301 



certain genera on account of their having the front part of the 

 prosternum concave (as in the Cryptorhynchini), inasmuch as 

 their front coxte are contiguous, in spite of the prosternal con- 

 cavity. If those genera must be eliminated others {e.g., Storeiis, 

 Bayous, and Emplesis) must follow, and the character is itself so 

 variable even within the limits of a genus as not to appear of 

 importance higher, at any rate, than generic. The characters I 

 have mentioned above as M. Lacordaire's seem to be really cap- 

 able of more than generic application, although I cannot deny 

 that some at least even of these are subject to sligld modifica- 

 tion. Thus there are species in which the pygidium is exposed 

 in the male only, but I think their pygidium being covered in one 

 sex may fairly relegate them to the Erirliinini (with which they 

 agree in other characters); and there are abnormal species in 

 which the front coxa? are not quite contiguous, but in every case 

 these, I think, are so manifestly even congeneric with species 

 having the front coxie contiguous that it would be impossible to 

 treat the peculiarity as more than abnormal. 



In the next of this series of memoirs I hope to give a tabula- 

 tion of all the Australian genera of Erirhinini, the tribe having 

 now become so unwieldy that such an aid to its classification 

 seems sorely needed. The present memoir contains the descrip- 

 tion of a part of the large mass of new genera and species in my 

 hands, and I hope to complete the description of them in the 

 next memoir of the series. 



I have to acknowledge with much gratitude the extremely 

 valuable assistance I am receiving in the preparation of these 

 articles on Ei'irliinini and other Curculionidi^' by the co-opera- 

 tion of George Masters, Esq., the author of the " Catalogue of 

 Described CoJeoptera of Australia " (a work of the very highest 

 importance to Australian students), who is allowing me to 

 examine his collection of authentic types of Mr. Pascoe's genera. 

 I have also to thank several workers (especially Messrs. French, 

 of Melbourne, and Lea, of Sydney), for placing their collections 

 of Curcidionidce at my disposal. 



AOPLOCXEMIS. 



A. tasmanicus, sp. nov. Mas. Augustus ; elongatus ; nitidus ; 

 rufus, nonnullorum exemplorum pedibus piceis, corpore 

 subtus toto prothoracis linea media scutello et in elytris 

 maculis nonnullis dense niveo-squamosis ; rostro quam pro- 

 thorax sat longiori, punctulato, ad latera sat fortiter supra 

 in medio obsolete strigato ; antennis sat elongatis, funiculi 

 articulo basali quam 2"^ manifeste breviori ; prothorace quam 

 latiori longiori, leviter nee crebre ruguloso-punctulato ; 

 elytris striatis, striis puncturis magnis quadratis instructis, 

 interstitiis sat fortiter convexis. Lono-. (rostr. inch), 5| 1. ; 

 lat., U 1. 



