(^oleoptera from South AfricJ. 361 



nigro-pilosellis, crobre, fortitt-r ot conHuenter punctatis ; corpore 

 Bubtiis cum peflibus Havo ; epimeria, meso- et mctutboracis uigro- 

 niaciiliitia. 



LoTi^;. ♦)v>-7 millim. cT 9 • 



A/(j»', nnUMuiis 8Csi|uiloiij;ioribu!', ad apicem maj^s infuscatis ; capitis 

 vertice lamina transversa irre^ul.iri utrimjue subiiivoluta, oecipite 

 ab oculis t'orliterexcavato, in medio quasi bicuriuato, posticeelevato 

 piano. 



Femina, antcnnis brevioribu-*, oecipite piano raagis nitido. 



JJuh. Maslionaland, Salisbnrj {Marshall). 



This very curiously coloured Iledyhiiis is wholly unlike ativ 

 described from Soutli Africa, but is allied and very similar 

 to //. livi'hiSy Gorham, from Abyssinia. The structure of 

 the head is unlike that of either of the three species described 

 by uie in these ' Annals ' (of. torn. cit. pp. SO, JS 1), but is similar 

 to that of the Abyssinian species, but is less stronjijly pro- 

 nounced ; this structure is so very peculiar and ditficult to 

 describe, that reference should be made to the description of 

 //. lividus as well. The elytra are similar, but appear more 

 ivory-while in IMr. ]\Iarshall's specimens owin^ to their better 

 prcscrvaiion. They are much more strongly and deeply 



f)unctured than in the blue wing-cased species, and are also 

 arger and longer in proportion. The head and thora.x in the 

 male are more opaque than in the female. The extreme base 

 of the head (wjiich in the specimens before me is sunk in the 

 thorax) appears to be blackish, showing through the trans- 

 parent front of the thorax, but the pronotum is unspotted in 

 itself. 



Ubs. It has been suggested that //. anceps^ described on 

 p. 81 [t. c), is a synonym of //. superciliosus of Boheman. It 

 IS possible that that may ])rove to be so; but, apart from the 

 fact that the three species 1 have distinguished are so closely 

 allied that it would be perhaps impossible to say which of 

 them should be reterred to Boheman's insect from description 

 alone, J beg here to protest against hasty assumptions on 

 synonymy, especially by persons who have a very limited 

 acquaintance with the group. I had, of course, studied 

 Bolieman before describing any of the Malachiidie, and the 

 conclusion I came to was that 1 could not identify either of 

 our insects with the sj)ecies referred to. 



Some other suggestions made prove on examination to be 

 so wide of the mark, that 1 need unly remark that they betray 

 a want of acquaintance with the elements of the subject or a 

 want of acumen in appreciating even crucial differences. 



