18 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 76 



broadly, deeply, transversely concave on basal half, the concavity 

 more shallow in front of the scutellum; surface obsoletely reticulate, 

 and with a few scattered, inconspicuous ocellate punctures in the de- 

 pressions. Scutellum small, triangular, obsoletely granulose, and 

 feebly arcuately rounded in front. 



Elytra feebly convex above, about as wide as pronotum at base, and 

 equal in Avidth at base and middle; humeral angles obtusely angu- 

 lated: sides obliquely expanded from base to basal sixth, arcuately 

 constricted at basal fourth, broadly arcuately rounded at middle, then 

 obliquely narrowed to near the tips, which are conjointly, rather 

 broadly rounded, and finely, irregularly serrulate; humeri smooth 

 and strongly developed; disk with broad, shallow basal depressions, 

 and with a distinct, vaguely arcuate lateral carina on each elytron 

 extending from middle to near apex; surface clothed with a few 

 short inconspicuous hairs near apex, very coarsely and irregularly 

 punctate, the punctures coarser and forming more or less distinct 

 rows in basal region along sutural margins, more irregular toward 

 the sides, becoming finer and more obsolete tOAvard the apex, and the 

 intervals smooth. 



Abdomen beneath sparsely, irregularly ocellate-punctate, the punc- 

 tures A-ery shallow, elongate, open posteriorly, and from the center of 

 each arises a very short Avhite hair; intervals obsoletely reticulate; 

 last segment rather narrowly rounded at apex, with the apical groove 

 deep, and folloAving the outline of the apical half of the segment. 

 Metasternum punctured similarly to that of the abdomen. Pro- 

 sternum finely, densely reticulate. 



Length, 3 mm. ; width, 1.2 mm. 



Type locality. — Las Mercedes, Costa Kica. 



Tyjje.—Cdii. No. 41613, U.S.N.M. 



Described from a single specimen collected on bushes at the type 

 locality, November 15, 1922, by Ferd. Nevermann. Las Mercedes is 

 on the northern slope of the volcano Turrialba, at an altitude of 150 

 meters, in the Santa Clara district. 



In Doctor Obenberger's paper on a Revision of the Genus Taphro- 

 cerus,^ this species runs down to laesicollis Chevrolat in his table to 

 the species, but there seems to be an error in the placing of laesicollis 

 in the table. Doctor Obenberger places it among the species haAang 

 the elj^tral carinae distinct only in the apical region, Avhereas they 

 are distinct only in the humeral region. Chevrolat,- in the original 

 description of this species from Cuba, describes the elytra as having 

 the "callo humerali elevato costulam longitudinalem efficienti." 

 Taphrocerus hrevicarinafus is also allied to depilis described by 

 Kerremans from Brazil, but that species is shining black above, with 



1 Sbornik, vol. 2, 1924, p. 48. » Ann. Soc. Ent. France, ser. 4, vol. 7, 1867, p. 587. 



