1906.] COLEOPTERA OF THE GENUS SCIOBIUS. 245 



short, subconical. Prothorax strongly transverse, subtruncate at 

 base, evidently narrower and truncate at the apex, sides not much 

 rounded, broadest rather before middle and distinctly constricted 

 close to apex ; upper surface convex, set with rather distant small 

 rounded granules, with a deep rounded lateral impression on each 

 side near the base and a transverse impressed line at the apical 

 constriction ; colour piceous, the granules bai'e, the interstices with 

 dense even grey scaling. Elytra broadly ovate, of the same shape 

 in the two sexes, subtruncate at base, sides rounded, broadest 

 about middle ; upper surface convex, the striae containing rows of 

 large shallow punctures separated by small granules and more or 

 less hidden by the scaling, disappearing behind middle, where the 

 striae become deeper ; the intei'vals rather narrow, subequal in 

 width, convex (more so posteriorly), uneven owing to the presence 

 of depressed obsolescent granules ; colour piceous, covered with 

 uniform grey scaling. Legs stout, piceous, with rather thin pale 

 scaling, the anterior tibiae not curved, but the internal apical 

 angle more produced in the S than in the $ . 



Type, S in the British Museum, $ in the Oxford Museum. 



Cape Colony: Knysna (IF. F. Ptircell). Transkei : Kentani 

 {Rev. Dr. F. C. Kolhe). 



I am indebted to T)v. Walther Horn for six examples of this 

 species, but they are without exact locality, being merely labelled 

 " Cape." 



This insect is very closely allied to S. cultratus Mshl., of which 

 it is probably the Cape Colony representative. It is, however, a 

 larger and more robust insect and the elytra of the S are not 

 acuminate posteriorly ; the dilated gense are not recurved in the 

 S , they are sharp and not rounded in the 5 '■> the antennae are a 

 little shorter and thicker ; the prothorax is much more transverse 

 and entirely lacks the smooth raised central portion of cultratus ; 

 the apical abdominal segment is much bi-oader and less acuminate 

 in both sexes ; iinally, in cultratios the anterior tibiae of the c? 

 are distinctly curved on their outer edge and the internal apical 

 angle is shai'p in both sexes, whereas in cinereics the outer edge of 

 the anterior tibiae is straight and the internal angle is broadly and 

 bluntly produced in both sexes. 



4. SciOBius OBESUS, sp. nov. (Plate XYIII. fig. 2.) 



Long. lOf-12, lat. 5|-6|- mm. 



Head strongly transverse, its length rather less than half the 

 breadth, black, finely aciculate and densely covered with grey or 

 yellowish scaling with a metallic golden reflection ; forehead with 

 a deep longitudinal impression in the middle and a shallow one on 

 each side of it ; a distinct rounded projection above the eyes, which 

 are prominent. Rostrum a little longer than the width at base ; 

 genae moderately dilated into a blunt angle, similar in the two 

 sexes ; upper sui-face deeply excavate, with a smooth central 

 carina, the lateral carinas bisinuate in the (unique) S , straight 

 and convergent basally in the $ , beyond these an additional 



17* 



