2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. i04 



in either Central or South America in the last 50 years, although 

 Weise and Bryant, following von Harold's lead, have described a 

 few species. At present Dr. A. da Costa Lima is publishing an article 

 in which he is describing seven new species and a now subspecies of 

 Disonycha from Brazil. He has sent me photographs of drawings of 

 these but unfortunately I cannot recognize with certainty more than 

 one species from these drawings, which do not show the sculpture 

 or legs. 



The vittate species of the genus Disonycha are, broadly speaking, 

 pale yellow beetles with dark elytral stripes, usually sutural, median 

 and marginal or submarginal. The head and pro thorax are usually 

 pale, with or without markings. A few species have entirely dark 

 heads; none has an entirely dark pro thorax. The antennae are 

 almost uniformly dark with paler edged basal joints and occasionally 

 paler terminal joints. In structure, the beetles have predominately 

 a smooth head, inserted to the eyes, with few punctures except the 

 large fovea or group of punctures near the eye. Only a few species, 

 mostly with dark heads, are densely and coarsely punctate over the 

 occiput. A rounded carina extends down the lower front of the 

 head; its length is variable, as certain species have a short lower 

 front. The antennae extend a little beyond the humeri, rarely near- 

 ing the middle of the elytra, with the third joint shorter than the 

 fourth, the remainder being subequal. The shape of the prothorax 

 is often diagnostic of the species. In general it is nearly as wide as 

 the elytra and about twice as wide as long, with slightly curved sides, 

 a narrow margin, and usually a broad apical angle and a deeply 

 oblique basal angle. Its convexity varies; in some species there are 

 swollen callosities on the sides, in most, a distinct depression over 

 the scutellum, occasionally lengthening to a slight transverse basal 

 depression. The shape, sculpture, and markings of the prothorax 

 are most significant in specific differences. In fact it would seem as 

 if the more or less uniform markings of the elytra were generic and 

 the small but constant differences in the head and prothorax were 

 specific in character. As a specific character, the shape of the 

 aedeagus is also of prime importance. 



In my earlier revision I stated that D. stenosticha Schaeffer resembled 

 D. mUitaris Jacoby. Jacoby's specimen of D. militaris that I had in 

 mind is probably not the same as the rest of his series and is either 

 D. stenosticha or a closely related species, such as Cacoscelis guingue- 

 lineata (Latreille). In the present study I have referred C. quinque- 

 lineaia (Latreille) to the genus Disonycha. D. stenosticha Schaeffer, as 

 well as another very similar species, belong in this group and I see no 

 reason for not including them in the genus. The same is true of a 



