48 ]Mr. D. Sharp's Contributions to the 



rower than the elytra, stronp^ly ti'ansverse, nearly twice as 

 broad as long ; the sides sinnatc and narrowed behind ; the 

 liind angles obtuse but not rounded, Avith a transverse 

 impression at the base in the middle, infuscate red, very 

 closely and very finely punctured, quite dull. Klytra a 

 good deal longer than the thorax, very clo.^flv and finely 

 punctured, quite dull, in colour darker than the thorax, 

 but similar to the head ; their hind margin a little sinuate 

 at the outer angles. Hind body parallel, obscure yellowish 

 in colour ; the 5th and 6th segments infuscate, the extre- 

 mity not so pale as the base ; the basal segments are 

 closely and finely punctured, the apical ones sparingly 

 punctured so that they are less opaque than the rest of the 

 xq^per surface. Legs, including the coxa^, clear yellow. 



In the male the hind margin of the dorsal ])late of the 

 7th segment of the hind body terminates in six slender 

 teeth ; the four middle ones are equidistant, and each 

 one of them is a little thickened at the extremity, the out- 

 side one (on each side) is slightly longer than the middle 

 ones, and is pointed, and is separated from the middle 

 ones by a broader space than divides them from one 

 another. 



llio Purus, Amazons ; six specimens found by Dr. 

 Trail on the 13th October, 1874. 



Obs. — This species appears to vary somewhat in colour 

 and size ; and the above description is made from one of 

 the largest and most brightly coloured individuals. 



Brachida. 



This genus has recently been established by jNI. Rey, 

 in the " Histoire Naturelle des Coleopteres de France,"* 

 (^Brevipennes, Aleochariens\ for the Eiu'opean Homalota 

 notha. The 4-jointed intermediate tarsi, and the struc- 

 ture of the meso- and meta-sterna, fully justify' this course, 

 and prove that the relationship of //. notha to other 

 Ilomalotce is only remote. I here describe two species 

 which must be ascribed to Key's genus Brachida, and I 

 have other allied South American species in my collection. 



* It is to be regretted that the volumes of this work are not numbered; 

 four or five ditTerent ]iarts each witli separate paijination, and indices, bear 

 the above title {Brerij)enne.'<, AUucharicnx), and detailed reference to the 

 work is not easy. It is true tiiat one might use the year of publication 

 for the purpose, but tliis is sometimes erroneously indicated on the title 

 page, and sometimes more than one part has been published in the same 

 year. 



