SCOTT— COLEOPTERA, LAMELLICORNIA AND ADEPHAGA 227 



41 specimens. Fairniaire in the original description stated the colour to be " d'un 

 brun rougeatre assez brillant." AUuaud writes of the species (Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 

 1898, p. 6G) as " entierement d'un noir de poix." Almost all my specimens are shining 

 pitchy black, with the anterior and lateral margins of the head, the legs, antenna3, and 

 sometimes the anterior margin of the thorax, reddish-brown : a few specimens are a little 

 lighter altogether, dai'k reddish-brown instead of black. The head is finely and evenly 

 punctured. The punctuation of the prothorax seen under a higli power is characteristic ; 

 near the anterior margin it is very finely punctured, and the rest of its surface bears 

 strong punctures irregularly placed, with very fine punctures between them. Fairmaire 

 describes the prothorax as having a scarcely distinct median longitudinal furrow ; this is 

 only visible at all in a few of my specimens, and even then is very indistinct. Elytra 

 rather deeply crenate-striate. I have examined the wing in one specimen and found it to 

 be about If times as long as the elytron. Metasternum punctured at the sides, with only 

 extremely fine and somewhat rare punctures in the middle, and with a marked impressed 

 median longitudinal line ; abdominal sterna each bearing a transverse series of rugae at 

 its base, otherwise smooth with only extremely fine punctures. Length 2^ — 3 mm. 



Loc. Seychelles : all the specimens obtained by me are from Silhouette, and as in 

 the case of the following species, some are from the endemic mountain -forest, others from 

 the low plantation-country; forest above Mare aux Cochons, IX. 1909, 21 specimens : low 

 coconut-planted country near the coast, Pointe Etienne, 17. IX. 1908, 12 specimens: La 

 Digue, 1892 (Alluaud). Chagos Islands: Egmont Atoll, 1905; this is the first record 

 from this archipelago. Mauritius, Madagascar. 



9. Saprosites pygnuBus, Harold. 



Saprosites i^yginoBUS Harold, Ann. Mus. Genova, x. 1877, p. 91 : Sharp, Trans. Ent. 

 Soc. London, 1879, p. 91, and Fauna Hawaiiensis, iii. p. 402 (1908). 



My best thanks are due to Dr R. Gestro for lending me Harold's type of this species 

 from the Genoa Museum. I compared it with specimens obtained in the Seychelles, and 

 with 5 specimens (in the British Museum Collection) from the Hawaiian Islands, 

 previously determined by Dr Sharp as belongmg to this species. The comparison showed 

 that Dr Sharp, who had not seen the type, was correct in his determination of the 

 Hawaiian specimens, while those fi'om the Seychelles must also be referi-ed to this species. 



Among the 14 specimens from the Seyclielles there is considerable variation in size 

 (length 2 — 2J mm.) and in colour ; the latter is usually ferruginous, but in some cases the 

 elytra are darker, pitchy-reddish. There is also marked variation in the degree of 

 closeness of the thoracic punctures, though all the specimens agree in having the 

 punctuation evenly distributed. In most of them the elytral strife are slightly wider and 

 more marked than in the type, and the interstices consequently appear slightly narrower 

 and more convex. But I could find no character on which either to divide the Seychelles 

 specimens into more than one species, or to separate them from the type. 



<S'. pygmcBus is distinguished from the otlier Sajtrosites found in the Seychelles 

 {S. laticeps) by its smaller size, diluter colour (reddish instead of black), and by the 



