230 



The hairs are more conspicuously golden and denser on 

 the pygidium than elsewhere. In Blackburn's table the 

 species would be associated with macleayanus, from which, as 

 from all other species except variolosus and pilosus, it may be 

 readily distinguished by the long erect clothing of the upper- 

 surface; from the two latter species it may be distinguished 

 by the quilled claws ; in general appearance it is strikingly 

 close to variolosus. 



Maechidius stradbrokensis, n. sp. 



Blackish, some parts obscurely paler, antennae and palpi 

 reddish. Head and prothorax with rather long, stiff, erect, 

 rusty-red bristles, somewhat similar but shorter and paler ones 

 on pygidium, elytra with subdepressed whitish setae, and a 

 few suberect bristles; under-surface and legs with moderately 

 dense, short, curved setae. 



Head with large dense punctures between eyes. Clypeus 

 strongly convex and with crowded punctures in middle, widely 

 emarginate in front, each side with two triangular teeth, and 

 a longer and more obtuse one extending to base. Antennae 

 with club three-jointed. Prothorax about twice as wide as 

 long, sides obtusely serrated, front angles produced, base 

 strongly notched on each side; punctures large, round, and 

 shallow. Elytra almost parallel-sided to near apex; with 

 rows of large, elliptic, ring punctures. Pygidium with a 

 large median fovea. Front tibiae strongly tridentate; each 

 claw with a conspicuous basal quill. Length, 9-ll"5 mm. 



Hah. — Queensland: Stradbroke Island, in December (H. 

 Hacker). Type, in Queensland Museum ; cotype, I. 10795-, 

 in South Australian Museum. 



In general appearance somewhat close to a species doubt- 

 fully identified by Blackburn as emarginatus, with which it 

 would be associated in his table, but readily distinguished by 

 the stiff bristles of the head and prothorax ; on excisicollis the 

 prothorax has much thinner setae, and the basal excavations 

 and elytral sculpture are different; insularis is much smaller 

 and otherwise very different. 



Maechidius hopeanus, Westw. 



M. obscurus, Macl. 



The types of obscurus agree with specimens identified 

 (correctly I think) by Blackburn as hopeanus. Macleay 

 described the prothorax as "shallowly bifoveate near the 

 sides with the median line lightly marked." One of the 

 specimens certainly appears to be bifoveate, but the other has 

 vague depressions only (much as on typical specimens of 



