207 



appendage to each claw, the front claws of uneven size, and 

 the larger one enormously developed. To it he referred 

 Phyllotocus piisillus, Blanch., and six species which he sup- 

 posed to- be new — ruficollis, pallida, aphodioides, atra, 

 pygmaea, and lurida, but the last-named species it is neces- 

 sary to transfer to Phyllotocus. Subsequently he described 

 another species, vittatus, referring it, however, to Phyllotocus. 

 Blackburn also referred a new species, macleayi. to the genus, 

 but subsequently made it the type of a new one, Phylloto- 

 cidium. 



With long series of most species before me it seems pro- 

 bable that all the species of the genus are very variable in 

 colour, and that perfect males have the prothorax and elytra 

 sericeous, but that those parts are shining in the females. 

 The females of several species may be readily distinguished 

 inter se by the latero-posterior margins of the elytra being 

 notched or flanged. By the courtesy of Mr. Shewan I have 

 been able to examine all the specimens of the genus in the 

 Macleay Museum. 



Cheiragra pusilla, Blanch, (not Macl.). 

 G . pygmaea, Macl., <$ . 

 C. aphodioides, Macl., 9- 



From examination of the named specimens in the 

 Macleay Museum I am satisfied that Macleay wrongly identi- 

 fied pusilla (which presumably he regarded as the type of 

 the genus), and that the species he named pygmaea is the 

 real pusilla. The type was certainly a male, as its prothorax 

 was described as "nigro, opaco, hand pumtato" (punctures 

 are present but could be easily overlooked). 



Two specimens were labelled with a query as pusilla, 

 these are 4 mm. in length, and have the prothorax entirely 

 pale, they belong to forms 2 and 3 of ruficollis; three others 

 were labelled without a query as pusilla, and are still larger, 

 two are males and have the prothorax darker than the smaller 

 ones, they belong to forms 2 and 4 of ruficollis; the other is a 

 badly-damaged female close to form 7 of ruficollis. 



Four specimens standing under the name of aphodioides 

 in the Macleay Museum are all females of the real pusilla, 

 not one of them has the elytra black, or even much darker 

 than any of the others, the colour being of the same shade 

 as the base of the prothorax ; they all have conspicuous punc- 

 tures on the prothorax, and the front claws not enormously 

 developed. 



The species is the smallest of the genus; in the common 

 form of the male the head and prothorax are black and the 

 elytra pale, but with the sides widely infuscated or black 



