184 Mr. G. C. Champion on the 



30. Melyris mecklenburgi. 



? Zi/r/ia mecklenburgi, Pic, Wiss. Ergebnisse Deutsch, Zentr. Alrika 

 Exped. 1907-08, iii. Lfg. 11, p. 423 (1911). 



Elongate, subparallel, narrow ($ ), broader ( ? ) ; the upper 

 surface shining, green or bluish-green. The head, prothorax 

 (at least along the sides), and scutellum more or less suffused 

 with golden, golden-green, or cupreous, the lower surface 

 brilliant golden, golden-green, or cupreous, the ventral 

 segments 1-5 with an extensive cyaneous suffusion, and 6 

 green and cupreous, in $ ; the antennae (the reddish portions 

 of joints 1-4 excepted) and tarsi black, the tibiae metallic 

 green, the femora (except at the tip), trochanters, and 

 anterior coxse testaceous, the wings blue; almost glabrous 

 above, the abdomen with long blackish hairs at the tip. 

 Head rather narrow, somewhat produced anteriorly, aluta- 

 ceous, densely punctulate and reticulate at the base, smoother 

 in front ; antennae short. Prothorax broader than long, 

 somewhat conical (as seen from above) ; densely punctulate 

 and finely reticulate, grooved down the middle, the lateral 

 carina sharp, moderately sinuate, and reaching the somewhat 

 explanate, raised, rounded hind angles, the basal cavities 

 almost smooth. Elytra long, parallel, much wider than the 

 prothorax ; sharply tricostate, the interspaces irregularly, 

 transversely plicate, and with about four rows of not very 

 coarse punctures. Beneath finely punctured ; ventral seg- 

 ment 5 depressed in the centre. Tarsal claws long, toothed 

 beyond the middle. 



$ . Ventral segment 5 with a transverse arcuate exca- 

 vation in the middle, deeply emarginate at apex, 6 almost 

 smooth, feebly bi-impressed at tip; median lobe of sedeagus 

 drawn out into a blunt, downwardly curved point at apex. 



Length 9^-10, breadth 3^-1 mm. ((??.) 



Hub. E. Africa, Lake and Volcano of Kiwu, west of 

 Ruwenzori (type of Pic), eastern foot of Aberdare, alt. 

 8300 ft. (S. A. Neave: I, 2. iii 1911: ? ), west slopes of 

 Kenya on Meru-Nyeri Road, alt. 6000-8500 ft. (S. A. Neave : 

 16-23. ii. 1911: ? ), Escarpment Forest (T. J. Anderson: 

 7. iii. 1911: £). 



The four specimens from which the above description is 

 taken seem to be varieties of M. mecklenburgi, Pic, with the 

 prothorax more or less golden, at least at the sides, and the 

 under surface very brilliant, especially in $ ; but Pic does 

 not mention the somewhat produced, smoother anterior 

 portion of the head. Compared with his M. alluaudi ( = mon- 

 ticola, Gahan), the prothorax is more rapidly narrowed 



