Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, Volume 2Grey, George
History
Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, Volume 2
Grey, George
Natural history -- Australia -- Western Australia; Western Australia -- Discovery and exploration
I think this may be the Scarites cyaneus Fabricius described from the
Banksian Cabinet in 1775 (Systema Entomologiae page 249 g. 68 sp. 2.) It
differs however from his description in the appendiculated thorax (the
sides of which are rounded) being abruptly cut off behind, and in having
the somewhat dilated margin there, slightly emarginate. The general
surface of the thorax is not so bright in colour as the elytra, it has
more of a purple reflection; a dark greenish hue prevails over the
elytra, the anterior edge of each having, towards the margin, a slight
bend upwards, which forms a kind of tooth, projecting slightly over the
somewhat dilated margin of the elytra, along the margin of these are at
least eight points, at first seemingly impressed, but when more
particularly examined they appear to be raised and to have an impressed
line round each of them. The head is black, the antennae and palpi
piceous, the third joint in the former is longer than the second or
third, the terminal joints are (more especially) furnished with pitchy
hairs. Long. lin. 8.
Habitat King George's Sound. Captain George Grey.
The genus Carenum was founded by Fr. A. Bonelli in the second part of his
Observations Entomologiques, read the 3rd May 1813 and published in the
Turin Transactions for 1813,* upon a specimen contained in the Paris
Museum of Natural History, which he regarded as the Scarites cyaneus of
Fabricius figured by Olivier.
(*Footnote. Memoires de l'Academie Imp. des Sciences etc. page 479.)
Guerin* has shown that the Arnidius marginatus Leach of the letter-press
to the Voyage de l'Astrolabe, page 33, is synonymous with Carenum cyaneum
of Bonelli, as he has seen the two specimens, the former of which is in
Dupont's collection.
(*Footnote. Crust. Arachn. et Ins. of the voyage of the Coquille
avant-propos page 7.)
M. Brulle* observes well that the Carenum cyaneum of Bonelli must be
different from the Scarites cyaneus of Fabricius, as both these authors
speak of its being blue (or deep blackish green) over the whole upper
surface, while in the C. cyaneum the blue is confined to the margin of
the elytra; besides Olivier expressly states that the Scarites cyaneus is
smaller than the Scarites subterraneus, which will not at all suit the
original specimen from which the learned Bonelli derived his generic
character. In the British Museum is the original specimen of Arnidius
marginatus (catalogued by Dr. Leach) presented by J. Huey, Esquire, and
it is very different both in size and in colour from the descriptions of
Fabricius and Olivier, and the figure of the latter,** all derived from
the original specimen formerly contained in the Banksian collection. Dr.
Boisduval's concise description (op. cit. page 2, page 23) answers the
specimen so named by Leach.
(*Footnote. Histoire Naturelle des Ins. par Messieurs Audouin and Brulle
5 page 64.)
(**Footnote. Coleopt. 3 Number 36 l. 2 f. 17.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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