TAXONOMIC STUDY OF MORDELLIDAE — RAY 281 



beyond middle of eyes ; pronotum piceous, with a pair of castaneous 

 spots on either side of middle, separated by a piceous line, extending 

 posteriorly along lateral margins, but not reaching base; elytra 

 piceous, with apex narrowly castaneous; mesosternum and metaster- 

 num, posterior femora and tibiae, and distal half of anal style fus- 

 copiceous; antennae, mouth parts, anterior and intermediate legs, 

 posterior tarsi, abdomen, and base of anal style castaneous. Surface 

 densely covered with fine, recumbent pubescence, partaking of ground 

 color, except on dorsal surface, wdiere it has been abraded and only 

 a few yellowish hairs remain. 



Antennae 1.1 mm. long, slender, reaching base of lateral pronotal 

 margin ; segment 4 one-half longer than 3 ; 5-10 each one-third longer 

 than 4 and but slightly broader; 11 missing. Distal segment of max- 

 illary palpi enlarged, with form of an equilateral triangle. Prono- 

 tum six-tenths broader than long (1.6 by 1 mm.), apex and sides 

 broadly rounded, basal angles obtuse, base arcuate, midbasal lobe 

 moderately produced, rounded. Scutellum large, broadly triangular, 

 sides but slightly curved, apical angle rounded. Elytra but seven- 

 tenths longer than broad (2.5 by 1.45 mm.), sides parallel on basal 

 half, thence strongly curved to apex, apices individually rounded. 

 Intermediate tibiae and tarsi approximately equal in length, second 

 and third segments of latter part short, somewhat dilated, penulti- 

 mate segment considerably broadened, fifth segment being inserted 

 near base of latter and only claws visible beyond distal margin. 

 Outer spur of posterior tibiae two and one-half times as long as inner 

 one. Anal style two and one-half times as long as apical ventral 

 segment (1.3 by 0.5 mm.), moderately thick at base, attenuate to 

 apex; last ventral segment eight times length of penultimate one. 



Type locality. — Limon Plantation, Chagres Eiver, Panama. 



Type. — Male, U.S.N.M. No. 52927, a unique individual taken on 

 July 14, 1918, from sweepings around a cornfield (H. F. Dietz and 

 J. Zetek). 



Remarks. — The three distal segments of the posterior tarsi are 

 missing in the type and no mention can therefore be made of the 

 tarsal claws. 



MORDELLA SCUTELLARIS Fabricius 



Mordella scutellaris Fabricius, Systema eleutheratorum, vol. 2, p. 123. 1801. 



Five specimens : One from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, November 1, 1932f, 

 on flower of Gurte amor; one from Ponce, Puerto Rico, August 21, 

 1933, on flower of Senegaliu (R. G. Oakley) ; one from Bayamon, 

 Puerto Rico, June 2, 1934, on milkweed (Lesesne et al.) ; two from 

 Arecibo, Puerto Rico, March 13, 1934, and March 21, 1935, on Mar- 

 garita (Anderson). 



