184 



The pubescence is rather longer than is usual in the genus. 

 The distance between the eyes of the male is about 

 equal to the thickness of the basal antennal joint. 



Xylophilus mundus, Blackb. 



This species occurs in Queensland (Dalby), New South 

 Wales (National Park), and South Australia (Woodville), as 

 well as in Victoria. The basal marking of the elytra is 

 usually ill-defined and occasionally absent ; the median fascia 

 is rather wide at the sides, and towards the suture is narrowed 

 and directed slightly forwards, but on an occasional specimen 

 is broken up into two large disconnected spots; the apical 

 infuscation is more or less triangular and narrowly advanced 

 along the suture to join in with the median fascia. One of 

 the specimens from Dalby has the dark parts of the elytra 

 considerably increased in size, and of the same shade (rather 

 deeper than usual) of colour as the head and prothorax, as 

 a result the pale portions on each elytron appear as two rather 

 narrow curved lines : of these the first is semicircular, com- 

 mences at the scutellum and ends on the shoulder, and the 

 second commences near the suture behind the median fascia, 

 curves round, and is then suddenly dilated to the side. 



Xylophilus alpicola, Blackb. 



There are numerous specimens of this species before me 

 from New South Wales (Nepean River, Sydney, National 

 Park, and Forest Peefs) and one from Northern Queensland ; 

 but only three have the palpi dark ; on all the others they 

 are no darker than the antennae. As suspected by Blackburn 

 the armature of the hind femora is confined to the males. 



Xylophilus immaculatus, Lea. 



Two specimens (beaten from eucalypti on Mount Welling- 

 ton) differ from the type of this species in having a 

 conspicuous reddish spot on each shoulder, the two lightly 

 separated by the suture; on one of them there is also a large, 

 dingy, ill-defined reddish spot towards the apex of each 

 elytron ; but it is scarcely traceable on the other. On the type 

 the elytra at first glance appear to be uniformly dark, but on 

 close examination and in a good light may be seen to be not 

 as dark about the shoulders as elsewhere; its elytra! punctures 

 are dense, sharply defined, and of moderate size ("minutely" 

 was certainly not the correct word to use for them), but 

 become smaller posteriorly. The Tasmanian specimens are 

 males, and have the eyes somewhat closer together than on 

 the type, the antennae longer, none of the joints transverse, 



