P. J. Darlington, Jr.
A New Paussid Beetle from Central America.
Psyche 44:56-57, 1937.

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Psyche
[March- June
A NEW PAUSSID BEETLE FROM CENTRAL AMERICA Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass. The following new species not only adds another to the few known New World forms of the interesting family Paussidae (cf. Kolbe, Entomologische Mitteilungen, Vol. 9, 1920, pp. 131-141 ; 145-156), but is the first record of the family from Central America.
Homopterus hondurensis n. sp. (Fig. 1)
Relatively slender (in genus) ; castaneous, moderately shining, appendages also castaneous; head posteriorly, pro- notum, and elytra moderately closely but not densely punc- tate with punctures of moderate size, head anteriorly more sparsely and irregularly punctate. Head by measurement about 9/10 width prothorax ; eyes very prominent ; occiput not swollen; front concave; antennae considerably longer than head and prothorax, formed'as shown in figure, with outer anterior edges of segments 3 to 9 slightly overlapping following joints (when antenna is straight), flattened joints closely and finely punctate at sides but much more sparsely so at middle; palpi normal for Homopterus. Prothorax formed as shown in figure; convex but not swollen dorsally; disk somewhat impressed near base at middle and on each side; median line fine, lightly impressed; margins narrow, slightly broader before basal angles. Elytra probably sub- parallel and about 1/3 wider than prothorax (somewhat warped from preservation in alcohol), unusually elongate for genus, with usual rather inconspicuous tubercle on outer side before apex. Femora and tibiae flattened, moderately broad (in genus), formed as shown in figure; tarsi shorter than width of tibiae at apex, retracted into excavated tibia1 apices. Pygidium closely punctate; abdomen much more finely and sparsely so. Length 7% mm.
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19371 New Paussid Beetle 57
Type a unique (M. C. Z. no. 22,502) from Lancetilla, Honduras, collected by Dr. Marston Bates. Lack of an occipital swelling apparently distinguishes this from the three previously described species of Homopterus. Otherwise the relatively narrow form and elongate antennae ally the new species to brasiliensis Westw. and bolivzanus Kolbe, although it differs from both in having a more nearly quadrate (less cordate) prothorax with more weakly arcuate sides. Hondurensis differs further from brasiliensis (but resembles bolivianw) in the overlapping of the edges of the antenna1 segments. I do not know either brasiliensis or Fig. 1. Hornopteru,~ hondurensis n. sp. (type) : outlines of pro- thorax, head, and right antenna, and of left middle leg from in front; from camera-lucida drawings.
bolivianus except from the literature, but the former has been figured in detail several times, and the latter is care- fully compared with it by Kolbe. I have, however, seen a specimen of Hornoptems steinbachi Kolbe, from Colombia. A sketch of the important segments of one antenna of this specimen has been compared with the type of steinbachi, and pronounced the same, through the kindness of Prof. Kolbe and the good offices of Dr. Walther Horn.



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