241 



following characters, viz. : — On the upper side a prothorax not 

 very strongly transverse {i.e., quite evidently less than twice as 

 wide as long), with puncturation more or less strong and 

 scanty (as compared with that usual in the genus), and sides 

 diverging from the front with an extremely slight curve to 

 quite behind the middle, and then continued nearly parallel to 

 the base ; elytra coarsely and strongly punctured and trans- 

 versely wrinkled near the sides, having the disc rather dis- 

 tinctly striated, the second and fourth (in a less degree) 

 interstices, together with the suture, rather conspicuously 

 convex, the convexity of all of them failing, however, in the 

 anterior quarter (or third) of the elytra, and that of the second 

 and fourth interstices failing also near the apex ; surface very 

 shining, colour various combinations of coppery and green, the 

 former colour generally predominating about the hinder part 

 of the lateral margins and apex of the elytra ; on the under 

 side the presternum and metasternum finely and sparingly 

 punctured on the median line, hind body sparingly but more 

 coarsely punctured. 



M. o'otundicollis, sp. nov. Oblongo-ovalis ; capite cupreo vel 

 viridi ; prothorace et elytris cyaneo, violaceo cupreo viri- 

 dique obscure micantibus, his plerisque exemplis Isete trans 

 basin anguste rubro-violaceis, nonnullis, rubro-marginatis ; 

 subtus CLiprea vel viridis, vel antice viridis postice cuprea, 

 antennis pedibusque concoloribus ; capite piano confertim 

 fortius punctulato ; prothorace quam longiori fere duplo 

 latiori, postice quam antice tertia parte latiori, punctulato 

 (in disco sparsim subtilius, ad latera crebre fortiter, hie 

 punctis transversim confluentibus), lateribus fortiter 

 rotundatis, margine anteriori sat evidenter, basi vix, bisinu- 

 atis ; elytris pone medium leviter dilatatis, obsolete stri- 

 atis ; striis seriatim, interstitiis prope suturam sparsissime 

 versus latera confertim transversim punctulatis ; sutura, 

 et interstitio 2°, postice subcostatis ; regione suturali pos- 

 tice concave ; margine laterali postice serrate ; subtus 

 prosterno crebre subtilius, metasterno sparsim sat fortiter, 

 abdomine sparsim squamose, punctulatis. Long. Sf — 4f L 



Although this species is not uncommon, and is widely distri- 

 buted in South Australia, it does not appear to have been 

 named hitherto. It varies in respect of colour, on the upper 

 surface from entirely coppery to almost entirely blue with all 

 intermediate mixtures of those two colours. In all the speci- 

 mens I have seen, however, when two colours are present on 

 the underside they are green in front and copper colour on the 

 hinder part, and in nearly all that I have seen there is a quite 

 conspicuous narrow transverse border of a rather bright car- 



