OF NEW ZEALAND. 1101 



sternum rnagnurn ; coxae anteriores globosae, acetabulis clausis, pa- 

 rum distantes, processu post his sat elongato. Coxae intermediae 

 minutae ; metasternum longissimum. Coxae posteriores parum dis- 

 tantes. Abdomen e segmentis ventralibus quinque parum elongatis 

 cornpositum. Tarsi quinque articulati, articulis quatuor basalibus 

 brevissimis, quinto elongato. 



This very minute creature is not at all closely allied to any other 

 form known to me, and from its appearance, as well as from the 

 characters I can observe, pretty certainly belongs to the Clavicorn 

 series ; and the only families in this series its facies suggests that 

 it may possibly be a member of are the Colydiidce, Cucujida, or 

 Cryptopliagidce. I think I have seen with certainty that the tarsi are 

 five-jointed, and the former of these three families may therefore be 

 left out of consideration ; while the latter two are so feebly differen- 

 tiated that, as this genus has no special ally in either, it is a matter 

 of little importance in which it is placed provisionally. As the coxal 

 cavities are nearly always open behind in Cryptophagidce, whereas 

 in the genus I am at present considering they appear to me closed, 

 I decide on placing it in Cucujidce. Only two examples of the insect 

 having been found, I do not think it desirable at present to break 

 one of them up, and the structure must therefore be left largely 

 undescribed. But the remarkable elongation of the metasternum, 

 which is considerably longer than all the ventral segments together, 

 will greatly facilitate the recognition of the form. The antenna are 

 inserted quite close to the rather prominent eyes, and these are well 

 separated from the front of the thorax. This latter is by no means 

 closely articulated with the after-body. The ventral sutures are 

 deep, and the first segment, measured along the middle, is longer 

 than the second, but the length behind the coxae is rather less than 

 that of the second. 



1956. S. minutus, n.s. (Sharp; Trans. Boy. Dub. Soc., 1886, 

 p. 394.) Oblongus, depressus, angustulus, brunneo-castaneus, niti- 

 dulus, fortiter punctatus; prothorace cordato, dorso obsolete bi-im- 

 presso. 



Long., If mm. 



Antenna vtiih the exposed portion of the basal joint short, second 

 joint short, stouter than the following : joints 3-8 small, subequal, 

 9, 10, and 11 forming a very loose club, the tenth scarcely trans- 

 verse. Head small, rather rounded in front, surface nearly even, 

 rather closely punctate. Thorax about as long as broad, truncate 

 in front, with the front angles depressed and rounded, much nar- 

 rowed behind, not margined at the sides, constricted in front of the 

 base, hind angles rectangular and with a fovea quite at the angle, 

 the surface very shining, rather coarsely punctate, the two im- 

 pressions on the middle nearly confluent, and varying somewhat 

 in their outline according to the point of sight (as in some Pycno- 

 meri). Scutellum very minute. Elytra with series of coarse punc- 

 tures, and with a short series interposed at the base between the 

 sutural and the next series, so that there is a slight convergence of 



