Note on a New Termitophilous Coleoptera 



fOUIld in Formosa (Ziaelas formosanus). 



By 



Sanji Hozawa, Rigakushi. 



Zoological Institute, Science College, Imperial University of Tokyo. 



With Plate VI. 



Among the specimens of termitophilous insects collected by me 

 during my studies on the Termites of Japan and Formosa, I have 

 found a curious beetle which is apparently a very close ally of Ziaelas 

 ifisolitzis Fairmaire, but seems to be distinguishable from this species 

 in some respects. I propose to call it Ziaelas formosamis. 



The genus Ziaelas was established by Fairmaire 1;> in 1892 as a 

 new Tenebrionid genus, with the single species Z. insolitits. The 

 genus and species were based on specimens obtained by M. A. Sallé 

 at Hué, Annam. Subsequently the species was placed by Wasmann 2 ' 

 under his new family, the Rhysopaussidae, 3 ^ which constitutes a re- 

 markable group of termitophilous Coleoptera. The species is also found 

 included in the lists of the Rhysopaussidae, in the papers of Gestro, 4> 



1) Fairmaire, L. ; Ziaelas n. g. insolitus n. sp. Ann. Soc. Entom. France, LXI, 1892. 

 Bull., pp. CX-CXI. 



2) Wasmann, E. ; Neue Termitophilen und Termiten aus Indien. IV (Nachtrag). 

 Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, (2) XVII (XXXVII), 1896-97, pp. 149-152, fig. 1, a, h. 



3) The family Rhysopaussidae Wasmann [Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, (2) XVI (XXXVI), 

 1896, p. 613) has been adopted by Fea [Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, (2) XVII (XXXVII), 

 1896-97, p. 5S5], Gestro [Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, (2) XX (XL), 1899, p. 743], [Ann. Mus. 

 Civ. Genova, (3) V (XLV), 191 1, p. 5], Fairmaire [Bull. Soc. Entom. France, 1900, No. 3, 

 p. 45], Escherich [Die Termiten. Leipzig, 1909, p. 137], etc. Recently the group was 

 treated of as a subfamily of the Tenebrionidac by Wasmann [Zeitschr. f. Wiss. Zool., Bd. 

 101, 1912, pp. 70, 82-84.] 



4) Gestro, R. ; Un nuovo genere di Rhysopaussidae. Ain. Mus. Civ. Genova, (2) XX 

 (XL), 1899, p. 748. 



