84 



between Parabrachytes obscurus Dist. and Odontorhopala callosa 

 Stâl; moreover thèse processes in 0. geminata form a distinct 

 transition from the short straight oulward directed humerai expan- 

 sion in obscurci to the somewhat longer and slighlly curved one in 

 callosa. The alleged différence in the length of the two first anten- 

 nal joints is invented by Distant himself, for StAl expressly states 

 of his type : « anteniire... artlculis primo et secundo longitudine 

 subaequalibus ». With material I now hâve before me I am con- 

 vinced that Parabrachytes Dist., as represented by its typical 

 species P. coloratus Dist., is a good genus, that the real generic 

 character consists solely in the structure of the abdomen, and that 

 P. obscurus Dist. is not congeneric with coloratus, but belongs to 

 Odontorhopala. In obscura, as in ail other species of Odontorhopala, 

 the outline of the abdomen is distinctly rhombic, being gradually 

 and strongly ampliated from the base to about the middle, then 

 strongly tapering toward the end; the latéral margins of the second 

 and third segments are almost perfectly straight in ail species; the 

 latéral margins of the last three segments are slightly différent in 

 différent species, those of the fourth being rotundately in the 

 middle in callosa, a little behind the middle in obscura, those of the 

 fifth obtusely dentately prominent in the middle in callosa, obtu- 

 sely somewhat prominently angulated a little behind the middle 

 in obscura, those of the sixth straight in callosa, rotundately angu- 

 lated behind the middle In obscura. (Thèse descriptions apply in 

 their entirely possibly only to the females; I hâve seen no maie of 

 this genus). Coïncident with the structure of the abdomen are its 

 colourmarkings, which are the same in ail species and very charac- 

 teristic for the genus, the second, third and sixth segments having 

 a yellow spot at the basai angles whereas the fourth and fifth are 

 unspotted. In Parabrachytes, as restricted to coloratus, the abdo- 

 men is not rhombic, but moderately and evenly rounded on the 

 sides, much as in the Indian genus Brachytes Westw., though the 

 apical angles of the segments are distinctly prominent in Parabra- 

 chytes. The basai part of ail connexival segments is pale, the 

 apical part black, as in Brachytes. 



From the description of 0. Bergrothi Dist. it is clear that Dis- 

 tant has grossly misunderstood the description of 0. callosa Stâl, 

 as in so many other instances where he has tried to interpret Latin 

 or German descriptions (1). He sayes in his description of his new 

 species : « Allied to callosa, StÀL, but differing from the descrip- 

 tion of that species by the following characters : — The clavus is 



(1) Distants translations of the descriptions of Breddin, Stal, Reuter, 

 Melichar, etc., iu his « Fauna of British Iudia » teem with faulty reuderings. 



