660 COT.EOPTERA. 



ruptod piitcli of fulvous pubescence before the middle, and another behind 

 the posterior femora, neither of these reach the suture, scutelluni similarly 

 clothed. 



Head broadly impressed and striate along the middle, its pubescence 

 yellowish-grey. Thorax a little long(>r than broad, slightly constricted near 

 the base and apex, feebly rounded near the middle, with a few fine ])unc- 

 tures. Elytra slightly wider than thorax at the base, 2-| times its length, 

 gradually narrowed behind, with sharf)ly rounded, somewhat dehiscent 

 apices ; sutural striae obsolete at the base, each elytron with an indistinct 

 costa not far from the suture, the coarse punctures between these extend 

 backwards to the middle, those near the shoulder are more irregular and 

 closer. 



Third joint of antennae attains the shoulder, in the male the seventh 

 extends to the apex, in the female the eighth hardly reaches the a])ex. 



Underside shining aeneo-niger, with a distinct patch of fulvous pubes- 

 cence on each side of the basal four segments of the abdomen. 



This should be placed near X. humeratvs (1034). The thorax is longer, 

 the shoulders less rectangular, and the apices niore prolonged and divaricate, 

 but not as strongly so as those of X. nudus or rugicnllis. 



^. Length, 8 mm. ; breadth, 2J mm. $.12x3 mm. 



Stephen Island ; 15th September, 1916. One of each sex, from 

 Mr. A. C. O'Connor. 



Somatidia Thomson. Man. N.Z. Coleopt.. p. 600. 

 4247. Somatidia placita sp. nov. 



Robust, medially narrowed, without erect setae ; rufo-castaneous, the 

 antennae, greater portion of tibiae, and the tarsi of a lighter hue ; head and 

 thorax rather more nitid than the elytra ; pubescence fine, depressed, 

 flavescent, nearly absent from the occiput, thoracic disc, and basal half of 

 elytra. 



Head rather narrow^er than thorax, almost perfectly smooth, with a fine 

 stria along the middle. Thorax of equal length and breadth, widest and 

 rounded at or just behind the middle, very gently narrowed anteri(>rly. 

 rather strongly behind ; disc only slightly convex, with some well-marked, 

 but not coarse, distant punctures, which, however, are almost entirely rbsent 

 along the centre. Scutellum sharply triangular. Elytra oblong-oval, 

 double the length of thorax, with obliquely curved shoulders, so that the base 

 is scarcely at all broader than that of the thorax, they become rather 

 narrower towards the broad apices ; their punctation is like that of the 

 thorax, nowhere close, but more indistinct behind, the posterior scutiform 

 mark is fuscous ; on i-ach (»]ytron there is only a single minute dark crest 

 nearly in line with the hind thigh, but on the middle there is. a quite minute 

 obsolete elevation which may, in perfectly fresh uuabraded examples, be 

 the base of an additional crest. 



Antennae without maculation, hardly extending In'yond the elytra 

 a))ices, their slend{!r hairs below are longer than those above ; tiie elongate 

 third joint attains the shoulder, the fifth is shorter than fourth. 



The punctation is similar to that of S. pinguis (3349), but the general 

 contour is more like *S. Innyipes (1054). 



Length, 8 ram.; breadth, 2f )nm. 



Lake Rotoiti, Nelson. A single specimen, caught by Mr. T. Hall ; 28th 

 December, 1915. 



