281 



" Very near P. peltatus in build and colour, but twice as 

 large and somewhat flatter. Clypeus finely punctured ; fore- 

 .head wide between the eyes, more strongly and dispersedly 

 punctured than the clypeus. Antennas reddish. Thorax widest 

 at base and here fully twice as wide as long, in front strongly 

 emarginate, behind gently bisinuate, very convex and extremely 

 finely and dispersedly punctured, the explanate margin wide, 

 flat but turned up at the edge (flachrinnenformig), dark red, 

 smooth. Elytra not quite a half longer than wide, very little 

 convex, sometimes reddish; the rows of punctures close 

 together (especially near the suture) and becoming obsolete 

 near the apex, their interstices flat; the explanate margin 

 nearly as wide as that of the thorax, gradually narrowed 

 towards the apex, quite flat at the base. Collected in the 

 neighbourhood of Melbourne." 



For the sake of brevity I have omitted those parts of the 

 description which would not differentiate the insect from 

 others of the genus. It is very probable that Mr. Macleay's 

 P. peltoides is another name for M. Blessig's species, and must 

 therefore be dropped. 



I possess specimens of a JPterolielceus from Melbourne, that 

 I believe to be identical with the above, although there is a 

 discrepancy in the width of the elytral margin, which only at 

 the extreme base nearly equals that of the prothorax, being 

 contracted very quicklj^, thence continuing somewha-t evenly 

 (about half the width of the thoracic margin) to near the apex 

 and then gradually narrowing to the end. 



P. ovalis, sp. nov. Sat nitidus ; ovalis ; piceus, antennis, palpis, 



pedibus et prosterno dilutioribus ; capite sparsius, pro- 



thorace sparsissime, obscure punctulatis ; elytris fortius 



seriatim punctulatis ; his prothoraceque sat late marginatis. 



Long. 5 1., lat. 3 1. 



A remarkably oval form, the lateral outline of the thorax 



and elytra being an almost continuous curve, slightly sinuate 



just behind the shoulder and scarcely more so at the junction 



of the thorax and elytra. Owing to its thinness the explanate 



margin (as in many other species) has a transparent reddisb 



appearance. The head and prothorax are faintly and sparingly, 



but not very finely, punctate ; the latter is at the base three 



times as wide as its length down the middle, rather strongly 



emarginate in front (tbe anterior angles passing the eyes), 



moderately bisinuate behind, with the dorsal line a little more 



evident than usual in the genus, the explanate margins evenly 



wide throughout their length (the two together being quite 



half as wide as the space between them) and not concave nor 



horizontal but sloping outward and slightly downward. Each 



