. 



Long. 3^ lin. 



Head and thorax of equal width, epistoma and mouth 

 yellow, tip of the mandibles and of the palpi black. 

 Antenna? black, but the basal joint with a yellow line 

 beneath. Thorax longer than wide, the sides between 

 the anterior constricted line, and the depressed and con- 

 stricted portion of the base, rounded ; a whitish spot on 

 each side the front margin continued round the anterior 

 angles. Elytra a little wider than thorax, sides parallel, 

 very slightly widened toAvards the apex, subdepressed, 

 bluish-black, with a violet tinge, very narrowly margined 

 from the shoulder to apex with yellowish-white, this 

 margin is of even width. Legs pitchy, femora, with the 

 exception of the extreme tip, pale yellow. 



Hab. — Venezuela [Thieme]. 



This species, which appears to agree with the general 

 characters of Spinola's genus Colyphus, was sent me by 

 M. R. Oberthur, who remarks that it appears to vary a 

 good deal in the colour of the thorax, and the suture of 

 the elytra. 



With respect to the genus Coli/phus, the characters by 

 which Spinola has separated it from Systenoderes are un- 

 satisfactory, the differences given in the text (pp. 131, 1.34) 

 may be summarized as lying in the form of the body and 

 prothorax ; and that Colyphus h^xB well-developed appen- 

 dices to the tarsi, while Systenoderes has the two first 

 with rudimentary plates beneath, and the claws without 

 teeth ; yet in the Plate V., fig. 5, Colyphus is shown 

 with enlarged tarsus, loithout plates to the tAvo basal 

 joints ; while, according to my observation, Systenoderes 

 amcenus has claws with a dentiform enlargement of their 

 base, much as shown in the same plate. The fact is, 

 these subdivisions of the genus Cleronomus are dependent 

 on nothing further than the form and general appearance 

 of the body. They may, perhaps, be useful, as the species 

 are distributed fi'om Venezuela to Montreal, if avc include 

 thoracicus, Say. Colyphus limhatus has Avell-developed 

 lamellfe to the first four joints of the tarsi, the claws 



