XXXVIII. FAMILY RHOPALOMERID^. 



Front broad, excavated, with or without short orbital 

 bristles. Antennae short, third joint rounded or oval, the 

 arista bare or plumose. Face broad, carinate, tubercu- 

 late or the oral margin prominent; cheeks broad; clypeus 

 projecting; vibrissse wanting; proboscis short; palpi 

 slender or dilated. Thorax elongate, arched, mesonotum 

 nearly bare; scutellum often prominent and grooved. 

 Abdomen shorter than the wings, flattened; ovipositor 

 projecting, telescopic; hypopygium largely concealed. 

 Femora thickened, the hind tibiae often dilated. Auxil- 

 iary vein present or absent; basal cells well developed. 



Fig. no. Rhopalomeridse. i, Willistoniella, head from in front; 

 2, Apophyrhynchus, head; 3, Rhopalomera^ wing. 



This group comprises a small number of flies from six 

 to twelve millimeters in length, of peculiar aspect, hav- 

 ing a general resemblance to some of the Kphydridae or 



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