CURCULIONID^. — COSSONUS. 7 



Piceous, glabrous : rostrum finely punctured, pitchy-black: thorax oblong, with 

 the sides rounded, rather narrowed in front, truncate at the base; convex, 

 deeply punctate: elytra rather broader than the thorax, convex, deeply punc- 

 tate-sulcate : the interstices slightly convex and very faintly and distantly 

 punctured: body deeply punctured beneath: antennae and legs pale ferru- 

 ginous. 



Found in profusion near Cork, but I believe not in England. 



Genus CCLXXII. — Cossonus, Clairville. 



Antennas geniculated, 9-jointed, short, rather stout, inserted towards the apex of 

 the rostrum, or at its base, the funiculus 7-jointed, its two basal joints a little 

 elongate, the remainder short, club large, ovate, subsolid. Rostrum elongate, 

 rather slender, dilated at the apex, or filiform in some females: thorax sub- 

 quadrangulate, rather depressed above : e/^/^ra linear-elongate; slightly convex: 

 body elongate, sublinear, depressed : tibice compressed, with a large hook at 

 the apex; tarsi rather slender, attached to the inner surface of the tibia?, the 

 penultimate joint bilobed. 



Cossonus has the antennae 9-jointed only from the club being 

 apparently solid, and the funiculus 7-jointed, by which character it 

 may be known from Calandra, exclusively of the elytra covering the 

 apex of the abdomen ; from Rhyncolus, to which it is more closely 

 allied, the longer rostrum with its dilated apex (or filiform rostrum 

 with basal antennae in some females), and its more depressed form 

 of body and subquadrangular thorax, &c. distinguish it. 



Sp. 1. Tardii. Piceo-niger, aut castaneus, nitidus, antennis pedibusque castaneis, 



elytris punctuto-striatis, interstitiis rugosis. (Long. corp. 3 — 5^ lin.) 

 Co. Tardii. Vigors MSS.— Curtis, ii. -pi. 59. — Steph. Catal. 148. No. 1490. 



Pitchy-black, or castaneous, rugose, shining : head finely punctured : thorax 

 thickly and deeply punctured, with a smooth dorsal line, the anterior edge 

 with a transverse impression : elytra deeply punctate-striate, the interstices 

 rugose : antennae and legs rufo-piceous, or castaneous : rostrum very much 

 dilated at the apex in the male, deeply punctured, and with a longitudinal 

 suture between the antennae; filiform, punctate, and without the suture in 

 the female. 



I believe this singular species, which offers so remarkable a 

 sexual peculiarity in the structure of the rostrum and position of 

 the antennae, has not hitherto occurred in England : all the spe- 

 cimens which I have seen were but very local; in decayed hollies. 

 " Taken near Powerscourt Waterfall in Ireland, in July."— iV. A 

 Vigors and J. Tardy, Esqs. 



