LEPTURID^. — TOXOTUS. 255 



fuscous, with three elevated longitudinal lines, exteriorly rufescent^ with two 

 oblique abbreviated testaceous-yellow fascice : base of the femora and the an- 

 tennae rufous. 

 Extremely variable ; the dark colour sometimes of a brassy tinge : the elytra 

 are occasionally yellow, with the base and three longitudinal interrupted lines 

 black ; at others with the base bluish, with a lunate marginal ferruginous 

 patch edged with black, and an oblong black streak on the suture towards 

 the apex : again they are black at the base and apex, with a large lunate 

 yellow patch on each elytron on the back :— the antenna are sometimes fuscous 

 or black : in some instances the lunules are obliterated. 



Much less abundant than theforegoing,butnotuncommon through- 

 out the metropolitan district, on the stumps of decaying fir-trees. 

 " Gibside, Meldon-park, Keswick."— G. Walks, Esq. " Abund- 

 ant in the decayed stumps of the Scotch fir, near Carlisle."" — 

 T. C. Heysham, E'iq. *' York and Frostenden, SuiTolk." — W.C. 

 Hewitson, Esq. " Cambridge."— C C. Babington, Esq. " Ep- 

 ping."_Mr. Douhleday. " Bromley."— iVI?'. Ingpen. " Occasion- 

 ally (near Swansea)."—/.. W. Dilk&yn, Esq. " Raehills, plentiful." 

 —Rev. W. Little. 



Genus CCCLXXXIII.— Toxotus, Megerle. 



Palpi with the terminal joint slightly enlarged, obconic, truncate. Antennce 

 nearly as long as the body, slender, the basal joint slightly robust and curved, 

 second minute, third elongate, fourth about half the length of the third, fifth 

 and following of nearly equal length, longer than the fourth, the terminal 

 being rather longest: head elongate, inflexed; mouth prominent: eyes 

 subglobose: thorax oblong, narrowed anteriorly, with a somewhat acumi- 

 nated tubercle on each lateral margin : elytra broad at the base, the shoulders 

 elevated and rounded, towards the apex more or less attenuated : legs elon- 

 gate, simple. 



Toxotus resembles Leptura in the form of its body, length of 

 legs and antenna, &c. ; but differs therefrom by the magnitude of the 

 terminal joints of the palpi, which are hatchet-shaped; the sides of 

 the thorax have each a tubercle in the middle, or short spine :— the 

 species are very variable, and the sexes appear to be dissimilar to 

 each other. 



JSp. 1. Cursor. Puhescens, thorace utrinque acute spinoso, elytris elevato-cos- 

 tatis, conferttm coriaceo-rugulosis, apice acuminatis. (Long. corp. 8—9 Hn.) 



Mandibulata. Vol. IV. 30th Nov. 1831. s 



