69 
PLATE XIX. 
DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME CETONIIDiE FROM TROPICAL AFRICA. 
MECYNORHINA POLYPHEMUS.— Fig. 1. 
This insect (of which the female is here figured) is of such extreme 
rarity that hitherto no other examples have been recorded than the 
male, which was described by Fabricius from the Banksian Cabinet, 
bequeathed to the Linmean Society by Sir J. Banks (but which 
was stolen from thence between the years 1826 and 1836) ; and the 
male, which Mr. Gory now possesses in his cabinet *. The account 
given of the habitat of the latter specimen, by Messrs. Gory and 
Perclieron, in their (Monograpliie des Cetoines), is very vague, and 
it is due to the scientific world that a precise statement should be 
made by the former of these gentlemen as to the.manner in which 
his specimen came into his possession, especially as it is known that 
several French Entomologists were allowed to inspect the Banksian 
collection during the period above-mentioned. 
The male differs from the female in having the head singularly 
cornuted (fig. 1 cl ), and in having the anterior tibise internally 
dilated at the base and armed with several teeth, the outside being 
also 8-dentate (fig. 1 e), the middle tibiae having one small middle 
tooth; and the hind tibiae destitute of teeth. The female, on the 
other hand, has the head rather emarginate in the front and not cor¬ 
nuted; the fore tibiae are only 3-dentateon the outside, the middle 
tibiae bi-dentate, and the hind tibiae 1-dentate in the middle. I have 
been extremely careful in the delineation of the pale spots and 
markings, for the purpose of showing that in this respect the species is 
variable , and consequently if M. Gory’s or any other specimen shall 
be found to correspond zuith Olivier s figure drawn from the Banksian 
specimen , in the position of the spots and markings, it will be 
impossible to arrive at any other conclusion than that such specimen 
is the identical one stolen from the Banksian Cabinet. 
I am indebted to J. Turner, Esq., of Manchester, for an oppor¬ 
tunity of making known, for the first time, the female of this 
* Dr. Burmcister informs me (14th of November, 1841,) that M. Dupont possesses a male. 
