Genera and Speciea of New Zealand Cnleopf'^ra. h'\ 



scales; on tlu' elytra inoro erect, coarser, whitish ones form 

 irrej;ular spots : k'j;s and anteiinie pitcliy red. 



Head, exclusive of in.in(lil)l('><, quite transverse, the middle 

 cnrvedly depressed in front, distinctly punctate, nearly nude 

 behind. Thoru.r transversely qu.idrate, bisinuate at base 

 and in front, its sides somewhat ex|)Ianate, particularly near 

 the front, oidy slightly rounded ; its sculpture is like that 

 of the head, but not so close on the disk, where, in some 

 lio-lits, bluish spots may be seen. Elytra parallel-sided, 

 obtusely rounded posteriorly, slij^fhtly wider than thorax at 

 base ; there are no obvious elevations ; their punctuation 

 resembles that of the thorax. Anterior tibieB slip:htly curved, 

 finely and closely denticulate or serrate externally ; the outer 

 extremity is somewhat ])roduced, and there is a dentiform 

 projection before the middle. 



Underside shininjj, punctate, variegated castaneous, spar- 

 ingly clothed with ])ale decumbent elongate squamae or setae. 

 Prosternuin obtusely angulated medially in front. jNfeta- 

 sternum large, grooved along the middle. Ventral segments 

 2—1- decrease a little in len;4th. 



Male. — In a specimen of M. irroratus (No. 11")), which 

 Dr. Sliarj) kindly identilicd for me in London over thirty 

 years ago, i find that the mandibles, in repose, form a circle 

 leaving a central gap large enough to admit a pin's head ; 

 their apices are tridentate, and the uppermost tooth is 

 somewhat prominent. 



In M. curvldiiis the mandibles are shorter, their apices are 

 simple and i)oint(d, the central gap is just large enough to 

 allow the point ot a pin to penetrate ; on the outside of each, 

 near the middle, there is an acute horizontal protuberance, 

 and, near the extremity, a pair of comparatively large lobes 

 uri-e; these are directed slightly backwards and outwards ; 

 underneath they are broad and |)lane. The mandibles, in 

 fact, somewhat resemble in miniature those of the grand 

 African dung-beetle, Jleliocojiris isidis. 



Female. — The mandibles are rather longer and much further 

 apart than in the same sex of M. irroratus ; they bear no 

 distinct tooth above, but appear as if cut halfway down 

 near the extremity, so that the apices seem slender and 

 simple; the acute horizontal angulation near the base is 

 well developed. The thorax of M. irroratus is much 

 nairoMcd towards the front, so that the middle is distinctly 

 wider; in 31. curvidens this is not the cose. 



The antennie, in this sex, are similar, the basal joint 

 being smooth, curvate, and about as long as the following 

 six conjointly ; the UwX is transverse, the 3rd and -1th are 



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