324: Transactions. — Zoology. 



an irregular number of punctures near the base arranged in rows ; they are 

 destitute of impressed striae, except the usual sutural one. 



A further distinction from X. griseus, even the smallest examples, is the 

 colour of the antennse, the apices of the joints being always distinctly fuscous 

 or black. 



. The general ground-colour is extremely variable, from brown with a 

 scarcely perceptible brassy tinge to dull tawny or pale testaceous. Long. 

 2— 2f lin. 



Auckland. Mr. Lawson has sent home a very large number of this small, 

 variable species. 



White's description (!) of his X parvulus consists of the following 

 words :— " Testaceous, covered with a greyish pubescence ; base of elytra with 

 several dots and four rows of small punctures in two lines, extending to the 

 middle of elytra." No size is given ; and the description applies equally weU 

 to our X. cegrotus. 



Xylotoles asgrotuSj n. sp. 

 X elongatus, angustus, omnino fulvo-testaceus, subtiliter griseo 



M 



apice dehiscentibus, singulatim prolongatis, perparum divaricatis, 



F. acute conjunctim rotundatis. Long. 2J — 2§ lin. 



Similar in form to X. nanus, but always of a tawny testaceous colour, with 

 fine scant grey pubescence, arranged more or less in lines on the elytra. The 

 antennse are not ringed with dark colour, but pallid like the rest of the body, 

 or at most a little browner at the extreme tips of some of the joints. The 

 elytra are relatively much longer and are narrowed and prolonged towards 

 their apices ; in the male strongly dehiscent at the suture ; they are a little 

 wider at the base than the base of the thorax, and have the usual lineated 

 punctuation from the base to the middle. The sutural stria is deeply sunk. 



Auckland, six examples (Mr. Lawson) ; Christchurch (Mr. Fereday), three 

 examples. 



The punctuation at the base of the elytra varies considerably. In some 

 specimens there are only two simple rows of punctures ; but in others there 

 are two or three rows, each composed of a large number of punctures, arranged 

 often without order. The difference is not sexual, but the two varieties are 

 strongly pronounced. 



Xylotoles pulchellus, n. sp. 

 X nana proxime affinis, at differt elytris magis ellipticis fusco fasciatis, 

 corpore subtus dense cinereo-tomentoso. Parvus, nigrocupreus, alutaceus, 

 pube grisea vestitus ; elytris ad humeros angustis, regulariter ellipticis, apice 



medium, altera apical! Long. 2\ 



fasciiformibus 



