210 Proceedings of the 



(which terminates in a curved tooth), with a ridge running 

 along their upper side, interrupted or bent about one-third 

 from the base ; coarsely punctate or granulated on the upper 

 side; smooth and more finely punctate, and with much 

 more pubescence on the under side, particularly towards the 

 base. A row of small teeth on the inner side of each mandible. 

 Palpi dark brown; maxillary palpi longish. Antennae 10-jointed 

 — first joint long; second, third, and fourth, short and round 

 (third longest of the three) ; six last lamellar, gradually increas- 

 ing to the ninth, which has the longest lamella. They do not 

 differ from the antenna? of Sph. Prionoides, unless in that they 

 are comparatively thicker, and the lamella of the ninth joint is 

 perhaps more certainly longer than the tenth, while in Prio- 

 noides they are so nearly alike as to make it difficult to say 

 that the ninth is longest. Eyes divided by a canthus, into a 

 superior and inferior eye ; a ridge surrounding the upper half 

 of the eye like a circular eyebrow. Thorax coarsely punc- 

 tate, except on disk, where it is more sparingly punctate, and 

 has one or two prominences, shining and almost free from 

 punctures. A large longitudinal depression occurs on each 

 side in front behind the eyes, and an oblong transverse space 

 is partitioned off, as it were, at each of the posterior angles, 

 by two depressions, which join each other nearly at right angles. 

 There is a faint indication of a longitudinal dorsal line. In 

 front the thorax is of the breadth of the head, and gradually 

 becomes wider till about one-third of its length from the base, 

 when it turns and slopes off more abruptly in a sinuated line 

 towards the base, which is slightly emarginate. The pubes- 

 cence, combined with the slight cutting in on each side of the 

 body, give the appearance of a tooth projecting there a little 

 backwards. The space between the thorax and elytra, which 

 in all the species of this genus is rather broad, is covered with 

 a pubescence similar to that on the thorax, as is the scutellum, 

 which is large, and nearly semicircular. Elytra polished and 

 shining, and free from pubescence, covered with very minute 

 punctures, not perceptible to the naked eye, which in many 

 places run into each other, and give a sort of granular or sha- 

 greened appearance under the lens. Besides these, there are 

 larger punctures or depressions irregularly scattered over the 



