170 Mr. Westwood's Descriptions 



sion from the prothorax was observed. The tarsi are not, how- 

 ever heteromerous.* The structure of the antennae, moreover, at 

 once removes this genus from the whole of the Heteromera, since 

 they are elbowed at the extremity of the large first joint, and have 

 a nearly solid 2-jointed terminal club. It is, I apprehend, among 

 the genera originally placed by Latreille among the Xylophaga 

 (but separated therefrom by Mac Leay, by whom they were intro- 

 duced among the Necrophaga), that we must look for the true, re- 

 lations of this insect, some of which are already known to exhibit 

 various numerical peculiarities in respect to the joints of their 

 tarsi, often varying in the sexes in this respect. Biphyllus, as the 

 name implies, has a 2-jointed clava to the antennae, and some of 

 the species of Cerylon have similarly polished bodies. Bitoma has 

 also a Particulate club to the antennse, as well as a carinated pro- 

 notum and elytra. This last-named genus, in fact, notwithstanding 

 the various very striking points of disagreement with Cossyphodes, 

 may perhaps be regarded as most nearly allied to it of any known 

 genus ; indeed the parts of the mouth of Bitoma, as figured by Mr. 

 Curtis (Brit. Ent. pi. 283), present a strong general conformity 

 with those of Cossyphodes. 



Sp. unica. Cossyphodes Wollastonii, Westw. (PI. XIII., fig. 2, 

 and details.) 

 C. totus castaneus, immaculatus, laevis, subnitidus ; antennis, 



palpis pedibusque concoloribus. 

 Long. corp. lin. 1J. 

 Habitat sub lapidem ad littus insulae Maderae. D. Wollaston. 



The head has a small transverse slightly raised space near the 

 anterior margin, beneath which the mouth is inserted. I have 

 been unable to detect any traces of the eyes, although there is on 

 each side of the disc of the head, extending to the front of the 

 pronotum, an impressed line, in which the eyes may be concealed. 

 The outline of the head, prothorax, and elytra is nearly continu- 

 ous, as are also the three delicate carinae on each side of the 

 raised middle longitudinal line of the prothorax and elytra. 



A single specimen of this most remarkable insect was discovered 

 by T. Vernon Wollaston, Esq., under a stone on the shore of the 



* Strictly speaking the tarsi are heteromerous, that is, they do not consist of 

 the same number of joints in all the legs; but in the true Heteromera the four 

 anterior tarsi are 5-jointed, and the two posterior tarsi are 4-jointed ; but in the 

 genus before us four of the tarsi are 4-jointed, and only one pair 5-jointed. I am 

 unfortunately unable to state whether it is the anterior or intermediate pair of 

 tarsi which are 5-jointed, having detached the legs, but the hind pair are certainly 

 4-jointed. 



