. australian blattid.ji.— eland shaw. 153 



Subfamily BLATTIN^E. 



Genus PLATYZOSTERIA Brunnei- v. Wattenwyl. 

 PLATYZOSTERIA INCURVA sp. nov. 



Dark castaneoiis to black, e\vt'\A portions of the distal abdominal somites, nitid. 

 Visible margins of all the tergites and abdominal sternites ciliate. Head reddish 

 brown, margin of the clypeus and labnim paler, antenn* concolorous. Thoracic 

 tergites with a few shallow punctures, and furnished with a sparse erect pubescence. 

 No vestiges of tegmina or wings. Posterior angles of the 5th abdominal tergite back- 

 wardly produced : of 6th more strongly produced, and the posterior third of thi.s t^r^jite 

 is occupied in about its outer fourth by an orange yellow macula, broadest externally, 

 and not reaching to the extreme margin which is dark ; 7th abdominal tergite with 

 the posterior angles strongly produced backwards, irosterior third orange yellow, 

 but the lateral margins of the tergite and the apices of the spines are darn ; 9th 

 abdominal tergite orange yellow except the angles which are black, and which are 

 produced into sharp spines. Supra-anal lamina of <J (Text-figure 1) black, trigonal, 

 apex truncate, widely and deeply emarginate with 1 to 3 spines about the 

 posterior external angles. Cerci large, depressed, black, with the tips reddish brown, 

 exceeding the sujora-anal lamina in length. Supra-anal lamina of $ (Text-Hg. 3), tri- 

 gonal, apex truncate, with a wide shallow emargination, angles denticulate. 

 Subgenital lamina of ,^ (Text-fig. 2) subquadrate with rounded angles, terminating 

 in two large, strongly incurved, acuminate processes or spines. Styles long, acumi- 

 nate, black, with tips reddish brown, and inserted externally to the base of the large 

 incurved spines. Subgenital lamina of ? black, lateral margins yellow, valves black. 

 Coxae maigined with yellow. Legs reddish brown. Posterior metatarsus nearly as 

 long as the remaining joints, not spined, with its pulvillus occupying nearly the 

 whole length of the joint. Arolia large. 



Length. — -^ 16 mm. ; ? 16 mm. Pronotum 3x6 mm. 



Types.— .^ and $, Coll. Auct. (Spms. No. 7 (J and No. 8 9.) 



//a7///ar— Queensland : Green Island— Moreton Bay, Cleveland, W\^mum 

 (Auct.) ; Mt. Coot-tha near Brisbane (H. Tryon) ; Brisbane (J. C. Bridwell) ; " Near 

 Brisbane" (Q. Mus. : H. Hacker). 



Notes. — The form of the subgenital lamina of the (J and the yellow colouring 

 of the distal abdominal tergites, imlike anything else in the genus Platyzo.steria. make 

 this species quite distinctive. There is considerable variation, from castaneous to 

 black, in the general colour. The orange-yellow portions of the distal tergites are 

 also variable ; the base of the supra-anal lamina of the ^ being orange in some 

 specimens, as are also the angles of the 9th tergite. 



