RHTPAROSOMIDAB. 63 



sides are suberect. Elytra just perceptibly wider than thorax at the base, 

 ovate-oblong, slightly uneven, with a large basal depression ; there are 2 

 somewhat irregular series of punctures along each side of the suture, the 

 punctures near the sides are more interrupted and intermingled with minute 

 tubercles, they are striate behind ; just in front and below the top of the 

 posterior declivity there are 2 nearly bare spaces ; between these, right 

 across the summit, there are 6 or 8 small patches of setae ; a similar trans- 

 verse series is placed lower down, but not sharply marked off from the irre- 

 gular patches near the extremity ; the. setae on the disc are not evenly 

 distributed. 



Legs elongate, with depressed setae ; femora moderately dilated below ; 

 tibiae sUghtly miicronate and fiexuous ; tarsi short, basal 3 joints of equal 

 width. 



Underside opaque, fuscous, obsoletely punctate, with short setae. Pm- 

 sternmn deeply incurved in front. Hind coxae widely separated, the inter- 

 mediate moderately. Second ventral segment medially depressed and strong! >- 

 curved in front, so that it is longer in the middle than the basal one ; 3rd and 

 4th very short ; 5th narrow, thickly clothed, between it and the terminal 

 dorsal segment there is a very distinct broad lamina. 



The suboblong elytra are very different from those of A. ovipennis, A. 

 flavipes, and A. ardens, all three being evidently broader at or before the 

 middle, and considerably though gradually narrowed posteriorly. The setae 

 on the tibiae are disposed in lines. A. tkoracicus, and A. obscurus, so far as 

 the shape of the hind-body is concerned, more nearly approach A. fasci- 

 culatus, which, notwithstanding its oblong elytra, is of the male sex. The 

 eyes, too, are invariably larger in the other species. 



,^ . Length (rostrum inch), 2 Unes ; breadth, | Une. 



Waimarino. Two detected amongst leaves, on the ground, in January. 

 1909. 



3130. Araeoscapus mucronatus sp. nov. 



The female of this species is very much like the male of A. /asciculatus, 

 but the rostrum has 2 slight carinae ; the space between these is subsulcate 

 and covered with setae. The thorax is feebly bisinuate at the base. The 

 elytra are rather broader behind the posterior femora than they are in front, 

 the hind slope is more abrupt, and the striae there are deeper. The thiaks 

 are more inflated ; the tibiae bear suberect setae externally, and the inner 

 extremity of the 2 hind pairs is acutely prolonged, the mucro of the pos- 

 terior being longer than the basal tarsal joint. 



In the male the rostrum is rather broader, the antennae are more robust, 

 the scape reaches the middle of the eye, and the 4 hind tibiae are similarly 

 obviously mucronate. This last character distinguishes this from all the 

 other species. 



Var. — A single specimen with indistinct discoidal puiictation on the 

 elytra, wliich are oblong-oval and rather longer. 



Length (rostrum incl.), 2 lines ; breadth, quite f line. 



Waimarino. January. 1909. One pair, amongst decapng leaves. 



3131. Araeoscapus punctipennis sp. nov. 



Elongate, subovate, rather narrow, moderately convex, only slight] \' 

 nitid ; fusco-rufous, legs obscure fusco-testaceous ; scantily and irregulai-K- 

 clothed with depressed and suberect flavescent setae. 



