ANOTHER COLLECTION OF SCOLYTIDAE AND PLATYPODIDAE OF ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE FROM THE TERRITORY OF PAPUA AND NEW GUINEA 254. Contribution to the morphology and taxonomy op Scolytoidea Karl E. Schedl* [Read 25th June, 1969] Synopsis In this paper six new species are described. The first, Xylechinus papuanus, n. sp. collected in flight, is a species of Scolytidae. The remainder are new species of Platypodidae: Crossotarsus coxalis, n. sp. in logs of Syzygium sp., Podocarpus sp., Nothofagus sp. and Hardwood sp.; Platypus enormis, n. sp. in bark of Cryptocaria sp. ; Platypus incertus n. sp., in log of Casuarina sp.; Platypus morigerus n. sp., in stump of dead hardwood; and Platypus truncatigranosus n. sp., in logs of Podocarpus sp. and Hardwood sp. Introduction This is the third of a series of taxonomic papers on Scolytidae and Platypodidae collected from New Guinea. The specimens were sent for determination by Mr. B. Gray, Entomology Section, Department of Forests, Bulolo, New Guinea. The Section is currently engaged upon an extensive survey of bark and ambrosia beetles since they cause considerable economic loss in terms of destruction and degradation of logs and timber in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. Further papers on these collections will be published, and details of distribution data recorded in a monograph (under preparation) on the Scolytidae and Platypodidae of the New Guinea region. In this paper one new species of Scolytidae and five new species of Platypodidae are described. The numbers following the collector's name refer to the consignment number allocated to the specimens by Mr. Gray. The following abbreviations areN used : L.A. (logging area) ; Estrn. Hlds. Dist. (Eastern Highlands District) and Wstrn. Hlds. Dist. (Western Highlands District) . Description op New Species A. Scolytidae Xylechinus papuanus n. sp. Dark reddish-brown, 1-63 and 1-87 mm. long, 2-2 times as long as wide, somewhat allied to Xylechinus leai Schedl from Queensland, but with quite different vestiture on the pronotum and the elytra. Front aplanate to feebly impressed on a semicircular area below bearing slender scale-like hairs directed upwards to the median line, convex, silky shining, minutely punctulate and indistinctly punctured above. Antennal club large, about twice as wide. Pronotum wider than long (23:19), base feebly bisinuate, widest near the base, sides subparallel on the basal fourth, thence gradually incurved, apex broadly rounded, with a few small asperities around the anterolateral angles; disc rather feebly convex, subshining, minutely punctulate, regularly and rather coarsely punctured, the punctures bearing short, slender scales directed to the median line in the basal part of the disc. Scutellum not visible. Elytra distinctly wider (25:23) and 1-8 times as long as the pronotum, sides parallel on the basal half, gradually incurved behind, apex moderate broadly rounded declivity commencing after the basal two-fifths, obliquely * Lienz, Osttirol, Austria. Proceedings of the Linnean Society op New South Wales, Vol. 94, Part 2
Another collection of Scolytidae and Platypodidae of economic importance from the territory of Papua and New Guinea. 254. Contribution to the morphology and taxonomy of Scolytoidea
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