627 



Readily distinguished from all previously described 

 Australian species of the genus by its elytra much paler than 

 the prothorax. On most of the specimens the hind femora 

 are rather deeply infuscated in the middle. Nine specimens 

 were taken at Ooldea by Capt, White; a specimen in rather 

 poor condition, apparently belonging to this species, was 

 taken between Karoonda and Peebinga by Mr. G. E. H. 

 Wright. 



Megamerus. 



The sexual differences in this genus vary considerably 

 with the species. On the male of Kingi the apical joint of 

 each palpus is considerably dilated to the apex (subtriangular), 

 with the apex obliquely truncated and hollow; the basal 

 segment of its abdomen is shallowly grooved along the middle, 

 and the groove has denser clothing than on the adjacent parts 

 (on one male before me, however, the basal segment is not 

 grooved, and is but little less convex than on the female), 

 and the apical segment is feebly depressed in the middle. On 

 the female the apical joint of each palpus is much less 

 dilated < 39 ) (subelliptic), the basal segment of the abdomen is 

 strongly convex along the middle, and the apical segment is 

 nowhere depressed. The species varies considerably in size 

 (8|-10^ mm.), and some specimens are more rugose than others. 

 It appears to be confined to Queensland, and has the hind 

 tibiae much more acutely produced at the outer apex than all 

 the other species here dealt with. 



The type < 4 °) of mandibular is is a male, with the apical 

 joint of each palpus even more dilated than on the male of 

 Kingi; the apical half of each mandible is highly polished, 

 subelliptic in shape, and deeper than wide; it appears to be 

 scooped out where it slopes upwards to the basal half; the 

 basal segment of the abdomen is vaguely depressed along the 

 middle, but is without special clothing there. 



Two new species are here described ; but I am also 

 acquainted with two others, of which one is very small (10 J 

 mm.) and represented by a single female from Queensland in 

 the National Museum ; of the other there are two females 

 in the South Australian Museum from Derby and Menzies 

 (the specimen from the latter locality is 33 mm., larger than 

 any species of the family as yet recorded from Australia) ; the 

 larger species has mandibles much as on man dibit Jar is and 



(39) Jacoby, in Wytsman's Gen. Insect. Fasc, xvi., p. 2, 

 assumed the shape of the apical joint of the palpi to be constant, 

 but it is liable to both sexual and specific variation. 



(40) We are indebted to Mr. Kershaw, of the National 

 Museum, for a loan of the type. 



