Notes and Tabulation of the Australian amaryg- 

 MiN/E (Family tenebrionid>e). with descriptions- 

 of New Species- 



By H. J. Carter, B.A., F.E.S., Corresponding Member. 



[Read April 10, 1913.] 



In 1892-3 Mr. Blackburn published his revision of this; 

 group, and rendered a notable service to our knowledge of 

 this numerous and little-known sub-family, by giving an 

 elaborate tabulation thereof. Since that date Mr. Blackburn 

 has himself described several species, Herr Gebien has 

 described seven, and the author now proposes to add twenty- 

 two more. Further, a good deal of information has been 

 available to the author, especially in access to the Macleay 

 types and a visit to the Hope Museum at Oxford in 1907, 

 so that it is now possible to correct some of the unavoidable 

 inaccuracies made in the revision referred to above, while it 

 is hoped that future workers will find some assistance in the- 

 present notes and tables towards a more complete accuracy. 

 Mr. Blackburn's table is sometimes obscured by the use of 

 characters inconsistent with his descriptions, e.g., C. incon- 

 spicuus is placed amongst species ''with ocular sulcus, "^ 

 whereas in the description he says "sulcis ocularibus nullis."" 

 Again with C. longiusculus his table says "interstices convex 

 and impunctulate," whereas in the description he says "inter- 

 stitiis rotundo-elevatis sparsim sabtilissime elevatis" (sic); 

 the last word being presumably a misprint for "punctatis." 



In the tabulation given below, the author has differed 

 materially from Mr. Blackburn's system — (1) In attempting 

 what is hoped will prove a simpler scheme for identification 

 of species: (2) in paying less regard to the "ocular sulcus" as 

 a character that is clearly defined in but few species : (3) in 

 paying more consideration to colour — especially of the pro- 

 notum; with one or two specified exceptions in the species 

 having a black pronotum that character is constant, and 

 therefore forms a convenient character for division in a large 

 genus; where, however, the "ocular sulcus" is well defined 

 it has been also utilized : (4) the ratio of length to breadth 

 is a generally constant character, and serves admirably for 

 tabulation; some hundreds of measurements have been made 

 to prove this, and the author would suggest the term 

 ''rational index" to denote this ratio. 



Mr. Blackburn's corroboration of Blessig's separation of 

 Amarygmtis from Chal copter us is amply confirmed by the 



