Coleoptera from Neio Zealand. 83 



Group Silphidge. 

 SiLPHOTELUS, gen. nov. 



Body suboblong, nioderatelj convex, nearly glabrous. 

 Head comparatively large and broad, not at all trigonal. 

 Eyes large, rotundate, lateral, barely tree from the thorax, 

 finely facetted; their inner margin is not well defined; just 

 inside each eye there is a minutely sculptured swelling ; this 

 is limited from the vertex by a distinct depression, causing 

 these organs at first sight to appear very much larger than 

 they really are. Antennce 11-articulate, almost filiform, 

 elongate, inserted close to the front of the eyes ; their two 

 basal joints cylindric, about equally stout, the second the 

 shorter; joints 3 to 8 slender, gradually decreasing in length, 

 the third evidently longer than the following ones ; ninth and 

 tenth short, broader than the preceding ones ; eleventh nearly 

 twice the bulk of the tenth ; these three terminal joints do 

 not form a distinct club. Maxillary palpi moderately elon- 

 gate; basal joint minute, second narrow at the base; third 

 oblong, quite as long as the second, and not broader than the 

 apex of that joint ; fourth rather longer than the preceding 

 one, quite half its width, almost aciculate. Thorax trans- 

 verse, with distinct lateral margins, base feebly bisinuate ; 

 apex of about the same width as the head, subtruncate, not 

 very obviously marked off from the head. Scutellam trian- 

 gular. Elytra ample, scarcely at all wider than the thorax 

 at the base, finely marginated and but little curved at the 

 sides; apices nearly quite truncate, so that the pygidium is 

 usually exposed. Legs slender ; tibias simple, with tine sette 

 only. 2'arsi narrow ; in the male the basal joint of the front 

 and middle pair are a little dilated, but quite oblong; second 

 subquadrate ; third moderately small, its apex slightly emar- 

 ginate, not lobate ; fourth elongate ; posterior tarsi narrow and 

 elongate. 



Underside. — Mentum broad and truncate at the base, nar- 

 rowed anteriorly. Fore part of the head like that of Gholeva. 

 Prosternum nearly truncate in front. Anterior coxce almost 

 contiguous ; the middle pair rather widely separated, the hind 

 pair nearly approximated, the trochanters large. The meso- 

 s<e'r?m??i has a rather broad process. Metastennim large: in 

 front it is much rounded and finely margined; it extends 

 between the middle coxa3, and there it is on nearly the same 

 plane as the mesosternal process. Epipleurce quite linear 

 behind. Abdomen on a lower level than the sternum, com- 

 posed of six segments, the apical narrow. 



6* 



