32 RUTELINJE. 



Genus PEPERONOTA. 

 Peperonota, Westw., Trans. Eut. Soc. Lond. iv, 1847, p. 296. 



TYPE, Peperonota harrinc/toni, Westw. 



Rnnr/e. Himalayas. 



Broadly oval and convex in shape. Clypeus tapering, in tlie 

 male terminating in a single reflexed tooth, in the female in two 

 sharper reflexed teeth placed close together. The eyes are wide 

 apart, with laterally produced earinse in front. Antennae short, with 

 the second joint globular, the third conical, and the fourth to the 

 seventh strongly transverse. La bruin bilobed, distinctly exposed. 

 Mandibles exposed, acuminate and reflexed at the extremity and 

 toothed externally. Maxillae strong, armed with six sharp teeth. 

 Mentum elongate, constricted at the point of insertion of the 

 palpi and slightly bilobed in front. Pronotum A'ery convex, 

 lobed behind, the lobe slight in the female, the sides rounded in 

 front and parallel behind, exactly equal in width at the base to 

 the elytra at, the shoulders, to which it fits closely. Scutellum 

 very short, twice as broad as long, with curvilinear sides. Elytra 

 very short and convex, semicircularly rounded behind, entirely 

 covering the abdomen as seen from above. Front tibia armed 

 with three acute teeth, the two lower ones close together. Middle 

 and hind tibiae armed with several sharp spines along the outer 

 edge. Tarsi rather short, with the longer claw upon all the feet 

 deeply and widely cleft. 



j. The abdomen is extremely contracted and arched beneath, 

 the 5th segment bears a transverse carina fringed with hairs and 

 ending abruptly on each side, the 6th is asymmetrically emar- 

 ginated, and the pygidium slopes inwards. The clypeus tapers to 

 a point. The pronotum is shorter and more strongly rounded in 

 front, and its posterior lobe is produced backwards as a long 

 curved tapering process, which reaches to about a third of 

 the length of the elytra. The scutellum and the part of the 

 elytra adjoining are abruptly depressed. The front tarsi are 

 short and thick, and the inner claws very blunt and strongly 

 dilated. 



The asymmetrically emarginate last ventral segment is, so far 

 as I am aware, unique and is correlated with an asymmetrical 

 sedeagus. 



Although the male is extremely peculiar, the female differs little 

 from Parastasia, except in the very short and broad scutellum, 

 partly covered by the slight posterior lobe of the pronotum, and 

 the very spiny outer edges of the four posterior tibiae. 



Only one species has been described, but a second is added 

 kere. 



