210 Mr. F. P. Pascoe on new Genera and 



XXVI. — Descriptions of new Genera and Species of New- 

 Zealand Coleoptera. — Part I. By Francis P. Pascoe, 

 F.L.S. &c. 



[Plate V.] 



Captain F. W. Hutton, Director of the Museum at Otago, 

 and author of several valuable papers on the geology and 

 natural history of New Zealand, has had the kindness to remit 

 to me from time to time collections of insects of nearly all 

 orders from that country. To his friends also, especially 

 Mr. Travers and Captain T. Broun, I am indebted for several 

 interesting novelties. Some of these gentlemen's discoveries 

 have been anticipated, as far as publication is concerned, by 

 other collectors, and have been described by Messrs. H. and 

 F. Bates, Dr. Sharp*, and Mr. Wollaston, more especially the 

 former gentleman, and our knowledge of New-Zealand ento- 

 mology has been greatly increased ; but doubtless much still 

 remains to be done, inasmuch as insects in those islands are 

 very scarce individually, and the species seem restricted to 

 more than usually limited areas. 



It is perhaps premature to generalize upon our present 

 materials ; but, so far as we have gone, the following is a sum- 

 mary of what I think may be said : — (1) That the insect-fauna 

 is most nearly allied to that of Australia, if we exclude such 

 " microtypal " forms as are common more or less to all tempe- 

 rate countries. Such well-marked genera as Distypsidera, 

 PromecoderttSy Calonota, Cilibe, Bhadinosomus, Psepholax, 

 Mitrastethus, Didymocantha, Phlyctcenodes, and others are 

 common to both and are not known elsewhere ; while genera 

 found in Australia have in New Zealand comparatively nume- 

 rous others closely allied. On the other hand, however, there 

 is a singular absence, or only an exceedingly limited number, 

 of large and characteristic Australian genera, and even of 

 whole families having numerous exponents in Australia — as, 

 for example, the Buprestidas, with over 300 representatives 

 in Australia, but only with one, and that very doubtful, in 

 New Zealand ; the Scarabasidre, with 1 1 New-Zealand species 

 (no Cetoniina>) has about 450 in Australia ; the great group 

 of Phytophaga, abundant almost everywhere, and some of 



* I take this opportunity to mention that Dr. Sharp's genus Laivsonia 

 (Ent. Monthly Mag. x. p. 30) is identical with Exillis (ante, ser. 3, v. 

 p. 43). Two species are described from New Zealand, both distinct from 

 the type E. low/icomis from Borneo. Unfortunately Dr. Sharp has given 

 the same specific name to one of his species. Lacordaire wrongly refers 

 Exillis to his "Anthribides vrais ; " it is nearer Tropideres, but, from 

 its reniform eyes, it is perhaps best placed near Prosioporhinus, as Dr. 

 Sharp has suggested. 



