292 



contracted posteriorly" (the type of ruficollis was noted as 

 having the sides of the prothorax abnormal, but on normal 

 specimens they are more abruptly narrowed posteriorly than 

 anteriorly). But no doubt Mr. Champion was satisfied, from 

 examination of the typical species, that the differences noted 

 were only specific. 



There are five specimens before me that appear to belong 

 to ruficollis, but the colours of only one of these (from the 

 Blue Mountains, in Mr. Carter's collection) agree exactly 

 with the description. Of the others (all from Tasmania), one 

 has the knees and tarsi quite as dark as the rest of the legs, 

 one has the prothorax reddish, but with a large somewhat 

 circular blackish blotch occupying most of the disc ; the other 

 two are entirely black, except that parts of the legs and 

 mouth-parts are obscurely piceous ; one of these is the speci- 

 men previously commented upon by Blackburn (ante, 1889, 

 p. 84). 



Techmessa bifoveicollis, n. sp. 



Black, shining; prothorax, scutellum, prosternum, 

 mesosternum, muzzle, two basal joints of antennae, palpi, 

 and legs (tarsi and apical parts of tibiae lightly infuscated) 

 flavous. Clothed with not very dense, semidecumbent and 

 upright pubescence or setae, similar in colour to the derm 

 supporting them. 



Head wide, strongly narrowed to base and apex ; with 

 dense and sharply defined, but not very large punctures. Eyes 

 large, prominent, and lateral. Antennae moderately long, 

 second joint short, third just perceptibly shorter than fourth, 

 the others very feebly decreasing in length and very feebly 

 increasing in width, but eleventh distinctly longer than tenth. 

 Prothorax distinctly transverse, sides increasing in width from 

 apex to near middle, and then arcuate to base ; with a large 

 round fovea on each side of middle of disc, and with a rather 

 shallow median line ; punctures dense but not very deep. 

 Scutellum densely punctate. Elytra much wider than pro- 

 thorax, parallel-sided to the rounded apex ; with dense and 

 moderately large, sharply-defined punctures. Legs moder- 

 ately long and thin, penultimate joint of tarsi strongly pro- 

 duced under claw joint. Length, 4 mm. 



Hah. — Queensland: Mount Tambourine (A. M. Lea). 

 Type (unique), I. 6653. 



Smaller and more sparsely clothed than ruficollis, and 

 with more of the legs pale ; the head is more convex and 

 more shining, the antennae shorter (although not much 

 shorter), with the joints more cylindrical, and the elytral 

 punctures not quite so crowded. In general appearance it is 

 like a small H eteromastix, of the Malacodermidae . The elytra 



