502 INSECTA. 



Some others, also inhabiting the same country, arranged by 

 Schoenherr in the genus Polydrosus sericeiis, Gyll., mkans, be- 

 tulx, &c. — although small are not less attractive by their golden 

 or silvery-green colour. In some the mandibles ol" the males 

 are narrow, pointed, and project Ibrwards. This character is 

 common to species foreign to Europe. The subgenus 



Leptosomus, Schoenh. 



Although formed of a single species — Curculio aciiminatus, Fab. 

 Oliv. — presents such isolated characters, that it may still be retained 

 as a subgenus. The head is elongated posteriorly and the snout is 

 very short. The thorax is almost cylindrical. The elytra terminate 

 in the manner of diverging spines. The antennae are short. 



We now pass to another subgenus, that of 



Leptocexius, 



Which differs from the first in the two anterior legs, which are 

 larger than the following one, with the thick thighs, arcuated tibiae, 

 and the tarsi frecjuently dilated and ciliated. The antennse are usu- 

 ally long and slender. The thorax is almost globular or triangular. 

 The abdomen is hardly wider than the thorax. 



These Insects are most abundant in Brazil, and several analogous 

 species are found in the Isle of France, or that of Bourbon. Others 

 inhabit Africa(l). 



A fourth subgenus, that of 



Phyllobius, 



Will include other Brevirostres of the same division, also fur- 

 nished with wings, but in which the lateral sulci of the proboscis 

 are straight, short, and even consist of a simple fossula. To this 

 we" unite various genera of M. Schoenherr — his Phyllobius, Macro- 

 rynus, Myllocerus, Cyphicerus, Jlmblirhinus and Phytoscapus. 



(1) The g-enera Prostomus, Leptocerus, Cratopus, Lepropus, Hadromerus, Hyb- 

 sonotus, of Sclioenherr. The Hybsonotes have the body proportionally narrower, 

 and more elongated; the proboscis almost as long as the head and thorax; the an- 

 tennal sulci almost straight, but oblique, and the thorax lobate anteriorly. The 

 Leptoceri are distinguished from all the others, by the length of tlie first^oint of 

 the antennx, the end of which when thrown back extends beyond the head; in 

 the other genera it extends to but little, if at all beyond the eyes. The Cratopi 

 ai"e peculiar to the Isles of France, Bourbon, and some other islands of the Indian 

 Ocean. Their thorax is trapezoidal, and their abdomen in the form of a reversed 

 triangle. The genus Prostomua has, perhaps, been established on males only, 

 their mandibles being sometimes larger than those of the females. 



