60 Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society. 



BYESOPS, Schh., 

 Gen. Cure, ii., p. 408 (1834). 

 Cryptops, Schh., Cure. disp. meth., p. 65 (1826), nom. praeocc. 



Head with the superciliary ridges elevated, eyes depressed, sub- 

 triangular, acuminate inferiorly. Eosteum shorter than the pro- 

 thorax, sHghtly dilated towards apex and subangulated dorsally ; 

 the entire apical margin reflexed, roundly sinuate in middle and 

 with the exterior angles prominent ; mandibles deflected and without 

 a scar ; submentum with a distinct projection behind the mentum ; 

 scrobes sharply deflected, passing obliquely below the eye and 

 widely separated beneath. Antenna short, rather slender; scape 

 abruptly clavate ; funicle with joint 1 a little longer, and distinctly 

 broader, than 2, 3-7 much shorter and submoniliform ; club short 

 ovate, compressed, acuminate, 4- jointed. Thorax unarmed laterally, 

 ocular lobes strongly developed, dorsal lobe simply rounded ; 

 prosternum with a very deep channel in front of the coxae, the 

 latter contiguous and placed very close to the posterior margin ; 

 meso- and meta-sternum with the side-pieces fused and the sutures 

 obsolete, the intermediate coxae either contiguous or separated, the 

 posterior coxal cavities rounded outwardly and widely separated 

 from the elytral margin. Elytra very variable, their sides very 

 abruptly inflexed. Abdomen with the three intermediate segments 

 subequal, the first separated from the second by a straight suture, 

 the intercoxal process broadly truncate. Legs rather elongate, 

 femora sublinear; tibiae straight, subcylindrical, shortly lobate 

 externally at apex, mucronate internally ; tarsi elongate, sublinear, 

 squamose and setose beneath, joint 3 not dilated nor lobate, but 

 shallowly excavate, joint 4 very long and stout ; claws very large, 

 free. 



The attempt to revise this very difficult genus on a satisfactory 

 basis has been immensely facilitated by the fine amount of material 

 accumulated by Mr. L. P^ringuey, Director of the South African 

 Museum, the whole of which he has kindly submitted to me for 

 examination. For it is only by the study of long series of specimens 

 that it is possible to arrive at an approximate conclusion as to what 

 constitutes a specific distinction in a genus which presents so high 

 a degree of variability in those structural characters which are 

 generally utilised for discriminating species. My grateful thanks are 

 also due to Prof. Dr. Aurivillius, who, with his usual courtesy, not 

 only sent me all the valuable types of Gyllenhal and Boheman 

 extant at Stockholm, but also procured for me several of Thunberg's 

 types from Upsala ; to Prof. Bouvier and M. P. Lesne, of the Paris 



