84 Mr. A. Murray on Coleoptera from Old Calabar. 



from the pen of Olivier and Fabricius and other authors of their 

 date ; and although tolerable figures are sometimes given by 

 Olivier, it is not surprising, considering the strong family re- 

 semblance which prevails in all, that their short descriptions 

 should have left entomologists very much in the dark and almost 

 entirely dependent on tradition for a knowledge of the species 

 intended by them. 



Before entering on the description of the species from Old 

 Calabar, I must ask leave to add to the entomological termino- 

 logy an expression to enable me to deal without periphrasis 

 with the anterior and posterior extremities of the Bostnchidse. 

 Every one who reads this knows that this group is composed of 

 cylindrical insects which have the thorax terminating in an 

 overhanging sti-aight or excavated or more or less vertical front, 

 and the elytra terminating either in a rapid, steep rounding off, 

 an abrupt, oblique, or even vertical slope, or an actual excava- 

 tion. These abrupt terminations at each end of the body I 

 propose to call truncatures, — viz. the thoracic truncature and 

 the apical truncature of the elytra. The word does not much 

 matter ; as Prof. Owen says, it is a mere tool to do the work. 

 What I want is something to express in a word the declining 

 abrupt termination at either end of the Bostrichidse. Where 

 it does not occur, of course it will not be used. 



1. Apate terebrans, Pallas, Spicilegia Zool. Ins. p. 7 ; Oliv. 

 Ent. IV. No. 77, pi. 1. fig. 4. 



{A. barbifrons, Pupont, Dej. Cat.) 



Found both in Brazil and Africa, and distinguished from 

 other species by its size and a large tuft of yellow hair and 

 two small projecting triangular teeth on the forehead. The 

 elytra are marked with punctures running into each other, and 

 making a series of rather fine rugosities or slight leticulations. 



1 have no doubt tradition is correct in assigning this insect 

 to Olivier^s terebrans, although his figure represents an insect 

 considerably shorter. This we may assume to be an error in 

 the drawing, because we know no other species which is so like 

 the drawing as this, and the description in the text corresponds 

 wnth that of the species. 



I have wasted a good deal of time in carefully comparing the 

 African and Brazilian specimens, with the expectation or desire 

 of finding some difference between them ; but have been unable 

 to find anything that is constant or could be called specific. As 

 a rule, the African specimens are more distinctly and deeply 

 marked, and have a deeper fovea round the scutellum ; but 

 sometimes there is no such difference, or even the reverse occurs. 



