122 



collection, only one species has the third interstice of the elytra 

 genuinely carinate (i.e. its summit a sharp keel-like edge) 

 throughout its length, though there are a good many species in 

 which it is "raised " or "convex " throughout. 



Unfortunately there is a doubt (it seems to me) as to which of 

 the Beret aphri is fossus, 'New m., — the type of the genus. If 

 Newman's expression " elytron utrumque 4-carinatum" is taken 

 strictly (i.e. as meaning that the alternate interstices are entirely 

 carinate as distinguished from merely convex) there is onl}^ one 

 species before me that could possibly be fossus, — and it is evi- 

 dently the species that Pascoe calls fossus. It however is of a 

 pitchj'-black color, v/hereas according to Newman the color is 

 " fuscus." This would seem to be a small difficulty were it not 

 that Pascoe has described a species ( ignarusj the description of 

 which equally agrees with Newman's description independently 

 of color and also agrees in color (calling it "obscure rufo-fuscus"'). 

 Pascoe distinguishes the species thus ''fossus is pitchy black, 

 with the elytral interstices punctured; ignarus is dark rufo 

 fuscous with the elytral interstices all but unpunctured." As the 

 interstices of the elytra (in the sense in which Pascoe uses the 

 term) are not even mentioned in Newman's very brief description 

 there certainly seems to be a doubt whether ignarus, Pasc, may 

 not be the true fossus. Nevertheless the prohahiJity seems in 

 favour of Newman having had before him a somewhat unusually 

 colored specimen of the species that Pascoe calls ycssws, inasmuch 

 as it is much the commoner species (at any rate in the localities 

 from which Newman obtained most of his Australian Coleoptera). 

 This insect is common in Victoria and may be recognised by the 

 following characters from all its congeners described, or known 

 to me ; color pitchy black (opaque), the legs and undersurface a 

 little reddish ; pronotum closely and strongly punctulate, with a 

 dorsal channel reaching from close to the base to about the middle 

 of the segment, beyond which is a vague but fairly deep depres- 

 sion ; the elytra with shoulders strongly produced, their alternate 

 interstices and also the sixth continuously carinate (i.e. their 

 summit shining and knife-edge-like), all the interstices quite 

 distinctly (though very finely and sparsely) punctulate ; the 

 (apparent) front angles of the prothorax very little marked 

 though more distinct than in some species (e.g. D. piceus. Germ.) 



D. ihoracicus, sp. nov. Sat angustus ; sat elongatus ; modice 

 nitidus ; piceus, antennis pedibusque plus minusve rufe- 

 scentibus : capite fortiter convexo, sabtilius sat crebre punc- 

 tulato ; prothorace quam latiori ut 7 ad 5 longiori, sparsim 

 subtilissime punctulato, profunde canaliculato (canali basin 

 fere apicem nullo modo attingenti, ante medium interrupto)^ 

 ad quasi-apicem quam ad mediam partem vix angustiori. 



