126 Mr. D. Sharp's Contributions to the 



heterogeneous species, and ■will not improbably undergo 

 other changes. The sjiecies known to Erichson were 

 described by him in part as belonging to the genus Sta- 

 ])/ii/linus, and in part to the genus PhilontJius. About 

 sixteen species are described, all from South America. 

 I here refer eleven Amazonian species to the genus, of 

 which I consider se\en new. The species, however, pre- 

 sent great difficulties, and I have no doubt some time must 

 elapse, and considerable discussion and comparison take 

 place, before their limits and characters are fully ascer- 

 tained. 



1. Stnphylinus sapphirinus, Er. 



This appears to be a common species in the Amazon 

 Valley ; a fine series before me indicate it as being found 

 at Obydos, Tajiajos, Ega and Pebas. I think I am correct 

 in the name I have assigned to these specimens, for they 

 agree well with Erichson's description (Gen. et Spec, 

 p. 364), except that the male has the hind margin of the 

 6th segment beneath rather deeply emarginate, while no 

 allusion is made to this in the description above mentioned. 

 Erichson records the species from Columbia and from the 

 Para in the north of Brazil, but it does not occur, I 

 believe, so far south as liio de Janeiro. 



2. Xanthopygns Suhlaji, n. sp. Niger, nitidus, ab- 

 dominis segmentis duobus ultimis rufis ; elytris cyaneis, 

 antennis testaceis ; abdomine apicem versus crebre punc- 

 tato. Long. corp. 7 lin. 



Antennae yellow, H lin. in length; 4th joint much 

 longer than broad, 10th about as long as broad; palpi 

 yellow ; labrum pitchy yellow. Head Acry nearly as broad 

 as the thorax, black, with a rather large impunctate space 

 on the middle, elsewhere punctured ; the pvmctures not 

 coarse nor close. Thorax shining black, just about as 

 long as broad, the sides rather sparingly and not coarsely 

 punctured, with a rather bi'oad impunctate space along 

 the middle, and also in front of the base at the sides. 

 Scutellum punctui'cd. Elytra rather longer than the 

 thorax, of a dark blue colour, moderately closely and 

 coarsely punctured. Hind body rather slender, black, 

 ■with the two basal segments entirely reddish-yellow ; the 

 segments rather coarsely but not altogether densely punc- 

 tured ; the punctuation much denser on the basal than ou 



