578 . MR. S, MAULIK ON 



Prioptera ociopunciata Bohenian, Mon. Cassicl. i. 1850, p. 55. 



Prioptera decempustulata^ Boh. Mon. Cassid. i. 1850, p. 55. 



Boheman distinguishes decetrnpustulata from ociopunciata 

 thus : — " Statura et summa similitudo P. '^-punctaim, ssepe non- 

 nihil major, antennis totis fiavo-testaceis, elytris subtiliter, vage 

 punctulatis, pectore nigro, ab ilia bene distincta." I have examined 

 thirty-eight examples of decemjyustulata and octopiunctata (Brit. 

 Mus. Coll. & Camb. Univ. Coll.). In view of the material before 

 me, I am in a jDosition to state that the characters mentioned 

 by Boheman to distinguish \0-pusiulata from ^-punctata are 

 untenable. These characters are merely individual variations. 

 Moreover, the genus Prioptera is well known for the variability 

 of its species. I therefore regard lO-pustulata as a synonym of 

 8-punctata F. 



13 examples. 



Locality. — Borneo {Shelf ord). 



Range. Malacca, Sumatra, Java, Siam. 



Genus Epistictia Boh. 



Epistictia matronula Boh, 



Epistictia matronula Boheman, Mon. Cassid. i. 1850, p. 14; 

 Weise, Deut. Ent. Zeit. 1901, p. 49. 

 1 example. 



Locality. — Ceylon {Fryer). 

 This species has been reported only from Ceylon. 



Genus Oma Spaeth. 



In discussing the scope and limits of several genera of the 

 Cassidinre (Archiv f, ISTaturg. Ixxix. 1913, Abt. A. vi. p. 128), 

 Dr. Spaeth erects the genus Oma for two species, viz., raonstrosa 

 Boh. and denticula Boh., which he separates from the genus 

 Desmonota founded by Hope in 1839 (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (1) 

 iii. 1839, p. 97). The differences in the characters of Desmonota 

 and Oma may be stated as follows : — ■ 



Desmonota Hope. — The basal six joints of the antenna? are 

 shining, and very sparsely covered with scattered hairs. The 

 apical five joints are opaque and thickly covered with hair. The 

 sixth joint is much shorter than the fifth and also the following 

 joints. 



Oma Spaeth. — The basal five joints of the antennte ai-e shining 

 and very sparsely covered with scattered hairs. The six apical 

 joints are opaque, and thickly covered with hairs. The sixth 

 joint is longer and thicker than the fifth joint and about equal 

 in length to the following joints. 



Hope took Germai-'s species Cassida platynota as the type of 

 Desmonota and drew up a description of the generic characters. 

 In doing so he was in considerable doubt, as will appear from 

 the following extract from his remarks on the irenus : — " The 



