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Reprinted from JOURNAL OF THE WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Vol. 37, No. 9, September 15, 1947

ENTOMOLOGY.——New eumolpid beetles from the West Indies.1  DORIS H. BLAKE, Arlingon, Va.

Described herein are three new species of beetles of the genus Metachroma Dejean (Coleoptera: Eumolpidae) from Puerto Rico that have come to light in the collection of Stuart T. Danforth recently acquired by the Museum of Comparative Zoology; three new species of Metachroma collected by P.J. Darlington in Oriente Province, Cuba; and two new species of Alethaxius Lefèvre, one from Isle Tortue off Haiti, collected by Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Leonard, and the other collected by J. Acuña at Moa, Oriente Province, Cuba.

Metachroma ensiforme, n. sp.
Fig. 1

About 3 mm in length, oblong-oval, shining pale yellow with reddish-brown markings on thorax and elytra; thorax finely and densely punctate except on the sides; elytra with only vestiges of striate punctation except for the strong punctures below the basal callosity and in the intrahumeral sulcus. Aedeagus unusually long and slender.

Head with interocular space less than half its width. Occiput and vertex with a faint obsolete punctation tending to give a wrinkled appearance; a deep groove about base of antennal sockets and connecting across lower front. Antennae pale with the outer joints slightly deeper in color and thicker, extending below the humeri. Prothorax not twice as broad as long, with arcuate sides and a small acute tooth at each corner; an indented line running along basal margin and behind the eyes anteriorly; a slight depression over the head; surface thickly punctate except about the edges; yellowish brown with a deeper reddish-brown median area. Elytron with deep intrahumeral sulcus and an indented line across the base and down along the suture; punctation indistinct except in intrahumeral sulcus and below the basal callosity; yellow-brown with two short reddish-brown vittae extending over the basal callosity and a diagonal stripe from about the middle of the side down to the suture, forming on the combined elytra a wide open V; in poorly marked specimens only traces of these markings. Body beneath and legs pale yellow brown, shining, femora not toothed, claws with a long basal tooth. Length 2.7-3.1 mm; width 1.4-1.6 mm.

Type male and 4 paratypes, M. C. Z. no. 27677; 2 paratypes, U.S.N.M. no. 58356.

Type locality.——Pico Turquino, south side, 1,000-5,000 feet elevation, Oriente Province, Cuba, collected in June 1936 by P.J. Darlington.

Remarks.——The long, sword-shaped (although curved) aedeagus is unlike any that I have seen in this or related groups.

Metachroma imitans, n. sp.
Fig. 2

Length approximately 2.5 mm, ovate, shining deep reddish brown with paler legs and antennae; head and prothorax distinctly punctate; elytral punctation not very distinct over basal callosities and in apical half.

Head with interocular space nearly half as wide as head; shining and lightly punctate above, more coarsely and densely so between the eyes and in lower half; frontal tubercles indistinctly marked; no groove between the eyes. Labrum paler but jaws edged with deep brown. Antennae pale; second joint nearly twice as long as third; distal joints a little thicker and deeper in coloring; extending well below the humeri. Prothorax not twice as wide as long, with arcuate sides and a small acute tooth at each corner and an indented line along base and extending from the sides up behind the eyes on the anterior margin; surface shining deep reddish brown but not quite so dark over the head and moderately closely and distinctly punctate; a slight depression behind the head. Elytra very shiny deep brown; humeri well marked; a depression behind the basal callosity; an indented line of punctures along basal margin and down along the suture to the apex, otherwise lines of punctures not very distinct their entire length, nearly vanishing over the basal callosities and behind the middle; the punctures large in the intrahumeral sulcus and in depression below the basal callosities. Body beneath and legs paler, shining; femora without toothing; claws toothed. Length 2.3-2.5 mm; width 1.2 mm.

[[footnote]] 1 Received March 21, 1947. [[/footnote]]

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