480 Mr. A. 8. OIliff on the Genus Helota, MacLeay. 
The head rather broad, slightly convex, strongly and not 
very closely punctured in the middle, the punctures much 
finer and closer near the sides; epistoma rounded in front, 
finely and closely punctured; mandibles black and very finely 
punctured. Antenne reddish testaceous, the club pitchy 
black and covered with fine grey pubescence. Prothorax 
considerably narrowed towards the apex, moderately convex ; 
the disk black, highly polished, strongly and sparingly 
punctured ; the sides fulvous and finely punctured; the large 
punctures are arranged in two longitudinal irregular patches 
extending throughout the whole length of the prothorax, one 
on each side of the middle; anterior margin bisinuate, the 
angles very slightly produced; sides oblique; posterior 
margin very strongly bisinuate, the angles acute. Scu- 
tellum transverse, black and impunctate. Hlytra about 
half as long agam as the head and prothorax together, as 
broad at the base as the prothorax, slightly narrowed pos- 
teriorly, moderately strongly punctate-striate, the seventh 
interstice somewhat raised, the others rather broad, flat, and 
impunctate; each elytron with an elongate spot near the 
base between the third and fourth striz and the apical half black, 
the latter with a slight tinge of greenish bronze; humeral 
angles notvery prominent. Underside fulvous and impunctate; 
head black, finely and closely punctured behind the eyes ; the 
mentum very sparingly punctured; prosternum with an obscure 
black patch on each side extending from just behind the 
anterior margin to the middle. Legs fulvous; the coxe, 
knees, tips of the tibie, and the tarsi pitchy black. Length 
13 millim., greatest width 4 millim. 
Angola, West Africa (Welwitsch). Type in Lisbon 
Museum. 
This pretty species is one of the most distinct of all the 
described species of the genus. In form it appears to approach 
Helota Serville’, Hope, but differs not only in the absence of 
the flavous callosities so conspicuous in that species, but also 
in having the prothorax comparatively shorter and the elytra 
less produced at the apex. In coloration it is quite unlike 
any species with which I am acquainted, but, on account of 
the absence of the flavous callosities and the apical half of the 
elytra being black tinged with green, it bears some slight 
resemblance to H. semifulva, Rits., with which species in other 
respects it has little in common. 
Mr. C. O. Waterhouse proposes to figure H. africana and 
H. semzfulva in an early number of his ‘ Aid to the Identifi- 
cation of Insects.’ 
