Illustrations zoology of south Africa

AN EXPEDITION INTO THE INTERIOR OF SOUTH AFRICA,FITTED OUT BY "THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE ASSOCIATION FOR EXPLORING CENTRAL AFRICA:' AND AN INQUIRY INTO THE GEOGRAPHICAL RANGES OF SPECIES IN

AN EXPEDITION INTO THE INTERIOR OF SOUTH AFRICA,

FITTED OUT BY

"THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE ASSOCIATION FOR EXPLORING CENTRAL AFRICA:'

AND AN INQUIRY INTO THE GEOGRAPHICAL RANGES OF SPECIES

IN THAT QUARTER OF THE GLOBE.

SURGEON TO THE FORCES, AND DIRECTOR OF THE EXPEDITION

^ublisIjtU uitBer ti)e auti)oiiti) of tl)c ILorTJd Commt^sliontrfi of ffitr iBajeitv'i Wvtaimv.

• i B R a i T

ILLUSTRATIONS

nail iTMiil— ajijM

CHIEFLY COLLECTED DCRIXG

AN EXPEDITION INTO THE INTERIOR OF SOUTH AFRICA,

FITTED OUT BY

BY W. S MACLEAY, ESQ M.A F.L.S.

HIS LATE majesty's COMMISSIONER AND JCDGE IN THE MIXED COURT OF JUSTICE

ESTABLISHED AT THE HAVANA

33ublisl;cl3 uiiDcv tlje autljoritu o£ tljc itoiHij £ommi£lStonn-£i of ^.tx IflajcStu'S CrcaSiirp

LONDON:

SMITH, ELDER AND CO CORNHILL.

MDCCCXXXVIII.

LOy DON

FEIXTiD 3T slKWAaX ASD SfUBSiT,

OLD BALLET

TO ZOOLOGISTS.

At the request of my friend Dr Smith, I have undertaken to lay before the public such Annulose forms collected by him in South Africa, as appeartobe most worthy ofnotice It mav be well that I should mention here mv havino- lately acquired, by purchase, the very extensive collection of Anmdosa made

better provided than I am with those materials which are necessary to enable

us to form accurate notions of South African entomology Upon this subject

to a certain degree be brought to bear.

In his descriptions of the vertebrated animals of the Cape, Dr Smith has adopted a plan of publication, which is at once convenient for himself and

for his readers The subjects which he brings under the notice of

natu-ralists, are by reason of their size and importance in the economv of

nature, sufficiently interesting to entitle each species to a distinct plate and

a long description He can, therefore, publish each animal in the order

arrangement, when his readers can either adopt it or bind up the work

according to that system which may most please their fancv. I need

scarcely say that the expense which would inevitably result from the adoption of any such mode of publication in the description of insects,

renders it impossible for me to follow Dr Smiths example A whole

plate devoted to a single species of annulose animal, would be obviously inconvenient for all parties, and to none more than to the purchasers of

this work. It becomes therefore necessary to place several figures in

one plate : the only valid objection to which plan is the difficulty of

necessarily contain figures of species that belong to very difierent groupes.

This evil, however, I shall endeavour to avoid, by describing as far as

B

2 TO ZOOLOGISTS.

convenient, my species in small natural groupes, and by confining each plate

as much as possible to the representation of species that are nearly allied

to each other Such a mode of proceeding, like that of Dr Smith, will

allow of the work, when concluded, being bound up according to that system

of arrangement which may appear to the reader most advisable to follow

I could wish that it had been in my power to describe these insects

according to the general plan commenced in the Ammlosa Javanica Several circumstances, however, prevent such a scheme being followed, among

which is the necessity in a work of this kind of each number possessing considerable variety But although I am about to describe the Annulosa of

South Africa in a miscellaneous order, I trust no one Mill detect symptoms

of my being tormented by that morbid thirst for naming new species

which makes so many modern works in entomology, rather magazines of undigested and insulated facts than harmonious histories of nature. It is

really distressing to see the philosophy of our science lost sight of in a puling passion for that miserable immortality which is made to depend on

the invention of some barbarous technical names We cannot even say

that the best entomologists are free from it, when we find the laborious author of the " Genera Curculionidmn," whose fame has arisen from his

study of nomenclature, shewing utter contempt of its laws The servation of the earliest name is a duty not so much to the name as to

pre-the science ; yet M Schonherr has in 1833, attempted to alter the names

of many genera published in 1825 in the appendix to Captain King's voyage.

I shall not follow so mischievous an example ; but as far as my humble

leading principle of nomenclature which is the right of priority This right,

in my opinion, is so necessary to be sustained, if we have any regard for the interests of natural history, that I shall never for one moment Avait to

consider whether the first namer of a species be an author of reputation

or not

I._ON THE CETONIIDiE OF SOUTH AFRICA.

In 1819 I distinguished a family of Petalocerous insects, under the name of CetoniidcB, that

had been originally marked out by Scopoli, as consisting of " Scarahai Anthophili." I

shewed their affinity and analogies to the other Petalocerous families, and characterized the

insectsintheir perfectstate areintendedto liveonvegetable juices; very fewexceptionsto thisgeneral construction being known to exist in the family I also described two or threenew

characterized, particulariy by MM. Lepelletier and Audinet de Serville, in the 10th volume

also, in a paper read before the Linnean Society, in 1824; and in a number of the

Zoo-logical Journal, published in 1827, has given to the worid some valuable remarks oncertain

now, I believe, concluded These gentlemen had the admirableintention of giving usin this

carelessness in the descriptions, in dates, and in names Considerable reading and research

consulted any other entomological work than Count Dejean's Catalogue Although

con-stantlyreferring tome, they do not seem to be acquainted with any thing I have wntten

1834 was printed in Paris, under the title of Annulosa Javanica As for Mr. Kirby, they

are entirely ignorant of his labours; and although they often in like manner make mention

of his name, it is clear that they never read any of his instructive paperson the Cetoniidw

Another great defect of this French monograph consists in the figures, which are only on

a level with those of Olivier, and unaccountably bad, when we call to mind the beautiful

the Monographie des Ciloines is the intention of its authors This it is which makes the

which has a right to be called a monograph; as it is not either a local catalogue, or the

4 ON THE CETONIIDjE OF SOUTH AFRICA.

the species which the authors could procure a sight of, whether in England, or on thecontinent If itwas a happythought to undertakea catalogue of such extent, we the more

reoret the way in which the undertaking has been executed In fact, MM Gory and

The subjects of their monograph are large, handsome, and easily preserved They were

therefore more likely to be brought from abroad than perhaps any other insects The

attainment Indeed, we mayfairly say, that with theexception perhaps ofCentral Africa, the

known MM Gory and Percheronappear never to have seen the noble collectionmade by my

father; and if their work had been more ably executed, I should have deeplyregretted my

fewgeneric forms, andeven species in my collection, which do notfind their portraits, such

as they are, in the 3Ionographiedes Cetoines

It will be easily understood, therefore, why I now commence with the description ofthe CetoniidcBof South Africa Itis not only because the Cape of Good Hope is the richest

ofall countries inthe species of thisbeautiful family,but because every person who is in session of the 3Ionographie des Cetoines may,toa certain degree, have the powerof studying

pos-analytically the affinities and analogies which I am about to explain, and of observing the

manner in which, I trust,the whole of organized nature will one day be wrought out

been long sensible of the great confusion existing between the words genera, sub-genera,sections, sidi-sections, kc I am naturally anxious to explain the meaning of these words, as

I shall in futureuse them

Every one knows that sometimes sub-genera, and at other times even sub-sections of

oenera, are inthe most unphilosophical manner published as genera Toooften wefind everything a genuswhich some gnathoclast, with Scapula in hand, has thought proper, in his good

pleasure,to call so. Some persons again there are, who on a first inspection can oracularlydecide that this groupe is a sub-genus,and thatanother groupe is of "full generic value." To

such clearness ofvision I can lay no claim; yet I cannot help thinkingthat there is a mode ofdiscovering the true subordination of these several kinds of groupes—nay, I am sure thisdiscoverywill everbe the result of calm patience, of keeping before our view a great number

of the species of any family, and finally of following up that aphorism of a distinguishedbotanist, which says, " Omnis sectio naturalis circulum, perse clausum, exhibet." When I

described the Geodephaga of the Annulosa Javanica, I had not that knowledge of a

sufficient number of the species, which was necessary to enable me to work out my

sub-ordinate groupes, and therefore I could only state that I did not exactly know wliich were

genera, and which were sub-genera If any one, for instance, were to publish a complete

monograph of the Linnean genera Carabus and Cicindela,afterthemanner which MM Gory

as well as to shew their reciprocal relations of affinity and analogy That, however, which

ON THE CETONIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA.

of affinities, which makes themdeliglit inthe grovelling task of making insulated descriptions

of new species, and idlyfancy thatharmony does not exist in the creation, because, forsooth,

there is no royal road

In order to exhibit the vagueness which hangs about the expressions — families,genera, and sub-genera, I cannot do better than cite from one of our late periodicals, thefollowing words of an author: "These families which M Wesm'ael has since raised to sub-

genera, but which I consider of full generic value," &c Here, the dispute obviously is,

whether a certain groupe be a family, a genus, or a sub-genus; and the first question thatpresents itself to the mind is, what was the writer's particular standard? He certainly seems

to have had some vague standard in his mind, for he talks of "full generic value." But

has this value everbeenaccurately defined, either by himself, or any one else? Nay,has

ofassertion, there is a latent disposition of the human mind to erect an arbitrary standard,

andyet there aresome genera of Mammalia where almost every species varies in the number

and form of its teeth; so that to adoptthe rule, we mustconsiderevery speciesof such genera

organs, such as those of fructification in phaenogamous plants, orthe teeth in 3Iammalia In

this sense it is evident that a genus may be made to signify any groupe whatever; as its

extentwill depend onthe nature of the structure selected The black and yellow Cetonice of

alsowill allvertebrated animals Cuvier's definition of agenus is, thatit is a certain number

of beings so nearly allied, that they differ from each otheronly in the leastimportant points oftheir conformation—that is, specifically A genus is, in fact,according to this naturalist, thesmallest natural groupe of species we can find Such indeed is the idea of a genus which

prevails in the minds of mostnaturahsts We see every littlegroupe of speciesforwhich theycan discover a character, immediately dubbed a genus; the absurdity of which is, that we

often find these very same persons again sub-dividing their " genera," although, accordingtotheir own definition, thegroupes were already in rank only immediately above species Even

sub-genera, nor that of sub-genera to sub-sections The word genus may be applied as by

It is not to be defined the smallest possible groupe of species here, and in another placeconsidered as a groupe which contains many other groupes of species This cannot be a

correct mode of using the word; although it may, from our ignorance of created species,

6 ON THE CETONIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA.

sub-sections, &c &c or anyother names, we must not confound all these groupes together, but

arbitrary and artificial, since after all they must depend on the selection and good pleasure

certainly, these last must in some degree have depended on our selection But in fact,

these groupesare only chosen because they coincide with the affinities which exist in nature

an arbitraryvalue to particular characters; but toexpress all the relations, whether of affinity

all indicated by the arrangement, our object is gained; and itcan be no objection whatever

seta value upon, is at another time esteemed of little worth Indeed, it is obvious in every

part ofnatural history,that the most important characters break down in certain species,

and become at times perfectly worthless Comparatively constantasis the structure of theteeth in the genera of Mammalia generally, we find in some groupes,such as the Edentata,

or the genus Rhinoceros,that the dentition variesextensively inalmostevery species Again,

osteology, and so on Each pointof structure, being of the utmost consequence to animal

economy, is concludedbyits peculiar partisan to be thereforeinfallible asaground of

isunsafe to ride upon; and we are inour search foran accuratewayof expressingtherelations

which connect various beings, obliged to adopt another plan of calculating the value ofprinciples of arrangement

My plan, as is well known, has ever been not to estimate the value of any arrangement

by the valuein animal economyof the structure upon which thisarrangement isfounded, but

the birth of an arrangement which is universally applicable And yet, even tliis rule is

arrangement of that particular groupe, where we may happen to make use of it It is arule, moreover, that we cannot always with safety put in practice; foralthough with respect

use of a process of tatonnement We do not argue that such must be the groupe, becausesuch andsuch are, in our opinion, good and distinctcharacters; butwe say, such happensto

be the character, of no matter what

ON THE CETONIIDiE OF SOUTH AFRICA 7

which serves in some degree to insulate it from other groupes But it is evident that we

must previouslyhave arrived at the knowledge of the groupe ; andthis is effected bya close

watching of the variation of affinity, and by considering the groupe tobe complete onlywhen

the series of natural objects returnsintoitself It is more particularly when we have torily applied this test of the groupe's completeness,that we ought to look out for its naturalcharacter Still, after all, we may be wrong; we may sometimes imagine a groupe to returninto itself, when it does not; or we mayconsider wliat in reality are two groupes, to formonly one The best way I know of correcting such evils, is to recollect that the natural

study, and that if any of these are left unrepresented in our arrangement, there must be

some latent error, in the formation of our groupes I repeat, that the process is one oftatonnement The marsupial animals have clearly some kind of relation to Primates, toInsectivorous Ferce, to Edentata, and also to Glires Now, if a naturalist cannot expressall

theserelations, and at the same time all the various relations wliicli exist among the other

these animals If even wewere rightin any such comparative estimate of the importance of

is, the natural arrangement of the animals themselves; and that this is to be attained only

by the expression of every affinity, and every analogy that can be detected The unnatural

shall see among the Cetoniidw, that genera were erroneously separated from this family

certain parts of the mouth.

I have before alluded to the fact, that when a series ofaffinity is followed, it is observed

toreturn into itself, and thusto form a closed groupe Now, if we start from the principlethatwhena fewspecies^rsi agree in some particular character, they combine into a seriesthatwillreturn into itself, we shall probably imagine every such series, so forming a circle

in practice, to be in theoi-y the first natural assemblage of species Yet this will be an

incorrect mode of viewing the matter; forowing tothe rarity of its species, the first known

circular grouping of the species of Cryptodinus, for instance, is into sub-genera; whereas

the first known circular grouping of the species of CetoniidcB is into certain sub-sections

investigate the subject In the first place, we must commence from some given point in

which all naturalists agree Such a point undoubtedlyis the animal kingdom Every one

acknowledges this groupe Now I observe the animal kingdom to resolve itself into five

natural groupes, forminga circle I observe again, each of these circulargroupes to resolve

itself into fiveothers, and so down, until I arrive at species Now it is clear that I may

Mammalia a kingdom; the word given as a name to the class of groupe, being adopted

propriety of the names given to these various groupes, but merely to express the proper

8 ON THE CETONIID/E OF SOUTH AFRICA.

I say that I will call the first five divisionsof the animal kingdom, sub-kingdoms or provinces

fifth 3125,stirpesor races; the sixth 15625,families; the seventh numberof circles, genera;

the eighth sub-genera; and the ninth sections; and the tenth subsections, kc &c.* we

shall obtain one general rule forthe Annulose creation, andat least obtain the greatadvantage

artificial, as this view ofthe matter maybe,it will assuredlytend to clearup our practice

species A Cryptodinus is more insulated than a Cetoninns, and an Hippopotamus than a

perfect, ought to contain as many groupes of species as Cetoninus isknown to do, and that to

comprehend perfectlythe affinitiesof a Hippopotamus, we must suppose it to be immediately

so many links, that is, so many groupes, of the great plan of creation are wanting, as

would connect this singularbeing with some otherand better known form If I say that the

known; and that, speaking theoretically, four families are wanting, or rather twenty-four

disappeared, or whether they have never been created I merely suppose them to be

Hippopotamus bears tothe other Pachyderms.

It will be seen on a review of the preceding remarks, that Cuvier's definition of a

CetoniidcB I shall call sub-sections, or even to still smaller groupes, if any such can be

differing from each other, this results from our ignorance of certain sub-genera, sections, and

sub-sections that are wanting To those persons who may choose to give the name of

ought to do it in all cases They have no right to call the groupe named Cetonia by

"Dicheros." I have avoided this confusion inentomology,-t byinvai'iably considering genera

to be that sub-division of the animal kingdom which is the seventh in degree downwards

that is,tobe the first sub-division offamilies

In the same way that we discover confusion to proceed from that definition of genera

which assertsthemto be the next class of groupe above species, we shall also find a certain

* Some persons have imagined that I only assign five species to the lowestgroupein nature ; but the above theory evidently proceeds on the assumption that ifwe knewall the species of the creation, their numberwould be infinite,

or in other words, that they would pass into each other by infinitely small difterences This actually takes place

sometimesin nature ; and as yet I do not know anygooddistinctionbetweena speciesandwhatis called " apermanent

variety."

t I suspect that generaamongthe Vcrtebratamay, fromthe comparative paucity of species, conveniently be considered as

standingonedegree higher in the scale, or in other words, thatwemayin thatsub-kingdom,neglect the use of thewordstirpes.

ox THE CETOXIID.E OF SOUTH AFRICA 9

the word genera What, for instance, is the consequence if Cuvier's definition of genera be

of Cetoniidce In process of time some naturalist discovers within it othercombinations of

of species Gnorimus, for instance, is such a groupe of species Our naturalist forthwithcalls it a genus: and he observes, that a number of such genera combine to form another

and knowing thatitcannot possibly be of the same rank as the original family of which it

Itisthus that we have now every daysuch "families" formed as Sericidce, Diplotaxidce, kc,

excellent groupes perhaps in themselves, butwhich theirauthorshave beenledaway byamere

love of changing names, to consider as equivalent in rank to true families, such as Trogida and Rutelidce Any person gifted with a pair of eyes can analyse The difficulty is to

employsynthesis In botany, every fractionof the ancient families has in like manner been

also called a family, and the consequent confusion arrived at such a pitch, that Bartling

of the modern small "families" of plants 1 have in the following observations on theCetoniidd, also endeavoured to avoid this confusion, and to preserve consistency; first, by

considering such new-fangled families, as the '^ Trichiadce," " Sericida," " Diplotaxidcs,"

" GoUathidcE,'" &c to be only generaor sub-genera, containing minorgroupes ofspecies; and,secondly,bykeepingtheminproper subordinationto theiroriginal families,the Cetoniidce, 3Ielo-lonthidce,&c Theselast,asfamilies,I alsoagree tobe thenext groupesabovegenera,once that

a sub-section of Goliathus like that which is called Mecynorhina, by my friend Mr Hope,

be considered a genus, it follows,that the nextgroupe above it, and of which Mecynorhina

Butthensucha familywouldbethe ninthdegree ofgroupedownwardsfromtheanimalkingdom.

In order to exhibit clearly the place of the Cetoniidce in nature, I shall now give thefollowing series of groupes

Although I observe that of late various entomologists of great reputation have been

designating families without venturing to give characters to them, I shall not follow their

example; since I consider no name of the least weight that has not some character

name designates It maybe true that we have not always the good fortune to alight on the

10 ON THE CETONIID.^ OF SOUTH AFRICA.

real character which insulates the groupe, but this is a venial defect, into which everynaturalist is, at times, liable to fall. Mr. Vigors, for instance, discovered and pointed outthe natural groupe of Insessores among birds; but their true characteristic was not known

until I observed thatthese are the onlybirds which have "callow" young

Fam CETONIID^, 3mi.

three last joints

Luhrum compressed, generally membranaceous, often emarginate, with rounded corners, and

Mandibles in general compressed, and furnished on the inside at the base with a subquadrate

membrane, while thebaseand produced outer side are corneous

Ma.viUari/ Palpi of four joints, the first joint being often evanescent, and the last nevercompressed

Lahium and Mentum more or less confluent, sometimes completely so; and the mentum is

anteriorly truncated oremarginated, but nevertrilobed

Headoften subquadrate Body always winged, and in general depressed Feet ingeneral slender, with the fore tibiaj for the most part dentated, more particularly

in the females Tarsi pentamerous, terminating in two equal sharp undivided

claws, between which often intervene a plantulaand pseudonychia

1. This familyconsists, to my knowledge, ofmore than 600 species, of which only five arenativesof Great Britain The groupe has been most erroneously characterized by MM Gory

observed, which although Latreillian, is veryerroneous,— bythe mandibles being rudimentary,

or even by these organs of the mouth being altogether absent A description so anomalous

of Cetohiidce, in a work entirely devoted to them, is not very creditable to these gentlemen

that in general these organs are compressed, and often even extremely thinand

para-doxus, M'L., tkc. the mandibles and maxillae are as solid, thick, and corneous, as in any

Melolontliidous insect ofequal size.

the other Tliose species of the sub-genus Tricldus, which Mr Kirby has called Archimedii,

shew us that by the Trichius lineatus, Fab {Lepitrix lineatus, Lp.Sr.) an insect of the Cape,

we may arrive among the Glaphpida;; and Mr Kirby has, by the description ofhis genus

While onthis subject, I mayexpress my regret that an entomologist so distinguished as M.

given with a description The right of priority in entomology is usually held sacred, yet

Cnemida Curtisii,K.iscalled C crassipesby Dejeanwithoutanyassignedreason It is

ON THE CETOXIID.E OF SOUTH AFRICA.

I had thrown out on the HoraEntomologicte, appears to consider Chasmodia, AI'L., to be

close in affinity tothe Cetoniidce But the relation of Chasmodiato Lomaptera, G P., is one

pol-ienivorous groupes, agreeing inbrilliancy ofcolour, and in their cleftclypeus; butin no

essen-tialrespect arethey so constructed that they can be brought close togetherinatfinity.

4. In somespecies of the Cetoniidcs the tergum of the prothorax (which shall, in my vationsonthis familyhereafter,begenerally called thorax, forconvenienceand in conformity tothe vulgar notion)is apt to have the middle partproduced behind into a laminar lobe, which

obser-covers the scutellum in a greater or less degree In proportion as this structure occurs,

the American subgenus Gt/mnetis are incomparably more sluggish in their habits than our

European Cctonuc

5. M Dufour has given us the anatomy of the perfect insect of the well-known English

species Cetonia aivata, Fab.; and Professor Dehaan has favoured us with the anatomy of its

larva I shall in this placeonly observe, thatthe internalanatomyofthe insectsofthis

family-is subject to greater variation than their external anatomy; and it must therefore be more

distrustedin classification, according tothe principles I have ventured to laydown in the 14th

volumeofthe LinneanTransactions

6. In the following enumeration of the various groupesinto which the Cetoniidcc have been

disco-verers From the respect due to the labours of my predecessors, I shall try to retainevery

namethathas been pubhshed ; but I would have it here clearly understood, that the name of

but rather indicates the particular value given by that person to the groupe Thus, forinstance, yric/tintw.Fab.,willindicate the groupecalled Trichiushy Fabricius; and Trichius,

M'L.; the value given to the Fabrician name by myself The discoverer of a natural groupe

may have some merit,but the mere inventor of a name has really none On this principle,therefore, I have generallyacted ; and more particularly when, in order to distinguishgenerafrom sub-genera, I have giventhe formera termination always in inus

(gniera.

r1 Trichinus,Fab.

Aberrant Groupe.

Larvahaving its mandibles

unidentate towards the

estremitT.

^ 2 Crvptodincs, M'L

l,.i Mackominv's,M'L

NormalGroupe.

Lan-ahaving its mandibles

pluridentate towards the

extremit)'.

f 4 Gymnetinus, K

l^.'j Cetoninus, M'L

rTerminalprocess of maxillae always furnished with a brnsh

<; but not with teeth. Epimeron neverprominent between

(^ angles of thoraxandelytra.

TTerminalprocess of maxillae never furnished with a brush,

«^ but always dentated. Epimeron never prominent

be-(^ tweenangles of thorax and elytra.

fTerminal process of maxilla; generally furnished with a

vj brushandalways with teeth. Epimeronalways distinct

1^ betweenangles of thoraxandelytra.

fThorax lobate behind in the middle, and covering the

wholescutellummoreor less with the lobe.

<;

iThoraxnot so lobate behind, andleaving the whole

scu-I tellum always distinct.

12 ON THE CETONIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA.

7 I term these genera, because they are the first class of groupes into which theCetoniidcc resolvethemselves Theyforma seriesreturninginto itself. Some persons maycall

them sub-families, or give them any othername. This is quite amatter oftaste; but I choose

to callthem genera, in order that I may more easily hereafter shew the relation borne to

each of them by the groupes of modern entomologists Of these genera then, Trichinus

Trichius I have therefore assigned the groupe Trichinus to him,because Trichius denotes,with modern authors, a groupe of more limited extent Cryptodinus and Blacrominus are

Gymnetinusto Kirby, becauseit answers very nearly in extent to thesub-family calledby him

until nowbeen properly distinguished

believe no larva of Cryptodiniis or Macrominus is as yet known. It is probable, however,

thatthe larvae of these last, when discovered, will be found tohave the mandibles formed like

insects which havegreataffinity to each other inthe manners oftheirperfectstate

appa-rentbetweenthe angles of thethoraxand elytra By the first of these characters thenormal

nearly from the genus Trichinus There are exceptions to the rule, such as Philistina and a

section of GoUathus, which have maxillte with corneous teeth, and Inca, which has the

10 Of the five British species that belong to the family of Cetoniida, three are to be

prevails throughoutthe family

we have often strange concords, such as Trichinus Platyyenia Zairica; but in such cases I

this last I have given the termination, which corresponds with that of the majority of thesub-genera

Genus I. TRICHINUS, Fab

character drawn mode

ON THE CETOXIIDiE OF SOUTH AFRICA.

13. In this genus, generally, the terminal brush of the maxilla is inserted in the triangularorifice of ashort triangular corneous process, which terminates the maxilla,andappearsarticu-lated toit. Insomeofthefloralspecies, thispencilof hairs orbrushisverylong,andadmirably

calculated for sucking up the honey of flowers; but in othersub-genera, such asPlatygenia

insects this process of the maxilla is notso palpiform asinthose Trichiniwhichinhabitflowers

14 The larva and metamorphosis of the sub-genus Trichinus have been perfectly well

ofGlaphyrida and Melolonthidce, thantothose of the sub-genus Cetonia This is a curious

fact, and strongly illustrative of the danger attendant on our assuming a method of divisioninstead of following the mode of variation What groundwork for a natural division, forinstance, appears more natural than metamorphosis? Certainly none; and yet if we dividethe family of Cetoniidce by tiiis rule, we shall place half of tlie contents along with the

howthe metamorphosis changes, we onlyarrive at the fact, that TricJnnus (i e. an aberrant

inasmuch as it has the larva ofthe former, and the imago of the latter.

with the singular insects which composethe first ofthem

A.—Bodydepressed andsides thin. |'l Platygenia, M'L Anterior tibia; externally bidentate.

First joint of maxillary palpi"^

distinct I " Campulipus, K Anterior tibife externally tridentate.

f Anterior tibiae externally bidentate in general. Body,3 Trichius,M'L J.

, , L

,

I

I covered with hairs or scales.

E.—Body and sides thick First r , , ,, , , , t> , ^ j

1

I Anterior tibiae externally multidentate , Body spotted

joint of maxillaiy palpi eva-<J 4 Valgcs,Sc <;

some years ago, that one is almost inclined to believe he may have fallen accidentally upon

a new species of the groiipe Indeed, I consider the Trichius harhatus of Schonherr to

structure to that of Osmoderma, however different it may seem in external appearance It

is in fact, the mouth of an Osmoderma, with all the parts flattened, and excessively

16 The general form of the thorax of Platygenia, and its very depressed body, make me

14 ON THE CETONIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA.

unknown M. Latreille perceived this affinity; but we only know one section of

Platy-ijenia, and consequently, must reckon several forms wanting before we can closelyconnect

elytra also nearly cover the podex, and the terminal process of the maxilla is very long,

so as sometimes to resemble that of a bee These are most likely floral insects Tliefollowing sectionsappear to be known.

SECTIONS OF CAMPULIPUS.

A.—Body depressed Intermediate tibiae incun'ated inf Agenii, Lp Sr. Clypeusentire,

one sex i 2 Stripsypueri,G P. Clypeusbifid.

f'j * * ^ * *

B.-^Bodymoreconvex. ^4 Myodermi,Dej. Clypeusnot simple.

\J> ZEBRjii,M'L Clypeus simple.

18 I have given the credit ofthis sub-genus to INIr. Kirby, but in fact his C'amjmlipusis

Mr Kirby first observed TrichiusUmhatus of Olivier to be distinguished from its congeners

inmy collection, of M. Gory's singularly-named genus* Stripsypher, which species I shall

spots This incurvation of the intermediate tibiae appears to be a sexual character, for I

possess a specimen of Campulipus Umbatus, without this distinction being strongly marked.

Ofthe section Agenii, wehave the following fi'omthe Cape

Sp 1 (Tricliiniis) Campulipuslimbatus, 01.

Affcuucsllmhatiis, G P p 95 tab 11 fig -i.

Goryis all wrong The mentumcomesmuch nearerto thatof hisgroupeStrlps^p/ier, andthe maxillse

inboth sectionshavealongpcnicilliform terminal process

Sp 2. (Trichinus) Campulipus Horsfieldii, ?; s.

scutello punctis duobus albis, elytris puncto-substriatisvittisduabusmediis abbreviatis

ma-culaque utrinqueadscutellum flavis : punctis quatuor discaUbusquatuor quelateralibns albis.

Antenna; testaceae clava picea. Corpus infra nigronitidiini. Poikw punctis quatuor,

pos-ticisposticeemarginatis

and Stripsypueri Strlps>/pher ni<yer, G P a Capeinsect, trulybelongstothesection Stripsypheri.Yet, whiletheAgenii belongtrulytoSouthern Africa, theStripsy^Pheri arc found more in the intra-

* WhatGoryintendsbythiswordIknownot.

ON THE CETOXIID.E OF SOUTH AFRICA 15

tropical regions ofthat vast continent As tothe section wliich I have named JIyoderm, and vvhichcorresponds-w-ith the genus M^odcnna of Dejean's Catalogue, I only knowit by M. Gory'sbad figure

and worse description of" Stripsyphersordidm" which conies from Senegal

Ofthe section Zebr^i we have onespecies at the Cape.

Sp 3. (Trichinus) Campnlipus Zebra, Khoj

Stripsi/phcrZehra, G P p 98 tab 12 fig 1.

Schonherr,and in his plates S. G-maculaimis neither It is called bySchb'nherr Trkhlus G-f)uttatus.

] 9. Thismay be known from CampuUpus by having a much shorter palpiformprocess tothe termination oftlie maxilla>, as wellas by the podex being in general more covered by theelytra It hasalso a more convex form, and thusit may be distinguished from the sub-genus

Valgus, as well as by its longer elytra Trichius haunts flowers, and may be found in

SECTIONS OF TRICHIUS.

fBodyhirsute above and below Last joint of maxillary

' ' " '

"l palpi grooved InhabitEurope and America

B.—Terminal lobe of the TBodyonly hirsuteontheunderside Last joint of max

maxills provided with<( >

Aleurosticti, K -l illary palpi rather grooved Inhabit Europe and

a short pencil of hairs.

(^ NorthAmerica.

J Bodyclothed with scales Last joint of maxillary palpi

not grooved Inhabit America.

A.—Terminal lobe of the j'4 * * * *

maxilla provided withJ fCanthus almost bisecting the eyes Last joint of

max-15 Tetrophthalmi,K •>

.„ , , , , ,.^ ,„ ,

a long pencil of hairs, i I illary palpi grooved InhabitAtnca andAsia.

20 Underthe name of "Legitimi," I have included Mr. Kirby'stwo sections, " Legitimi"

and Trichini, which last he now terms a sub-genus The evanescent difference between

thesetwo groupes of the reverend gentleman appears to be ofa very low order, and probably,

therefore, only indicates sub-sections Indeed, it chiefly consists in his Trichini being

nitid and seneous, and his Legitimi not However, Mr Kirby thinks he can discover some

isthe well-known Trichius fasciatus of Fabricius Mr Kirby makes the type of his section

Aleurosticti to be Trichius nobilis of Fabricius This last section is, therefore, identical

21 Underthe name ofGeometrici, I have included Mr. Kirby's two sections Archimedii

and Enclidii, because there is, in my opinion, no sufficient difference between them toentitle them to be made distinct sections of the sub-genus They may, however, ultimately

22 Ofthe sectionTetrophthalmi,asdistinguished by Kirby, we have among the insectscollectedby Dr Smith, the following species

Sp 4. (Trichinus) Trichius vittatus, Fah

Trichius eittalns, G.P p. 83 tab 9 fig 5.

Sp 5. (Trichinus) Trichiussuturalis, G P

Trichius suturalis,G P p. 84 tab 9 fig 6.

1^3 Geometrici, M'L <!

16 ON THE CETOXIIDiE OF SOUTH AFRICA.

long trapezoidal prothorax, and short elytra In the only section ofthis sub-genus which

I know, there is a mucro armingthe anus in one of the sexes, and which is probably theovipositor I have always found the speciesof Valgus, either at the roots of trees, or at thefoot of walls, but neveron flowers as Latreille says that he has found them The section

want somesections ofValgus to connectthe Geometrici with the common Trichius hemipterus

of Fabricius Indeed, I am not aware that the presentsub-geuus haseverbeen resolved intosections There is one species at theCape,viz.

Sp 6. (Trichimis)Valgus Sniithii, w f.

Is'oTE. This species isscarcely distinct from the Valgus hemipterus of Europe Ithas thesame rugjecif the thorax, the same size and geueral form, and only differs slightly inthe disposition of the scales.

In V.hemipterus for instance, theabdomen is quite whitewith thicklyset scales. In V Smithiithereis

merely a white band V Smilhii hasalsoa whitemark inthe blacklateral spot ofthe thorax Butin

truth thesespecies comevery near toeach other.

have the terminal lobe ofits maxillte corneous This lobe is not,however,morecorneous than

in any of the other sub-genera of Trichinus It is an elongated hollowtriangle, filled with ashort thick pencil of hairs The true characteristic of the sub-genus is the strongcorneous

hook which arms the maxillse on its inner side These insects live with their larvEE in rotten

wood They have been called Ggmnodi by Mr. Kirby, and made by him part of his genus

Trichius I am acquainted with two sections of Osmoderma, which are peculiar to Europe and North America The type is Trichius Eremita of Fabricius, I have already said that,different as Platggenia Zairica is in aspect from all the other known species of the genus

Trichinus,it comesinevery essential respectexceedingly close to Osmoderma. I suppose the

leather, which the European species O Eremita emits when it is handled

Genus II. CRYPTODINUS,Mihi

lobe of their maxillse furnished with teeth The sub-genus Osmoderma, was indeed

point of the inner process This formation appears to prepare us for the maxillas of thepresent genus Cryptodinus, of which the character is always to have a corneous tooth orteeth on the terminal process Indeed, that tooth which Osmoderma possesses on the innerprocess of the maxilla, bringsit, of all the sub-genera of Trichinus, the nearest to the genus

ON THE CETOXIID.E OF SOUTH AFRICA 17

great lovers of sand on tlie banks of rivers,and so far asmyobservationhas gone, they are

not authobious This genus is nearly the same in extent as the genus Cremastocheiliis of

triangular, and broad I am acquainted with the following sub-genera

fProthoraxquadrate, with the angles acute Vertical

pro-i cess of mentum hollow, oval, pehaform. Fore tibiae

I bidentate. North America.

f Prothorax orbicular Vertical process of mentum

trian-gular andhollow Fore tibiie bidentate. South

Ame-rica.

["Prothorax subquadrate, with sidesandanglesrounded off.

J Vertical process ofmentum triangular andflat Fore

I tibia tridentate Africa.

r.\ntenn8e ten-jointed. Anus with spines Elytra with

[^ lobate shoulders.

fAntennaewith nine-joints. Anuswithout spines Elytra

<

\ with parallel sides. NewHolland.

26 All the foregoing five sub-genera agree in the clypeus having a reflexed margin infront They agree also in the curiously dilated triangular scape ofthe antennce, and in the

terminal process of the short maxilla, is a straight blunttooth, andthe inner process is a sharp

in their manners from the Cetoniida in general, but probably agree in this respect with all

the other sub-genera of Cryptodinus The species of Cremastocheilusare not common. In

company with Dr Pickering, and Mr. Titian Peale, I found C castaiiea of Knoch, in

These singular beetles arenever found exceptflying, like Cicindelce, over the sand which tliere

lines the bank of that noble river. They are certainly not flower-frequenting insects, and what they find in the sand to their taste I do not know Mr Kirby has made some

giving anysufficient reason for so doing, he liastermed that part the labium which Latreille

has called the mentum I am not acquainted with the sections into which Cremastocheilus

maybe divided

Siih-genus2. Cyclidius, M'L.

and

18 ON THE CETONIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA.

way, state that I first separated it from Cremastocheilus, and that I liave erroneously

charac-terised it. To this I answer, that never until now, have I published a word on the subject

erroneously characterised it by saying that the maxillae are membranaceous But it is

truly, nevertheless, a natural groupe, and differs from the North American sub-genus

Cre-mastocheilus, with which Gory and Percheron confound it, not only in having the mentum not

truth is, that these French critics know nothing of Mr. Kirby's groupe Genuchus, except

of Olivier, is assigned to " Genucus of Macleay." I am unacquainted with the cause of

this, and of a myriad of smaller errors mixed up with my name in Dejean's Catalogue; but

appear, when writing a monograpli on the Cetoniidce, to have never consulted any of

a publication as the Transactions of the Linnean Society But to proceed The

Sp 7. (Cryptodinus) Gcnucliuscrucntus, OUi\

Crcmastoidu'Uus crucntus, G P p. 115 tab 10 fig 3.

Sp 8. (Cryptodinus) GGnuclius sanguinolentiis, n s.

bistriatis niaculisduabus oblougiset apice subsanguiueis,ano bimaculato maculis rufis.

from Senegal, belong to the sub-genus Genuchus, of which there are several sections known.

Cre-mastocheilus macidaius,which Isuspectwill be foundeventuallytoenter thegenusMacrominus.

as theysay, butof the Mauritius

spiniventer of Gory, in which case it would appear to be an African form of the genus

Cryptodinus I suspect it, nevertheless, to be an Asiatic sub-genus, and that C Brahma,

ON THE CETONIIDiE OF SOUTH AFRICA.

32 When my description of a New Holland insect of considerable size, which I called

Cryptod'unis, and I was even ignorant that any insect belonging to the family Cetoitiidee

thatof Cymophorus The consequence was, that when a beetle was presented to me with

antennseof nine joints,like thoseof 3Iiechidius, which italso resembled in general form, and when, in addition,itoffered to my notice sharp arched horny mandibles, and maxillje termi-

anddifficulties, while I gave it the name of Cryptodus paradoxus Since that period, I have

become acquainted with many Cryptodini, and have found their habits to be analogous

to those of the Trogkhc, which they represent in the family of Cetoniida It is now long

since that, by reflecting on the concealed labrum of Cryptodus, the dilated triangularscape

of its antennse, the horny mandibles and maxillee, similar in form tothose of Macroma and

podex so different from that of the Trogida, its depressed body, and peculiar structure, I

became convinced that I ought to have assigned this most curious insect to the family ofCetoniidce,and that it ought to have been placed in theimmediate vicinityof Cremastocheilus

Still,however,theinsectwell merits the title oiparadoxus,smce it is as unhke Cetonia aurata,

orany of the usual types ofthe family, as well maybe; and besides,is the only known insect

among the Cetoniidathat has not ten joints to the antennte In short, this species servesto

finished with the Cetoniidce, we shall find almost everycharacter of this groupe to giveway

except, perhaps, the concealed labrum Yet no groupe of Coleoptera seems better marked

outbynature

33 Withouthaving any thingvery remarkable inits external facies, Cryptodus,perhaps, is

the most singular sub-genus of all the Petalocera in an entomological point of view It

differs from the generality ofits family, almostasmuch as Hexodon does from the Rutelida

Its flat depressed body, its broad mentum, and black colour, seem allto indicatethat its place

originalmistake as to the affinities of Cryptodus, since the correction will tend toenlarge thecharacters I have given tothe Ct'toniido', and to restrict those of the family of Trogidcc It

is satisfactory also to find after so many years, that this is almost the only error of

conse-quenceinmycollocation of thenewformsdescribed in the firstpart of theliora,Entomologies,

and thateventhis errorwas suspected atthe time of its publication I possess two species

of the genus Cryptodus, both from New Holland

34 But we shall now return to the sub-genus Genuchus,which alone of all the sub-genera

Genus III MACROMINUS, Mihi

20 ON THE CETONIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA.

between the angles of the prothorax and elytra; it also differs in having the scape of the

hair, among which occur those horny teeth which always arm the terminal process of these

fl Oplostomus, M'L Mentumhaving a processonitsunderside.

I 3 DiPLoGNATHA, G.P. Meutiim broadwith itsunderside simple.

r rOuter side of terminal process of maxillEe clothed with a

gmate.

theyare evanescent I have given Gory tlie credit of tlie sub-genus Diploi/natha, although he lias

in-cludedinsects in it which do not belongto thegroupe

antennas, mentum, maxillse, &c aswill be seen from the following description,viz.

Antenna of ten joints, with the scape sub-triangular depressed above, and as long asthe next six joints taken together, or as the ovate clava, which consists of threejoints

Mandiblescorneous,with a blunted point, having the membranaceous part small

Maxilla corneous, prismatic, hirsute at the back, with the terminal process composed of a

together, and having the firstjoints evanescent

Mentum sub-quadrate, forming atransverse triangular prism; in frontit is truncated with thesides rounded off; in the middle is the transverse ridge, forming a prominent obtuse

which appears at first sightto have only onejoint

Head small,with quadrate clypeus Protliorax trapezoidal, emarginate behind

Scu-tellum large, triangular Epimeron distinct between prothorax and elytra Elytra

externally bidentate

37 Olivierhasdescribed an insect from Senegal,underthename of CetoniafuUginea,which

It may however be easily separated from thatgroupe bythe circumstance of the epimeron

following insect brought fromthe Cape byDr.Smith,to beidenticalwiththe Senegal species

ox THE CETOXIID.E OF SOUTH AFRICA 21

and that of the present Cape species The wholeinsect is black, except the nine last joints

of the antennas, which are fulvous M Gory only states that the threejoints of the clavaare fulvous in the Senegal species; but, perliaps, this is a mere omission, and therefore I

shall registerour Cape insect as follows

Sp 9. (Slacrominus) Oplostonuisfuligineiis, Olii\

Ci\'miXstocheUitgftdi(jineus,G.V p. 110 tab 15 fig 1.

Mandibles having their corneous external process very little longer than the membranaceous

part

Maxilla horny,prismatic, and long, havingthe terminal process notdistinct from theinner

Mentum narrow convex, with the anterioredge semicircular

Head small,subquadrate IBody convex and thick Epiineron very visible between

Feet short and strong, with the fore tibiae tridentate,and the posterior femora

sub-bidentate

in three equal horny teeth Genuchus has only two teeth to its maxillas But both

!Sp 10._(Macroniiinis) Anoplocheihis spinitarsis, n s.

sutura prominente, vertice pilis flavis hirsute, thoraco sub-semicirculari postice sinuato,

^ elytris striato-punctatis, corpore subtus pilis hirsuto, femoribus posticis valde incrassatis,

articulo priinotarsimediiet postici cxtiis in spinamlongam triangularem producto, nychiisdistinctis.

psexido-Lo>'o 5i linos.

39 I do notknow whether I am altogether accurate in placing the following Capeinsects

with indistinct pseudonychia in thissub-genus, because I have not dissected them ; but they

Sp 11 (Macrominus) AnopIuchoiUissetosus, n s.

scnii-circularibus sotigerisimpressis, corporosubtus pilisaurcisraris vestito.

firstjoint ofthe posteriortarsi.

Cetonia tomentosa, G P p.22G tab. 51 fig. 5?

un-willingtobelieve it to be adistinct species, although they say that the Cetonia tomentosa of Kingisa

tomen-now

22 ON THE CETONIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA.

Anoplocheilustomentosusissub-emarginate, thespeciesappearstobelongtoa differentsection of thegenuswheucomparedwith Anoplocheilusspinttarsls If on dissection of the mouth they shouldagreewith the genus Cctonia, these two species^, sctosus and A tomentosus wiU evidently enter into the

sub-lastTrichoid section of the sub-genus Cetonia

armed with sharpteeth Indeed this is the character of the whole genus Macrominus; but

the terminal process is in Diplogriathadistinct from the base of the maxilla, and is furnished

on the outside with a brush, as in the genera Trichinus, Cetoninus, and Gymnetbius The

mentum also is broad, truncated, scarcelyemarginate in front, and having the corners rounded

off. Butforthe restI referto MM Gory and Percheron's description of this groupe, which

it is difficult to place them accurately; and I give the following arrangement only sionally:

provi-—

SECTIONS OF DIPLOGNATHA.

^1 Carbonari^

Maxillse having one

tooth on the inner <J 2 Porphyre.e

41 The first of these sections is numerous in species The type of itmay be considered to

section The general colour of the first section is black, often variegated with whitespots

carnifex of Linnaeus

Cetonia Carnifex, Fab Syst Eleuth, 2. U3. oil.

Diplognatha Carnifex, G P p 121< tab 18 fig 2.

43 The two following Capespecies belongto the third section:

—

Cetoniahehraa, Oliv tab 12 p. 115

Diplognatha hehraa, G P p. 125 tab 18 fig 3.

Sp 15 (Macrominus) DiplognathasUicea, n s.

Desc Diplognatha atronitida glabra polita, chi^eo vix punctate palpis labialibus hand ultra

mentum promiuulis, clytris antice latioribus, tibiis anticis extus vixtridentatis, mesostcrnusubacuto

Gagatesof Olivier, whichisaSenegalinsect, andsmaller,having the labial palpi stretching beyondthe

I have found Diplognatha Gagates commonatPortoPrayain theCapedeVerds; butIcannotsay thatit

ON THE CETOXIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA 23

always onthe foliage of theunderwood which growsbeneath the Palms The wholesectionof

it isnot the genus Gnathoceraof Gory By the last entomologist our present groupe is called

This confusion has arisen from indolence, or rather from the usual unwillingness ofthe French

to consult original authorities Mr. Kirby, not aware that the type of his new genus had

been described by Fabricius, called it Gnathocera vitticoULs But instead of reading Mr.

Kirby's well-known papers, M Gory appears to have merely consulted the catalogue of

be applied, unless perhaps to some hereafter-to-be-discovered section of this sub-genus; and

naturalists the trouble of inventing a new one, by adopting for Gory's groupe the name

of Coriiphcs or Conjphe, which, according to what is stated in his introduction, he originally

parts of the mouth arebadly described, and erroneously figured The outer andinner lobe of

all serve to separate Gnathocera from Diplognatha As yet we only know one section ofit,which is from Intratropical Africa

character of the family, nor had fully investigated the structure of the sub-genera, when he

distinguished the Cetoniidce from the rest of Petalocera, by their having the mandibles

theyare butmodifications of the usual manducatoiy organs of the Cetoniidtz Themaxillas

and mentum are more accurately figured than usual by Gory; of the mandibles he saysnotliing These are shaped like those of Micchidius, only sharper; the membranaceous

inner lobe, and one strong sharp curved one holding the place of the terminal process I

teeth in each lobe ofthe latter sub-genus are here confluent, so as toform a maxilla which has

If3Iacromajai-anica and 31 bicolor of Goiybelong to this sub-genus, as I believe they do,

24 ON THE CETOXIID.E OF SOUTH AFRICA.

47 M Gory assigns the name Macroma to Mr. Kirby I am not aware of the work in

which Mr. Kirby has published it, but, at all events, this would not seem to have been the

namegivenby himtoMacromascutellata IfMr Hopebecorrect,the trueMacromaofMr Kirby

ludicrousdesire tobe profoundly accurate,"Aux genresMacroma etSchyzorhina de Kirbyil y

les Schyzorhinade Kirby sontnos Macromes!" Now, this is rather unfortunately asserted,since, as S 4-punctata is the first species of the genus "Schyzorhina" mentioned by Gory,

varieties, why it is very clear that the 3Iacroma scutellaris of Gory is not a Schizorhina of

with the singularsub-genus Macroma, I knownot; for Gory, when he attributes the tion of his "genus Macroma"to ourvenerable countryman, evidently follows his usual, sole,

institu-and sovereign authority, Dejean's Catalogue I shall only say, that whoever first named thissub-genera, pointed out amost natural and curious groupe

48 We shall now return to the sub-genus Dlplognatha, which has a quadrate clypeus and

clothed behind with a brush of hair, and armed with curved corneous teeth at the apex, whileone ofits sections has an irregular clypeus But all these characters belong to Philistina,

which is asub-genus of my Gymetinus

Genus IV GYMNETINUS, K.

intoa lobe that conceals the scutellum in a greater or less degree, sometimes even entirely

genus answers to the family Gymnetidce of Kirby, and Gymnetides of MRI Gory and

distinguishing families from genera, or whether indeed they have had any rule atall, asthey

rarelydeign to chai-acterize their groupes All the sub-genera which I shall nowproceed todetail have the pseudonychia very distinct, except Agestrata and Lomaptera, where they

* I seeuogoodreason for believing that the Cetonia strUjosa of Fabricius is a native of the CapeofGoodHope

ON THE CETONIID.E OF SOUTH AFRICA 25

( Maxillae armed with corneous teetli Scutellum distinct.

1 Philistina,M'L { S Clypeus porrect and bifid at apex ; Clypeus

l_^ quadrate, entire India.

B.—Sides of the elytra iuj fMaxillse armed with one corneous tooth Scutellum

, „ , ^ 2 Agestrata,Esch <

general parallel.

(^ visible. Clypeusquadrateandentire India.

„ ,, _ J Maxillsearmedwith no corneous tooth Scutellum

eva-^J LOMAPTERA,(j P <,

\^ nescent. Clypeus deeply cleft India.

, p _, , ,.^ JPosteriormarginof thorax as wide as elytra Scutellum

A.—Sides of the elytra rarelyJ \ evanescent. America andIndia.

'""" '^ 1- T., ^ ,,- , J Posteriormarginof the thorax narrower than the elytra.

'^D JMacronota, \\ led ">

;^ Scutellum distinct Indiaand Madagascar

49 In the Zoologisches Magazin, Band 2, Stlick 1, published in 1823, M Wiedemann

described a Javanese insect under the name of Goliathusrhinophyllus Assuch the insect

in the collection of M. Bosc, at Paris, I also considered it to belong to the sub-genus

Goliathus In the monograph of MM Gory and Percheron, however, the insect is called

Goliathus M.Latreilleseems,nevertheless, tohavebeenthefirst who observed that it wasnot

a Goliathus From this sub-genus it differsin thelong corneous part ofthe mandibles, in themaxillce being armed with corneous teeth, in the mentum being veryslightly emarginate, and

in various other particulars, so importantas toprove to us that the obvious relation which this

Antenna of ten joints, the scape being long and obconical, the second joint globose, larger

Lahrum membranaceous, emarginate

Mandihles having the corneous part sharp, lanceolate,and twice as long as the square

Ma.xill(c short,prismatic, and terminating in three, if not more, sharp corneous teeth,which

Maxillaryi^alpi differing in the sexes

Mentum quadrate,truncated in front,and very little emarginate

Thorax much narrower thanelytra, and not very much lobed in the middle behind ;

Mesosternum not produced Anterior tibicc in both sexes externally tridentate, and

with very longtarsi inthe male Feet with plantula and pseudonychiavery distinct

26 OX THE CETONIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA.

probable that theabovedescriptionisrather the characterofasection tliauthatof tliesub-genusto which

this sectionbelongs I believethat this sub-genus containsman}- forms, all resemblingGoViathus 3Ir.

knowit not.

tooth, which is covered with a long pencil of hairs, while the clypeus is quadrate and formed

eraargi-nate,the mesosternum is advanced, thescutellum is minute, andthe sexes differin only one of

chinensis,and there is no other section as yet known, although Mr Hope says that he is

spine, andthe scutellum disappearsunder the enormous sharp-pointed lobe of the thorax In

neitherthisnorthe preceding" sub-genus are the pseudonychia very distinct Lojnaptera is a

the truthis, thatonly one of the sections is known.

the front Here, moreover, the scutellum altogether disappears under the great lobe of thethorax Only two American sections have as yet been characterised,viz I. Sub-cornut.s:,

of which the type is Gymnetis nit'tda(Horas EntomologicBe, p, 153,) which may be

charac-terized by their sub-cornute clypeus, and very minute scutellum; and 2. Mahmorin^, K., of

which the type is Ggmnetis marmorea, (Zool Journal, vol. 3 p 153,) and which may be

distinguishedby theirsimple clypeus, and their having no visible scutellum But there areother sections known, oneat leastofwhichis Asiatic

53 MM Gory and Percheron exhibittheir acquaintance with the signification ofthis name

the elytra are here much wider than the thorax, which isnot deeply lobed, and the scutellum

is conspicuous, while the mesosternum is not far advanced But, on the other hand, the

Philistina, and tojoinitto Gymnetis Macronota is an extensive groupe,offering sectionsand

sub-sections I am not aware, however, that any have been hitherto separated except the

thetype is Macronota calcarataofKlug, which is a native of Madagascar. This sectionis to

be known from the rest of the sub-genus Macronota by the clypeus being narrower at the

ON THE CETONIIDiE OF SOUTH AFRICA 27

with it, ofwhichthe inner one is curved,falciform,exceedingly acute,and nearly as long as the

54 As none of theabove five sub-genera are found at the Cape —nor indeed in Africa—

I

externalprocess ofthe maxillae membranaceous Yet I have never seen the American species

ofGymnetis onflowers,butinvariablyhave found them by beatingthe leaves of trees, outof

which they fall on the ground, as if dead, not moving a limb I suspect that the othersub-genera,from their superiorbrilliancyofcolour, are more fond offlowers than Gymnetis

GenusY CETONINUS, Mihi

membranaceous, and the maxilla;scarcely ever armedwith corneous teeth,but merelyfurnished

with a pencil of hairs The females always have the anteriortibieeexternally dentated ; and

bothsexesalmostalways have the epimeron prominentbetween the angles ofthoraxandelytra

The species of this genus are found in all quarters of the globe, but particularlyin Africa In

America they are comparatively rare, the sub-genus Gymnetis of the preceding genus

Gymnetinus assuming theirplace there in the economy of nature The following are the

B.—Males having the

an-terior tibiae without

teeth, except where

the insects are

ex-fciypeus emarginate in both sexes. Mentum somewhat

tremely close to the I

3 Goliathits,Lam Clypeusof males horned. Mentumdeeply emarginate.

normalgroupe. L''

A-—^lales having the ante- f^ Ischnostoma, G.P. Mentumnot sub-quadrate, but generallyconvexin front, rior tibite externally.^

dentated I 5 Cetonia,G P. Mentumsub-cjuadrate,andalmost emarginate iu front.

stronglymarked are those analogies which exist between the corresponding points of the two

parallel divisions of a normal groupe Here the genera Cetoninus and Gymnetinus form the

follow:

—

1 Lomaptera Clypeuscleft in both sexes 1 Schizorhina

2 Agestr.\ta Maleswithunarmedanterior tibije 2 Coryphe

3 Philistin.^. Maleswith ahornedclypeus 3 Goliathus

5 Gy'Mxetis Bodydepressed ; feet short 5 Cetoxia

Again the Sub-generaof Cetoninus represents the five Genera of the Family, thus :

Schizorhina byits cleft clypeus represents Lomapteraof Gymnetinus

CoRY-PHE is a part ofandthe very perfection of Cetoninus

Goliathus bytheepimeronof the InctE represents Trichinus

IscHNOSTOMA bytheconvexmentumof the Coelocephalre Cry'ptodinus

Cetonia in exteriorformagrees peculiarly with Macrominus

repre-28 ON THE CETONIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA.

sent it in thegenus Infact,noinsectsofthisgenus have such a peculiarly cetonineaspect, if I may usethe expression, asthebrilliantspecies ofCoryphe ButI proceed tothe discussion of the sub-genera

57 This is remarkablylike Lomaptera, for the clypeus in both sexes is more orless cleft.

tibiceexternallytridentate,butthemales have themwithout teeth Themaxilla are long,with

the terminal lobe alsolongandvillose. The mentumismoreorlessemarginate; andthegroupe

Brownii by Kirby is evidentlythe nearest to Lomaptera,asit presents vestiges of the lobatethorax Thereare fivesections known,for which the following names may serve in wantofbetter:

—

SECTIONS OF SCHIZORHINA.

f Mesosteruum produced, narrow, flat Elytra spinose at

(1 Brunon:.e,M'L <; m o « •

r-I apex. Type,S Brownti,A

A.—Elytra broader at their J ^

base.

\ fMesosternum broad, flat, lanciform Elytra with

subsi-1^2 Phillipsi.^,M'L \ iiuated sidesandspinose at apex.

1 Type, S PhiUijmi, Schreibers.

CMesosternum short, flat. Clypeus rather entire Elytra

rs Integr.e,M'L J with sinuated sidesand nospines at apex.

! Type, S frontalis,Don

fMesosternumproduced, flat. Clypeusemarginate Elytra

4 GvMNOPLEi'RiE,M'L <* with sinuated sidesand nospines at apex.

I Type, S punctata, Don.CMesosternumproduced, narrow, cylindrical. Clypeusemar-

^5 IxsuLABES,M'L J ginate Elytra spinous at apex, andwith parallel sides

B.—Elytra not broader at

base.

' Type, S cyanea, Oliv.

erroneously confounds the Cetonia carinata of Donovan with the C PhiUlpsii of Schreibers Being

in possession of the identical specimens described bythelatternaturalist in theLinnean Transactions, 1

The last section,which Ihave called Insularesbecause theyarein general natives of

elytrawith parallel sides, and which are spinose at apex Theinner process of the maxilla

in these insects has no tooth, and their mentum is deeply emarginate All these

circum-stances, and others, such astheirpeculiar colours,and the females having the anterior tibiae

externally tridentate,show us how we maypass to the next sub-genus, which however will be

58 This, asIhave alreadystated,is calledthe genus GnathoceraofKirby,inthemonograph

object to his first nomenclature, unless perhaps they may think it necessary to correct his

ON THE CETONIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA 29

spelling, which certainly ought to be Corypheor Coryphcca I prefer the formerword,asit

purpose,in fact,some of the brilliantspeciesofthis sub-genus serve in the Phillippine islands.*

It is true that Dr Leach gave tliisname " Corypha"to agroupe of StaphyUnida; butithas

which he firstpointed out very nearly the true limits It is distinguished from SchizorJdnaby

the porrected mesosternum diverging from the prothorax, by its often carinated vertex, and

close, this sub-genusmay be known by the maxilla? having the terminal process shorterand in

a line with the base, and by the mentum being more truncated, but,above all, by the horny

scarcely everhave any teethon the external sideoftheir anterior tibiaj, and when they possess

such teeth it is merely because they belong to aberrantspecies

SECTIONS OF COR YPHE.

r

with anterior tibiae

exter-nally bidentate, rarely tri-'

Maxilla having the inner process generally unidentate.

J Thoraxnot semicircular. $ Clypeussometimeshorned

j^ or bifurcate India. Type, Cetoiiia MacLeaii, K

f Maxilla having the inner process unidentate. Thorax

semicircular. (J clypeus bifurcate Indian Islands.

Type, C bicornis, Lat.

f Maxilla havingnotoothonthe inner process. Thoraxnot

<' semicircular. ^ with clypeus generally horned Asia.

[ Type, C.Hardwickii, G P fMaxilla with notoothon the inner process S anterior

<^ tibiae externally tridentate. Southern.\frica.

[^ Type, r siifuralii-, Fab.

f Maxilla with its inner process unidentate 5 anterior

J tibife without teeth Tropical Africa.

[_ Type, C Iris, Fab.

I have named one of these sections aftera prominent species Mr Kirbyindicated another

" Dicheros." And as for the first, M Duponthas some right to name it, since one of theinsectshecalls " JVarycius" appears tobelongto it.

59 With respect, then, to the section NARYCiiE of Dupont, I would observe, that it is

spots of some different hue The groupe is entirely Indian,and the Coryphe MacLeaii(the

discal spot of the thora,\ does not touch its hinder margin, and besides the clypeus of the

MacLeaiiofGoryought thereforetoretainthe trivial nameit originallyreceivedfrom its vererEschscholtz, and be henceforth called Coryphepretiosa But this species,together with

disco-t.lie insect called Narycitis olivaceus by Dupont, and the beautiful Cetonia guttata of Ohvier,

* See Linn Trans, vol 12 p 409.

30 ON THE CETONIIDvE OF SOUTH AFRICA.

{^

The following species indeed may perhapsrepresent somany sub-sections:

—

1 Cetonia elegans, Fal/. Colourgreen. $Clypeuswithnohorn.

^2 Cetonia MacLeaii, A'. Colourgreen with black spots ,5 Clypeuswith a short vertical horn.

TS Cetonia pretiosa, Each. Colourgreen with black spots. S Clypeuswithtwolateral horns.

^4 Cetonia guttata, 0/io. ColourgreenandreJ with white spots ,J Clypeuswithtwolateral horns.

{5 Narycius olivaceus, Diip. Colourgreen. $ Clypeuswithtwolateral horns.

60 With respectto the section Diceros,it istrue that MM Gory and Percheron havemade

littleto distinguish the groupe from the section Naricicc,which I have founded on the badly

characterized groupe which has been calledNarycius by Dupont The organs of the mouth

are the same in both However, there are as yet only two species described of the section

fourth volumeof the first edition of Cuvier's Eegne Animal,and the Dicheros decerns ofGory,

which is a Javanese insect The Cetonia hicoryiis of Latreilleis called " hicornuta" by Gory,

and,whatis singularenough,is erroneously assignedby Mr Kirbyto hisowngenus Gnathocera

Nepaul insect, which is horned, and conies very near tothe Goliathus 4-maculatus ofAfrica

The difference between them consists in both sexes ofCoryphe Hardwickiihaving the clypeus

alike, and in the female having the anterior tibiaa externally bidentate Although I am not

a sub-section of Rhomhorhina, where the female has a simple clypeus And I have reason

to suspect, moreover, that the insect called "Jumnos Ruchcri' in Mr. Hope's Coleopterist's

Manual, forms still another sub-section of the Rhomborhina:, which comes yet nearer to the

speciesofthis section are Asiatic

62 The fourth section, Schuppelli^, is African, and may be easily known bythe sharp

following insectsappear to be types

A.—Males without teethon(\ Cetonia fiavomaculata, Fa4. $ with clypeus horned.

the outer side of an-<j 2 Cetonia taenia,P B $ with clypeus simple Posterior tibiae without a tooth terior tibiEe. [3 Cetoniaumbonata,Kltiff. $ with clypeus simple Posterior tibise unidentate.

B.—Males having the ante- (i Cetonia suturalis, Fab.

rior tibise somewhatJ

bidentate I 5 Cetonia * * * *

63 Dr Smith hasbrought home the type of thefirst ofthe foregoing sub-sections, viz :

—

Sp 17. (Cetonimis) Coryphe flavomaculata,Fah

Gnathocera Jlavomacidata, G P p. 139 tab 21 fig 5.

vertex, and the apex of its clypeus is recurved and eniarginate. The malehas also itsanteriortibiae

without teeth. Bythe way,the trivial name of thiscommonspeciesought tobe ''himacidata," for \u>

less anentomologistthan Degeeroriginally described and figuredit under thisname Iftliis change beadopted, the Cetonia Umacula, Wicdeni., which if it bethe same asthe Gnathocera Idmacnlaia ofGory,

ox THE CETOXIID.E OF SOUTH AFRICA 31

species, which M Gory confounded with the Cetonia Tccnia of Pahsot de Beauvois I

happen to possessboth species, and find themtobe quite distinct In the true Corijphe Tccniathe margin of the tliorax is not yellow, while the bodyis wider than that of the new Cape

species, andtlie colour more viridi-ffiiieous I shall honour my new species with the name of

the distinguishedphilosopher to whom Dr Smith'sexpedition was so much indebted It willalso commemorate hisuncle, who was a meritorious entomologist, particularly attached to the

Sp 18. CVtoninus) CoryphcIlerschelii, n g.

fasciaemarginata flava notatis, tibiistarsisquenigris.

Gnathoccrataiiia, G P p. 13S tab 21 fig i.

65 Ofthe third sub-section ofScliappellitc, Dr Smith has collected the type

Sp 19. (Cctoninus) Coryplie umbonata, Klug

$ Gnathoccra umlonata, G P p. 141 tab. 21 fig 4.

$ Cetoniapropinqua, G P p. 2G5 tab. 51 fig 3.

genera The female has a simple quadrate clypcus, and the anterior tibia; tridentate. According to

M.Gory, she comes from Mexico However this may be, Dr Smith has brought her alsofromthe

66 Thefourth sub-section, as yet, has only been found in intratropicalAfrica Its type is

Coryphesuturalis, Fab., which resembles C umhonataexceedingly in colour and markings;

athnity oftransultation

the Asiatic section " Narici(e,"and like it, is remarkable forits brilliantgreen colouring, only

herethis colouringis pure and without spots But we must now return tothe aberrant section

consists of the largest as well as rarestinsects thatcan grace our cabinets, I shall give a brief

\'iewof all the species of the sub-genus which are known to me Themales have the clypeus

PJdlis-tina The maxilla has rarely any corneousteeth, and its terminal lobe, crowned with a pencil

ofhair,is always bent inwardsat right anglestoits back The corneous lobe of the mandible

is very short, andrarely longer thanthe square membranaceous part The mentum is deeply

the anteriortibice always externallytridentate The three species called by MM Gory and

* ProfessorKlugdescribes it as trilobed in tlie female of his Goliathus regius, but this is probably a mistake.

32 ON THE CETOXIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA.

of Goliathus, which I shall call Smithii,after my friend Dr Smitli There is another species

ofit called by me Calocephala

SECTIONS OF GOLIA THUS.

B.—Malehaving the anterior

tibise never like those,

of the female.

'1 Smithii,M'L

2 HiipFNERII,M'L

,3 GlGANTEI,M'L

'4 Inca, Lep. &S.

A.—Malehaving the anterior

tibise externally

den-tated like those of

de-Tropical Africa.

fThorax trapezoidal andtruncated behind. Body

depres-J sed. $ anterioi- tibise withoutanyteeth.

I NorthTropicalAmerica

('Thorax sub-lobate behind. Body sub -convex. $

ante-rior tibije withoutanyteeth.

SouthTropicalAmerica

rThorax circular. Body depressed Anterior femurwith

no spine on the inside at the extremity. Epimeronprominent betweenthe angles of thoraxandelytra.

Tropical Asia.

Section 1. Smithii

68 This section inhabits intratropical Africa It may be easily known byhaving the elytra

behind, or, at least, being only slightly emarginate, to receive the scutellum In short, this

asmyobject is merely to shew theirstructure and affinities :

—

1 ^ Clypeuswith a single porrected simple horn G torquatus,Drury

2 $ Clypeuswith three horns, the middle one diverging "^

rG Pohjphemus,Fab.

(Mecyxorhin'a,Hope.)

J

A.—Males having the

ante-rior tibise externally

tridentate or bifid at the apex.

B.—Males having the

ante-rior tibife externally

without teeth.

f 3 $ Anterior tibiae internally denticulated ; last joint of ")

the anterior tarsus with abrashonthe insideabove \^

ox THE CETONIID.E OF SOUTH AFRICA. S:i

Sp 20. (Cetoniniis) Goliatlius torquatus,Driirt/.

Descr GuJlatJuts vchitino-viridis ; vertice, thoracis margine antico, vittis iliiabiistriangularibus

anticis abbrcviatis, flytniruni linois duabiis margiiialibus interruptis maculisque octo

sutura-libus all_>e!icentibus, j)3-gidio viridi inaculisduabusalbis,corporeinfra viridicupreo, tarsis nigris.

^ Capitcalbo, cl^-pci curnusiiiipliceporrectosubreeurvoapice acuto

$ Clypeo quadratesimplice.

Cctonia collar^, Scbomihcrr, Sjii Ins. 1.3 p. 127 30

cabinet. Drury says that itwasreceived from SierraLeone "Within these few days !Mr.Strachan hasbroughtthemale from that colony It diftcrsfromallthe otherknown malesof GoUathusin nothavingthehornofthech'peusbifid I amignorant of the groundsupon whichSchonnherrassumed the rightto

change Drury's unobjectionable specificname

Sp (Cetoninus) Goliathns Polyphemus, Fab

albisseriatim dispositis.

$ Capitatricorni comumedio porrecto apicebifido

? Incognita

Cetonia PoJ/iphcmns, Oliv Ins tab 8 fig (il.

theEntomological Cabinet bequeathed bythe late SirJoseph Banksto the LinneanSociety It was themaledescribed by Fabriciusandfigured by Olivier. This specimen howeverappears to have beenstolen

^ince the insects of the Banksian Cabinet were arranged in 1S2G by the late Messrs Bennett and

pos-session. Theabovedescription of thespecies iscompiled from the works of Fabricius, Olivier,and Gory.There appearshoweverto bemore than onespecimen known, for jMr IMelly of Liverpool assuresnie that

aninsectof this species was latelv exhibited for sale at Glasgow, and pnrcliased Ijy SirWilliam Hooker

the Professor of Botanv Mr Hope, however,is of opinion thatSir AV Hooker's species is different.

Perhaps it is the male of G torquatus The above two normal sub-sections differfrom the followingaberrant sub-sections in not havino- tlie vitreous lustre of these last, but on the contrary, having a

velvettyaspect.

Sp (Cetoninus) Goliathus micans, Drun/

Descr Goliathus viridi-nitens, antennis palpis tarsisque nigris.

$ Clypeo lateribus unispinosis, cornu medio porrecto recurve apicebifido.

9 Cljiieosimplice quadrate

Scaraho'iismicans, Drury, II. p. 59 tab 32 fig 3.

Long 2.5 lines.

and thatin Mr Kirby's Introduction to Entomology, 2dedit vol iv p. 506, G micansis erroneouslymentioned in placeof G Iiica.—I have latelyseenanotherspecies of the same sub-sectionlargerthan

this, inthe possession of j\Ir. Strachan who brought it from Sierra Leone It is quite new,and differs

also quite different, approachingmore closely tothat of a Cort/phe I believe that gentlemanintends to descrilje it.

34 ON THE CETONIID-^ OF SOUTH AFRICA.

Sp (Cetoninus) Goliathussplendens, »; «.

humerali casrulea.

$ Clypeolateribus bispinosis, cornumedioporrecto recurvo apicebifido.

9 Incognita

The maleis in my cabinet It isa species that comes veryclose to G. micans, andbelongs

to the same sub-section Mr Hope has given the name Dicronorhina to this

sub-section ; but for such minute groupes as the present, generic namesareuseless Our grand

objectought tobe to demonstratetheir affinities.

Sp (Cetoninus) Goliathus Grallii,Buqitet

$ Capite tricomi, clypei cornu medio porrecto recurvo ad basin bninneo, caule nifo bifido

ramisdivergentibus extusarcuatisreflexisapicibus dcntatis.

5 Incognita

Goliathus Grallii, Ann delaSec Ent.vol vi p. 201 tab 5 fig 3.

wasbrought, ashebelieves, from WesternAfrica

Sp 20 (Cetoninus) Goliathus Smithii, n s.

maculisque duabus humeralibus duabus apicalibus abdomiuisquc lateribus nigris ; corpore

infra ano pcdibusquorufis,femoribusanticis intushirsutie obtectis.

$ Capitetricorni, clypei cornu medio porrecto recurvo rufo apice bifido, ramis divergentibus

rectis.

5 Capite quadratosimplice, elypeorufo.

naturalist towhom every departmentofZoology ismostdeeply indebted

Sp (Cetoninus)Goliathus Daphnis, Buquet

margine maculisque duabus humeralibus duabusapicahbus nigris, corporeinfrafemoribusque

^iridibus, tibiisbrunneis, tarsis nigris.

$ Capitetricorni, clypeicornumedio brunnco porrecto recurvobifidoramisextusarcuatis.

? Capite quadrato clypeo viridi.

GoliathusDaphnis, Ann delaSoc Ent vol iv p. 130 tab 2 fig. 3-4

Sp (Cetoninus) Goliathus quadrimaculatus, Oliv.

cljqieo el}i,ris femoribusque supra viridibus fulvo-micantibus, elytris maculis duabus

hume-ON THE CETONIID^ OF SOUTH AFRICA 35

$ Clypeo anticc concavo, comu medio brevi recurvo apice dilatato triangulum obversum

simulantc

9 Clj-peoquadratoantice subsinuato

Cetonlaquadrimaculata, Oliv tab 8 fig. 73

Gnathocerai-maciilata, G P p. 131 tab 19 fig 4.

Cori/p/ie (oras they erroneouslycall it, Gnathocera)to which sub-genusall thefemales of theSmithian

section of Guliathi, so nearly approach Olivier, Fabricius, and Schiinnherr,seem also to haveknown

only the female Onthe other hand I possessonly the male,andasmyspecimen haslostthelastjoint

of all its tarsi, I camiotsay whetherthelast joint of theanterior tarsushasabrush on the inside abovethe ungues or not. Thespecies comescloseon the confinesof the f(5llo^vingsub-section, asmay beseen

bythe structure of the anteriortibia? of the male,which are not multidentateon theinside, accordingto

therule of the Goliathi Smithiiin general. My friend Mr Hopesays that this species is identical withtheGoliathiisDaphnisof M. Buquet; butthelast named entomologistis nevertheless right in cousider-

ino-the two to bedistinct species, sincethe hornsofthecl}']3eus ofthe malesare different as wellas their

anteriortibicB. Goliathus Daplm'is in fact belongs to the same section as (7 <S';nMi/, andbeautifullyconnects that species with theGoUathus i-maculatiis Sotrue it is, thatwhileanalysis isnecessaryfor correctsynthesis, sometimesalsosynthesis conducts ustocorrectanalysis.

Section 2. Hopfnerii

69 This section I only know by M. Gory's descriptionand figureof an insect from Mexico,

in the collection of the Count Dejean, and called by him GoUathus Hopfnerl Itseems to

lobatedbehind inthe middle

Sp (Cetoninus) GoliathusHopfneri, Dcj

rufo-brunneis nigro-carinatis, femoribus subtusfulvis.

$ Ch-peo porrecto dilatato bifido, verticetransverseelevate, ramisque divergentibus

?

GoUat/iHsHdpfncri,Dej Cat Ed 3 p. 188

descriptionof it I have venturedtocompile the precedingcharacter Little value however ought to beassigned tocompilations of this kind, or indeed toanydescription which isnotfounded on actual inspec-

tion I hope, therefore,that ComteDiyean will favour us soon with adetaileddescription and accurate

figure.o

Section 3. Gigantei

70 These of all insects are the most esteemed bycollectors, because they are exceedingly

rare, and at the same time most conspicuous for their size and beauty Even tlie richcollection of M Dejean contains no specimen according tothe lastedition of his catalogue

I have known fifty guineas asked for GoUathus giganteus, and a specimen now in my lectionis known formerly tohave cost 29/ This section of the sub-genus is distinct from all

col-the others, and, indeed, from all the other sections of the genus Cetoninus, in having the

36 ON THE CETONIID.E OF SOUTH AFRICA.

terminal lobe of the maxilla armed on the inside at the middle with a corneous tooth We

they pass ofF by the alhnity of transultation to the genus Macrominus, of which the maxilla,internally toothed, is an essential character The gigantic GoUatki are, at first sight, easilydistinguished from the Hopfnerii by their back being convex, and they are known from thatother section of the sub-genus which ROI. Lepelletierand Serville have called luca by thelargeand conspicuous axillary pieces orepimera of the mesothorax, (See Zool Journal, vol v.

p. 165.) which intervene between, what i.s, to speak accurately, the prothorax and theshoulders of the elytra The GoUathi Gigantei have a strong plantula* between the ungues

of the anterior feet, and probably it exists in all the feet. Unfortunately, my specimens,

four posterior tibite are along the inside fringed with a close fulvous down, while the maleshave the anterior tibiae thus lined only half way The abdomen beneath is more or less

some-thing like a gothic arch It is difficult to imagine how insects so large and weighty,can

possibly live on flowers; at least thecorolla, which would receive in its bosom anyspecies ofthissection,mustnecessarilyapproachinsize to thatof the Hnffiesia These gigantic Goliathi

maypossibly live therefore on the juices that exude from the wounds of trees. One thing is

sure, namely, that the penicilliform structure of the back of the terminal process of theirmaxillffi proves that they do Uve on juices of some kind This section is confined to intra-tropical Africa, and, asfaras I am aware, only two femalesofit have ever as yet been brought

all these five, I believe specimens may be seen in Great Britain I shall now take the

oppor-tunity of distinguishing them, since some peculiar circumstances attending this magnificent

possesses; and because I have now before me the very specimens described by Drury and

Linnteus, and upon which specimens the genus Goliathus of Lamarck was originally

founded

Si'. (Cotuniuus) Guliathiis Drurii, West

scutcllo-que medioalbis, vittsequo thoracicsemargiualis maculanigra.

$ Clypeoalbo, lateribusunidentatis: dentelateemarginato,cornumedio porrectobifido : ramis

nigrisdivergentibus arcuatis apicu dilatatis obliquetruncatis.

5 Incognita

iScaraliwus Goliathus, Drury, vol i tab. 31

, Linn Syst Nat Slant, p. 530

Celoiiia Guliathus, Ollv tab 1 fig. 33

of the insect. Theother writers who have touched on the subject, and they arenot a few, have merely

knownthespecies fromtheabove figures. Nowtheoriginal specimen, from which all tlieabovenoticeswere taken, existed unique in Drur3-'s collection, and was the first species of theGiganticsection ever

])ublished I thereforeconsiderit asthe tvpe Thespecimenwas founddead,and floatingdowni the river

* Professor Klug anil Mr Hope, who have given us figures anddescriptions of the only two females of the section