1906.] NEW AFRICAN CUECULIONID^. 939 



insect. It differs also in the following characters : the evenly 

 raised intervals of the elytra, the larger tubercles, the moie 

 prominent humeral angles, the non-bilobate third tarsal joint, 

 and the denticulate tibiee. The last character does not occur in 

 any other African Bagous with wiiich I am acquainted. 



Bagous promontorii, sp. nov. 



Long. 2i, lat. i mm. 



Head convex, with dense grey scaling ; forehead with a small 

 central fovea. Rostrum about as long as prothorax, distinctly 

 curved and slightly dilated from base to apex ; upper surface 

 convex, smooth, minutely punctured, and without any basal lateral 

 sulcus. AntenncB inserted close to apex of rostrum. Prothorax 

 about as long as broad, basal margin slightly arcuate, apicnl 

 margin truncate, sides subparallel from base to beyond middle 

 and evidently constricted near apex ; upper surface slightly convex 

 and quite smooth except for a small fovea in the centre of the 

 base and a shallow transverse impression near the apex. Elytra 

 short, subquadrate, subtruncate at base, shoulders roundly promi- 

 nent, sides subparallel to beyond middle ; upper surface almost 

 plane, with fine striae containing shallow punctures which are not 

 visible through the scaling, the intervals plane dorsally, the fifth 

 bearing a slight elevation on the apical declivity. Legs ferru- 

 ginous, with thin grey scaling ; tarsi with joint 3 not lobate, quite 

 similar to 2, scarcely as long as broad, as broad as and a little 

 shorter than 1, broader and much shoi-ter than 4. 



Cape Colony : Cape Town*. 



Type in the South African Museum. 



Resembles a small B. coenosus Gyl. in appearance, but that species 

 has a distinct central furrow on the pi'othorax, as well as a basal 

 furrow on each side of the rostrum above the scrobe. 



In addition to the five species of Bagous described above there 

 are four others known from Africa. Of these the only one which I 

 have not yet seen is B. crispus Faust, from the Congo (Ann. Soc. 

 Ent. Belg. 1899, p. 408). B.fastosus Hartm. was described from 

 Dar-es-Salaam (Deut. ent. Zeit. 1904, p. 391), and I have seen 

 two specimens taken by Mr. P. A. Sheppard at Beira. B. lon- 

 gulus Gyl. is apparently widely distributed throughout S.E. Africa, 

 occurring in Cape Colony, Natal, Mashonaland, and Beira ; it is 

 found commonly on the water-lily {Nymphcea stellata). Father 

 O'Neil has taken a number of B. coenosus Gyl. under a stone in a 

 damp spot near Uitenhage, Cape Colony ; the only other localities 

 from which I have seen it are the Yictoria Falls, where a single 

 specimen was recently found by Dr. G. B. Longstaif, and Bothaville, 

 O.E.C., whence I have received one example from Dr. Brauns. 



* Since this description was written, Dr. K. M. Heller has kindly submitted to me 

 two small beetles of the g-enus Bagous, from Lagos and Ashanti respectively, which 

 I can attribute only to this species. They differ in being of slightly larger size and 

 in having the prominence on interval 5 much more strongly developed and the 

 alternate intervals slightlj' more raised posteriorly. 



