On the Coleopterous Genus Lemodes. 207 



Female. — Thorax with a sli^lit transverse impression near 

 each side of the base. Antcniial joints 9 and 10 evidently 

 narrower than the hii<(e terminal one. 



E. piciceps (233) is the nearest ally, but in it joints 2-7 of 

 the antennic are evidently longer than broad. 



Lenfi;th H ; breadth quite ^ mm. 



Tairua, Auckland. Sent by myself to Dr. Sharp about 

 forty years ago, both sexes; now in the British Museum. 



XVII. — On the Systematic Position of the Coleopterous Genus 

 Lemodes {Heteromera)^ with Notes on some Allied Genera. 

 By K. G. Blair, B.Sc., F.E.S. 



(Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) 



The genus i^emo(/«5 was created in 1858 by Boheman (' Voy. 

 de la Fiegate Eugenie,' Ins. p. 103) for the reception of 

 the brilliant little Australian L. coccinea, Boliem., and was 

 placed by its author in the family Pyrochroiche. Here it 

 was left by Lacordaire (Gen. Col. v. p. GOi) with an 

 expression of doubt as to its being correctly included in the 

 family, from the other members of which it presents many- 

 points of difference. 



Since this date (1859) many other species of the genus 

 have been described witiiout any alteration being made 

 in its systematic position : in 1873 Macleay described 

 L. master.H from Gayndah, Queensland (Trans. Ent. See. 

 N.S.W. ii. p. 308) ; in 1883 Uberthiir (Col. Novit. i. p. 63) 

 described L. albertisi from New Guinea and L. atricoUis 

 from Victoria (a further note on the latter by M. Pie 

 appeared in ' L'Echange,' xxii. 190G, p. bQ) ; in 1895 Lea 

 (Proe. Linn, Soc.N.S.W. (2) x. p. 282) described L. elongata 

 and L. corticalis, folloVed in 1906 (07^. cit. vol. xxxi. p. 226) 

 by L. splendtns, all from New South AVales ; while, to con- 

 clude the list, in Ann.& Mag. Nat. Hist. (8) ix. 1912, p. 533, 

 I added L. cceruleiventris and L. tumid ipennis. 



The last species was described upon a single specimen 

 bearing no nearer indication of its habitat than "Australia," 

 but since then, by the courtesy of Commander Walker, I 

 have been enabled to examine a series of the same species 

 taken by him in conjunction with 2Ir. H. J. Carter at Otford 

 in the Illawarra district, S^^dney. Mr. Carter informs me 

 further that it occurs in the North Coast district also. It is 

 found on or under rotten bark and in the rotten wood of old 



