152 



and near coxae. Femora edentate; claws bifid. Length, 

 5j-6^ mm. 



'^Eah. — Queensland: Somerset (L. M. d'Albertis), Boweu 

 (Aug. Simson), Charters Towers (Blackburn's collection), 

 Cairns (E. W. Ferguson, H. Hacker, and A. M. Lea) ; North- 

 western Australia : Roebuck Bay (C. French) ; Northern Ter- 

 ritory : Port Essington (British Museum). Type, I. 3055. 



In general appearance strikingly close to nniformis, but 

 prothorax shagreened, head with the median impression very 

 faint, and the clypeus not distinctly separated from the face. 

 These differences are quite conspicuous on many specimens of 

 both species in the Museum; but the colours and variations 

 of same are so similar as to suggest a doubt of their specific 

 distinctness. The head, prothorax, and scutellum are usually 

 brassy-black or brassy-green, but occasionally shade off to 

 deep-blue or even purple ; the elytra are usually of a deep blue, 

 but occasionally are almost black or deep purple. Three speci- 

 mens have brassy elytra with a vague greenish gloss, and have 

 the legs (and one even has the antennae) almost entirely dark. 

 One of the British Museum specimens was labelled (without 

 doubt in error) as from South Australia. 



Rhyparida flavolatera, n. sp. 

 PL vi., fig. 48. 



Black; labrum, sides, and apex^of elytra, palpi, base of 

 antennae, and legs (knees and tarsi excepted) flavous. 



Head shagreened ; with dense and rather small punctures, 

 becoming much larger on clypeus ; medio-frontal impression 

 short and deep, connected with the (usually well-defined) 

 clypeal suture. Eyes of moderate size and widely separated. 

 Prothorax about once and one-half as wide as long, all angles 

 distinctly armed ; with small and not very dense punctures on 

 disc, becoming slightly larger towards sides. 'Elytra suboblong, 

 considerably wider than prothorax ; with rows of large punc- 

 tures, becoming much smaller posteriorly ; interstices with very 

 sparse and minute punctures. Flanks of 'prosternum without 

 distinct striation. Femora edentate; claws bifid, the inner 

 ones acute and much smaller than the others. Length, 

 5J-6 mm. 



Hah. — North-western Australia (Blackburn's collection), 

 Roebuck Bay (C. French and H. H. D. Griffith) ; Queensland 

 (British Museum, from Aug. Simson). Type, I. 3066. 



The twenty-four specimens before me all agree in the pale 

 border to the elytra being continuous throughout, but at the 

 apex it dilates so that the major portion of the apical slope 

 is occupied, and it is sometimes irregularly advanced for a 

 short distance on each side of the suture. The pale borders 



