99 



PHALACRINUS (gen. 110 v.). 



A Phalacro diltert antennarum clava sat laxe articulata, clypeo 



antice producto lal^rimi obtegente, niesosterno late manifesto 



a metasterno baud obtecto, coxis anticis minus globosis, 



tarsis brevibus inter se longitudine sat tequalibus, his vix 



perspicue 5-articulatis, posticorum articulo 2' quam 1"** paullo 



breviori. 



This genus has quite the facies of Flialacrus, but as will be 



seen by the above diagnosis there are structural peculiarities 



which almost suggest hesitation in placing it in the family 



Fhalacrid(h ; especially the extreme indistinctness of the 4th 



tarsal joint, and the feeble globosity of the front coxcV."^ 



F. australis^ sp. nov. Nitidus ; subcuneiformis ; postice fortiter 

 angustatus ; testaceus ; elytris plus minus infuscatis ; sub- 

 la^ vis, elytris distincte striatis, striis postice (externis totis) 

 punctulatis, interstitiis postice subconvexis. Long., 11- 1. ; 

 lat., -/^ 1. 

 The interval between the outermost stria and the lateral mar- 

 gin of the elytron is very wide anteriorly (about two-tifths of the 

 w^idth of the whole elytron) ; but it narrows hindward very 

 (juickly, and is in the liinder half of its length of almost uniform 

 width, and less than half as wide as in front. Each elytron bears 

 9 stria?, none of which quite reach the base except the -Ith, oth, 

 6th, 7th, and 8th, and of these only the 7th and 8th are more 

 than very faintly indicated close to the base. The stride become 

 deeper and more strongly punctulate successively from the suture 

 toward the lateral margin, and also from the base hindward, the 

 puncturation of the 3 or 4 striie nearest the suture being scarcely 

 indicated in front. The 9th stria terminates in front by running 

 rather indistinctly into the 8th considerably l)ehind the base of 

 the elytron, and the 7th and 8th are connected on the base. (In 

 isome examples, however, the anterior inflected part of these 

 stride is scarcely traceable, so that the 8th and 9th striie seem to 

 terminate independently) The infuscation of the elytra is 



* Since writing these remarks I have had the advantage of receiving a 

 communication from Mr. A. Sidney Olliffe, the (blonial Entomologist 

 of N.S.Wales, who has been kind enough to examine a specimen of 

 P. auMralis for me. Mr. OllifFe is a high authority on the Clavicorn genera, 

 whose opinion is much more valualile than mine. He regards what I have 

 taken to be a minute 4th joint of the tarsi as merely a basal dilation of the 

 apical joint, and cannot discover a suture. I have no doubt he is right, 

 and that my observation was incorrect. Apart from this difficulty, Mr. 

 OllifFe would be disposed to refer the insect to the Phakicridn., l)ut regards 

 this objeccion as a very serious one. However, as it seems to me that 

 Phalacrinux would be much more out of place in any other family, I have 

 thought it on the whole best to let it stand where I have placed it, and at 

 the same time to record the notes with which Mr. Ollifte has favoured me. 



