114 



Colydiid(e, but with a doubt whether they may not possess — as 

 By r sax is said to do — " a basal (tarsal) joint completely hidden in 

 the cotyloid cavity of the tibia," which I have failed to discover. 



DITOMA. 



D. pulchra, Blackb. In the Alpine district of Victoria I have 

 met with some examples of an insect which appear to be scarcely 

 specifically distinct from this S. Australian species, although they 

 are smaller and darker than the type. They vary a little in the 

 prominence of the lateral dilatation of the prothorax, and I am 

 not quite sure that they do not represent a distinct species, but I 

 cannot find any invariable character by which to distinguish 

 them. This insect bears a very remarkable general resemblance 

 to Sparactus intemij^tus, Er. 



D. torrida, sp. nov. Minus depressa ; minus nitida ; glabra ; 



ferruginea ; capite postice prothoracis disco et elytrorum 



maculis numerosis (his fascias 4 irregulares formantibus) 



obscure fuscis ; prothorace granulato, utrinque bicostato et 



inter costas internas basin versus carinis 2 arcuatis instruc- 



tis, costis et marginibus lateralibus (his late refiexis) sub- 



tiliter crenulatis, angulis omnibus acutis ; elytris singulis 



carinis 5 valde elevatis instructis, interstitiis crasse biseria- 



tim punctulatis. Long., 2^1. (vix); lat., f 1. 



This species must be near D. serricollis, Pasc. ; in that species? 



however, inter alia, the upper surface appears to be of a uniform 



dark-brown colour — the prothorax to be simply bicostate on 



either side instead of having a short arched additional costa 



looped on to each of the inner costa3 near the base — and the head 



to be trilobed in front, whereas the head of the present species is 



rotundate-truncate in front, very much as that of the European 



D. crenata. 



N. Queensland ; in the collection of C. French, Esq. 

 D. nicicola, sp. nov. Minus depressa ; subnitida ; setis suberec- 

 tis minus crebre vestita ; brunneo-nigra ; antennis, capite 

 antice, prothoracis lateribus, elytrorum maculis parvis non- 

 nullis (his testaceo-pubescentibus) et pedibus, rutis ; capite 

 prothoraceque crebre granulosis ; hoc minus ina^quali, lateri- 

 bus fortiter serratis a basi antrorsum gradatim magis 

 f ortiter dilatatis antice valde productis ; elytris striatis crasse 

 subseriatim rugulose punctulatis. Long., Ifl. ; lat., f 1. (vix). 

 The colours and markings of this species are much like those of 

 D. hilaris, Blackb., but the latter is a considerably narrower and 

 more elongate insect, with the prothorax much less dilated 

 laterally, the elytra less coarsely sculptured, etc. 



Victoria ; Alpine district, under the bark of a Eucalyptus 

 standino: in a snowdrift. 



