460 COLEOPTERA. 



iiiiddle, gradually iiarrowefl behind ; moderately closely and coarsely punc- 

 tate, less closely near the base and sides, the intervals minutely sculptured. 

 Elytra twice the length of thorax, about a third broader than it is in the 

 middle, moderately and irregularly punctate, subseriately near the suture. 



Antennae almost as long as the body, fusco-rufous, finely pubescent, 

 and setose, joints 5-10 with y)ale pubescence near the middle ; the elongate 

 3rd joint just reaches tlie thoracic base, 4th and 5th hardly any longer than 

 following ones. 



Femora fusco-rufous, rol)ust. slender near the base ; tibiae testaceous, 

 darker at the base and near the extremity. 



Distinguishal)le from *S'. laiula (2582), an Auckland species, by its shorter, 

 broader, and differently sculptured thorax, slightly shorter 3rd antennal 

 joint, and more thinly clothed .surface. 



?. Length, 3§ mm. ; breadth, 2-|- mm. 



Belgrove, near Nelson. One found amongst dead leaves on tlie 24th 

 October, 1914, by Mr. T. Hall. 



3952. Somatidia laevinotata sp. nov. 



Elongate, moderately nitid and convex ; thinly covered with very fine 

 greyish pubescence, but with a yellow spot on the middle of the thorax 

 and another at its base, without elongate setae. 



Head fuscous, distinctly punctured, with a fine stria along the vertex. 

 Thorax as long as broad, widest and slightly rounded at the middle, mode- 

 rately coarsely and irregularly punctate, with a large, dark, smooth space 

 in the centre, the rest of its surface dark fusco-rufous. Scutellum tri- 

 angular. Elytra hardly double the length of thorax, slightly wider than 

 it is at the base, oblong-oval, the suture a little elevated at the base ; each, 

 elytron with about a dozen coarse irregular punctures on the dark fuscous 

 basal half, those behind a little finer but not quite seriate ; across the top 

 of the declivity there is a broad dark space, the remainder of the surface 

 is of a pale reddish hue. 



Antennae rather shorter than the body, finely pubescent and setigerous, 

 fusco-rufous ; their elongate 3rd joint attaining the shoulder, 4th rather 

 longer than 5tli, these and the following ones are infuscate at the extremity. 



Femora slender at the base, clavate and dark fusco-rufous beyond ; 

 tibiae testaceous, the base and a subapical spot on each rufo-fuscous, they 

 bear some slender yellowish setae. 



When compared with the male of *S. halli (3663) the hind-body is seen 

 to be less attenuate posteriorly, it is shorter, but slightly wider than the 

 thorax at the base, without any testaceous marks ; the thorax is rather 

 less convex and only moderately broader at the middle than elsewhere, 

 and is at once separable by its smooth discal area ; the antennae are 

 thicker, the basal joint especially ; the head is less flattened, but it is nar- 

 rower between the less widely distant antennal tubercles ; generally there 

 is a minute swelling or crest on the middle of each elytron at the summit 

 of the hind face, which is flatter but more declivous. 



In the female, which differs even more strongly from the same sex of 

 3663, the 3rd joint of the antennae just reaches the thoracic base, the hind- 

 body is almost wholly of a light-reddish-chestnut colour, the dark posterior 

 fascia being less definite. 



Length, 5J mm. ; breadth. If mm. 



Glenhojie, near Nelson ; 23rd November, 1914. A pair found by 

 Mr. T. Hall amongst vegetable matter on the ground. 



