African and Asiatic Species o/Melyris. 197 



A male from the Fry collection agrees fairly well with 

 the description of this species, and seven females in the 

 Genoa Museum must also belong here. The latter arc blue 

 or bluish-green above, and extremely like M. gestroi, Pic, 

 but they have the side-pieces only of the metasternum 

 metallic. The male has the upper surface green and the 

 humeral callosities violaceous. These specimens have the 

 antennas (except at the apex), legs (the knees and tips of 

 the tarsi excepted), and under surface (the sternal side- 

 pieces excepted) rufo- testaceous ; the prothorax sulcate on 

 the disc and excavate on each side at the base, the lateral 

 carina reaching the rather prominent hind ai gles ; the 

 elytia sharply tricostate, the interspaces with about four 

 rows of punctures. Fairmaire separated M. pleuralis from 

 his M. semihirta, also from Somaliland (but not represented 

 in the collections before me), by the more prominent hind 

 angles of the prothorax, the yellow metasternum (the side- 

 pieces excepted), the non-villose body, &c. The length 

 varies from 9-1 0^, and the breadth from 3j-4j mm. The 

 variety (?) is represented by a large ? from 13oran Galla. 



48. Mehjris viridinitens. 



Melyris viridinitens, Fairm. in Kevoil's Faune et Flore Comalis, 

 Coleopt, p. 57 (1882). 



<J . Ventral segment 5 shallowly, 6 triangularly, emar- 

 ginate, the latter bi-impressed. 



Hub. E. Africa, Somaliland (Revoil, ex colls. Shiny and 

 Fry). 



There is a pair of this species in the British Museum, the 

 cf having been received from Deyrolle by Dr. Sharp as 

 M. viridinitens. A brilliant metallic green or bluish-green 

 form, the prothorax, scutellum, and metasternum golden- 

 green, the abdomen, legs, and the antennae in great part 

 rufo-testaceous ; the prothorax rather long and subcorneal, 

 canaliculate, foveate on each side at the base, the lateral 

 carina feebly sinuate, the surface shallow!) reticulate and 

 finely punctulate ; the elytra oblong, very sharply tricostate, 

 the interspaces with 3-4 rows or. coarse punctures, the 

 inferior apical margin feebly crenulate , the tarsal claws 

 very long, sharply toothed towards the tip ; the apex of the 

 abdomen fringed with long blackish hairs in both sexes. 

 Fairmaire's description of the terminal (sixth) ventral 

 segment must apply to the <$ , and not to the ? as stated. 



