The Caralrid genus Pheropsophus. 203 



parison of his insect with P. discicollis he assumed that P. 

 catoirei was an insect with a similarly bordered thorax, 

 whereas the diagnosis refers to it as " immaculate " in 

 express contrast to that of P. discicollis. Similarly the 

 mention of larger humeral spot, broader apical band and 

 pro thorax wider anteriorly all apply to a species of which 

 the British Museum contains representatives from Calcutta, 

 Madras, Sind, Dacca, etc., but not to Chaudoir's species 

 with bordered thorax and black knees, which I propose to 

 call P. chaudoiri. This form, of which there are specimens 

 in our collection from Nepal, has a small humeral spot and 

 narrow apical border. P. lineifrons, Chaud., although closely 

 allied and regarded by its author as a variety only, appears 

 to me, after a comparison of numerous examples, to be 

 specifically distinct. 



P. nigricollis, sp. n. (Plate IX, fig. 2.) 



Kobustus, niger, parum nitidus, capite, linea media excepta, 

 pedibus, pectoris medio cum episternis posticis, elytrorum humeris, 

 macula magna media apiceque tenuiter testaceis ; a margine clypei 

 postica ad collum macula nigra sagittiforme currente ; prothorace 

 omnino nigro, paulo elongato, lateribus valde bisinuatis, disco 

 convexo, parcissime punctato ; elytris latis, humeris distinctis, deinde 

 fere ad apicem dilatantibus, lateribus arcuatis, costis fortibus, macula 

 humerali parva rotundata, fascia media lata, a marginibus laterali et 

 suturali angustissime separata, apice extremo costarumque extremi- 

 tatibus flavis, genubus subtiliter infuscatis. Long. 15-16 m.m. 



Hah. S. India, Bangalore. 



P. nigricollis is a form very close to P. himaculatus, L., 

 although according to Chaudoir's classification it should be 

 placed in the following section, the mark upon the head 

 extending from behind the eyes to the posterior border of 

 the clypeus. The head and thorax are distinctly narrower 

 than those of P. bimaadatus, and the latter is wholly of a 

 pure shining black colour, but the shape and coloration of 

 the elytra are almost the same as in that species. I have 

 seen exceptional specimens in which there are traces of 

 red upon the thorax. 



M. Oberthur has sent me a remarkable variety of P. 

 himaculatus in which the elytral band has united with the 

 humeral spot and suffused two-thirds of the elytra, only 

 the posterior third, the sutural line (slightly expanded 

 below the scutellum), and two vestiges below the shoulder 



