50 



ON AUSTRALIAN COLEOPTERA OF THE FAMILY 

 MALACODERMIDAE. 



By Arthur M. Lea, F.E.S. 



(Contribution from the South Australian Museum.) 



[Read June 9, 1921.] 



The Malacodermidae of Australia, were revised by me in 

 1909/ 1 ) since when comparatively few species have been 

 named; but great attention having recently been paid to 

 the family, and the Blackburn collection containing many 

 novelties, many more species can now be added. 



Metriorrhynchtjs rhipidius, W. S. Macl. 



A specimen, from the Victorian Alps, may represent 

 another variety of this species, its rostrum is long, although 

 rather less than the average length of the species; but its 

 prothorax appears to be five-areolate in an unusual way : 

 from the central areolet three costae connect with the apex 

 (the two side ones are not very distinct from above, but are 

 distinct from the sides), so that there are two small medio- 

 frontal areolets, a fairly large central one, and a very large 

 one on each side; each of the lateral ones has a feeble trans- 

 verse elevation across part of its middle, but, as it is not in 

 the form of a distinct costa joined to the others, the pro- 

 thorax cannot be regarded as seven- areol ate. In all un- 

 doubted specimens of M. rhipidius that I have examined the 

 prothorax is distinctly seven-areolate. The specimen may be 

 an individual aberration, of which so many occur in the 

 genus. 



Metriorrhynchus foliattjs, Macl. 



There were two specimens standing in the Macleay 

 Museum as types of this species, and they agree exactly in 

 colour, but only one agrees in structure with the description; 

 it is a male. The other is a female, but certainly not of the 

 same species, its rostrum being much longer and thinner, and 

 prothorax of a very different shape; t have described it as 

 M. insignicornis. 



Metriorrhynchus serraticornis, Macl. 



Two females, from Cairns, probably belong to this species, 

 but have the hind femora, tibiae and tarsi, middle tibiae, 



(i) Lea, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lend., 1909, pp. 45-251. 



