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III. A Revision of Astathes, Neivm., and allied Genera of 

 Longicom Goleoptera. By Charles Joseph Gahan, 

 M.A. 



[Read February 8th, 1901.] 



Plate IV. 



The revision here offered of a small but interesting group 

 of Longicorn beetles is based upon an examination of the 

 types of nearly all the species hitherto described. M. 

 Rene Obei thiir was good enough to send me, for examina- 

 tion and comparison, the types of all the species of this 

 group described by the late James Thomson, as well as 

 some additional types and numerous specimens from his 

 collection. Most of the remaining species were described 

 by Newman and Pascoe, and the types of these are now 

 in the British Museum collection. I am indebted to 

 Dr. Meinert of Copenhagen for his kindness in enabling 

 me to identify the Fabrician species with much greater 

 certainty than could otherwise have been possible. I 

 have taken advantage of the opportunities thus afforded 

 me to redescribe many of the species, finding that the 

 descriptions already existing were in the majority of such 

 cases quite inadequate for their identification. Those 

 given by Thomson in his ' Systema Cerambycidarum ' 

 were short preliminary diagnoses, published, as the author 

 himself stated, " afin de prendre date " ; the full descrip- 

 tions which were said to be ready in MS., and were pro- 

 mised for publication in the following year, have not yet 

 appeared, nor are they likely ever to appear, in print. 

 Pascoe's species were described at somewhat greater length, 

 but in many cases, with insufficient attention to structural 

 details, a great drawback in dealing with a group where 

 so many of the species have a great resemblance in colour 

 and markings. Five species, referable to the genus 

 Astathes, and all quite distinct from one another, were 

 described by Fabricius. Four of these are placed together 

 I in the Munich Catalogue as synonyms or varieties of one 

 species ; and the fifth has been omitted from that work. 

 These facts alone are sufficient to show that a revision 

 of the group was greatly needed. The genera here dealt 

 TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1901. — PART I. (APRIL) 



