VITTATE CHRYSOMELID BEETLES DISONYCHA — BLAKE 61 



rest dark. Prothorax nearly twice as wide as long, with rounded 

 sides, moderately convex, only slightly depressed over scutellum, 

 entirely pale, very finely alutaceous and very finely punctate, a few 

 coarse punctures anteriorly on side below eye. Elytra broad and 

 moderatelj'' convex, shining, rather coarsely punctate, the dark sutural 

 and median vittae wide, the narrow marginal one broadly joined at 

 apex with sutural vitta. Epipleura dark. Breast and abdomen 

 dark, femora and tibiae dark at apex, the anterior tibiae with dark 

 streak entii-e length beneath, tarsi dark. Length 8.4 mm., mdth 

 4.4 mm. 



Type: In BM, from Esplrito Santo, Brazil. 



Remarks: A single specimen in MCZ (Bowditch collection) labeled 

 Nephrica nigrofasciata Jacoby may be a cotype, as it is from the type 

 locality and answers to the description. The e3^es in this beetle are 

 no more emarginate than in other species of Disonycha nor is there 

 any more tliickening of the middle antenna! joints, so I can see no 

 reason for not including it in Disonycha. This is one of a group of 

 closely related vittate species from the Amazon basin that resemble a 

 group of smaller species, of which D. barberi Blake, described from 

 Brownsville, Texas, is representative, in their broad oblong-oval 

 shape, short prothorax with wide apical angles, and in general colora- 

 tion, especially of the legs. The beetles of this smaller group are so 

 much alike that without seeing the differences in the aedeagi it is 

 difficult to tell them apart. 



Disonyclia imitans (Jacoby) 

 Figure 46 

 Nephrica imitans Jacoby, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 196, 1902. 



From 7 to 8.5 mm. in length, broadly oblong oval, sliining; head 

 (usually), prothorax, and body beneath pale; antennae long and except 

 for paler basal joints dark; elytra with Avide sutural and median vittae, 

 the submarginal one narrow and not reaching the apex. 



Head with interocular space less than half the Avidth of head, occiput 

 smooth, a large fovea on each side near eye, frontal tubercles not well 

 marked, carina short and narrowly produced, lower front rather 

 short, eyes not any larger or more emarginate than usual in species of 

 Disonycha, head entirely pale in all but one specimen, and that one 

 with an occipital dark spot. Antennae long and slender, three basal 

 joints with pale edging, rest dark. Prothorax about twice as wide 

 as long, rather flat, with well developed apical angles, nearly straight 

 sides, a slight depression over scutellum, entirely pale, impunctate. 

 El3^tra broad, moderately convex, shining, very faintly punctate, a 

 wide deep reddish brown sutural and median vitta and a narrow 



