362 



Further notes on Australian coleoptera, with 



DESCRIPTIONS of NEW GENERA AND SPECIES. 

 NO. XXXVIII. 



By the Rev. T. Blackburn, B.A. 



[Read October 6, 1908.] 



CARABID^. 



LiTHOSTROTUS. 



Mr. Sloane, in a note to his tabulation of Australian 

 Lebiid genera (Pr. Linn. Soc, N.S.W., 1898, p. 494), sup- 

 presses his l.eKfiautliux as a synonym of lAfhostrotu.^, but with- 

 out any discussion, nor can I find that he has entered into the 

 matter elsewhere. I cannot now remember whether I have 

 held communication with him on the matter privately, but 

 in any case I think his decision may be accepted, although 

 there are slight differences between his diagnosis and mine 

 which might suggest a doubt on the subject. It seems clear 

 that his species (L. sculpturatus) is not identical with my 

 L. ccerulescens. I have recently met with an example of 

 Lit/iost?'otus which does not seem referable to either of the 

 above species, and which therefore must be regarded as a third 

 member of the genus. 



L. planior, sp. nov. Minus elongatus, minus convexus ; capite 

 quam prothorax parum angustiori ; sat nitidus : laete 

 cyaneus, antennis palpis tibiisque ruf escentibus ; supra 

 pilis erectis sparsim vestitus; capite prothoraceque supra 

 minus fortiter minus sparsim punctulatis; hoc leviter 

 transverso, canaliculato, sat anguste marginato, cordi- 

 formi, antice subtruncato, angulis posticis acutis denti- 

 formibus; elytris minus fortiter striatis; striis (his pos- 

 tice sat obsoletis) confertim subtiliter punctulatis, int^r- 

 stitiis planis sat latis uniseriatim sat fortiter sparsius 

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

 Differs from L. ccerulescens, Blackb., inter alia, by its 

 distinctly less convex form, by its considerably brighter 

 cyaneous colouring, by its head less coarsely and less sparsely 

 punctulate, and by the sculpture of its elytra, which are dis- 

 tinctly striate with the striae very distinctly, finely, and 

 closely punctulate, the interstices being flat and even, and 

 each bearing a single row of about 10 or 12 strong punctures 

 (much larger than those of the striae). This species is pro- 

 bably more nearly allied to Mr. Sloane's species than to L. 

 ccerulescens, but is not likely (on account of several disagree- 

 ments with the description) to be identical with it, e.g., Mr. 



