322 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. no 



longer than third; club 0.17 by 0.05 mm. Eyes prominent; frons 

 of male narrow, equals dorsal tip of beak; of female wide, much 

 wider than dorsal tip of beak, with a moderately wide, fiat, median 

 area with at most a very slight sulcus. Prothorax at base one-third 

 wider than long, middle slightly narrower than base, apex three- 

 fourths as wide as base; sides beyond basal lateral expansion nearly 

 parallel to middle, rounded to constricted apex; in profile dorsal 

 surface slightly arcuate; punctation 0.03 mm. in diameter, moderately 

 deep, interspaces equal to or slightly less than diameter of punctures; 

 basal fovea shallow, broad, short. Elytra at humeri one-third wider 

 than prothorax at base, 2.75 times as long as prothorax, length to 

 width as 11:8; intervals twice as -wide as striae, nearly flat to slightly 

 convex, with one row of fine punctures bearing fine scales; striae 

 moderately fine, deep. Scutellum 0.08 by 0.05 mm., elongate-tri- 

 angular, with slight median depression. Front femora three times 

 as long as wide. Claws with acute basal tooth. 



Special male characters: Tibia 2 armed with smaU, short, thin, 

 curved mucro; tibia 2 armed with larger curved mucro; tibia 1 with 

 anterior inner surface bearing a smooth, extremely finely and closely 

 striate area on about one-half of its length ; tarsus 1 with inner posterior 

 margin of the first segment produced into a large, triangular, flat 

 projection. 



Material examined: Two males and one female determined by 

 Hans Wagner. 



Known distribution: 



Nicaragua: Managua (Solari Collection). 

 Brazil: Rio de Janeiro (BMNH). 



Apion punctulirostre Group 



Three species comprise this distinct group. Two species, A. 

 brunnicornis Fall and A. eccentricum Fall, occur together in Arizona. 

 A. 'punctulirostre Sharp occurs farther south in the mountains of 

 Mexico and Guatemala. 



A. brunnicornis Fall is distinct because of the pale antennae which 

 in the case of the male are inserted slightly behind the middle of the 

 beak. The antennae of the other two species are black and are 

 inserted at about the basal third of the beak. A. punctulirostre 

 Sharp is very close to A. eccentricum Fall. The principal difference is 

 that the beak of the former, in lateral view, is nearly parallel beyond 

 the antennal insertion to the apex; in the latter species the beak 

 attenuates, in lateral view from the antennal insertion to the apex. 



