188 



The male differs from the female in having the club of 

 the antennae much larger, abdomen much less strongly convex 

 along middle (but without a conspicuous median impression) 

 and tibial dentition not quite the same. 



Tapinoschema lacunosa, Janson. 

 PI. xiii., figs. 170, 171. 



The type of this species was described as a female, 10 

 lines in length and as from Western Australia. Each of its 

 four front tibiae were described as being armed with two ex- 

 ternal teeth, but in the figure (plate vii., fig. 3) three are 

 shown. 



A female from Tarcoola (South Australia), in Mr. 

 French's collection, apparently belongs to the species. It is 

 entirely black, except for a slight-bluish gloss on the elytra, 

 and 10 lines in length. Its middle tibiae are armed at the 

 tip with two strong blunt teeth (one of which should be re- 

 garded as external) and two long inner spurs ; towards the 

 external base there are two teeth close together. The front 

 tibiae are armed with three strong teeth, of which the front 

 one is more acute than the others, and slightly more distant 

 from the second than the latter is from the third. 



Metallesthes metallescens, White, 

 var. unicolor, Macl. 



This species is fairly common in many parts of South 

 and of Western Australia. In length it varies from 17 to 21 

 mm. The typical form is black, with a distinct coppery gloss, 

 but on many specimens the gloss is almost or quite absent, 

 and an occasional specimen has a bluish gloss. 



Fresh specimens in good condition have the whole of the 

 upper-surface fairly densely clothed with rather long hair, 

 varying from ashen to sooty. But it appears to be easily 

 abraded, especially from the head and prothorax, so that these 

 sometimes are quite glabrous, or at least with very short setae 

 confined to the punctures, and not rising to the general level. 

 Sometimes the disc of the prothorax is glabrous and the sides 

 fairly densely clothed. 



The male has a wide but rather shallow abdominal im- 

 pression. Its front tibiae are strongly tridentate; the middle 

 tibiae are acutely dentate at apex and obtusely near the base, 

 the hind ones are feebly dentate near the base and middle, 

 the teeth being invisible from certain directions. From some 

 directions the hind tibiae are seen to be quite regularly ser- 

 rated on the outer side, the serrations being due to numerous * 

 oblique impressions. 



