Art. XIII.—On a New Weta from the Chatham Islands.

By Captain F. W. Hutton, F.R.S.

[Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 4th November, 1903.]

Pleioplectron serratum, sp. nov.

Joints of the antennæ cylindrical in both sexes, broader than long near the base. Pronotum and mesonotum not margined. Fore and middle femora unarmed below; the hind femora with fifteen teeth below in each row, those of the outer row smaller than those of the inner; fore and middle tibiæ with three pairs of spines below, none above; hind tibiæ slightly grooved above, with 16 to 20 red spines, nearly regular in size. Subgenital plate of the male transverse, with a long stout process, rounded at the end, between the styles. The subgenital plate of the female is hidden.

Colours, fuscous-brown, the face and palpi pale; antennæ fuscous. No pale line on the pronotum. Legs pale-yellowish, the hind femora usually with some fuscous markings. Total length of the male, 32 mm.; of the female, 27 mm. Length of the pronotum, ♂ 15 mm., ♀ 6 ½ mm.; of the thorax, ♂ 17 mm., ♀ 15 mm.; of the abdomen, ♂ 15 mm. ♀ 12 mm.; of the ovipositor, 14 mm. Length of the fore tibia, ♂ 9 mm., ♀ 7–8 mm.; hind tibia, ♂ 18 mm., ♀ 15 mm.; of the hind femur, ♂ 21 mm., ♀ 16–17 mm.; width at mesonotum, ♂ 9 mm., ♀ 8 mm.; length of the antennæ, 45 mm.

Collected on Pitt Island and presented to the Christchurch Museum by Mr. J. J. Fougère.