NORTH AMERICAN BOSTRICHIDAE 115 



Genotype. — Octodesmus epistemalis Lesne. (Present designation.) 

 Lesne (1901) erected Octodesmus for 2 species, Xylopertha parvulus 

 Lesne and Octodesmus epistemalis Lesne, both from India, the former 

 described from a single female and the latter from 11 examples includ- 

 ing both sexes. No genotype was designated by Lesne. 



Octodesmus episternalis Lesne 



(utodcsmus epistemalis Lesne, 1901, Soc. Ent. de France Ann. (1900) 69: 617, 

 01S-G20, figs. 470-472; 1938, in Junk (pub.), Coleopt. Cat., pt. 161, p. 61. 



Male. — Brownish yellow, with pronotum and apical declivity of 

 elytra reddish, the head and anterior tibiae dark reddish brown. 



Head slightly convex, vaguely, transversely concave behind eyes, 

 glabrous, densely, finely granulose on front, with fine, longitudinal, 

 parallel costae on occiput; clypeus slightly convex, coarsely densely 

 punctate or rugose, deeply depressed at middle along posterior mar- 

 gin, the anterior margin with a short, median lobe, which is sub- 

 truncate at apex; clypeal suture feebly indicated at middle. 



Pronotum subequal in length and width, widest behind middle ; sides 

 broadly, strongly rounded, more strongly converging anteriorly, with 

 a small broad tooth near apical angles; posterior angles broadly 

 rounded ; surface glabrous posteriorly with numerous long, erect hairs 

 along lateral margins on apical half ; smooth and indistinctly punctate 

 on basal half, rather densely, irregularly dentate on apical half, the 

 teeth broad, semierect, variable in size, and rasplike. 



Elytra at base subequal in width to pronotum behind middle ; sides 

 nearly parallel, sinuate, thickened, and strongly elevated along apical 

 declivity, triangularly separated at sutural margins ; surface glabrous, 

 finely, densely punctate on basal two-thirds, impunctate and indis- 

 tinctly granulose on apical declivity; apical declivity abruptly, 

 obliquely deflexed, concave, the sutural margins strongly, narrowly 

 elevated, and sparsely punctate on tops ; each elytron with a long, acute, 

 slightly arcuate spine at middle along exterior margin of apical 

 declivity. 



Abdomen beneath indistinctly punctate, sparsely clothed with short, 

 recumbent, inconspicuous hairs ; last visible sternite broadly rounded 

 at apex. Metasternal episternum very large, convex, arcuate on inner 

 margin. Anterior tibiae strongly expanded at apices, feebly, longi- 

 tudinally concave on inner surface; anterior and posterior tibiae 

 clothed with long, white hairs. 



Female. — Differs from the male in having the lateral margins of the 

 elytra dentate on the underside near the sutural angles, the last visible 

 abdominal sternite deeply emarginate at the apex, and the preceding 

 sternite armed with two very fine spines at the middle of the posterior 

 margin. 



Length 4-5.5 mm., width 1.4-1.7 mm. 



Type locality. — "Carin Cheba and Asciuii Cheba," altitude 900 to 

 1,300 meters, Burma; and northern India. Types in the Genoa ami 

 Paris Museums and the Oberthiir Collection. 



Distribution. — This species has been recorded only from the type 

 localities. Two specimens were intercepted at Boston, Mass.. August 

 9, 1916, in bamboo from Mavniyo, Burma. So far as known, it lias 

 not become established in the United States. 



Hosts. — Nothing has been recorded on the habits of this species. 



