MO. 1124. BEVISIOX OF THE MELAXOI'LI^SC t DUER. 31)9 



wantiiij^; iiietazoua less than half as long as the prozona, the latter 

 <livi(le<l a little behind the middle by a scarcely percei»tible sinuate 

 sulcus; lateral lobes nearly twice as lon<; as broad, narrowing down- 

 ward, the inferior margin very broadly angulate, the posterior margin 

 roundly excised. Prosternal s]»iiie blunt, conicoeylindrical ; inner mar- 

 gin of mesosternal lobes broadly convex, the lobes subapproximate 

 (male) or distant from each other by half their width (female); meta- 

 sternal lobes subcontiguous in both sexes. Tegmina linear, about as 

 long as the pronotum, or absent. Hind femora extending nearly to 

 (female) or a little beyond (male) the tip of the alxlomen, the superior 

 margin unarmed, the hind tibiae with their outer edges smooth, the 

 spines similar in length on the two sides, those of the outer series nine 

 to ten in number; first and third tarsal joints equal, the second less than 

 half as long as either. Abdomen indistinctly carinate throughout, the 

 extremity scarcely enlarged in the nmle; subgenital plate ampliate at 

 base, short, not projecting far beyond the tip of the snuill sui)raanal 

 plate, and in i)articular so little elevated posteriorly as to expose the 

 recumbent pallium more or less to a i)osterior view; furcula feeble; 

 cerci styliform; infracercal plates highly develoi)ed. 



In general appearance the species <»f this genus most nearly resendjle 

 those of Gymnoacirtefes Bruner, Paradichroplus Brunner, and Scopus 

 Giglio Tos. The distinctions of the genus from tlie iirst, besides its 

 ampliate subgenital plate, are pointed out under that genus. From 

 Paradichroplus it differs in its more compressed body, the more taper- 

 ing vertex, the slenderer tegmina (when they are i)resent), the lack of 

 any enlargement of the tip of the male abdomen, with the shorter sub- 

 genital plate, the ampliate basal margin of the same, the posteriorly 

 exposed pallium, and the wholly simple cerci. From Scoi)as, which I 

 have not seen, it appears to differ in its more ])rominent prosternal 

 spine, its narrower labrum, more declivent face, less cylindrical pro- 

 notum, with its excised posterior margin, besides its simple cerci. Its 

 subcouical head, especially in the female, gives it a peculiar asx)ect. 



A. sphenarioides Scudder, is the type. 



Three species occur in the Southern States along the borders of the 

 Gulf of Mexico, and may be separated as follows : 



ANALYTICAL KEY TO THE SPECIES OF APTEXOPEDES. 



A^. Tegmina present in one or both sexes ; frontal costa no broader at base than in 

 the middle. 



&'. Tegmina present in both sexes; furcula of male as long as the last dorsal seg- 

 ment; anal cerci tapering only on basal half 1. 8j)lienarioide8 (Yi.A(H)). 



¥. Tegmina present in female only; furcula of male not more than half as long 

 as the last dorsal segment; anal cerci tapering almost unifonnly through- 

 out 2. riifovittata in. iOl). 



A^ Tegmina present in neither sex; frontal costa much broader at base than in 

 middle, ut least in the male 3. altera (p. 402). 



