ON SOME NEW SPECIES OE BEETLES. 129 



Description of some New Species of Beetles (Scarabseidse). from 

 ■ Central America. Bj D. Sharp, Esq. (Communicated by 

 H. "W. Bates, Esq., F.L.S.) 



[Eead NoTember 2, 1876.] 



Some little while ago, Mr. Belt placed in my hands for exami- 

 nation the collection of Scarabaeidae (i. e. Lamellicorn Coleoptera) 

 made by him during his residence in Nicaragua, the species being, 

 I believe, chiefly captured in the neighbourhood of Chontales. 

 Our collections are tolerably rich in the insects of this family 

 found in Columbia and Venezuela and the northern parts of the 

 continent of South America, and in the Mexican species of the 

 family ; but the fauna of the intervening district of Central 

 America is still very poorly represented in most of our British 

 collections of Coleoptera. Mr. Belt's captures are therefore of 

 considerable interest. On examining the Lamellicorns, I found 

 (as was to be expected) that the species are allied to both the 

 South- American and Mexican forms of the family, but that a con- 

 siderable portion appear to be new or undescribed. The collec- 

 tion intrusted to me consisted of 419 individuals, representing 

 apparently about one hundred and fifty species ; and of these I 

 consider that probably fifty or thereabouts are still undescribed. 

 As a large number of the novelties belong to groups of which the 

 study is attended with much difficulty (e. g. genera Ancylonyeha, 

 Cifclocepliala, Sphceromorphiis, Atcsnius), and are represented only 

 by one or two individuals of each species, it would perhaps be un- 

 desirable to attempt to describe them seriatim ; but I have 

 selected a few species of which I think descriptions may be pub- 

 lished with advantage. I have added also three species from my 

 own collection from the same districts, two of which require special 

 notice ; they are the species I have called Phalaiigogonia sperata 

 and P. stipes. The genus PJialangogonia is of special interest, 

 owing to its differing greatly from the allied Eutelidse found in 

 these parts of America, and to its approaching very closely to the 

 Australian Anoplognathi. The single species of which the genua 

 is hitherto composed, viz. the PJialangogonia ohesa, Burmeister, is 

 extremely rare, and is, in fact, unknown in most even of the best 

 collections. Burmeister described the species, apparently on a 

 single individual, which he considered to be a male, but which, I 

 am pretty sure, from his description, was a female. Lacordaire 

 has figured a species in the Atlas to his ' Grenera des Coleopteres,' 

 pi. XXXV. fig. 1, which he calls Phalangogonia ohesa, Burm. ; this 



