Linnaan Society. 143 



History, should recollect that the only road to literature lies through 

 the dictionary, and that their objection is the same as that of the 

 child who dislikes the task of " meaning spelling." 



Very little trouble will be required to master the few terms in the 

 Glossary of the present little book, where they are clearly explained. 

 The work is very neatly got up, and is well adapted to attract new 

 votaries to the study of our marine flora ; for although it does not 

 convey much information beyond the names, these are precisely what 

 all beginners are most interested in, and of course the name of an 

 object must necessarily be known in order to the communication of 

 observation of structure or habit. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



LINNJ1AN SOCIETY. 



March 21, 1848.— E. Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair. 



Read a Memoir " On the Australian species of the Coleopterous 

 genus Bolboceras, Kirby." By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. &c. 



In this paper, which contains the characters and descriptions of 

 five new species of Bolboceras from Australia, Mr. Westwood passes 

 in review the various writers on the subject, and enters into some 

 critical detail on the characters which they have assigned to the 

 genus. The following are the characters of the new species pro- 

 posed : — 



1. B. (Elephastomus) Kirbii ; castaneo-fulvus, capitis cornu antico por- 

 recto brevi truncato piano subtus in spinam bifidam baud producto, 

 vertice caring brevi transversa, prothoracis lateribus valde punctatis 

 utrinque fossulatis; disco postice canali abbreviato longitudinali in- 

 structo. — Long. corp. lin. 9. 



B. (Elephastomus) Kirbii, Hope MSS. 



Hab. in Terra Van Diemen. In Mus. Hope. 



This appears to be the insect given by Mr. MacLeay as the female 

 of Elephastomus proboscideus. It is however a male, and is given by 

 Dr. Klug as a variety of the male of that species. The insect above 

 described appears sufficiently distinct as a species from the former. 



2. B. Reichii ; castaneus nitidus, capite cornu valde elongato erecto, 

 prothorace antice valde deflexo et subcbncavo cornubus duobus crassis 

 longitudine capitis porrectis lateralibus armato : singulo versus basin 

 dente obtuso erecto instructo ; prothoracis lateribus rude punctatis 

 spatioque triangulari impresso et punctato ante scutellum ; margine 

 postico parum elevato, elytris striis gracillimis punctatis, tibiis anticis 

 extus 5-dentatis. <J. — Long. corp. lin. 11 ; lat. prothoracis lin. 7. 



Hab. Port Essington. In Muss. Hope et Reich. 



<J Bolboceras Reichii, Guerin, Voyage de la Favorite, et Iconogr. du 



Regne An. Ins. p. 84. 



Bolboceras Kirbii $ , Hope in Proc. of Ent. Soc, Nov. 1 841, p. 43. 

 $ Bolboceras Kirbii, Bainbridge in Trans. Ent. Soc. 

 Differt capite minori, vertice in tuberculum conicum apicebifidum elevato, 



clypeo et vertice carina tenui angulata separatis, pronoto antice spatio 



