COLEOPTEEA.—LEA. 217 



may be readily distinguished by the abdomen; in the male the middle of the 

 apical segment is gently incurved, in the female that segment is larger, and the 

 tip is evenly rounded. The under surface, except the prosternum, appears to be 

 always deep black. 



Var. nigripenne var. nov. — From Victoria (Dividing Range), New South 

 Wales (Sydney and Dorrigo), and Queensland (Brisbane), there are nine 

 specimens with the elytra entirely black or blackish, and the head usually with 

 the basal half black. 



Var. apicale var. nov. — Twenty-one specimens, from Brisbane and Bribie 

 Island, have the apical two-fifths of elytra and the basal half of head deep black ; 

 the scutellum varies from flavous to deeph'^ inf uscated ; on some of the males the 

 hind femora are infuscated in the middle. 



Var. parvum var. nov. — Four specimens, from Bribie Island, are close to 

 the preceding variety, but are smaller (3 mm. only), and have the apical half of 

 elytra black, but the head and scutellum entirely pale. 



Var. fasciatum var. nov. — Five specimens, from Bribie Island, are very 

 .small (3-3-5 mm.), and their elytra have two black fascia? : a complete narrow one 

 at the apical two-fifths, and an interrupted one at the apical fifth ; the hind and 

 middle femora are partly black ; in the males the head is almost entirely dark, in 

 the females it is entirely pale. 



Family MORDELLID.E. 



MORDELLA BRIBIENSIS sp. nov. 



Black ; base of antenna? and parts of front legs obscurely diluted with red. 

 Clothed with black and greyish-white pubescence. 



Comparatively short. Scutellum semicircular. Pygidium rather short, its 

 apical portion almost parallel-sided and then truncated. Spurs to hind tibiae 

 unequal. Length, 3-4 mm. 



Hab. — Queensland: Bribie Island (H. Hacker and A. M. Lea). — Type, 

 /. 13132 in South Australian Museum ; eotype, C/2312 in Queensland Museum. 



The pale pubescence is uniform on the head, and so placed on the prothorax 

 as to distincth^ define three black spots : a large median one and a smaller one on 

 each side ; on the elytra it forms a fairly conspicuous narrow basal edging, but 

 elsewhere the pale hairs are scattered thinly and do not form spots ; from some 

 specimens, except at the base, they are absent ; from the metasternum the pale 

 pubescence is almost absent, and it is absent from a large spot on each side of 

 four basal segments of abdomen. About five joints of the antennae are transverse. 

 The external sexual differences are feebly defined ; the male has the apical portion 

 of the pygidium more parallel-sided, and the front tarsi slightly wider, although 

 thin. In some respects the species is close to some forms of M. haJdiemis, and it 



