34 



One male has the body black with the apical half (but 

 not tip) of rostrum and the legs (the tarsi excepted) flavous, 

 but with the knees and tip of tibiae infuscated, and its an- 

 tennas (including the club) flavous-red. Two other males have 

 the elytra dark-reddish-brown, except the base apex and 

 suture (the two colours obscurely limited) and the apical half 

 of rostrum and the antennae of a similar brown ; two females 

 have the knees much darker than in the males, with the 

 rostrum and antennae very obscurely diluted with red in 

 parts. The clothing appears to be easily abraded, at least on 

 the upper surface. On the elytra it is usually transversely 

 infuscated (to about the fourth interstice on each) about the 

 middle, the infuscate patch sometimes feebly extending to- 

 wards the base. The rostrum of the male is sparsely clothed 

 almost to the apex, but in the female it is clothed only to- 

 wards the base. 



Apion vertebrale, n. sp. 



Of a rather bright-reddish-brown; scutellum, suture, 

 under surface, head and parts of rostrum black, legs flavous 

 but in parts infuscate. Moderately densely clothed with 

 stramineous pubescence, paler and denser on under than 

 upper surface. 



Head with dense more or less concealed punctures. Ros- 

 trum very lightly curved ; in male fairly stout, very little 

 longer than prothorax and feebly decreasing in width from 

 base to apex; with moderately dense punctures, more or less 

 concealed on basal half ; in female thinner and considerably 

 longer and with smaller but less concealed punctures. An- 

 tennae inserted at about one-third from base of rostrum. 

 Prothorax and elytra much as in the preceding species, except 

 that the prothorax is longer and with smaller punctures, and 

 that the elytral interstices are more convex and wider. 

 Length, 2J-2J mm. 



Hah. — New South Wales: Ourimbah (Macleay Museum 

 and E. W. Ferguson), Gosford (H. J. Carter). 



In build and clothing much like amabile, but prothorax 

 and elytra pale. In build close to congestum, from which it 

 is distinguished by the different colour of prothorax and the 

 tarsi not entirely dark. In my table it would be associated 

 with foveicolle, teretirostre, and fuscosuturale, all of which 

 are much smaller and from Western Australia. 



The margins of the elytra, except at the tip, are usually 

 blackish, the coxae trochanters and claws are black or black- 

 ish, with the tips of the tarsal joints and sometimes the knees 

 and tips of tibiae infuscate : sometimes also the femora are 

 feeblv infuscated in the middle. The rostrum of the male 



