1900.] Catalogue of the Coleoptcra of South Africa. 153 



inwards ; antennas as in Onitis and Chcironitis ; head l3roadly 

 triangular, sharply acuminate and very distinctly recurved at apex, 

 gense projecting ; prothorax one-third broader than long, ampliated 

 and rounded laterally at middle, foveate on each side ; scutellum 

 small, but distinct ; elytra as broad as the base of the prothorax, a 

 little ampliate from the humeral angle to about the middle, and 

 attenuate from there to the apex, not sinuate laterally, somewhat 

 plane, they have nine narrowly geminate striae on each side and the 

 ninth interval is produced into a very high, somewhat recurved 

 carina ; epipleura very narrow ; pygidium vertical ; prosternum 

 normal, mesosternum narrow, separated from the metasternum by 

 a raised line, metasternum broad ; legs as in Onitis, basal tarsal 

 joints dilated. 



Apart from the general facies, which is indeed very different, the 

 distinctive character of this genus is the shape of the second and 

 third joints of the labial palpi. 



Neonitis poeculus, Bohem., 

 Plate XXXIX., fig. 20. 

 Ins. Caffr., ii., p. 260. 



Dark cyaneous blue, turning sometimes to greenish blue on the 

 prothorax ; head densely granulate ; antennae cyaneous with the club 

 black ; prothorax densely covered with closely set, very elongate 

 granules, convex from near the base, marginate all round, bi-impressed 

 above the centre of the base, and having a very faint, smooth, median 

 longitudinal line in the anterior part ; elytra somewhat ampliate and 

 rounded laterally from the humeral angle to a short distance from 

 the middle, and a little attenuate gradually from there to the apex, 

 moderately plane, but with the suture slightly raised near the posterior 

 declivity, very finely striate with the intervals plane, finely but not 

 closely punctulate, the ninth interval, however, is very highly and 

 sharply carinate from the base to three -fourths of the length, not 

 at all sinuate, deeply impressed laterally inwardly and sometimes 

 serrulate at tip ; the humeral callus is very distinct ; pygidium 

 vertical, finely granulose, metasternum finely granulate laterally, 

 asperoso-punctate in the centre, and having a shallow, median, 

 longitudinal line reaching from base to apex ; the two basal impres- 

 sions are hardly distinct. 



Male: Clypeus rounded but a little elongate, and produced in the 

 centre into a distinct, recurved, sharp, compressed tooth, genae pro- 

 jecting much beyond the line of the clypeus, the head has a frontal 



