458 



PAUSSIDiE. 



with a large, more or less irregular, shining black spot on each 

 at the sides, not touching the suture r 

 reaching from a little before the apex to 

 about the middle, and with a small common 

 or divided black spot at the apical sutural 

 angle ; sides finely setose ; legs yellow. 

 Leyigth 6 milliin. 



United Provinces : Cawnpur, near 

 Saharunpur {Benson). 



Benson's original record is as follows: — 

 " I took two specimens, under a brick, 

 near the river Ganges, about fifty mile» 

 below Cavvnpore, last year (1844), and 

 this year (1845) I took one under a stone, 

 in a black ants'" nest between the Savalik 

 Range and Saharumpore." 



Fig. 208. 



Merismoderus bensoni. 



Genus PLATYRHOPALUS. 



Platyvhojxdm, Westwood, Trans. Linn. Soc. Loud, xvi, 1888,. 

 p. 654; id., Arcan. Ent. ii, 1845, p. 73; Raffray, Nouv. Arch. 

 Mils. Paris, (2) \iii, 1885, p. 344. 



Form somewhat elongate, oblong, robust ; head rather large, 

 eyes large, with the temples apparent behind them ; antennae 

 two-jointed, with a large elliptical, almost circular, or oblong club, 

 which is more or less incised externally at the base, the incision 

 forming a more or less pronounced tooth ; maxillae large, bilobed r 

 the inner lobe hooked, the outer styliform ; maxillary palpi 

 live-jointed, with the third joint large and thick, and the rest 

 small ; labial palpi three-jointed, the first joint small, the second 

 large and cylindrical, and the last smaller than the preceding ; 

 pronotum more or less plainly cordiform, transverse, or as broad 

 as long, much narrower at the base than the elytra ; elytra oblong, 

 parallel-sided, more or less depressed, with the shoulders not 

 strongly prominent ; legs rather short, compressed, with the apical 

 angle of the tibia? sharply produced, femora in part excavate to 

 receive the tibia?, tarsi comparatively short. 



Range. One African species is known ; the rest are all from 

 the Indian and Indo-Malayan regions, eight of these occurring in 

 India. 



Key to the Species. 



1. Club of antenna? elliptical or almost 

 circular, not or scarcely longer than 

 broad. 



i. Pronotum strongly transverse, much 

 constricted behind middle. 

 1 . Size larger (9mm.) ; form narrower ; 

 elytra with the marginal seta? 



short denticornis, Don., p. 459. 



