404 Mr. T. V. Wollaston on the Coleoptera of St. Helena. 



and suture raised, but its tibiae likewise (as I believe) to be more 

 curved and robust. Still it is not impossible that Chrevrolat's 

 example may have been an old and worn one, from which the 

 rather sparing and delicate pubescence had been rubbed off, 

 in which case there is at least an additional chance that it may 

 prove eventually to be identical with my M. vestitus ; but, as 

 the group is evidently rich in species, I am inclined to suspect 

 that the "raised suture" and other minute characters (as re- 

 corded) will tend to separate the M. Westiooodii from its mani- 

 festly near ally. 



36. Microxylohius vestitus^ n. sp. 



M. elongatus, angusto-fusiformis, seneo-piceus, subopacus, pilisque 

 brevibus sericeis demissis fulvo-cinereis parce vestitus ; capite 

 rostroque alutaceis, minute et leviter punctulatis, hoc breviusculo 

 sad subgracili-lineari et supra subgibboso ; prothorace subovato, 

 pone medium rotundato, alutaceo et punctulis levibus parce irro- 

 rato ; elytris confuse rugulosis (vix punctatis, vix tuberculatis, et 

 vix striatis) ; antennis pedibusque piceo-testaceis. 



Long. Corp. lin. 1|. 



Judging from the short diagnosis of the M. Westwoodn, that 

 species, the present one, and the following are, from their 

 smaller size and (I believe) less glabrous surfaces, more nearly 

 related t'wfer se than they are with the other members (hitherto 

 detected) of this curious little group. As already implied, the 

 description published by M. Chevrolat of the M. Westivoodii, if 

 not positively inaccurate, is so manifestly insufficient to dis- 

 tinguish it from the allied representatives of a genus like 

 Microxylohius that I should not feel altogether surprised if the 

 particular sjDecies now under consideration (and to which I 

 have given the name of vestitus) should prove eventually to be 

 identical with the M. Westiooodii-^ for if the example de- 

 scribed by Chevrolat happened to be an old and worn one, 

 from which the rather delicate and sparing sericeous pubes- 

 cence had been accidentally rubbed off, the main and most 

 important feature in a small assemblage the exponents of 

 which are principally altogether hold may have been over- 

 looked, and the species enunciated as "glabrous." Of course, 

 however, I cannot venture to act on such an assumption, and I 

 have therefore treated the present Microxylohius (from a single 

 specimen now before, me, which has been communicated by 

 Mr. Melliss) as new. Its narrowish, elongate-fusiform outline 

 and somewhat sparingly and minutely sericeous brassy-brown 

 surface, added to its alutaceous head and prothorax (on the 

 latter of which the small and lightly impressed punctules are 

 rather remote), its somewhat narrow and parallel but not very 

 elongate rostrum (which is a trifle gibbous above the implanta- 



