THE MOLURIS. 181 



become by the additions which were perpetually being made 

 to it. 



The present insect is one of the largest of its kind, the speci- 

 men from which it was drawn being an inch and three-quarters 

 in length. The colour of this species is black. The head and 

 thorax are finely granulated, and if examined with a magnifier 

 the whole surface is seen to have a peculiar gloss, caused by the 

 edges of the granulations being highly polished, while the in- 

 terior of the cells is dull and rough. 



The elytra have several curved ridges upon their surface, not 

 running parallel to the suture, as is generally the case with snch 

 ridges, but taking a slight and graceful double curve. These 

 ridges do not extend throughout the entire length of the elytra, 

 but start near the base and reach nearly but not quite to the tip. 

 They are very narrow at their commencement, swell out gradu- 

 ally in the middle, and then become attenuated again towards 

 the end, where they join each other. Beneath, the insect is 

 wholly dull black, and the legs are of the same hue. There is a 

 little golden down on the under surface of the shoulders. 



The present species has rather a wide range of country, speci- 

 mens in the British Museum having been taken both in East 

 and West Africa. There are many species of Moluris, and it is 

 worthy of remark that there are two distinct types of form, 

 some of the insects being shaped like that which has just been 

 described, while others are much thicker, more rounded, and 

 have the thorax nearly globular. Among them may be men- 

 tioned Moluris Rouletii, which looks almost like a black spider, 

 the abdomen being shaped almost exactly like that of our com- 

 mon garden spider, and the little head so overshadowed by the 

 round globular thorax, that it scarcely seems to be a distinct 

 part of the insect, and the two seem to be fused together, as is 

 che case with the spiders. This species is quite smooth and 

 shining, but others have a few waved marks on their elytra, very 

 much like those of Moluris Howleyiana. 



Then there is Moluris Perreti, a very odd-looking spider-like 

 Beetle, with curiously ornamented elytra. The upper half is 

 tolerably smooth, but over the remainder of the surface are 

 scattered a number of projecting knobs, while towards the tips 

 the elytra are lengthened and flattened. Moluris albifrons of 

 Southern Africa has a very curiously shaped body. The elytra 



