Brazilian Baring 75 



smooth; beak rather thick, slightly compressed and arcuate, closely sculp- 

 tured, nearly as long as the prothorax, the latter but little wider than long, 

 the converging and feebly arcuate sides gradually somewhat more arcuate 

 and converging anteriad, the apex two-fifths as wide as the base; inferior 

 flanks strongly, loosely punctate, more so in the depressions, the punctures 

 extending upward slightly onto the pronotum; basal lobe small, with a few 

 fine punctures, the rounded apex having a small but abrupt and distinct 

 median sinus; scutellum minute, subquadrate, feebly impressed medio- 

 posteriad; elytra obtusely parabolic, having distinctly arcuate sides and 

 scarcely at all prominent humeri, a little longer than wide and a sixth wider 

 than the prothorax; striae very fine, becoming obsolete but more punctured 

 laterally, though obsolete basally, the two lateral rather coarse and catenu- 

 late; legs somewhat short, not coarsely, rather loosely punctate, the femora 

 simple, the hind tibiae slender, scarcely half as wide as the femora, the ex- 

 ternal angle at base sharp and slightly prominent. Length i. 6-1.75 mm.; 

 width 1.05-1.1 mm. Brazil (Santarem). Three specimens nanus n. sp. 



Form and general characters nearly as in nanus, but still narrower, subrhombic- 

 oval, not quite so uniformly deep black, the pronotum with a barely per- 

 ceptible piceous tinge; beak thick, feebly arcuate, not quite as long as the 

 prothorax and strongly, closely sculptured; prothorax very little shorter 

 than wide, the sides very moderately converging and scarcely arcuate, be- 

 coming rather more rapidly rounding and convergent beyond the middle 

 than in the preceding; punctures at the extreme sides and thence down the 

 inferior flanks similar but closer; basal margin and lobe with rather numerous 

 small punctures, not evident in nanus; lobe small, distinctly and sharply 

 sinuate at tip; scutellum not quite so minute, subquadrate and flatter; 

 elytra narrower, more distinctly elongate and nearly a fifth wider than the 

 prothorax, parabolic, the humeri similarly continuing the curvature of the 

 sides; striae similar, the lateral more punctulate strioles obsolete basally; 

 outer angle at base of the hind tibiae very acute and slightly more prominent. 

 Length 1.6 mm.; width 0.92 mm. Brazil (Chapada — forest). November. 

 One example fractus n. sp. 



Form and organization nearly as in the two preceding, the three forming a natural 

 section of the genus, larger and stouter than fractus, deep polished black 

 throughout, similarly subrhombic-oval; beak thick and strongly sculptured, 

 not as long as the prothorax; head with a broad polished furrow along the 

 upper margin of the eyes, wanting in fractus; prothorax similar in general 

 form and sculpture, but larger and broader, and without the line of punctures 

 along the basal margin; lobe even smaller and narrower, with the abrupt 

 deep apical sinus a little larger; scutellum somewhat larger and differing 

 much in being elongate and narrow, impressed medio-apically; elytra longer 

 and broader, not so decidedly elongate, ogival, with similarly arcuate sides 

 but relatively more narrowly rounded apex; basal proportions similar; stri- 

 ation similar, excepting that the striae laterally are obsolete throughout, 

 and that the two outer are deep, smooth, grooved and not at all catenulate; 

 legs nearly similar, the outer basal angle of the tibiae finely aciculate, though 

 not quite so prominent. Length 1.9 mm.; width 1.2 mm. Brazil (Chapada). 

 March. One specimen fretus n. sp. 



Form more obtusely oval, the prothorax more conical and with no punctures at 

 the sides of the upper surface, the head differing from any preceding in having 

 a large deep perforate excavation, like that of Melanolia foveiceps, cavifrons 

 and parviscutis; beak thick, arcuate, strongly sculptured and shorter than 

 * the prothorax, which is about a fifth wider than long, with the sides more con- 

 verging from base to apex and feebly, subevenly arcuate, the apex narrower, 

 but little over a third as wide as the base; coarse punctures of the inferior 



